“Sorry, angel. My presence is requested at dinner tonight.” I lean down close to whisper in her ear. “I’d rather stay here with you, though. You’re much more fun.”
“I resent that,” my cousin, Solomon, says from across the room. He crosses his arms to punctuate his point.
“When have I ever cared what you thought?” I ask him. Okay, so maybe when I was small I used to idolize my older cousin. But then I grew up and didn’t look to anyone that way any longer. We’re equal. None better than the rest.
“I only let you get away with saying that because we’re blood and that means we’re equally awesome,” Sol says in my mind. “Otherwise, I’d have to dispute us being equals.”
I give Nix a kiss on the top of her head and stand. In four steps, I’m standing before Sol. He’s easily eight inches taller than I am. What I lack in height, I make up for in attitude. “Are you in the mood for a fight or just screwing with me?”
“I’m not sure.” He strokes his chin. “I could honestly go either way.”
“Excellent.” I crack my knuckles and smile. “Let me tip you in one direction.”
“I love you, Gen, but no fighting in my home,” Ari says, interrupting us. Of course, she read our minds.
I shrug. “I’ll fight him later. Seth and Eloise will need some entertainment tonight.”
Sol laughs. “You’re assuming my brother and I don’t get into it first.”
“If you do, I’ll jump in.”
“You can take my side.”
Scoffing, I state, “I never take sides.”
“You’re a female version of them, aren’t you?” Ladon asks.
I turn and face him. He’s tall, too. An inch or so shorter than Sol. “Don’t let my gender fool you. I’m as tough as my cousins. As lethal as my aunt. But don’t ever expect me to look like her. That won’t happen."
I prefer comfort over style. I like my clothes to move fluidly, not restrict me. Eloise has tried time and time again to get me into more fashionable clothes. She eventually gave up. That doesn’t mean she stays quiet about what I wear. She wouldn’t be who she is if she kept her opinions to herself.
“I didn’t say there was anything wrong with how you look,” Ladon replies.
I shrug. “No one’s opinion of me matters, except the one I have of myself.”
“He likes you,” Sol says in my mind, causing my gaze to snap back to him.
“What?”
“He thinks you’re hot.”
“What are we, in high school?”
“Like you went to a human school.”
“I didn’t say I did, but I’ve seen enough movies to know how human teenagers act and that’s like you. In fact, you behave like that constantly.”
I didn’t get to learn in a traditional sense. As I grew, my parents taught me everything I needed to know but didn’t always include math, science, English, Italian, etcetera all the time. It was sprinkled in when necessary. I can fluently speak five languages, am smarter than most of the humans on the planet, and know everything from mixed martial arts to jujitsu to karate.
My parents made sure I learned what I needed to at the time. If that meant moving across the world to learn from the best, that’s what I did. If it meant staying with them and bringing a tutor to the house, that happened as well. No matter what, I never doubted their love for me. And I never lacked for anything.
Suddenly, my other cousin, Ford, teleports into the room. “Why are you all still here? I’m alone with Mother and Father and I don’t like it.”
“Where’s Sienna?” Sol asks.
“At your place with Lilah and Jupiter. I knew I should have waited for her. Everybody teleport. I can’t handle being alone with our parents any longer.”
Both of my cousins found their mates in shifters. Although, Solomon’s mate is more than a cheetah shifter. She’s also fae. They have a beautiful daughter together. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ford and Sienna had one soon. I’ve seen the way Sienna watches Sol and Lilah with Jupiter. The longing is there, even if Sienna hasn’t admitted to it yet.
“All right.” Sol claps his hands together. “Let’s get this show on the road. Gen and I may rumble later, so that will be something to look forward to.”
Ford quirks an eyebrow. “Did I miss something? You know I hate it when I do, brother.”
“Nah, just Gen and me messing around.”
I roll my eyes. “Let’s go. I’m hungry.”
After giving Phoenix a quick hug, with a promise to be back soon, I give one last glance to Ladon before teleporting to Eloise and Seth’s home on the Amalfi coast in Italy. I appear on the patio, not wanting to go right into their living room. One awkward moment of me showing up when they were making out like newlyweds and I never made that mistake again.
I’m not shy about my body or nudity. But they're family and have been very much a mother and father figure to me since my parents died, so I don’t need to see their activities any more than I need to see my cousins going at it with their mates.
Ford, Sol, Ariane, and Orion appear a second later. We don’t get halfway up the stairs to the main floor of the home before the door opens and Eloise is there in a pair of jeans that hug her hips and a V-neck T-shirt that dips deep enough to show off her ample cleavage.
Seth steps up next to her and immediately puts an arm around her waist. The touch softens them both. They relax. I’m not sure if I will ever find my mate, but that little piece of relaxation—the touch where a mate gives you exactly what you need without realizing it—I wouldn't object to it.
“You’ll find it one day,” Eloise says in my mind.
“Taking a tour of my head before I even get inside?” I ask.
“No secrets, Genevieve. You know that.”
“I have nothing to hide.”
Then her gaze flicks to Sol, Ari, and back to me. “Hmmm, I think you may be wrong.”
My eyebrows furrow as confusion settles over me. “Did I miss something?”
“You missed the way Ladon drooled over you,” Sol says out loud as he brushes past me to go inside. The others trail behind him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re oblivious, cousin. Males look at you all the time. They recognize the greatness in your blood but also the beauty you have.”
I glance down at my black leggings, sneakers, baggy T-shirt that hangs off one shoulder, and the exposed tank top strap beneath. “I’m failing to see how this is sexy. I dress like I rolled out of bed and put on the nearest clean thing. Well, that’s exactly what I did.”
Eloise stops me with a hand on my arm as I get to the top of the stairs. “That’s your confidence shining through. Your ability to be completely comfortable in your own skin. You don’t care what others think of you. To some males, that’s extremely attractive. Seems Ladon is one of them.”
I roll my eyes and shake from her loose grip. “You’re grasping at straws. Besides, I don’t need a male in my life. I get by just fine on my own.” That’s not to say I haven’t sought out males or females for some fun on the side. But it’s never more. Never anything serious. I haven’t wanted that with any of them.