“Kat, the water,” Mateo prompts behind me.
His voice startles me, making me jump. I hadn’t realized that I was stuck in my head and had allowed my own thoughts to get the best of me. I look down to see the bath is overflowing, my knees are saturated, and somehow, I failed to feel the water washing over them.
Mateo glances at me with genuine concern in his eyes. I quickly lean in, drain some of the water out, and shut the water off just as Ezra finally comes in. “What happened?” He asks, and I grit my teeth.
“Nothing, I got distracted.” I tell him. I’m not angry at my mates or their questions. If anything, I am angry at myself for not paying enough attention and letting my mind fade somewhere away from reality.
“Go get changed. We can bathe the babies,” Ezra assures me, and I nod. Maybe I really need to get back to my senses before I try to do anything with the twins. Being so easily distracted is dangerous and worrisome. Thankfully, I wasn’t bathing the kids while my thoughts took over.
I get up off the floor and glance at my wet knees, already experiencing the intense annoyance all over again. I take a step and manage to slip on the wet tile floor, but Ezra is quick to react, and he grabs my arm.
“You alright? Maybe go make a coffee or lay down for a bit,” he suggests.
“I’m fine; I just distracted myself,” I wave him off. He cups my cheek, and I lean into his touch. “We can’t help you if you don’t let us,” Ezra whispers, and I pull away from him.
I am sick of the same argument. They can’t help me being a Gemini. Why can’t they see that? Ezra grips my chin, tilting my face to meet my eyes. “Stop fighting us. You are too stubborn,” he growls, softly pressing his lips to mine. “Go. I will come to find you when I am done here,” he says, letting me go.
I peck Eziah’s head and cautiously walk out of the bathroom and head downstairs to make some coffee. Hopefully, it will wake me up, but I can’t stop wondering if something is wrong with the twins. The uneasy feeling I got when Marabella’s eyes glazed over races through my head.
Andrei
The storm was huge, worse than I expected. The weather outside was so vile, no one would have the heart to send their dog out there, let alone walk around in it.
But luckily, Mathias managed to take the blood samples from Jonah, and still get back home safely. However, he did mention that it would be helpful if Jonah knew his last name. Which unfortunately, the boy claims to have forgotten.
Since Derrick returned overnight, I have more time to manage my responsibilities now that I have his help again.
And today, both of us are planning to head up the mountain. We hope that we can find Jonah’s cave and see if there are any personal belongings with his last name on them, or at least anything that can help him to remember something. At this point, any information will help us find the boy’s family.
Jonah is a nice boy, but the little shit is an actual pain in my ass – every time he tries to help me, everything crumbles and burns to ashes. His help creates more unnecessary mess rather than actually being helpful.
Sage releases her hold from around me and steps away. I hate losing contact with her, so I cup her cheek and gaze at my beautiful mate. “Are you sure you will be alright on your own?” I whisper right when we hear a knock on the door.
“It’s open,” I call out.
“Of course. Besides, I was planning to go over to Zane’s house to spend some time with him and Nora today. Even if you decide to stay, my day is planned out.” Sage says, and I nod when she looks over my shoulder and smiles.
“Ready, son?” My father’s voice echoes off the living room walls as his scent hits me.
“Yeah.” I nod, still looking at Sage. Her beauty always manages to hold my attention, and sometimes, I find it difficult to look away. Derrick clears his throat behind us, so I shake my head and restrain myself from glaring at him. “Did you get the map off Nora?”
“Sure did,” he announces with pride as I turn around to face him. Derrick rummages in his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. As he approaches the coffee table, I follow his lead and stop at his side.
Derrick lies out the piece of paper and speaks up, “She thinks around here is where they found him, there is a trail we can follow here.” He explains, pointing his finger at the trail, I furrow my brows as my eyes follow his finger. The trail isn’t far from where I used to go with my father when I was a kid. I have come across it once before, when I was hunting.
It is about a thirty minute walk, higher up the mountain.
My stomach twists at the thought. All this time, on so many occasions I could have been so close to Jonah and never realized he was in a cave by himself. He had no one to ask for help, no one to ensure he ate or was warm enough.
I am the reason for that. And at the same time I am the man that boy follows and admires for some twisted fucking reason. I’m the person who took all that safety away from him. Because of me, the last family Jonah had is dead at my hands.
Shaking my head, I try to focus on the important matters – I need to find out if he has anyone left out there. I grab my bag and toss it over my shoulder, my father replicates my movements with his own bag.
“We should be back by dark,” I tell Sage as I approach her and quickly kiss her lips. She stays quiet, smiles at us, and simply waves her hand. One thing I have noticed is that my little mate seems to hate saying goodbye, even if for a short period of time.