Page 28 of Finding Embers and Stars (Twin Flames Duet #1)
Chapter twenty-eight
I fly towards the widow’s walk. I know Sage will be in her thinking spot given everything that happened tonight.
At the very peak of the roof is a small half walled in cubby. It has a roof that hangs well over the edges, but since it’s open to the elements, we can always fly here. The floor is just big enough for me to lie down diagonally. We keep a chest to store blankets and cushions, so they don’t get wet when the wind blows the rain inside.
As soon as I land on the railing, I can hear Sage’s sobs. She’s curled into a tight ball, clutching a pillow to her chest.
I hop down to the floor and shift back to my human form. Normally I would let Atlas comfort her, but he’s still feeling a little too bloodthirsty towards our mates to let him back out. Wrapping my arms around Sage, I rub her back as I start to sing.
I never sing for anyone but Sage. There’s a saying that some people can’t carry a tune in a bucket, even with a lid on it. Those people sing better than I do, but despite my total lack of skill, I love to sing, so I run through old country songs until Sage calms down a bit.
She sits up, leaning against the wall. “Pip, I’m going to call Maggie and ask her to send the plane for me. I can’t stay here after that, the look in his eyes…”
She swipes the tears from her face. “You need to stay here and work on bonding with the guys.”
The snort that comes out of me would rival any pig. “Try again, chica. As if I would let you leave without me. We’re in this together and nothing will ever change that. You are my first priority, Sage. Always.”
She glares at me “I will not get in the way of you bonding with your mates. It was only a matter of time before they realized I’m not worth it. Wyatt couldn’t even look at me!”
I stand up and start putting the blankets away. “Yeah, and not only did I bust his fucking nose for what he said, Milo landed a solid hit on him as I was flying away. Sage, you need to get it through your head that as much as I want mates, you will always be my priority and if I have to choose, you will always win. If they can’t get their shit together, then they can get the fuck out of our lives.”
Hope flashes across Sage’s face that I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t been watching her so closely. I don’t blame her for being scared. I am too, but I will never willingly leave her.
“We’re going to head back inside and curl up on the couch. When the five stooges come crawling back, we will listen to what they have to say and then decide what to do. You’ve never backed down from a fight, Sage. Don’t start now, especially since Matt can’t hurt you anymore. I snapped his neck before I came up here.”
Sage puts the last of the pillows away and pulls me into a hug. “I love you, Piper. You always chase away my demons.”
“And I always will.”
We shift together and fly down to Sage’s balcony. After we get changed, we head downstairs together. The nervous, repetitive squeezing of her fingers in mine is the only sign of how scared she is to face our mates.
Sage goes to her normal spot on the couch, burrowing under a blanket while I get our drinks. Once I get settled beside her, she leans her head on my shoulder only to tense up as soon as we hear the stomping of feet and Walker calling for us.
The guys come storming into the living room and stop dead when they see us. Milo and Liam push through the group and come straight to Sage, kneeling at her feet. Both of them reach out for her hand and she shrinks away from them, dodging their touch.
The look of sadness that takes over their features breaks my heart. The only one that deserves the distance is Wyatt, but I can understand her being skittish of all our mates. They didn’t exactly jump to her defense.
Wyatt stands just inside the doorway, the picture of sorrow and longing. I wrap my arms around Sage and clear my throat.
“Okay, you guys need to back up and give her some space. I convinced her to come back and listen to what you have to say, but if she doesn’t like it, I will call for the plane to take us back to Wyoming. Sage was ready to leave by herself. To step back and let us bond without her. That’s not happening. If we can’t make this work with all seven of us, then it’s not going to work at all. Am I clear?”
The guys nod, but Maverick looks so confused. “What do you mean you will call for the plane? How do you have your own plane? How can you afford this? What did you do to earn the money?”
I might have been able to forgive his question, but his voice is getting louder with each word, and I can feel Sage trembling and pressing into my side.
Leaning down, I whisper in her ear, “Will you let Milo hold you while I deal with the dumbfuckery? He punched Wyatt square in the nose for what he said. Please, Sage.”
She nods hesitantly. It kills me to see her questioning every move when just this morning she was comfortable around all of our mates.
I nod at Milo. “Come hold her, please.”
He jumps up, sliding smoothly into my spot on the couch and lifting Sage into his lap. He tucks the blanket up around her shoulders and rubs his hand in soothing circles on her back as he whispers in her ear.
Looking over at Walker and Liam, I can see how much it’s costing them to keep their distance and not be able to comfort their mate.
I wave them towards the couch. “You can sit with her, but I swear to the Goddess that if anything stupid comes out of your mouths, I will turn Atlas loose on you.” They sit to either side of Milo, each reaching out a hand to touch Sage.
Wyatt is still frozen in the doorway, his eyes glued to Sage. He’s wiped the blood off his face, but his shirt is still soaked with it.
I reach up and run my finger down the bridge of his nose. It’s been straightened but still swollen and he’s sporting two impressive black eyes.
