Page 41 of Forget Me Not (The Shifters of Timberfall #1)
Bastien
Exploding from his chair, the force toppled it backward. Bastien growled, “I knew that fucker was a piece of shit!” He pulled at his hair, pacing short lines in front of her.
“Please! You promised you wouldn’t do anything!” she begged.
“I’m not doing anything—I just can’t believe it. I’ve had conversations with him—stood right in front of him! I’ve looked him in the eye and I didn’t know?!” He stopped, tipping his head back with a frustrated yell. “How could I not know?”
A finger hooked in the waistband of his shorts, tugging him back until he sank into the chair Syve must have righted .
The sound of liquid dousing the pyre interrupted them. They both sat transfixed as Cyrus emptied a bottle of lighter fluid onto the fire, then threw it into the pit.
In one fluid motion, he pulled a lighter from his pocket, spun the wheel to spark a flame, then tossed it.
Within seconds, flames claimed the wood and fur, the smell of burning hair wafting on the wind—a smell Bas would never forget.
As his gaze followed the orange and yellow tongues licking the air, he found Cyrus staring back from the opposite side of the fire. A strange look creased his features as he stepped back, then another, then melted into the shadows.
How much had he heard?
Long after the coals had grown cold and Syve had helped his mother scoop the ashes into a decorative vase, Bas finally stood. He found Syve in the kitchen, wiping down the counters while Soriah sat at the table with her arm slung around the ceramic vessel.
Mama nodded off for a second before jolting awake to ask, not for the first time, if he had to wager, if Syve was sure she did not want any help.
“Mama, if you get up from that table again, I’ll hide your apron and padlock your oven shut! ”
Soriah tisked in return but made no move to get up. Delanira’s absence concerned him, she still had yet to make a reappearance since before the pyre was lit.
“I’m just about done here,” Syve murmured over her shoulder when Bas slipped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Tea for Mama and Del, then I’m getting you up to bed—have you seen Cyrus?”
“Don’t worry about him…Can I teach you how to make Mama’s cocoa?”
Her eyes lit up, darting to Soriah, who was fully asleep in her chair now.
“Is that allowed?” she whispered.
“Bambi, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, Mama seems to like you more than she likes me. It’ll be fine.”
Syve listened intently as Bastien walked her through the process: break up the dark chocolate while heating the milk, sugar, salt and cornstarch in a small pan. He added the chocolate chunks to the gently boiling mixture, stirring until it all melted.
After pouring the cocoa into four mugs, he sprinkled a pinch of cayenne pepper over three of them, whispering to Syve that Del couldn’t stand the spice.
Ten minutes later, Soriah was settled into her bed, her favorite book in one hand and cocoa in the other, the vase safely settled onto her dresser.
Del had already fallen asleep when they stopped by her room, so Syve set her cocoa on her nightstand, pulled the blankets up a little tighter around the girl’s chin, and pressed a quick kiss to her hair. Bastien’s heart swelled every time he saw Syve dote on his family like that.
Back in his room, he settled onto the bed, handing her mug over before curling around his own. She snuggled in beside him, both leaning on the headboard, silently sipping from their steaming mugs.
“Stay tonight,” he said quietly. “Just to sleep. Stay with me.”
“I already promised Mama I would.” She chuffed at his surprised look. “I do have to get some work done in the morning…Hal isn’t expecting you back until next week. Do—would you want to come to the shop? The sofa is all yours, if you want.”
“Only if there’s coffee involved,” he teased with a wink.
“Deal,” she whispered, placing a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth.
It was not long before Syve’s empty cup rolled from her sleeping hand.
Bas carefully placed both mugs on the side table, then slipped down into the pillows and coaxed her to follow.
Thanks to his shifter healing, he was practically good as new—minus the lingering tenderness and slight muscle weakness—which was good because Syve had turned over and was clinging to him like a little barnacle.
As she softly snored against his chest, he remained awake, contemplating—unable to close his eyes no matter how hard he tried.