Page 58 of The Untamed

I wanted to consume him with my mouth in every possible way.

Hell, I still want to.

But with Dad and the others rejoining us, I have to be more careful than ever.

“There’s no trail,” Dad grunts, passing me a packet of nuts to munch on. “Which is…strange.”

“You think they’re going to come back?” I focus on my father’s furrowed brow, carefully avoiding his eyes. “You know, like when we sleep again or something?”

Dad doesn’t speak right away, choosing instead to flick his gaze over everyone in camp. CJ and Jace are here, with the latter looking worse for wear considering Rowdy’s beat down on him. Thankfully, fuck face Logan stays near his brother rather than by mine. Ronan and Rowdy have been scanning the woods nearby, looking for dry sticks and brush for kindling.

“I think…” Dad sighs and cuts his eyes my way. “I think something doesn’t add up.”

When he turns his head again, attention landing on CJ and Jace, my stomach tightens. I clench my teeth together, hoping not to give away my knowledge of what really happened to Jace’s ugly face. Earlier, when everyone met up again, Jace and CJ wove a convincing tale that they’d been attacked by the very two men who we were looking for.

“Dad, I…” I start, ready to cave and admit it was Rowdy who doled out the much-deserved ass kicking, but words fail me.

Ronan and Rowdy choose that moment to return, arms laden with sticks, saving me from my guilty conscience. I jump to my feet, rushing over to help them with the fire starting.

Dad’s gaze is sharp as he watches us. My father is not one to be lied to or deceived. None of us kids are able to get away with it, which is why it’s better to avoid him when he’s in tracker mode.

If Dad finds out we’re in on CJ and Jace’s lie, we’ll be in a shit ton of trouble. Last time someone got into big trouble, they got sent away to Uncle Atticus and came back changed. And not in a good way.

Looking at you, Rowdy…

The very thought of being so far removed from Ronan and Raegan and the rest of my family has my heart rate speeding up. It would be fucking horrible and lonely. There’s no way in hell I’d ever willingly do that, which means I need to get my game face on so Dad doesn’t sniff out the lie.

Twinkling stars can be seen peeking between the cover of the trees above us. We’re miles from home, camped out, and disappointed. Us finding the perpetrators feels like a fool’s errand, impossible and out of reach.

Everyone is sitting around our now-roaring fire, voices low and sparse. The overall feeling I’m picking up from the camp as a whole is defeat. Those bastards came into our home, hurt a defenseless woman, and are still out there. Even with so many of us, we’ve yet to find them.

“…bringing people into our fold to avoid inbreeding,” Michael murmurs to my dad. “It’s common through these parts and we don’t want to become some statistic. We’re growing something here. A community.”

Dad nods at Michael before burning his stare into me. With one penetrating look, I feel exposed. It’s as though he can see the lie of what happened to CJ and Jace, the memory of Raegan’s body hot against mine, the tingling sensation of my hand as I remember what I did with it against Ronan’s dick.

I’m guilty.

There’s no hiding from it.

“What are your plans?” Owen asks. “To make sure your children don’t…you know.”

Dad flinches at his words, imperceptibly so, but I notice. “We have people in town. Our kids are welcome to experience a taste of city life when they’re able to. Your concerns aren’t any of ours.”

Now Dad’s the one lying. Not that we can’t go to Uncle Atticus’s. No, he’s lying about the lack of concern. If he wasn’t worried to some degree, he and Mom wouldn’t lose their fucking minds anytime me or Ronan are alone with Raegan. Our most recent family feud was over this very subject. Awkward and humiliating.

The conversation doesn’t die, of course. Owen and Michael keep beating the fear into Dad’s head. With each passing moment, his body grows more tense and I can practically feel the waves of worry rippling from him.

“Out here, in the wild, birth defects are a real concern. And if any of your boys make the mistake of fucking one of your girls, that concern is going to become a reality,” Owen says, casually glancing my way. “It’d come out fucked-up and you’d be forced to put that abomination down.”

Abomination.

My gut recoils, a mixture of shock and indignation.

“That can’t really happen,” I blurt out, unable to stop myself. “Right?”

Dad stiffens and Owen gives me a patronizing smile.

“Ryder,” Ronan mutters, shooting me a pleading look to stop talking.

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