Sunder (20 page)

Liv

Briton paced the living room. His father and two of his brothers walked into the room. They gave me a look that made my blood run cold in my veins.

“You bring a wolf into our home?”

Briton gave me a smile. “I bring the girl I love into our home.”

His father reacted instantly, grabbing him and shoving him into the wall. I screamed and jumped at his father, but one of the others grabbed me and held me tight to his chest. “Easy, little puppy. Trust me, Briton can handle his own business.” I could feel the shake starting as his father screamed at him.

His father looked at me, pointing. “I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU BETRAYED US!
YOUR OWN FLESH AND BLOOD—FOR WHAT?
THAT DOG?”

Briton snapped back, throwing his father nearly as far as he had been. “SHE ISN’T A DOG! SHE IS NO DIFFERENT THAN YOU OR ME! SHE IS MY LIFE!”

A woman, I assumed was his mother, came running into the room. She grabbed her son, wrapping her arms around him and flashing a dirty bad look at her husband. Briton kissed his mother’s head, hugging her back. “It’s okay, Mother. Father and I were just talking.” He glanced at his brother, pinning me to his chest as I fought the change. I was shaking so hard I couldn’t even see straight. Briton walked to me, pressing his face against mine and plucking me from his brother’s arms. “Don’t panic. Everything is okay. Stay calm.” He reached a hand out to his brother. “Read me so I can keep her calm.” He stroked the back of my neck, pulling me into him, but not taking his eyes from mine. “Bringing you here was a bad idea. I’m sorry.”

I shook. “No. I don’t want us to separate.”

His voice was calming but it didn't last long. His brother screamed, making me jump and sending a shiver down my spine. I spun fast, feeling my clothes tear
away from myself and my wolf form rip from my body
. I was gnashing teeth and growling savagely before I realized it.

Someone grabbed at me. I turned to snap at the hand touching me, but I saw it was Briton. When my wolf saw him, the word that ran through my head was “mate.” That was what I called him in this form.

I was heaving my breath as a low growl rumbled from me. Being surrounded by them was not good. I needed out—now!

“She changes quickly.” The brother who had been holding me backed up. I could smell the fear on him. His father glared at me. “She would dare change in my home?”

Briton looked at his brother, the one whose lip was trembling. The brother shook his head. “She is innocent in all of this. The treachery goes back to you, Father. The cursed land you fought on was hers.” His eyes darted to Briton, “Theirs. She is his shadow twin. They are soul mates. Her mother and our brother share the same fate. Briton has done our family nothing but good.”

Briton reached his hand forward to his father. The gruff man took it, dropping to his knees as they shared memories. Tears streamed his face. “My boy. I knew Gunnar was innocent.” His eyes looked on at me. “I WILL KILL EVERY WOLF I SEE!”

I backed up. The man scared me, wolf form or not.

“No good can come of a war. We must be smart. If we don’t find Gunnar before we attack, they could kill him. And her mother.” Briton seethed at his father and then turned and walked to me, dropping to his knees, stroking my fur. It soothed me. A house full of emotional and angry vampires, and I was still in wolf form.

The room was filled with an uneasy smell.

Before I ended up lashing out, I turned and trotted up the stairs to the room I could smell him in. I jumped up onto the bed and lay, awaiting the change back. I relaxed, letting my mind wander. I tried to be calm about it, love the wolf. It didn't work. I screamed as I shifted back to a naked girl. I wrapped myself in blankets and tried to stop the shaking.

Briton came into the room and cuddled around me. “It is better they understand us.”

I shook my head. “They won’t ever. I don't even understand us. One bite and we both die. What kind of cruel fate is this?”

He shook his head. “I don't know. I just know I love you.”

“Yeah, and your father wants me dead. This is awesome. I can’t go home, I can’t run away, and I can’t stay here.” My eyes closed, I was so tired. Regardless of the amount of fight there was inside of me, or how much I wanted to free my mother or kill my father or even know where Judith stood on it all. I struggled, but I just couldn't keep my eyes open. I was exhausted, and there was no way I would be able to leave the room without some sleep. ”Don't leave,” I whispered.

He kissed my head again. “I won’t. I will keep you safe, always.”

My eyes sealed and I slept.

The adrenaline and the fear and the work of changing constantly shredded my energy. I slept in a dreamless state, unaware of how long I was out. I woke, feeling nauseated and groggy. I could feel him next to me.

I opened my eyes but the smell was wrong. I pulled back. One of the brothers smiled at me. “You are the prettiest wolf I think I have ever seen.”

I growled making him laugh and put his hands up defensively. “Easy—Briton asked me to keep an eye on you while he went to figure out exactly what the hell is going on around here.”

I pulled my covers over my body better. “I’m sure he didn't mean lie on the bed with me.”

He shrugged. “Either way, my eyes have not left you since he left.”

My cheeks blushed.

He winked at me. “You want to have a go and see if you picked the right brother?” When he saw the look on my face, he backed up. “It was a joke. Not a great sense of humor, huh?”

