Page 19 of The Untamed

“They’ll go like this for hours,” I mutter, shaking my head slightly. “And I do mean hours.”

CJ chuckles. “You should hear me and Mya. Not a day goes by where one of us isn’t nagging at the other. She turned into a total brat once she lost her phone and didn’t have social media.”

I know what social media is because Wild has it and uses it. Wild also has a phone, though it never works when he comes out to visit. Even unable to pick up a signal, I’ve always been impressed by the tiny device and Wild’s extensive stash of nudes stored in the pictures.

Nudes of women, not himself.

A warm blush creeps over my skin. At least I don’t find any of these guys attractive. Not like Wild and especially not like Ryder.

“Jace!” someone hollers in the distance. “Jace!”

Jace tilts his head back, staring up at the tree canopy, and groans. “My brother lives to make me miserable.” He huffs before bringing his chin back down. “I swear if he could magically become my dad, he’d try to. It’s annoying as fuck.”

A man appears in the clearing behind Jace and CJ. As he approaches, my hackles rise again, knowing we no longer outnumber the newcomers, but are evenly matched now in numbers. The man’s eyes are green like the moss-covered rocks near the river, but not at all playful like that of Jace’s. He darts his stare over me and my siblings, his full mouth thinning into a hard line.

“Friends,” Jace mutters, “meet my brother, Logan. Logan, this is Ryder, Raegan, and Ronan.”

Logan’s attention bounces to each one of us as we’re introduced before lingering on me. He takes the time to swoop his gaze over my entire form before landing on my lips. Heat floods my cheeks.

He probably has at least ten years on Jace, putting him in his early thirties. Unlike Jace, Logan has just a few freckles on his cheeks above his trimmed mahogany-colored beard. Sunlight makes a few of the hairs glisten like gold. He’s a lot more solid than Jace, putting him closer to Ryder’s size.

It’s hard to ignore, but he’s quite beautiful.

“Nice to meet you,” Logan says to us, voice tight with tension. “What are you kids doing out here?”

Kids?

“I’m nineteen,” I blurt out, hating how my face burns hot. “I’m not a kid.”

Logan arches a brow and then his lips curl into a lopsided grin that makes my heart flutter. “Duly noted, Ronan. A man, not a boy.”

Ryder shoots me a questioning look over his shoulder, but I refuse to look at him. I barely understand my own feelings—for men, no less—so I don’t have the capacity to explain my reaction to my brother.

“Dad’s looking for you,” Logan says to Jace. “You can run along back to camp now.”

Jace scoffs. “I found them first.”

Logan stiffens but ultimately ignores Jace in the end. He flashes me a disarming grin as he scratches his beard. “You’ll have to excuse my brother and cousin. They’re always looking for friends. My father doesn’t trust people well, so it’s up to me to look out for those two.”

A breath rushes past my lips and I nod at his words. “Our dad isn’t all that trusting either. Sounds like they may get along.”

“Then let’s have them meet,” Logan says, his smile widening. “It’s a date.”

I’m not sure if it’s the words or the way he winks at me after.

Either way, I find myself nodding and agreeing to what will no doubt get my ass handed to me by my father.

Smile.It’s a date.Wink.

Whatever trouble I just landed myself in will be worth it.

Have my siblings lost their minds? Both Ronan and Raegan seem to have forgotten everything Dad has taught us. Most importantly: Never trust strangers.

Yet…

They both are happy about these new people invading our land. Sure, they’re charming and a bit comical, but I’m not completely sold. And I know Dad sure as hell wouldn’t be. That’s why it’s my job to protect them from these trespassers.

“No,” I grind out, ignoring the sharp looks my siblings give me. “Not happening. Time for us to part ways.”

---