Total pages in book: 194
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
I wonder what other marks she’ll leave.
Ignoring the incessant pounding coming from the deck, I grab some sweats from my bedroom to wear and then make my way upstairs. When I reach the kitchen, I walk in on Seth with his mouth open wide and Thorin peering inside. There are several pill bottles and a half-empty glass of water resting on the counter next to them.
I see another cup on the other side and walk over to inspect it. Thorin is already watching me and shakes his head at the questioning look in my eyes.
“She really made herself at home, didn’t she?” I say with more amusement than the situation calls for. We still don’t know if she’s telling the truth, and with no way to verify…
Well, we can’t let her go until we know for sure, can we?
I don’t try to fight my smile or hide it. Whistling, I make my way to the fridge, where I take out the rabbit meat I left inside to thaw. If I’m stuck up here for God knows how much longer—until Zeke gains control of his alters or his brother keels over—then a little entertainment is needed desperately, or I might go insane.
“She ate our food from this morning, too,” Seth helpfully supplies.
“Shut up and stick out your tongue,” Thor orders grumpily. The dude seriously needs to be fucked more than the rest of us.
Seth does as he says and waggles it at him.
My chest tightens at seeing him be so playful. It’s not unusual for Seth—though his brand is more mocking since he hates us—but it’s just that Zeke used to be playful, too. The class clown, if you will. And even though Zeke is adamant that he and Seth are not the same, sometimes it’s easy to confuse him with the friend I remember.
Maybe there’s hope for Seth yet, or…maybe we’re the problem—Thor and me.
Once Thorin sees that Seth’s taken his meds, he storms off to his room. I hear him return minutes later and leave the cabin, slamming the front door behind him. I know he’s planning to take his restlessness out on the doe he caught a few days ago, not the one that’s currently marooned out on our deck.
Thorin has always been a moody son of a bitch, but these days, he stays prickly.
And yet, he can’t see that the cure is literally beating down our door.
Seth also leaves to go sulk in his room when I tell him that Aurelia has to stay outside a little longer. While the two of them act like bitches, I start dinner since it’s my turn tonight. Eventually, the smell of burning food and the sound of me cursing lures my brothers from their hiding places.
I can smell the dead deer on Thor, and one look from me has him pivoting on his heel before he can step one foot inside my kitchen. He heads for the shower while Seth sneaks over to the wood-burning stove and sticks his finger in the pot of stew. I send a jab to his ribs, but he dodges it, dancing out of reach with his finger in his mouth.
“Mmm, overcooked and flavorless,” he hums. “Your specialty.”
“Laugh all you want,” I tell him, “but you just lost dessert.”
Seth scoffs as he reaches for the bowls in the cabinet next to him. “Fruit is not a dessert, or so I’m told. Your training days are over, dick. Live a little.”
Ignoring him, I partially close the air vent on the stove so that the wood burns a little slower while keeping the cabin warm. I then reach for the bowls Seth set out on the counter, filling each of them with the rabbit stew, but I pause when I see there’s a fourth one.
I glare at Seth, who is watching me out of the corner of his eye while he drowns his portion with salt.
“We’re not feeding her.”
“Why not?” he immediately demands, setting down the salt. “We have plenty.”
“Actually, we don’t,” I remind him. “Our extra stores are for emergencies, not some entitled little songbird who made herself our problem.”
“Sounds like an emergency to me,” Seth mumbles.
“If Aurelia wants food, she can earn it.”
“Fine. Then she can have mine.” Seth storms out of the kitchen, passing Thorin as he goes before I can argue.
There’s a towel draped over Thorin’s wet hair while sweatpants cover his legs. “What’s up with him?”
“Nothing. Seth’s being rational for once and couldn’t have picked a worse time to be the sane one. We’ll be waiting on that girl hand and foot if he has his way.”
Thorin says nothing as he grabs his bowl and starts eating while leaning against the counter. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was secretly on board with the idea. His face is carefully blank, which means he’s more affected by Aurelia’s presence than I thought.