I rolled my eyes at him. “Mason and my relationship is purely siblingly.”
“That’s not a word.”
“Is, too. I just used it.”
Nick climbed into his truck, and I climbed in beside him.
“You did really well tonight,” I said with a smile.
He smiled back and then flexed his biceps. “Well, what else did you expect from someone as great as me?”
I laughed and moved closer to him. “I’m really tired. I hope the meeting with the Alphas is over fast.”
“You’re still having nightmares?” he asked as he put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me across the bench seat to lean against him.
“Every night,” I whispered. “I don’t know what they mean though.”
“Do you want to talk about them?” he asked as he rubbed my arm.
I yawned. “I just want to go to sleep.”
“Talking might help you,” he said quietly. “If I could stop them, I would.”
“You can’t protect me from everything, especially not my own mind,” I said as my eyelids drooped, growing heavier and heavier.
“I can try,” he whispered, “but you have to let me in.”
“Maybe tomorrow,” I said as I fell asleep on him.
I woke up when he parked the truck. It was a short ride from school to home, but I felt like I’d been asleep for hours. “You were snoring,” he said with a smile.
I wiped at my face and sighed. “At least I wasn’t drooling.”
We climbed out of his truck and walked into the house where the pack was slowly gathering. I leaned against Nick as we walked inside, fighting to keep my eyelids open.
Dad squatted down in front of me and smiled. “You’re too tired to do this tonight. We’ll do it tomorrow, okay?”
“Is it going to hurt?” I asked as Nick wrapped a supportive arm around my waist to keep me from falling.
Dad shook his head. “Nope. Don’t worry, baby, we’ll get you fixed up,” he said and then kissed my forehead. “Nick, carry her upstairs.”
Nick picked me up without a word, and I curled up in his arms.
“Have I ever told you how awesome it is that you all can do this?” I whispered.
He laughed quietly. “No, but that’s nice to hear.” He held me with one arm as he opened my door and laid me down on my bed. “Kitten, can I stay in here tonight?”
“What? Why?” I asked as I adjusted my head on the pillow.
“I want to be here to comfort you when you have your nightmare,” he said softly as he pulled my blankets up over me. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“Sleep on the bed. On top of the blankets,” I mumbled.
He shuffled around and then the bed dipped as he climbed on. He kissed my cheek and whispered, “Go to sleep. I love you, Kitten.”
I rolled over so that I was facing him and could smell him as I fell asleep.
The cupboard was dark and I couldn’t see as I hid. I tried to slow my breathing, but that only seemed to make me breathe louder. Something was in the living room and it was scary. Mom screamed, and I heard a weird cracking sound. Dad yelled, and then I heard a loud crash. What was happening? Mom had told me to hide and not come out until they came to get me, but I was so scared and I wanted to know what was happening. Dad screamed in pain, and then there was silence. I shivered in the cold.
“Where are you, rabbit? Where are you hiding?” asked a sinister male voice.
I bit my lip to keep from whining or screaming in fear. Footsteps approached the kitchen where I hid and I wrapped my arms tighter around my legs. “Come out little rabbit. I can hear your heart beating.”
I squeezed my eyes shut tightly. I couldn’t look. I couldn’t look.
A cupboard door opened, and then I heard something hiss. “Get him!” yelled Thornton, Nicky’s adopted dad.
I kept my eyes closed as I heard fighting and yelling. The cupboard door opened again, and I screamed when a hand touched me.
“It’s me,” Nicky said softly. “It’s okay.”
I leaped out of the cupboard and clung to Nicky. He stood up with me clinging to him and hugged me tightly as he walked out of the house. “Mommy. Daddy,” I whispered.
Thornton took me from Nicky and hugged me tightly against him. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.”
I looked back into the house and saw red splashed all over the walls in the living room. I looked at the floor and saw two pairs of feet, one with a toe ring and one with a scar. Mommy and Daddy.
I jolted up in bed gasping for breath and crying. Nick sat up and wrapped his arms around me. “It’s okay,” he whispered. I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging to him with a death grip. He stroked my hair with one hand while he held me against his body with the other arm. “I’m here, Sarah. I’ll always be here for you.”
I sobbed and clung to him like I’d done when they’d found me. He held me and pet me until the tears subsided and I was breathing normally again. “No one is here forever,” I whispered as I pulled back from him.
Nick smiled. “One of the perks of being a werewolf is a longer life. I’ll outlive you by a hundred years at least.”
I lay down and turned away from him. “Being alive doesn’t mean you’ll be with me,” I whispered.
Nick wrapped his body around mine, spooning me. “I’ll be with you as long as you let me,” he whispered. “Go back to sleep, Kitten. I’ll keep you safe.”
“I love you, Nicky,” I whispered.
His grip tightened around me. “I know.”
The sun came out too early. I smacked my alarm clock to silence it and sat up. I looked at the bed behind me, but Nick wasn’t there. I heard talking downstairs and sighed. It was Saturday, which meant everyone was starting chores. After changing and brushing my teeth, I jogged down the steps with a smile on my face. “Morning,” I said to the pack and the Alphas. I was immensely grateful that we had such a large house and kitchen as I made my way past the boys until I reached the fridge. I looked inside and frowned. “Are all of the oranges gone?”
“Yes,” Dad said. “Sorry about that. I’ll get some at the store later.”
I looked at the empty plates on the table and sighed. “I’ll just go into town and get something. I need to get a gift for a friend anyways.”
“Mason will go with you,” Dad said.
I looked around the kitchen. “Wait, where’s Nick?”
“Doing manual labor,” Gary said with a smug smile.
Manual labor while everyone else was eating?
“Why? What’d he do?”
“I think you’d know the answer to that,” Dad said with a scowl on his face.
Hell puppies. He thought we’d done something. “Can I talk to you?” I asked.
He stood, and I followed him into his study. He closed the door and folded his arms across his chest. “Coming to confess?”
“Dad, we didn’t do anything. I…” I looked at the ground. “I’m still having nightmares and they’re even worse now. I can’t sleep well, and he stayed to console me when I woke up.”