“Do you?” Cadoc invades my bubble of personal space, placing us nose to nose.
“Yes.”
“I hope so. Cause little brats who misbehave get punished.”
My jaw drops and Cadoc gently shuts it.
“Be a sweet brat, not a naughty one and you’ll get everything you want from me.” I swallow, and Cadoc smiles.
“I’m glad we had this conversation.” Rising he moves back to his seat.
The silence stretches around us.
“Anyone else need a cigarette after that?” Bo asks.
“What’s our game plan?” Fell leans forward with his elbows on his thighs.
“I want you, our Brat, and Kirk to go over those books.”
Great, the names going to stick. “If others are trying to get their hands-on, we need to know why. What’s the importance of this amulet?”
Just what’s at stake here? The more we learn, the more nervous I become.
“Anything else?” Kirk asks.
“I think that’s enough. We’re all exhausted. I think we should head to bed and regroup tomorrow,” Cadoc says.
I jump up from the couch. “Except you. We need to talk.”
I plop down and Bo and Kirk snicker. Fell flashes me a longing look I ignore. I won’t make him feel worse, but I’m not sending him false signals either.
They shuffle off with muted goodnights and I try not to squirm. It’s like being in trouble with the principal.
“You’re used to being alone, aren’t you?” Cadoc asks.
“Yes.”
“I can understand that. I feel like I’ve never really been alone. Remember, I have three brothers close in age, and most of my adult life has been spent in service of the pack. We don’t tend to be solitary
Creatures,” Cadoc says.
“I did what I needed to survive.”
“Hey.” He reaches out and touches my knee. “I’m not judging. I’ve watched you grow up. I remember that open kid you used to be, and I saw the way the people in town broke your spirit. There was nothing I could do. I didn’t have a mate. That meant bringing you to come to live with me was inappropriate.”
“You asked?” My voice is muted thanks to my tightened throat.
“Course I did. You know how close your dad and I were. I got shot down and overruled, and you had living relatives. In the counsels’ eyes, it was a no-brainer.”
“You still could’ve come around,” I fight to remain upset. He’s shattering my misconceptions about not having people who cared for me.
“I was gone more than I was home. Alpha spent a lot of time visiting with other packs and in the supernatural counsel talks. There’s nothing wrong with you, Ylva. There never has been. People are just now catching on to that. We’ve all got reason not to like each other. But we also have common ground.”
“Are you going to tell me to let it go?”
“Fuck no, make them earn their place, Brat. But don’t make it impossible.” He winks.
I laugh. “This isn’t what I expected you to say.”
“Your safety is my main concern, regardless of everything else going on around us. But I want you happy too, Brat.” He tugs on a pigtail. I push his hand away.
“Go on up to bed, I can see you’re exhausted.” His gravelly voice lights my nerves on fire.
“I’m not always going to agree with you, Cadoc.” The protest is weak.
“That’s what makes this fun for me.” His lips curve up in the corner and his eyes sparkle with mischief. The sight of him carefree has my heart racing and belly fluttering. I’m glimpsing emotions that are private and rare.
He walks off before I can respond. I rush up the steps ready for another frigid bath and a fresh change of underwear. These men have me ruining them at a ridiculous rate. I’m officially in hell.
“Ylva.”
I jump when at the second landing.
“Don’t do that.” I hold a hand over my heart and turn to face Fell.
“Sorry. I wanted to check on you.” Hair still wet and curling slightly over his forehead, he reminds me of the sweet boy I once thought I’d marry.
“I’m good. It was just a team pep talk. I’m not used to working with others. I’ve been on my own for a long time.”
