Page 56 of Shrouded in the Dark
The only time I ever saw anyone, whether it was humans or shifters, was when my mom would sneak us out for playdates with the guys. When I turned eighteen, I left in the dead of winter in the middle of the night. I wanted to make something of myself. Contribute to the world somehow. With Seth working on uniting the shifters in the US, I knew I wanted to help. It’d been slow, oh so slow, work, but there was some progress. I never wanted what happened in Texas to happen anywhere else.
“My family overall…” I searched for the best way to tell her without giving too much away. “I grew up in what was, essentially, a compound. They weren’t exactly the best parents. I left when I turned eighteen.”
Becca stopped walking, making me pause to look back at her. Her large light blue eyes, that always made me think of water when it made ripples, held a deep pain in them. For me.
“That sucks. I really can’t imagine not having the family I have now. Even when it was just my mom and me, she always made sure I knew I could come to her for anything.” She shook her head, which made some of her hair become loose from her braid. “You have your brothers, though. You’re happy with them. Plus, you and… Felicity? Has she reached out to you since we talked alone?”
Guilt gripped me briefly as I thought about earlier for a second. My bear huffed at me in annoyance. He’d enjoyed it so much that he kept pulling at me to forget Felicity and jump her best friend.
“No, not really. I know you said you’d talked to her. That she needed to tell me her feelings, but the only thing she’s really done is say she needs to tell me in person. That it wasn’t a text conversation.” We started moving forward again. “Is that, like, a girl thing?”
Her laughter sounded like bells throughout the forest. “It depends. Usually, if a girl wants to talk to you face to face, it’s either to tell you her feelings, or to break up with you. But guys do that, too. I know Felicity said she had a lot of things she was dealing with her family this summer, but she is going to be here next month, so that’s good, right?”
My answer was a hum as I thought about it. Felicity hadn’t started acting weird until after school ended. When we talked on the phone the few times since, she’d kept our conversations less than five minutes, and she always sounded so distant. Not at all like the girl I’d met and fallen for during the school year.
Maybe it was time to force her to talk to me rather than wait until she was here. These thoughts and feelings were confusing me about my family, and now, Becca.
Chapter 12
Becca
When I’d come down from my climax, I’d wanted to smack myself. My fantasy had quickly changed from Tom Hiddleston to me riding Axel. I hadn’t even noticed until after I’d finally relaxed. What was worse, as soon as I’d cleaned up, gotten dressed, and left my room, Axel had been coming out of his room. My mind froze thinking that he’d have heard me. But he hadn’t acted any different. He’d actually been in a good mood, which helped me fight against the embarrassment I’d felt. If he’d have heard me, that would have been such an awkward conversation. I’d probably have died.
We were finally almost there. Which was good because I was sweating like a fat kid chasing the ice cream truck. Axel looked like he’d just stepped outside. I was tempted to grab some paints and mess with him when he was asleep tonight. It really was unfair how fit these guys were. And that I still hadn’t gotten to watch any of them work out shirtless, yet.
“We’re here!” My announcement was soft as I led him to the clearing next to the small creek. It was small, but all of the rock furniture that I’d put together with my dad was still here. Some animals had knocked over some of the smaller rocks, or maybe the weather had, while it looked like some nests from various creatures were scattered around.
We’d started building this little ‘playhouse’ when I was two. Dad hauled the huge flat rocks from near the house when we’d stumbled across this place and I’d yelled that it was perfect for my own little house. We’d sectioned off small ‘living’ areas. There was a kitchen with a sink made by using an old bucket. There was a tiny couch and bed. I’d been able to actually use the little furniture when I was little. Dad would sit in the middle of all of it and we’d have a picnic together. Mom would come up here at least once with us during our trips.
Anytime we came up to the cabin, I’d come to visit, but it hurt too much to stay longer than a few minutes. This time, I wanted to stay for a while and try to connect with Dad on his anniversary. Having Axel here helped more than I thought it would have. I only felt like crying a little bit instead of breaking down.
“This,” Axel smiled softly as he ran a hand over the small stature that was the fridge, “you did this with him?”
“Yeah. We did it gradually over a few years. We’d spend full days up here together playing house.” I stepped into the middle of the play area. “We’d have a picnic right here. We’d watch the clouds through the tops of the trees, making up stories. One time, Dad played the big bad wolf as I played Little Red Riding Hood.” Turning in a circle slowly, I let the memories roll over me. “Dad was everything to us.”
Axel stood in front of me. He cupped my cheeks while his thumbs rubbed tears that I hadn’t known were falling away. “You want to know one of the best things about being a teddy bear?”
“What?” My voice cracked.
“I’m a GREAT hugger.” He bent his head until his forehead pressed to mine. “Can I hug you?”
My tears fell faster. For Dad. For his loss. For the kindness this man showed me. For the other three men who’d rocked my world before turning it upside down. I couldn’t answer him, so I just wrapped my arms around his middle pressing my face into his chest as I cried. I felt him hold me around the waist tightly as his other arm held the middle of my back with his hand pressing the back of my head to his chest, patting gently.
“That’s a good girl. Let it out.” I felt his cheek rub along my hair. “No one but you and me are here.” He started to sway me gently.
My heart cracked again. Thoughts about Dad fled as feelings that I had been trying so hard to keep back about him flew outward to join my other confused feelings about all of the men. Just being in his arms, I felt like I was home. Just like with the others. How was this fair?
How did I go years without caring one way or another about any guy to meet four all together and my uterus panted like a hussy for them? Why did Axel have to like Felicity? Why did she have to keep acting like she wanted him but was stringing him along? It was obviously stressing him out.
Not to mention, I was starting to suspect that the guys may not just be friends, based on some looks I’d caught out of the corner of my eye at times. I’d seen Jasper get his ass groped by Cody more than once. It was kind of a turn on when I started really imagining it.
But if these guys were together, in that way, would they even really care about me? I mean, I’m not stupid. I’d felt how Seth had reacted when we’d kissed again. What if they just wanted a fling? Would I be able to do that? These thoughts just kept going round and round in my head.
Before long, my tears had dried out. Axel slowly came to a stop from swaying. I looked up into his face, still in his arms. “Thanks, teddy bear.” I’d had to clear my throat a few times to get that out but when I did, he kissed my forehead. My eyes closed as I cherished it.
“You’re welcome. If you tell the other guys that this happened, that I called myself a teddy bear, I’ll deny it ever happened.” His dark eyes widened in mock fierceness. “Got it, cupcake?”
“‘Cupcake’?” I pushed at his chest playfully. “Since when am I a cupcake?”
