About halfway through, I feel drunk and can barely move when Orion comes out, leaning over the back of the couch. I start laughing when his face comes so close, but he just smiles.
“How much has she had to drink?” he asks, eyeing them. They all smile, and I can tell Amara is drunk as she sways on her feet, trying to stand.
She reveals five bottles of wine beside the fireplace and makes me giggle. I didn’t even realize we drank that much. Bianca looks normal, or maybe that’s because of my beer goggles.
“Ladies, she is human; you should know better,” he says, eyeing me.
“Leave her be; she is fine,” Imogen scolds him.
Orion walks out the front door when I call out to him. “Where are you going?”
“For a smoke.”
I hold my arms out to him, wanting to go too. He shakes his head but turns around and comes over. He lifts me over the back of the couch and stands me on my feet. My head spins, and I feel the sudden urge to throw up, but I hold it back.
Orion growls, and Thaddeus walks out with Tobias. I stumble forward when I try to take a step and go into a fit of giggles when I try to right myself. Orion grabs my arms, holding me steady.
“Yeah, maybe we gave her too much,” Amara says, swaying on her feet, or maybe I am swaying.
“You think?” Thaddeus says, walking over.
“She seems fine. You’re fine, aren’t you, dear?” Imogen asks.
“Peachy,” I tell her, and she chuckles.
Tobias shakes his head as he grabs all the bottles and walks out. Thaddeus walks me outside with Orion and sits on the step, pulling me on his lap. Orion lights his smoke, but I pinch it from him.
I lean back against Thaddeus heavily, his arms snake around my waist. “Did you sort things out with your fathers?” I ask, my words slurring slightly.
“Yeah. They may forgive, but I don’t know if I can,” he says.
Ryland sits beside him, and I place my feet across his lap as I lay across all their legs on my back, looking up at the sky. My head is in Orion’s lap.
“What do you mean?” I ask Thaddeus, and he rubs his hand underneath my shirt and across my belly.
“Because I hurt my mother worse than my father,” he tells me, and I look at him, wondering what he means. Thaddeus looks away.
When I look up at Orion, he answers. “Thaddeus didn’t just burn his father; he made his mother infertile when he hit her with lightning. That’s why he and his fathers haven’t spoken,” Orion says, brushing my hair from my face.
I nod in understanding and look at Thaddeus, which is a bad idea as I topple off their laps. Thaddeus is quick to grab me before I roll down the stairs. “What are we going to do with you?” he says, shaking his head at my drunken state.
“I feel great; a little woozy, but great.”
“I bet you do; your face is so red,” he says, kissing my nose and pulling me against him. I place my head on his shoulder, close my eyes and yawn. Thaddeus gets up and starts walking toward Amara’s place.
“Where are we going?” I ask, clinging to him.
“Amara is sleeping inside; we are taking her room,” Thaddeus says, and I nod. Thaddeus places me on the bed, and I feel heavy.
“Evelyn?” Orion says, making my eyes open as I roll on my side. “Evelyn, what did April say to you?” he asks. I try to answer, but my words sound like a mumble.
“April? Who is April?” I hear Thaddeus ask him, but I am suddenly overtaken by sleep.
Thaddeus
Looking down at my passed-out mate, I watch Ryland climb in beside her. “So, who will tell me who this April is?”
“When we went into the city, we ran into Lana and the foster mother. Everything was fine, but as soon as Ryland and I got in the car, April, the foster mother, whispered something too low for us to hear. Evelyn won’t tell us what she said. I know it was bad because Evelyn’s fear hit us through the bond,” Orion tells me.
“And you let her live?” I ask, shocked that they let her just leave and didn’t demand an explanation.
“Yes, Thaddeus, we can’t just kill everyone. I don’t think Evelyn would like that. Besides, Lana still lives with her,” Orion tells me, and I pull my jeans off, climbing into the bed next to Ryland.
“Fine, we can make her tell us tomorrow.”
“What did you find out with Bianca?” asks Ryland.
“Nothing much, but we did find out the name of the people Evelyn was found with.”
“What do you mean?” asks Orion, propping himself up on his elbow and looking at me before looking down at Evelyn.
“Just that they were her parents. Autopsy reports proved the woman had given birth recently. Their names were Michael and Sarah Carter, other than that, nothing else. Dental records identified them. Nothing special about them, and they were both human. Also, her father had a criminal record, and so did her mother. Just petty crimes and a couple of drug charges,” I tell them.
Evelyn stirs in her sleep, and I watch her over Ryland’s shoulder. “She would have to be one of the unluckiest and luckiest people to be alive from that town. Everything was flattened except the fireplace, which she was next to. Bianca believes that saved her because when they dug her out, the crate she was in was completely intact, and the roof leaning against the fireplace directly above her.”
“Are you going to tell her?” Ryland asks, looking at me over his shoulder.
I nod, and he kisses me softly. Just as he is about to pull away, I pull him towards me, making him roll on his back and kiss him harder. He groans into my mouth, and I am hit with his arousal and apparently, so is Evelyn as she moans in her sleep, making me chuckle and pull away to stare at her. She pouts in her sleep.
Orion watches her with a silly smirk on his face. “We should head home soon; her scent is changing. I don’t think it will be long before she goes into heat,” Orion says, running his nose across her neck. She instantly turns her face seeking him out. I love how responsive she is to us, even when she refuses to be.
“Yeah, mom will be upset, but maybe I will tell her they can visit. It isn’t that far from here,” Orion agrees, as he pulls the blanket higher, but she kicks it off again.
“So, are you done?” Orion asks, making my eyes snap to his.
“What do you mean?”
“This entire destroy-the-world shit you’ve been doing. Evelyn won’t stick around and watch you do that shit, Thaddeus.”
“I know, okay? I know, but I can’t control it.”
“Maybe it is time to give it up, Thaddeus.”
“Fuck you, Orion. You sound like my bloody parents,” I growl at him.
“That’s because they are right,” he says, annoyed. I get up. “Where are you going, Thaddeus?” Orion asks, following me.
“Why do you have to piss me off? I was fine until you brought that up. I swear half the time you are looking to start a fight with me,” I snap, pulling my jeans on. Orion walks over, grabbing my arm, but I shake him off.
“It’s not like that. It is just different now that we have her. I don’t want her to get hurt,” he tries to reason.
“Neither do I, Orion,” I tell him, picking up my belt.
“I know,” he says, and grabs my belt from me.