Page 16

Audrey

I sigh as I watch Nex bolt from the classroom once again.

It’s been two weeks since I saw him and Brenden kiss. Now, he’s not speaking to me or Brenden. It’s making both of us more than a little grumpy.

I know I can’t force Nex to accept our bond, but after Brenden filled me in on the fact that it’s guilt holding Nex back. I figured between the two of us, we’d be able to convince him to give this thing a chance.

Let’s just say the plan isn’t going well. In case you didn’t get that from him running away from me again.

He hasn’t bothered packing up at the end of class after the first time I approached him. I guess he’s coming back later, after I’m gone.

That’s a lot of effort for someone to hang onto their guilt over something that happened over two thousand years ago.

At least Cassian and Wraith haven’t gotten into any more fistfights—although that could be because they haven’t been in the same room since the last fight.

Everything was so easy with my first three mates, but nothing can seem to go right with Nex and Cassian.

I fucking hate it.

Sighing, I grab my bag from the desk and grab my phone.

DONOVAN

You have visitors.

AUDREY

Visitors? As in plural.

DONOVAN

Yup. And before you ask—it’s not Cassian.

AUDREY

Did my besties come to see me?

DONOVAN

Nope. Not them either.

Maybe stop guessing and come home to see who it is?

I frown, wondering who the hell else would come visit me. It’s not like I know a ton of people living in the underworld.

I guess it could be Wren, but I’m not sure who she’d have with her. Unlike me, she hasn’t made any friends so far. I’m a little worried about her since she’s always been a social butterfly.

Did we switch personalities upon death?

That seems unlikely.

I tuck away my phone and hurry toward the house, wishing I had wings like Nex or was able to travel through the shadows like Wraith. It would be so much more convenient.

A squealing scream slips from me when I smack my head on something. Lifting my hand to my head, I step back and frown.

How the hell did I run into the house? I hadn’t even made it to the path through the woods.

The front door flies open and Donovan, Wraith, and Brenden hurry toward me with Gael, Octavius, and Riggs right behind them.

Why are the horsemen here?

“Pretty girl? What’s wrong? Why did you scream?”

Blinking, I turn to Donovan with a frown. “I walked into the house.”

Wraith gives me a funny look. “We usually don’t recommend doing that. Why did you walk into the house?”

“I have no fucking idea. One minute, I was walking down the path just outside The Abyss, thinking about how I wished I had wings or the power to shadow walk, and the next thing I knew, I was smacking my head on the house. I don’t even know how I got here.”

“Huh.” Gael glances between me and Wraith. “I didn’t know your mate could use your magic.”

Wraith shakes his head slowly. “She can’t. That’s not something mates can do—not even fated mates.”

“First, why do you think I shadow walked? Second, what are the three of you doing here?” I ask, still rubbing my sore head. What kind of idiot walks into a house?

Gael shrugs. “I’ve walked into lots of things when shadow walking by accident—usually it’s when I’m drunk, though. Are you drunk?”

I jerk my head back, giving him a bewildered look. “No, I’m not fucking drunk. I just finished classes. Why the hell would I be drunk?”

“I don’t know. I just figured I’d check.”

Octavius rolls his eyes. “Ignore Gael. I do agree with him, though. It sounds like you shadow walked on accident. We’ll have to see if you can do it on purpose. Although, I don’t know why you’d be able to shadow walk. That’s not something Hecate’s descendants can do—not like using hellfire.”

Well, I guess someone filled in the rest of the horsemen about my newly acquired powers. It would’ve been nice if someone informed me of that.

“I still don’t understand why you’re here,” I say, my hand falling away as my head stops pounding finally.

It’s Riggs who speaks up this time. “We came to hang out with you.”

“And why would you do that?” Did I give myself a concussion when I hit my head? And if I did, why didn’t it clear up when my head stopped hurting? Or are they just not making any sense?

“That’s the exact same thing I asked them,” Wraith growls, glaring at the other three horsemen. They just grin at him in return.

“I’m so confused. Can we go inside so I can get a drink or something? I think I hit my head harder than I thought.” Not waiting for a response, I head straight up the porch, wondering if I really can shadow walk now.

Then I hit my head on a fucking wall. “Shit. What the actual fuck?”

Blinking, I glance around to see I’m in the kitchen. Either I’m losing time or I’m shadow walking—there’s no other explanation for this.

“Well, that’s one mystery solved,” Gael says with a grin as he steps into the living room. “You’re definitely shadow walking. Did you mean to do that?”

I gesture to where I’m holding my head. “Does it look like I meant to do it?”

Wraith laughs, striding across the room to pull me into his arms. “Did you hit your head again?”

“Yes. This is really fucking annoying. I was just wondering if I could shadow walk and then I was hitting my head on the wall. Someone better teach me how the hell to do this so I can stop hitting my head. I really don’t need or want a concussion.”

“Don’t worry, pretty girl, even if you got a concussion, it would be gone in a matter of minutes,” Donovan assures me. “But we’ll teach you how to properly shadow walk. Although, maybe don’t think about it until we do?”

I flip him off as Brenden appears, holding a glass of sweet tea.

“Yum. Thank you,” I purr after taking a sip. Turning my attention back to the horsemen, I ask, “So, why did you come to hang out with me? I’m a little confused about that.”

Riggs shrugs. “You’re Wraith’s mate. We want to get to know you better.”

“And you couldn’t have just told me that?” Wraith asks, exasperated. “Here I was thinking you were coming to try to steal my girl—”

“Seriously, Wraith? How many times do we have to tell you we have no interest in your mate like that?” Octavius rolls his eyes. “Not that you’re not beautiful, Audrey, but you’re not meant to be ours. You’re more like a little sister.”

