I watch Kaine walk away from his bartender growling under his breath. He storms through the crowd and disappears into his office.
I look down at the glass on the table, half-full. I watch the condensation roll down the sides and drip onto the wood.
"Okay—either you're hammered or thinking deeply about something."
I glance up at the beautiful blonde standing beside me. She raises her eyebrow at me.
"Maia turns 16 next week," I say.
She nods and slides into the other side of the booth. "And you're worried that her mate will leak your family's secret?"
"Yeah."
Taylor grabs my drink, quickly downs the rest of it, then makes a face at me. "Why the fuck are you drinking firewhiskey?"
I shrug my shoulders. "I just can't stop picturing what would happen to our family if someone learned what shifters we are," I mutter.
"Well moping around here isn't going to help. Come on," she says. She stands up and grabs my hand.
She pulls me to my feet and the floor immediately starts to sway. I hear Taylor curse then drape my arm across her shoulders. "Shit Jax, how much did you drink?" She asks.
"Only a few glasses," I mumble. I squeeze my eyes shut with a groan. My head is throbbing, and weird spots fill my vision.
The next thing I am aware of is Taylor helping me into my bedroom. I fall onto the bed on my back.
She leans over me with a small chuckle. "You are going to hate yourself in the morning. Goodnight Jax," she says, then disappears.
The swaying and spinning stop after a few minutes and the throbbing slowly fades. Only a few minutes more and I pass out.
***
"Jaxon!" A voice yells making me sit up quickly. I instantly regret it and make a dash for the bathroom.
I empty the contents of my roiling stomach into the toilet. My throat burns and my head aches.
"Did you get drunk last night?"
I look up and see Maia. "Ever heard of knocking?" I snap, moving to the sink to rinse the taste of bile from my mouth.
"Gods Jax you smell like a bar," she says, wrinkling her nose. "And I did knock, but you didn't answer."
"Whatever. What do you want Maia?" I mutter, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"Dad wants to talk to you and Kaine," she says, then leaves without another word.
My eyebrows furrow in confusion, what could he want?
Maia is my dad's favorite while Kaine and I are much closer to our mom so it's unusual for him to ask for us.
I shrug and tear off my clothes before climbing into the shower. I wash the alcohol smell off me and throw on a clean shirt and shorts.
I run a hand through my hair before leaving my room. Immediately my eyes move to the gorgeous black-haired girl walking out of Kaine's room.
She grins at me then saunters down the hall to the stairs. I watch her vanish down the steps.
I turn back to see Kaine walking out of his room, only wearing a pair of shorts. He raises his eyebrow at me.
"Were you drunk last night?" He asks and I curse under my breath.
"I thought I got rid of the smell," I mumble.
"You don't smell like liquor, but your room does," he replies, glancing pointedly behind me.
"Ah okay. So, what's with the girl?" I ask.
He smirks. "Seriously? Do I have to spell it out for you?"
I shake my head. "No, never mind." I head downstairs to where Maia is eating breakfast, my mom and dad conversing heatedly in the corner of the kitchen.
"Kaine do you have to bring a girl here every fucking night?" Maia asks as we walk in.
"Yes Maia, I do. And you want to know why? Because it gives me something fun to do and it irritates the fuck out of you," he sneers.
"Oh, that's VERY mature Kaine—"
"Will you idiots shut up?" My mom snaps in annoyance.
I sigh, why does this happen every single day?
You guys are siblings, siblings fight and annoy each other. It makes sense, Azazel tells me.
That was a rhetorical question, I mutter.
Whatever, she huffs before going silent. She is usually pretty quiet, except when she gets mad. And when Azazel gets mad, even Kaine and my mother will stay back.
"Jaxon! Let's go!" my father growls. I snap out of my thoughts to see him waiting in the doorway with Kaine.