“I won’t apologize for hitting you. What you said was needlessly cruel. I hope you’re able to explain your choices so we can move past this.” I feel my eyes change as Atlas pushes forward. He’s still livid with Wyatt. “Just know that if you ever pull something like this again, I won’t stop Atlas from ripping your throat out like I did tonight.” He nods, taking my hand loosely in his he kisses my fingertips before sitting on the floor in front of Milo’s legs.
Finally, I turn to Maverick. “I get that a lot of shit has happened tonight, but I think you need to rethink what you just said and how you said it. Because to me it seemed like you were accusing us of something nefarious or inappropriate. So how do you think we got our money, Maverick? Did we steal it? Rip off a bank? Maybe you think we whored ourselves out for money? Come on, which is it?”
His mouth opens and then closes again, and he runs his fingers through his hair as he paces around the room. “Okay, I can see how my tone made that sound way worse than I intended. I wasn’t trying to accuse either of you of anything. I’m just baffled. It took the five of us working full time and busting our asses to get where we are. It seems strange to me that the two of you are younger than us and obviously way more successful.”
Okay I can understand that even if I’m still cranky about how his questions made me feel. I spread my arms, gesturing around the room. “This was all paid for with Sage’s innocence and my blood.”
Maverick flinches as I whip my shirt off. Luckily, I’m mad enough that I don’t think about how the rolls on my stomach look as I turn my back to him and lift my hair. I slowly spin so that all the guys can see the scars that cover my body. My entire back, my shoulders, across my stomach… Even though my tattoo of Sage’s raven covers a large portion of my back if you look close enough you can see the scars. There’s hardly a place on my body that isn’t covered in the evidence of my abuse. Even my tits have marks. The bullwhip Alpha Dick favored cut through my sports bra on more than one occasion. He seemed to take great pleasure in making the tip of the whip curl around my body and marking my chest.
Growls and curses ring out around the room, and it makes me feel slightly better that they seem to be angry on our behalf instead of mad at us.
Maverick slowly steps up and wraps his arms around me. His hands gently stroke my back, not hesitating to caress the ugly marks that cover my skin. “I’m sorry, embers. Tonight has been crazy and I’m fighting my wolf. Can we please sit down and talk all this out?”
I pull back and head to the couch, crawling straight into Liam’s lap. I reach for Sage’s hand and try to prepare myself to rip the bandages off all my wounds. No one ever tells you how painful it is to bare your soul to someone you’re trying to build a relationship with.
Squeezing Sage’s fingers, I wait for her eyes to lock with mine. So many thoughts pass between us, but she finally gives me a nod. It’s time to tell our story.
“This isn't easy for us to discuss. We’ve spent the last seven years running from these memories, so please don’t interrupt us. We need to get the story out before we talk about it.”
Sage leans forward and clears her throat. “My parents are amazing. There was never a day when I questioned if I was loved and cared for by them. When we were five, I met Pip. From that day on, she was family. My parents have always treated her as a daughter. We lived on the edge of pack territory. The Alpha Dick wanted my parents around for their powers, he hated me because I’m a hybrid and an abomination in his eyes. My father is a raven shifter, and my mother is a witch. I have the powers of both. The only reason we stayed there was because we refused to leave Piper alone under his thumb.” She lets out a heavy sigh and reaches for her Root Beer on the end table. Wyatt quickly grabs the glass and hands it over to her. Some of the sorrow clears from his eyes when she hands the glass back after taking a drink, with a nod of thanks.
“When I was fourteen, I was walking home from Piper’s house, along the river. Matt came out of nowhere and attacked me.” A shudder rolls through her body, and she just about breaks my fingers with her squeeze, but she keeps going. “You don’t need the details, but at some point I blacked out. I didn’t wake up until Piper was carrying me home.”
Milo gently brushes the tears from her face, completely unashamed of the matching ones that roll down his cheeks.
“For the next four years, I did my best to avoid Matt and the others, but they were always around. The night we unlocked our animals, he tried to claim me and nearly ripped my wing off. My wing was broken, and I didn’t have enough power to heal it completely. The tattoo of Atlas on my back covers those scars. I’ve done my best to make sure that when I met you guys, I wouldn’t be held back from our bond by what happened to me. I’ve tried to rise above my trauma.”
I watch Wyatt press his face into his raised knees. He’s trying to hide his tears, but I see them and so does Sage.
She leans down, grabbing his chin. “You made me feel disgusting tonight. Like I’m not good enough to be with you. Before the end of the night, I need to hear your story. Because the man I’ve been getting to know wouldn’t have spoken to me the way you did.”
He closes his eyes and nods, leaning into her touch.
Sage’s gaze turns to me, and I take a deep breath. I hate talking about our time before we escaped the pack. Liam kisses my temple, his large hand rubbing up and down my spine.