I wave him off. “I’m not gonna lie. I’m kind of happy about that. I have my hands full enough with the two mates I may or may not be able to keep. As for you,” I say, turning to face Wraith. “Did you really think they were coming here to steal me away? As if I have no say in the matter?”

Wraith shrugs. “You were checking them out before I introduced you to them. You think they’re attractive. Maybe you would have wanted to go with them.”

I bury my face in my hands, praying for patience. “I can find people attractive without wanting to be with them. What concerns me is you thinking I would just abandon my mates.”

He says nothing as he shrugs, and I glance at Donovan with raised eyebrows.

“Do you have any idea why he’s acting like this?”

Donovan just shakes his head, and I sigh.

“Maybe he’s worried you’re going to leave him to be with Cassian,” Gael offers.

I frown at him, but Wraith doesn’t deny his words. “Seriously, Wraith? The three of you are my bonded mates. I wouldn’t leave you. Not to mention, the Fates said I’d have three or five mates. Never once did they say I would only have one. I feel like that’s something they would’ve mentioned if it was a possibility.”

Now I’m annoyed that he thinks so little of me. Not that I really believe that he thinks that. He’s just freaking out over everything going on with Cassian.

I guess Cassian hasn’t been able to get Wraith to listen to him yet.

Joy.

I’m so not in the mood to deal with any of this right now, so I turn to the horsemen. “So, what were you thinking?”

“Oh! We brought food!” Riggs looks around, frowning. “Where did we put it?”

Wraith sighs. “I put it in the oven to keep it warm.”

“Excellent. We brought enough for you and your mates,” Riggs assures me. “Then, after we eat, we can do whatever you want.”

Octavius grins. “As Wraith’s mate, you’re going to be around us quite a bit. We just want to make sure you like us, I guess.”

Gael scoffs. “As if she wouldn’t like us. Everyone likes us.”

“That’s a lie,” Donovan says with a snicker. “A lot of people don’t like you. Maybe you should be around less, then she won’t find out what assholes you are.”

“Donovan! That’s rude.” I glare at him, and he holds his hands up in surrender.

“He’s just telling the truth. We are assholes,” Octavius says with a shrug. “At least to most people. We won’t be to you.”

I nod slowly, reaching for my bag, when I hear my phone go off.

WREN

Dinner?

Ugh. Of course I want to have dinner with my sister, but do I want her to meet the remaining three horsemen after they admitted to being dicks? Not that I think they’re assholes.

Eh. Fuck it.

“That was my sister, Wren. She wants to grab dinner. Do you mind if I invite her over?” I’m not really sure who I’m asking. I just don’t want to upset anyone since the three of them apparently came over to get to know me better.

“That’s fine. The more the merrier.” Riggs grins. “Plus, we brought way too much food.”

“Cool.”

AUDREY

How do you feel about meeting the other three horsemen?

WREN

Seriously?

Ummm, yes!

Are they cool or are they assholes?

AUDREY

Why don’t you come over and find out? They’re here now.

They even brought food.

WREN

Boo. Does that mean Wraith isn’t cooking for us?

AUDREY

No. Wraith isn’t cooking for us.

Does that change your answer?

WREN

No, but know that I’m disappointed.

I’m almost at your house.

Lifting my head, I grin at Wraith. “Wren is sad you’re not cooking for us.”

“I can cook something,” he assures me, perking up from whatever bad mood he’s been dwelling in. “I don’t mind.”

I shake my head with a laugh. “Absolutely not. They brought food, so we’ll eat that. My sister will be fine.”

Wraith looks like he wants to argue with me but wisely keeps his mouth shut.

“I’m here,” Wren calls a moment before she steps into the living room.

She just recently started listening to us when we told her to stop knocking on the door. She might not live here, but it’s my home, and I won’t make my sister knock. I want her to be comfortable enough to come in whenever she wants.

I did warn her to call out first, just in case we’re having sex in a public space or something.

It took me another two weeks after that comment to actually get her to stop knocking. Apparently, she doesn’t like the idea of walking in on me getting railed by my mates.

I can’t really blame her for that.

Wren comes to an immediate stop, eyes widening, as she takes in the horsemen. I see the way her body reacts to them, and I know my sister finds them just as hot as I did when I met them.

Hell, I don’t think there’s a person, alive or dead, that wouldn’t be attracted to them—unless they’re not attracted to men, but that’s a different story.

“There’s two of you?” Gael asks with a frown, his eyes moving between me and Wren.

Octavius rolls his eyes. “They’re twins, remember?”

He snaps his fingers before pointing at Octavius. “That’s right. I forgot. Hi, Audrey’s sister, I’m Gael, aka Conquest.”

“Her name is Wren,” I remind him, hurrying over to take her hand. “That’s Octavius, aka War, and Riggs, aka Famine. Guys, this is my twin sister, Wren.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Wren,” Riggs says with a goofy smile on his lips, and I pull my sister toward the table.

I really hope that look doesn’t mean what I think it does because I don’t know how I feel about any of the horsemen being interested in my sister.

“So, what’s for dinner?” I ask, sitting down and pulling Wren to sit beside me. Donovan sits in the empty chair on my left while Wraith sits on Wren’s other side. Brenden scowls but sits across from me, leaving the horsemen to fill in the empty seats as Gael places the food on the table.

“Indian!” he says, breaking open the containers.

I’m practically drooling as the scents hit me. I’m a big fan of Indian food, something I told them the night we met.

Okay, maybe they’re alright. I’m still not sure about them being interested in Wren, though.

Hopefully, Riggs’s reaction was just because there was a pretty girl in the room. Otherwise, he and I are going to have to have a talk that I don’t think he’ll enjoy.