Page 66 of Hidden Fate

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

My breath lodgedas I tried to figure out what the hell to do. Thorn and I kept walking down the hallway because wehadto. Otherwise, Peter would know we were watching.

“Hey,” Arrow whispered.

He lowered his voice. It wasn’t nearly as quiet as it needed to be for Thorn and me not to hear him; however, he had to be loud enough so Peter would with his human ears.

“What?” Peter snapped. “I’ve got to pack before myson-in-lawknocks my ass out for, like, the tenth time.”

Thorn’s amusement wafted through our bond, and a giggle built in my chest. I swallowed to hold it down, afraid it might be too loud if the noise escaped.

I sort of wish I could go knock his ass out now,Thorn teased and tugged me to his chest. His sky blue irises lightened, almost matching the diamond flecks in the center. His eyes were my favorite thing about him—the color of the cloudless sky—with his plum silvery dragon wings being second, a color I favored when I painted the night sky. Both colors represented details I enjoyed most when painting any scene.

Our connection sprang to life, but I couldn’t focus on it. Not with everything going on.

“Outside,now,” Arrow whispered urgently. “You’ll want to hear this.”

“Fine.” Peter scoffed. “But only for a minute.”

Some tension eased from my body, but I wasn’t sure I could trust my gut. What if he didn’t leave?

When the front door shut, Thorn and I crept into the living room. Though Edna wasn’t truly kicking us out, once Peter got loose, Drake would send his warriors here as quickly as possible. I wasn’t foolish enough to think that Peter couldn’t locate us. Yes, we were on a ton of land, but there was a mailbox with numbers in the front of the house. He could give them precise enough instructions to get here.

“They’re busy. You should leave them,” Arrow said on the porch outside the door.

He must have been blocking it so Peter couldn’t come in.

“Iwantto.” Peter huffed. “I’ve tried, but they caught me sneaking away, and I don’t want to piss off that unstable jackass and have him punch meagain.”

My hands fisted. He didn’t get to talk like that about Thorn…mymate. I reached for the doorknob, my dragon snarling in agreement, our anger blending as one, when Thorn caught my hand.

He beamed, the happiness lighting his face breathtaking.I love this side of you. I mean…really happy Everly, aroused Everly, and possessive Everly are all three tied as top contenders, but we want him to leave. Remember?

Next time,Iwill punch him.Hell, I was getting comfortable with a gun. Maybe I could shoot him in the leg. Nothing that would cause serious injury, just pain, which would only be a small piece of what he’d exposed me to during the past six years.

Let’s add badass Everly to that list of top-four contenders.He waggled his brows.Seriously, all versions of you are my favorite…except when you’re mad at me. I don’t like that version.

I rolled my eyes.Neither do I.Just like I didn’t like it when I hurt him. That was the worst feeling in the entire world.

“Go. Tell Drake that we’re not on their team and that we let you go so you can tell him what’s going on.” Arrow’s voice deepened. “Echo will help you get out of here while they’re preoccupied with packing. The rest of us can distract them until he returns.”

“Seriously?” Peter asked warily.

“How else are we going to get a message to Drake?” Sydney gritted out. “It’s not like we can say, ‘Hey, we made a mistake.’ The only way we can apologize is to get someone he’s open to trusting out of here to let him know we’re turning against themandthey have nowhere to go. If Drake’s warriors rush here, they should be able to track them.”

He paused, and my heart raced. I’d expected him to jump at the opportunity. What thehellwas going on?

Peter huffed. “This could be a trap.”

“We’re splitting up fromthem.” Rex snorted drily. “We made it clear we don’t want to be on the losing side, but whatever. Suit yourself. Go back in like a good little human and get ready. I’m sure your company will be fine without you indefinitely.”

I held my breath, waiting for his response. I’d thought he’d be halfway down the road by now, but he was still standing on the porch.

Crap.

“Fine.” Peter’s voice grew higher in excitement or fear…maybe a combination. He wasn’t out of the woods yet. “I’ll tell him. Just get me the hell out of here. They’ll be looking for me any second. I can’t even go to the bathroom without someone knocking on the door.”

As if he had summoned Elliott and Eva, they headed down the stairs, their eyes wide. Their mates were following them, their faces blanched.

---