Page 43 of Forget Me Not (The Shifters of Timberfall #1)

Bastien

The speed in which the happiness melted from her face in favor of shame was sickening, and all he wanted to do was make it change back.

“Bambi, I’m fairly certain I’ve told you before not to apologize for being excited about something that means a lot to you.

” He sighed, crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side.

“I need you to take this win, if not for yourself, then for me. You said yourself you haven’t found a solution to the other problem—neither have I.

That means there’s nothing we can do right now anyway, so you really might as well work on getting this grant. ”

When she went to argue he silenced her with a searing kiss, doing his best to imprint the feel of her lips on his so he could feel her touch linger long after he walked away. When he forced himself to back away his entire body protested, pulsing with the need to crash back into her.

“Okay,” she squeaked, swaying slightly on her feet with her eyes still closed.

“God, I love it when you look like this.”

“This?” She blinked her eyes open, confused.

“Like you’re intoxicated when all we did was kiss.”

The blush that crept across her face and chest mixed with all the words and emotions they had shared over the last week, emboldening him.

“One day I’m going to see exactly what you look like when you’ve been fucked silly.”

Syve’s eyes widened a comical amount. She must have blinked a dozen times while he reached to pick up the coffee he’d set on the counter.

“Until then, this is how I’ll picture you when I come in my hand later tonight.”

Her jaw hit the floor and Bas chuckled, leaning in to place a kiss on her cheek. “Call me after, so you can tell me you got it.” He left her there, dumbfounded, jogging up the stairs to get his keys and leaving through the loft.

The smell of grilled meat and onions met him at the door when he got home making him realize just how hungry he was. He chugged his coffee on the drive home, but aside from that he hadn’t eaten all morning.

Kicking his shoes off, mostly out of the way of the door, he padded to the kitchen. Del was leaning against the counter, scrolling on her phone with one hand, the other holding a wooden spoon idly over a pan of rice.

“Where’s Mama?”

“Porch,” Del replied flatly, not bothering to look up from her phone.

“Okay,” he drew the word out, expecting more to her answer.

When it became obvious she wasn’t intending on speaking again he asked, “Are you mad at me? You’ve hardly said two words to me since—”

“What? Since you went and got yourself shot ?” she snapped, lowering her phone and cutting him with a sharp glare.

“Bug—”

She cut him off again, “No. Don’t ‘Bug’ me.

Papa is gone . Dez is gone .” She pointed the spoon at him, voice rising with each sentence.

“And you intentionally put yourself in danger! Yes! I’m mad at you!

” She slammed the spoon onto the counter then crossed her arms over her chest. “Honestly, it baffles me that I’m the only one.

You almost died , Bas. You weren’t thinking about anyone other than yourself and you went out and almost got yourself killed . ”

“I know, Del, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking—”

“Obviously! If you were thinking you would have considered that if you were dead Mama would have to go back to work—”

“That’s not true, she would get the money Dez left—”

“That is so not helping. So, she would have had money for a few years—eventually it would run out and she would have to go back to work. I would have to stay in Timberfall to help her, or she would have to move with me to whatever college I pick. Oh, yeah, and you would be dead !”

Shame began slithering across his body. She was right, he hadn’t been thinking and honestly, he still hadn’t thought of any of this, even after the fact.

Hanging his head, he remained quiet.

“Worst of all?” she whimpered quietly, and he snapped his head back up to see her lip quivering, tears streaming down her cheeks. “You would have broken your promise.”

His promise.

The promise he made the night he came home and was forced to tell her what happened to their brother. He promised to never leave her alone on this earth—to fight anything that would ever try to take them away from one another. In a blink he crossed the kitchen and wrapped her in a hug.

“You’re right, and I am so, so sorry.” He rubbed circles on her back as she sobbed into his shoulder. “May my shoes never be tied the same tightness, and my water always be lukewarm.” The vow pulled a laugh from her and she pulled back to look at him, wiping her face with her hands.

“You’re so dumb.”

“I am. I truly am sorry. You would think after the reprimand I got from Syve, I would have learned something and come to apologize to you sooner.”

“She yelled at you?” Del smiled, clearly impressed.

“Well, she never raised her voice, but just like Mama, she didn’t need to.”

Del laughed again.

“I’m glad she’s keeping you in line.”

“Oh, yeah. She made me promise no more dumb shit, too. So, between the two of you, I’ll be spending the rest of my life as a saint.” He held his hands up like he was praying, blinking innocently.

Del’s phone pinged, and she rolled her eyes at her brother as she raised it.

“Yeah, whatever.” But before she could unlock it, her phone buzzed three more times in rapid succession.

“Oh my God, did somebody die? What is going—” She stopped short with a cringe, then her eyes widened and her gaze darted to his.

“What is it?”

“You were with Syve this morning, right? And you saw Aimi too? ”

“Yes, Del, why? What’s going on?”

“Did you see Cyrus this morning? He never came home last night, did he? He hasn’t been around all day either.” Del’s voice was fast, tinged with panic.

“Delanira! What happened?” Bastien’s voice rose as he grasped her shoulders, trying to steady her focus.

Instead of answering, she sucked her lips into her mouth and turned her phone around so he could see the screen. One of her friends had sent her a screenshot—a social media post by the local police department.

A body had been found in the woods.