I looked around the room. “Not a great morning person or a sleeping-next-to-strangers person.”

He snuggled into the pillow. “We’re family.”

“I don't even know you.”

“Ragnar.
Briton’s older brother.
Better looking brother.”

I laughed. He had a way about him that made you smile. He was handsome, ridiculously. Dark-blond hair, tanned skin, strong features, sexy lips, and bright-blue eyes. But he was cocky. I had never liked cocky. There is an acceptable level of cocky that is permitted. He had exceeded his limit, by far.

A knock at the door pulled my eyes from his bright-blue stare. Their mother opened it, glaring at him. “What do you think you’re doing? He’s home and if he sees you like this . . .”

The door kicked open past her. Briton shoved his way into the room, cocking an eyebrow at Ragnar. “I said keep an eye on her, not climb all over her.” His tone was frightening.

He reached over and grabbed Ragnar, who was laughing too hard to fight back. Briton shoved him out into the hallway. I heard drywall crack. Their mom turned and shouted. “TAKE IT OUTSIDE!”

The crashing sound of a violent fall down the stairs filled the house.

She looked back into the room. “I will bring you some clothes.” She smiled at me like she was the sweetest lady on earth, minus the hate for wolves and the fangs.

She brought me a stack of clothing and closed the door again. I could hear the fighting in the yard, Briton shouting, and Ragnar still laughing.

I scrambled, pulling on her clothes and rushing to the window. I didn't see them. I needed to get the hell out of there. They were all freaking the shit out of me. Me, a lone wolf, with five vampires was too much. At least the other two brothers weren’t there.

I climbed out the window and crept along the high-up roof. I jumped into a huge old willow tree and dropped down. My strength was bananas. My body just did exactly what I needed it to.

“What do we have here?”

I looked up to see two more guys, similar in looks to Ragnar and Briton. I hadn’t met them before so I assumed they were the other brothers. They did look like the guys in the pictures.

“A wolf on our land? How odd.” One of them stepped towards me.

I felt the warmth of his embrace slide across my chest as he came up from behind. “This would be my wolf.”

The guys started to laugh. They laughed exactly the same. Briton held a hand out, still standing behind me. “Simon and Leif, my other two brothers. This is my Liv. Mother and Father would like to see you inside.”

I turned and faced him as they walked past us. He gave me an annoyed look. “What are you doing?”

I shuddered, there were too many of them around me. My insides were in knots. “I can’t be around them. My body is fighting the change constantly.”

“So you snuck out of the house in stolen clothing?”

I looked down at the old-fashioned dress. “I didn’t steal this. Your mom gave it to me.”

“You still snuck out of the house.”

“Dude, I can’t stay here. They’re crazy. Your brother saw me naked, I’m pretty sure. This is weird for me. I never had siblings growing up.”

His jaw was clenched but he spoke through it, “You have no idea how lucky you are.” He turned and stalked back into the house, leaving me standing in the yard.

I heard another scuffle and Ragnar came sailing through a window, shattering glass across the yard in front of me. He didn't laugh. He winced. “It was only a little bit of breast.” He glanced up at me and winked.

I backed up.

Briton came around the front of the yard. “You looked at her while she was sleeping?”

Ragnar got up, shaking his head. “She is a thrasher when she sleeps. The blankets came down on
their own
.”

The other boys stood in the window, watching and laughing. I groaned and turned and stalked off around the house. I was barefoot and in the oldest dress I had ever seen. No bra, no underwear, no shoes, and no self-respect. It was turning out to be a shitty day. My mom being forced to donate venom was at the top of the things I needed to fix, but underwear was starting to take precedence. I sprinted to Liz’s house and banged on the door. She opened it and pulled me inside, slamming it shut. Josh gave me a look. “You okay?”

I shook my head. “No. Not even close. Can I borrow some underwear? Did your mom come up with a plan? Briton’s whole family is here, so they’re ready to rock and roll.”

Josh scowled. “I have a bad feeling everyone is in on it. Everyone. Including Judith. The only way they have been able to stay safe, is to barter away their own friends and family—the ones no one likes or the ones who move away from the safety of town—to the hunters. It’s some bullshit.”

I sat at the
table,
really hating the feel of the old dress lodged in my ass and sighed. “So, essentially, they've given all the power to the hunters for a few good hundred years, assuming they would be left alone and now the hunters are like ‘hell no’ and are coming for them?”

“The deal was no breeding. They have never obeyed that. They used the witches’ spells to mask the town in hopes of hiding it.”

“My dad. I bet my dad is the one who has been telling them what’s going on. He married Judith in hopes of getting info for them.” My insides were rotted about that. He was my dad. I loved him, even though he had done the worst things possible. I hated him as much as I loved him.

Liz nodded. “I thought that too. I still think Judith is a pawn. I think she loves you and your dad.”

“I agree.”

Josh winced. “I don't know. She is so close to everyone else. She’s the doctor for the wolves. She knows a lot of shit.”