Spinning around, I grip the door handle, throwing the door open, and it crashes into the wall with a loud bang, and I dart out of it. Adrenaline makes me run faster as my heart pounds painfully against my chest.
Chuckling on my way out when I am around a hundred yards away from the house in some field. My hair stands on end, and a shiver runs up my spine, my breathing becomes short and fast, and I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. I can’t see anything in the long grass, but I can feel eyes on me, observing me. Hearing a noise behind me, I spin on my heel, trying to catch a glimpse of it, only to spin the other way when I hear the noise behind me again.
My entire body goes tense as I hear growling, and my stomach drops somewhere deep inside me. I can feel the blood drain from my face. My skin feels ice-cold, and I am becoming paralyzed by fear.
“Ryland,” I whisper into the darkness, and I hear the rustling of grass before hearing movement behind me again. Just as I turn, I see something lunge at me, knocking me over. A scream leaves my lips as I am knocked to the ground. My eyes open to see the white, gleaming teeth of a beast above me. It is huge as it snaps its jaw near my face, its huge paws on either side of my head.
Evelyn
Sitting up, it growls menacingly, and I scramble backward on my hands, trying to get away from it, when suddenly, my hands hit boots, making me look away from the beast.
Thaddeus has his arms folded across his chest and an amused expression on his face. “It’s Ryland; he won’t hurt you,” Thaddeus says, looking down at me.
Looking back at the dog beast, it licks a long line from my chin to my hairline. I push its face away, and gag as drool covers my face. The dog makes a weird noise, and it almost sounds like it is laughing at me.
“Gross! Why would you do that?”
Thaddeus grips me under the arms, pulling me to my feet. Suddenly, I hear the sound of bones cracking, and Ryland grabs my hand, making me look at him. He is naked. My mouth falls open, and I quickly avert my eyes.
“What? You expect my clothes to remain?” he asks, laughing.
I pull my hand from his and walk ahead. I hear them sigh and follow. Heading inside, Orion is sitting in the lounge room. Looking at the grandfather clock beside the fireplace, I see it is midnight. My hair has grass in it, and I am feeling itchy.
When Thaddeus walks in with Ryland, Orion raises a brow at him being naked. Yet, I can also see lust behind his glowing eyes.
“So, if all of you are gay, why am I here?” I ask, looking at each of them.
“Because you’re our mate,” Thaddeus says, confused.
“But you’re gay?” I say, and they shake their heads.
“We aren’t anything; not gay, not straight, not Bi,” Ryland answers, confusing me further.
“Sexuality isn’t a thing when it comes to mates. You could be a unicorn and we would still be attracted to you, still want you. That’s how mate bonds work; once you find your mates, that’s all you care about.”
“So, you have been with other women?”
“Yes, but not like you; they were merely toys and dinner,” Thaddeus adds coldly.
“Right, still makes no sense to me, but can I go shower?” I ask.
“Orion will bring you a towel,” Thaddeus says, and I watch Orion get up off the recliner and walk upstairs.
Waiting for Orion to come into the room, I sit on the end of the bed. Orion walks in a few minutes later with a towel and some clothes. Taking them from him, I walk into the bathroom. Orion sits next to the sink, and I stare at him.
“What are you doing? Get out,” I tell him, but he doesn’t budge; just pulls his phone out, playing Candy Crush.
Ignoring him, I keep my back to him as I step into the shower and turn it on. The shower has a frosted glass door, so I feel a little better that I know he can’t see me, though Orion doesn’t bother me; he always seems calm and has a carefree personality that I find relaxing.
Rinsing my hair, I hear the shower door open. I try to wash the soap that is now burning my eyes from my hair, only to open my eyes and see Orion, standing next to me. He reaches past me, grabbing the soap, yet his eyes never wander down, in fact, they don’t leave mine. “Chill, Evelyn. I am just showering with you. Not a big deal; we are all adults,” he says as he washes himself.
My eyes trail over the lines of his chest and lower to his ass when he suddenly turns, giving me an eyeful of himself.
“God, you act like you’ve never seen a man before.” He sighs, and my cheeks heat. “What, you’ve never seen a man naked?” he asks, shocked.
“No, I have seen men naked. Just not this close to me, just standing there, and not where I can see them.” Orion’s brows furrow in confusion, and I turn away, looking anywhere but at him.
“So, you aren’t a virgin then?” he questions.
I don’t answer. What do you class as a virgin anyway, does rape count as losing your virginity? I like to think it doesn’t; I think of virginity as something you willingly give, not something one takes. I have come across my fair share of scumbags in my twenty years of life. Saw and witnessed more than any person should have at my age.
Foster care is supposed to be a safe place for children to grow up until they are returned to their families or adopted. Unfortunately, many people see being a foster carer as an opportunity to torture their victims before being shipped off to the next house.
Not all are bad, but I seemed to be a magnet for the horrid ones. Nothing worse than growing up, never catching a full night’s sleep for fear of who may be trying to creep into your room or fear of the monster that sleeps in the room next to yours.
Orion, realizing I won’t answer, changes the topic as he hands me the soap. “The burn on your back, how did that happen?”
Thaddeus asked the same question earlier. However, Orion’s question doesn’t irritate me as much.