She dropped her arms. “It was just a small one. Nothing terrible.” When she examined our faces, she slouched back into the couch. “I’ll apologize. I know it’s not helpful, Lou, and if Trick says he has a good reason, I get it, but he still hurt you. Not hexing him would be setting a bad precedent.” She pointed a finger at Trick. “As for you, we’ll think of your punishment later.”

Trick groaned.

“Just a small one!” I patted his cheek. “Now, how about Uncle Trick does story time, while Auntie Van cooks and I find where Juliet hid the vacuum?”

Declan

I stayed in my room as the afternoon shifted into evening. Trick had been using the small space as an office. The bare walls were painted slate gray, the only interruptions being a single window and a closet door. When I peeked in the closet, I found a rod and some empty hangers for clothes, as well a few shelves I could use for pants and things.

The furnishings in the room were meager. There was enough room for a compact desk and chair and one of those futon loveseats that collapsed into a bed and always made me wonder how it was any better than simply sleeping on the floor. The space smelled mostly of Trick, lemon cleaning products, and something musky I couldn’t quite place. I tossed my stuff to the side and collapsed onto the rock-hard futon.

I dropped my face into my hands. How had everything gone to shit so quickly? My fresh start had popped like a fucking soap bubble. I realized I was breathing deeply through my nose, trying to catch a hint of Lou’s scent. I wanted to pull it into my lungs while at the same time it made me want to run for the hills: the scent of Lou herself intriguing me and my wolf, while the layered traces of many animals, a blend we associated with animal mages, repelling us at the same time.

I was, officially, a fucking mess. I scrubbed a hand over my jaw and got up, putting my things away, wondering at the same time if I should bother. Would Trick’s roommates even want me to stay after this? Did I want to stay after this? I mentally went over my bank account. My cushion wouldn’t last long if I had to go find my own place, and I didn’t know anyone else in Seattle. I thought it over as I put my things away, which didn’t take long. If I decided to leave, at least it wouldn’t take me long to repack.

I had to get my head straight, only I couldn’t seem to sit still. It was like the quiet in my room gave my heart the exact atmosphere it needed to voice its complaints, and it was a loud fucker. I rubbed my chest, the hurt almost physical.

I’d never been a lone wolf before.

Even when I fled my father’s pack, I had my siblings with me. Then the Uncanny courts placed the twins with an elementist family. The twins had been a surprise. I didn’t know much about the genetics, but shifter genes tended to dominate. Something lined up just right for the twins. That had bothered my dad, and I think he wanted to argue paternity, but thought doing so would not only piss off his wife, Eva, but make him look weak. The old-fashioned term was “cuckold” and there was no way my dad would ever admit to being one.