Page 1 of Memories Like Fangs
PART ONE
Bloodstone
AGGREGATE HELIOTROPE OR SUNSTONE
A combination of dark green Chalcedony with the bright red markings of Red Jasper on its surface, this stone has an opaque transparency and is rich in iron.
A healing crystal good for the physical body and your emotional well-being, Bloodstone has a history interlaced with potent protective powers. The Ancient Greeks heralded the stone as a gift from the gods with healing powers for all blood-related things. During the Middle Ages, it was said that Bloodstone was formed from Christ’s blood falling to the earth and hardening into stone. This gem has a long history of being gifted to warriors and heroes on the battlefield. It reminds us of sacrifice and stays ready to lend healing and strength to those facing their darkest days. Bloodstone can be used as a protective amulet for courageand a talisman for those needing aid in strengthening their intuition, letting their courage flow, and reconnecting with their inner safety net. Keeping your feet on the ground even when your mind is flying high, this stone boosts resilience, grounding you and making you feel safe and steady in your own skin. Wielding Bloodstone is like someone shooting caffeine right into your soul, energizing you with the strength and bravery needed to push forward through the worst obstacles.
Recoil
QUINN
Things had already started to fall apart long before I ran up those stairs.
Downstairs, I stood at the kitchen sink, my green-and-black plaid button-down sleeves rolled up past my elbows. I had lost count of how many times I had washed this particular plate, but the action helped me pretend it mattered. Like I could scrub away the bullshit that had happened. Like if I just focused hard enough on the soap, the water, and the quiet scrape of the sponge against ceramic and glass, I could act like maybe I had a normal, functional, and healthy family that didn’t implode in the presence of oxygen.
It came as no surprise to me that this family dinner had ended in a fucking disaster. I love my family, I swear I do, but Hesse-Collier-Garcia family dinners were my villain origin story. They always ended with someone yelling, crying, running away, or threatening violence. I always had so much anxiety leading up to these dinners because I never knew which way they were going to end up, and I had no means to prepare. Still, of those options, I suppose Cooper and Aunt CK storming out wasn’t that bad at the very least.
None of that did anything for the embarrassment and anger I felt seeing them show their asses.
One dinner,I had thought.I just wanted one dinner where maybe we could be normal. They couldn’t have even fucking lied or acted?
“I’ll be right back.” Byrd had said as she stood up from the table.
My stomach had plummeted seeing her get up. This was it. This was the part where Byrd realizes my family should be on a TLC show, that they are dysfunctional freaks of nature who are allergic to peace. This is where she runs upstairs, packs her shit, and starts rethinking our entire relationship because she figured out what she was in for. Was this where I lost her? I couldn’t lose her. I would lose my mind if I ever did?—
Byrdhad kissed my forehead with her soft lips and had placed a hand on my shoulder. The embarrassment, annoyance, fear, and anger had melted away with her touch. Her smile was like a cooling rain washing the last of the stress and chaos away. When I had placed my hand on hers, I had hoped she could feel how relieved I was. However, what I had felt instead was a slight quiver in her hands. It was subtle, but it made me notice, too, how worn her face looked with worry, how weary her eyes were, how her smile, while reassuring, seemed forced and didn’t reach those dazzling brown eyes.
Before I could open my mouth to ask, she said, “I’m just going to the bathroom. I won’t be long.”
I squeezed her hand, channeling as much affection into the small action as I could. “Hurry back, Sweets.”
Then, she made her way toward the stairs, my anxiety and hers growing through the bond with each step.
Byrdie…
In the dining room off to my right, Mom was doing her usual thing of spackling over tension with too-bright smiles and forcedconversations. No matter how much she crashed and burned with each attempt, she just started again. As she told a story about me learning my manners and being rewarded with purple Jell-O that she’d told at countless dinners before, Simone, Maisie, and Aunt Tess were indulging her at the very least.
On the other hand, Cole, Nat, and Cody were very checked out and coping with our family dinners the only way they knew how: through drinking and silent under-the-table texts between them. My own phone vibrated in my back pocket with their messages. Normally, I would be right there with them, getting drunk and getting ready to smoke a blunt after I did the dishes. As was our tradition, we would flock to the balcony to gossip and detox from another dinner.
But this wasn’t a normal Holiday Dinner.
Simone scooted over into Byrd’s seat next to me, her blue-gray eyes locking with mine. Simone was a mermaid princess, technically, but she was so down-to-earth and kind to those she loved that I almost forgot sometimes. Her usually kinky curly evergreen curls were straightened and pulled back into a long, sleek ponytail that kept cascading down one of her shoulders when she moved her head. Her usually ever-present smile was missing. I had known her long enough now for that to twist something up inside me.
Seeing her best friend scoot closer made Maisie motion to Cole to swap with her. If it had been Cody, he would have put up a fight with a snarky and crude comment, but Cole was not one to argue with his girlfriend’s best friend. His himbo nature aside, he respected Maisie and her badass witch powers too much to ever do anything to get on her bad side. Maisie got close to her best friend just as Simone lowered her melodic voice to whisper to me.
“Hey, does Byrd seem okay to you?”
“I definitely wouldn’t call it okay. She’s been saying she’s been anxious all day. I thought it was because of meeting my whole family and wanting to make a good impression, but she still seems really nervous right now. I can… sense it.” I was mindful of my phrasing of the last part just in case Mama and Aunt Tess overheard. No one knew about my mating bond with Byrd except for the cousins, and even that excluded Cooper. I wanted to tell my mom at the minimum, but it never seemed like the right time. More so, given that Byrd was a dragon-shifter and we were once dragon-hunters… I hadn’t found a way to broach the topic just yet.
“Well, I can feel it coming off of her in waves. I have since we got here,” Maisie said, her dark-almost-black eyes flaring bright purple for a brief moment before returning to normal. “It’s better when she is with others, but even now, I can feel it. Something is wrong.”
It didn’t feel right for Byrd to come back from the bathroom without me being there. I had truly meant what I said earlier that I didn’t need the bond to feel the anxiety that had been coming from her all day. I had told myself, hell, even convinced myself, that it was normal nerves. First family dinner jitters. Everyone had them. My girl was strong. She could handle it.
Not that she should have to, but I knew she could.
Still, I’d tried to stay as close to her as I could. I had wanted her to be comfortable, to ease her worry. But, even now, I could feel her discomfort from upstairs gnawing at me.
