“No, I can’t,” he says, calmer now. He runs both his hands through his messy, dark hair, and sucks in both his lips into his mouth, before looking at me again. “I wish I could. I hate seeing you like this, it breaks my heart. I hate my mother for making me train you.” I gape at him, hurt flashing over me like a tsunami with no receding tide to warn me. Why am I so hurt by this? “Would you rather have Alessandro train me?” “Fuck no,” he growls. “He’d destroy you. He already hates you. Fuck. I’d hate my mother if she made anyone else do this, too.” He sits down on a log, and puts his head in his hands, elbows crooked up on his knees. He looks pissed off, yet so vulnerable. “Fine. Let’s get it over with. You’re not too far away from shifting completely, but when you’ve done that, we

“I… I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry you grew up with those people,” he says, and I can hear a darkness in his voice that I haven’t heard from him before. I heard it in Alessandro’s voice when he yelled at me. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find you earlier, and I wish there was something I could do to make your past easier.” “There is,” I say, my voice suddenly a bit hoarse. “Anything,” he says, standing up from his seat. His hands rests on either side of me on the counter, and he presses himself to stand between my legs. I have no choice but to spread them for him, and I swallow a little as I do. I didn’t see myself doing this anytime soon, but I’m glad we have our clothes on.. Even though, he’s already half naked with his bruised and scraped chest staring at me. Or, I’m staring at it. His hand travel up to lift

When I get down into the dining room, the whole family is already there, including Azaire who has saved me a seat next to him. I feel a little awkward as I sit down, thinking about our night and the odds of only one of the others hearing us.. Azaire doesn’t seem to mind, though, as he kisses my cheek, and his damp hair gently brushes my ear as he does. He reaches for the basket of bread and holds it up for me, wordlessly, and I take a slice and send him a smile. The room is nowhere near quiet, although my hearing is already zeroed in on Azaire. Kai is banging a spoon on the table while singing along to some song I don’t know, but it sounds like it could be from the TV, some children’s show, I think, and Kaira is humming away with him, while their mother is trying to get Kai to stop with the spoon. Soraya is in deep conversation with her daughter about the baby that’s due soon, I think, and I heard something about a placenta, so I zoned it out. Juan and Alessa

“Yeah, you are,” he whispers back, and moves just a little, so that he can kiss the tip of my nose. He’s being all kinds of sweet, and his mood hasn’t changed since this morning, really, when he got mad at Alessandro, but I’ve learned so far that his mood is usually pretty okay when he’s with me. “I can sleep on the floor if you don’t want to share a bed, I just… I thought you liked it last night, since you were holding onto me like crazy when I woke up.” His soft smile turns into a teasing grin as he says that. “Shut up,” I say, and take a step away from him, “we can share, if you promise to keep your hands to yourself.” He arches a brow at me. “Meaning?” “Meaning no touching any private places,” I clarify. “I can do that, for now,” he say

I close my eyes and bite my lip as I try to wiggle out of his hold, but that only seems to make him louder. Something has got to do the trick.. My brain is twisted and turned in every direction before I even think to kiss him. Maybe I should kiss him? It could work, right? I mean, I’d wake up if someone kissed me… I think. My tongue brushes over my lips slowly, and I look up at the troubled-looking boy in bed with me. He looks like he’s in physical pain, and I have to do something about it. Right now, preferably. I stretch my neck and wait until he’s closed his mouth again before I press my lips softly to his. His next growl transitions slowly into a moan as I feel his lips start to move against mine, and one of his hands moves up from the tight hold he had around me, to cup my face. I can tell he’s awake when he gently bites on my lower lip, and his canines are gone. He pulls on it, before he chuckles a little, and pulls away from