“The first time my father tried to kill me, I hadn’t even been born yet.” I let that bomb settle in the room before continuing. “My mother was pregnant with twins, and he worked with a witch and a Fae to kill me off in the womb. Mother Universe stepped in, but the dark spell had shifted, and my twin brother was killed and I was injured. Somehow, his wolf was still hanging on, but mine had been killed. She gave me his wolf so that I would still be born a shifter.”
Milo’s hand squeezes my knee, and Wyatt reaches up to take my free hand. My mates are giving me the support I need to keep going.
“My earliest memories are of my father telling me I murdered my brother. He blamed me for my twin’s death even though he is the one that tried to kill me. I already told you about the first time he hit me. After that it was like the floodgates opened up and he had no reason not to.
“The only thing I didn’t have to worry about was being raped, at least until the Ceremony of the Moon. If he had his way, I would have been given to one of the three assholes I killed tonight and expected to submit to them in all ways. When I shifted the first time, and he saw my wolf form was male, he lost his mind. He called me an abomination and came after me with a knife. The pack elders caused a distraction so we could escape.”
Maverick crosses the room and sits on the floor next to Wyatt. He closes his eyes and leans his forehead into my hip. With Walker stretching his arm across the back of the couch so he can fiddle with the ends of my hair, all my mates are touching me.
Sage picks up the story to give me a moment to collect myself. “My parents warned us we would have to run. My mom’s visions are always scarily accurate, and she made us promise that if something happened, the two of us would leave without trying to come back for them. The night of the ceremony, they gave us these necklaces and the charms on them can summon full sized magical chests.
“My parents prepared us as best they could with maps, money, our ID’s, and documentation. They even packed the trunks for us. When we left that night, we drove for over thirty-six hours, only stopping for food and gas. We were eighteen years old and on the run for our lives. Neither of us had ever left Alaska before that night. We drove down through Canada and Montana to a little town in Wyoming.”
Sage pauses for a moment and I can’t help but fill the silence. “I was so scared. I knew that Mama Rose wouldn’t send us to people that we couldn’t trust, but we were all alone and on the run.”
Liam squeezes me tight. He looks as if he wants to speak, but all the guys are trying to abide by my request that they not interrupt us.
Sage takes another drink, her eyes unfocused as she takes a trip down memory lane. “My mother’s best friend growing up is the coven leader in Wyoming. Mama reached out to her and was told of a domestic violence shelter specifically for supernaturals operated by the co-leaders of the supernatural council. That was where we went. We were hoping for a few nights in a cheap hotel. Maybe a meal. Enough help that we could take a moment to breathe and try to regroup.” For the first time since we came inside, Sage smiles. “What we got instead was a family.”
The guys seem to relax a little at that point. Seeing Sage smile has us all letting out relieved sighs.
“Everyone you met this morning has an active role in the DV shelter. It was Rhoda’s brainchild, but all of them pitched in together to build it from the ground up. Among those involved were the four Butterfly Dragons, Nox, Cobalt, Roux, and Rory. Each of them has unique powers, but they all share the ability to turn any metal into pure gold. Their gifts fund the shelter and anyone that spends time there is given a nest egg. Sam is a financial wizard, and he takes the gold they make and invests it.”
Sage nods at me and I get ready to finish the story. “Every person that goes through the DV shelter leaves with five million dollars and a piece of property—free and clear.”
Maverick’s eyes widen in shock, and I hear Walker faintly whisper, “Fuck me.”
“Rory’s dream abilities allowed him to enter our dreams and build this house to our specifications. It appeared fully built and furnished after he dreamed it into reality. Our house in Wyoming was my dream, and this house was Sage’s.”
I’m so fucking tired. With everything that’s happened today, it’s a challenge for me to keep going, but we still have at least Wyatt’s story to get through before we call it a night.
“Rhoda is the one that had the vision of our mates. She also saw that my mother wasn’t actually a shifter, she was a witch. I’m a hybrid, just like Sage. I don’t use spells as often, but we both have several spell tattoos for emergency and convenience.” I turn my arm so they can see the raven spell that I used earlier that’s tattooed on my upper arm. “I wanted to be able to fly with Sage and she got a wolf spell tattoo so she can run with Atlas.”
“So going back to the question about the plane. No, we don’t have one. We don’t need to when our fairy god dragons have one that they insist we use. Sam manages all of our finances and in the seven years since we escaped, that ten-million-dollar nest egg has grown exponentially. We also could be living just off of our book royalties at this point. So yes, we’re rich.”
Maverick shakes his head as if he’s trying to shake the facts I’ve given him around until they make sense. “That’s a hard pill for me to swallow. I’ve always thought that it was my privilege to care for and support my mate, or mates. I’m not angry that you have money, but it leaves me wondering what I can provide for you.”
Leaving Liam’s lap, I kneel on the floor in front of Maverick. “That’s where you’re wrong. Providing for us has nothing to do with money. We don’t need you to buy us things. We need you to support us. To be our shoulder in the darkness and the arms that hold us.” I look around the room to make sure all our mates are paying attention. “Guys, all we need is for you to love us.”