I leap to my feet and quickly follow behind them to my dad's office. My eyes widen as I look between Kaine and my dad. Kaine is now taller than my father and more muscular than both of us. I have to constantly remind myself that he is the younger brother at 15—well, 16 next week.
My dad sits down in his desk chair with a sigh, then he frowns. "Why the hell does your mother keep adjusting my chair?" he growls under his breath, fiddling with the seat back.
After a few moments Kaine lets out a huff of annoyance. "What is this about exactly?" he asks, leaning against the wall.
"Maia's birthday party," he says and Kaine whips toward me.
"This isn't the fucking mate thing again is it? Because if it is, I'm going to kill you Jax!" he spits making me hold my hands up in surrender.
"Woah no! I have no clue what this is about," I defend.
"Kaine I am putting you in charge of security since it’s at the club, and you better make sure Maia and her friends stay out of the ring," my dad warns.
"We keep a list of all the females that are allowed to fight, as well as who they are allowed to fight. Maia is not on that list and everyone knows she isn't allowed to fight so don't worry about that," Kaine says with a shrug.
"Jaxon, you are in charge of watching Maia," my dad says, and I gape at him.
"I'm not watching her! Are you fucking insane? She's going to kill me!" I shout.
He glares at me, his golden eyes filled with anger. "Watch your mouth Jaxon, you may be my son, but I am still your alpha," he snarls in his alpha voice. I can feel Azazel submit to his wolf almost immediately.
"Please accept my apologies Alpha," I mumble, ignoring Kaine's sneer.
"That's better. Now I expect you to keep a close eye on Maia and make sure she isn't getting herself into too much trouble. And more importantly, if she finds her mate, you are to bring her to us immediately. Do not let them speak and inform Kaine so he can contain her mate until we have figured out what to do."
I clench my jaw tightly and simply nod, not trusting myself to be respectful toward my father. I don't think he realizes the kind of hell he is unleashing by making me follow around my psycho little sister, I growl.
And I do not think you really understand the kind of hell that will be unleashed if she finds her mate and you are not there! Azazel snaps. You know she is not responsible enough to keep a secret. After a few moments I realize she is right.
"Fine. Now I have a question, why aren't we celebrating Kaine's birthday again?" I ask when I remember that Kaine and Maia are twins.
Dumbass, how could you forget that? Azazel snorts. I push her to the back of my mind.
"Two reasons. One, I was born more than 24 hours before Maia, so my birthday is actually the day before hers," Kaine says, holding up a finger. "And two, I don't want to."
"Ah," I mutter. I listen to my dad explain what is going to happen at the party twice more before I finally can retire to my room.
I fall face first onto my bed, fully exhausted. Just before I drift off, I hear Azazel muttering incoherently.
What's bothering you? I ask.
She is quiet for a few moments, but then speaks in a low voice, Everyone is so concerned with Maia turning sixteen, but I think they should be more concerned about Kaine turning sixteen.
Why do you say that? I ask, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Because we do not know if he is going to be like you or not. And that possibility is scarier than Maia finding her mate.
