Page 19 of Devon

There wasn’t much yet.Kendrick had explained that the village had been abandoned until recently, and while a bunch of hunters had moved here, it was far from being crowded, even with the new people arriving.Kendrick had mentioned the Vila, but Ryan had no idea who these people were.Maybe he could find out.

He left the house with a bounce in his step.He hesitated between going left or right, then shrugged and decided it didn’t matter.He went left because, from the looks of it, that was where the center of the village was.It might have stood empty for a while, but the people who’d abandoned it had left things behind, and not only their homes.As he walked, Ryan saw a closed bakery and a tiny grocery store.

For now, people went to the closest towns to get their groceries or anything else they needed.Maybe that was where Ryan should start.Could he open a business in the village?He’d have no idea where to start, so probably not the bakery—he couldn’t bake to save his life.He couldn’t cook, either, because his mother had never allowed him in the kitchen.Cooking and taking care of the house had been her job, and Ryan’s father had agreed.

Ryan was still thinking about the possibility of reopening the grocery store when he noticed a little girl playing on her own in front of a house.She wasn’t smiling.She was staring at the two dolls in her hands and moving them, but there was no joy in it, and it broke Ryan’s heart to see.

He looked around, but he was alone, and so was the girl.He doubted her parents were very far, so she had to be safe, but she didn’t look happy.There was nothing he could do about it, but he wished there was.Maybe he could become a teacher or something?He’d always liked kids, and while he doubted there would ever be a need for a school in the village proper, the towns around it had them.

The girl looked up and found Ryan staring at her.He expected her to run, but instead, she stared back until Ryan felt uncomfortable.

“Hi,” he croaked.

This was a bad idea.Ryan was new in the village and barely knew anyone.If this girl’s parents saw him talking to her, they might get the wrong idea, and that wasn’t what he wanted.He was just worried because the girl was alone.She couldn’t be older than seven or eight years old—although she could be younger.Ryan had never been great at guessing kids’ ages.

He took a step back when he realized he was probably freaking the little girl out.She cocked her head, and Ryan suddenly felt like prey, which didn’t make sense because he was a tiger shifter and could shift and eat her if he felt like it.

Not that he did.He’d never hurt anyone, but especially not a little girl.

“You’re new,” the girl finally said.

The way she stared at Ryan was still weird, but at least she was speaking.“I am.My name’s Ryan.”

“I’m Haley.”

Ryan sucked in a breath.He’d heard that name before.He remembered it because it had been in association with his mate’s name.“You’re Devon’s sister.”

Haley finally smiled, revealing sharp-looking fangs.“You know Devon?”

What was Ryan supposed to say?He couldn’t tell her that Devon was his mate.He didn’t know if Devon had told anyone or if he wanted people to know.“We’re friends.”Kind of.Ryan didn’t think that Devon would mind if he described their relationship that way to his sister.

“Do you want to play with me?”

That wasn’t what Ryan had expected.Weren’t young children usually afraid of strangers?“Uh, what about your mom?Where is she?”He remembered that Kendrick had mentioned her, too.

“She’s sleeping.I’m not supposed to leave the house on my own during the day, but I was bored, and Devon wasn’t there.”

Shit.So she was supposed to be inside the house and no one knew that she wasn’t.Ryan could knock on the door and hope Melissa would wake up, or he could leave.

He wasn’t about to abandon the kid.He wouldn’t have even if she hadn’t been Devon’s sister.He didn’t know how Devon and Melissa would react when they found him with Haley, but he wouldn’t leave her until one of them got there.She was safe with him, and they could play for a bit.

“What do you want to do?”he cautiously asked because he had no idea what little girls played.He didn’t know what he’d do if she asked him to play with her dolls.Obey, probably.

Instead of doing that, she dropped both of them and scrambled to her feet.“Hide and seek!I’ll start.”

Ryan wasn’t sure what role that gave her, so he waited until she covered her eyes and started counting.Once he knew he was supposed to hide, he ran to the closest tree and threw himself behind its trunk.He didn’t want to make things too difficult for Haley.

Ryan didn’t remember the last time he’d played like this.It had been a while, probably since he’d been a little older than Haley.He had memories of playing hide and seek with Kendrick, which was probably why he smiled through it.He felt a bit ridiculous, but both he and Haley were having fun, and that was all that mattered as far as he was concerned.

When it was his turn to count, he made sure to keep an eye on Haley in case she decided to try to hide in a place that would be too dangerous.He shouldn’t have worried because she dove into the closest bush and giggled the entire time it took him to countdown.She continued doing so as he poked around the area and dramatically called her name.

It shouldn’t be fun for an adult—although Ryan wasn’t sure he’d call himself that—but it was.For a little while, Ryan forgot that he was worried about his future and his relationships with Kendrick and Devon.Unfortunately, that didn’t last nearly long enough.

“Ryan?Haley?What the hell is going on?”

* * * *

WHEN DEVON ARRIVEDhome from work, he hadn’t expected to find his sister playing with his mate.

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