"Thank you for coming with me," I mutter, curling my fingers into his brown and gold fur.You still haven't told me what we're doing here, he says."I already told you, I don't know," I sigh.I'd feel a lot better if I knew why I was taking you to the heart of dragon territory,he growls."The Queen asked us to come that's why. You don't trust her?"I don't trust anyone.I frown. "Not even me?"He stops and cranes his head to look at me. His eyes take my breath away. He told me they are a genetic mutation that runs in his family. All of the males have wolves with eyes of icy blue instead of yellow.Taylor, do you trust me?he asks.The question catches me off guard. I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.He turns away and begins walking again. I grip his fur tighter as he picks up the pace and starts to jog down the mountain path.I'll trust
"What the hell just happened?" Ash whispers.I shrug a little. "I have no idea but that bastard died screaming, so I don't really care," I growl."Fair enough," he mutters with a heavy sigh. "Are you doing okay?"I find myself staring at the ground until it goes fuzzy. "I don't know," I admit.He grabs my hand and interlaces our fingers, leaning his head on my shoulder. "Honestly that's probably a good thing," he murmurs.Kaine suddenly walks toward us, his expression unreadable. "Thank you," he says with a tiny smile.I frown. "For what?""Defending my mate's honor, what he said was―""Disgusting," I growl. "I know you would have done something too, but I just snapped. I mean you did the same for Ash and I yesterday.""Yeah," he sighs. He looks like he's going to say something else but then he turns away and returns to his mate. Syrra is talking to my mother, both with broken smiles on their lips.Peter's body st
He still hasn't let go of the letter. He keeps staring at. He reads it over and over again then closes his eyes for a few moments. When he opens them again and sees the letter still in his hands his shoulders slump a little more."There's no way this is real right?" he whispers, looking up at me.The pain on his face and the hopeful look in his golden eyes makes my stomach turn. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I don't know what to say."Please tell me this is all just a bad dream," he begs.I bite my lip hard.It's going to be okay, I want to tell him, but I know it's a lie. I bite harder until I taste blood on my tongue. "I'm sorry Kaine," is all I manage.The last glimmer of hope in his eyes suddenly vanishes. I step closer to him and he wraps his arms around my waist. I suck in a sharp breath as I feel a sudden pressure behind my eyes.He is on his knees, hugging my waist to hold himself up. I can feel something wet
"―a few here actually. They're staying in the tent-hut things just outside the main clearing."I frown. "Syrra did you say you brought someone here?" I ask, looking up from my book."Yes, I apologize Queen Zari, I meant to inform you but it slipped my mind. A few of the vampires living on my territory wanted to see the Circle and meet some dragons," she explains."This place is turning into a tourist attraction," I mutter. "If they cause any problems they will have to leave.""They're very docile creatures, all the ferocity and aggression has left them after centuries of being endangered. They wouldn't dare cause any problems, they're too afraid of extinction," she tells me.I nod and she turns away. A smile crawls onto my lips as I watch her begin to speak again. She sits on Kaine's lap and they face Jaxon and Ash. The boys are all intensely focused, listening to Syrra's stories with animated faces.I notice Jax is braiding Ash's hair and s
"Thanks for helping out dad," I say as I step into the kitchen. I pull off my apron and hang it by the door.My father nods and smiles a little. "Did they like it?""They loved it. You should have seen them, they're so cute together," I gush.He chuckles. "Alpha Dorian is a good guy, he'll make a perfect mate for Taylor."I bite my cheek when I see his smile falter. His eyes are red and the dark circles under them confirm my thoughts. "Hey dad, why don't you try to get some sleep? I can take care of the pack today," I offer."That's very sweet of you Maia but I don't want to give you all that responsibility quite yet."I shrug. "I'll get Mykael to help me, he enjoys my company anyway."He snorts. "I'm sure he does. Alright well I guess you couldn't do too much damage in just one day. Thank you," he says, pulling me into a hug.My stomach twists as I hug him back. His body feels so frail, like if I hug any tighter, I might break
"Taylor!"I sigh heavily into my pillow. "What?" I yell but it's muffled.I hear my door open. "Alpha Dorian is here to see you," Logan says.I groan. "Why the fuck can't he come at a normal time? Why must he show up so early in the morning?" I grumble."He's an alpha Tay, he has a pack to run. Honestly, you're lucky he's putting in this much effort and showing up at all," he snorts."Get out," I spit. I hear the floor creak as he moves closer and a growl escapes my lips. "Logan get the fuck out of my room before I put my foot up your ass."The door slams shut and a few moments later, there's a soft knock. "You can come in Shawn," I mutter, rolling over with a small sigh. It's dark in my room but I can still see.The door slowly opens and my mate steps inside. I can't help the smile that creeps onto my face at the sight of his childish grin. "I apologize for coming so early in the morning," he says.I sit up with a yawn. "Why d