ChapterTwenty-Two
KINGSTON
Sunday’s scent filled the shower stall as I rinsed the shampoo from my hair. So sue me, I liked smelling like my mate. Especially when she was alone with another of her men. The hot water hit my back, easing muscles that had been holding tension all night. Watching her put herself in harm’s way to get Alek back had been one of the hardest things I’d done lately. But now the last of our group had returned, and all should have been right in Sunday’s world. She finally had us all in one place again.
As if wanting to prove to me what a fucking naive fool I was, fate chose that moment to slap me upside the head.
Sunday’s sudden grief cut through me like a knife, making me cry out in surprise and throw my palms against the tiles to keep from falling to my knees. Suds continued to trickle down my neck and shoulders as the steamy water sprayed over me, but I couldn’t feel its heat, only her mounting fury.
Something was wrong. Already.
“Motherfucker,” I muttered, stepping out of the shower and snagging a towel as I made a mad dash for the woman I treasured more than anything.
I burst through the door, not wasting time on stupid things like manners. “Sunshine!” She was curled up on the floor, hair in her face, tears streaming down her cheeks, her lips curled back in a savage snarl.
“What the fuck did you do?” I asked, grasping the Novasgardian by his collar and slamming him back against the wall.
He shoved me away. “Nothing. She’s gone mad.”
I got in his face, growling low in my throat. “Say that again, and I’ll make sure you never utter another word.”
“He took Alek’s place,” Sunday said, her voice low and menacing.
“So you’re the twin. I knew you smelled different.”
“He didn’t tell me he had someone waiting for him.”
Sunday growled, pushing herself to her feet, and flinging herself at Tor.
I spun, intercepting her in the air and pulling her away from him. With the rage she was pumping out, I couldn’t be sure she’d leave the guy standing, let alone alive. She was pissed now, but she’d regret killing her mate’s brother once she calmed down. I couldn’t let her do something she’d regret.
“Let go of me!” she screeched, her unnatural strength causing her to nearly break free of my hold.
“Stop, mate. You will listen to your Alpha.” My voice was hard and cool, immovable.
She continued to squirm, but I could feel the resistance seeping out of her. Her wolf couldn’t help the instinctive need to submit, even though the part of her that was berserker fought against it.
“He’s keeping Alek from me.”
“Alek sent me in his place. I’ve done nothing.”
“He wouldn’t do that,” she shot back, but I could hear the doubt in her voice and see the slight quiver of her lip. Once again a tidal wave of her pain washed through me.
“Quiet your thoughts, Sunshine. Look at me.” She met my gaze, and I pressed our foreheads together. Softly, I hummed the melody of the song I’d come to associate with her. The sound caught her ear if the slight relaxation of her muscles told me anything.
She was coming back to me. With each note the black bled from her eyes until they were a sparkling ocean blue once more.
“Kingston,” she whispered, her voice broken. “Why would he do this? Why would he leave me?”
“He doesn’t know about the child,” Tor said, his words soft. “He’d never stay away if he knew.”
“So let's go tell him,” I said, ignoring the implication that if there wasn’t a child, Alek would still have stayed away from Sunday. If you had told me I would be the one championing the mission to hunt down the other men my mate loved, I’d have laughed my ass off. But here I was, trying to keep the rest of these fuckers in line. I was a regular Mary fucking Poppins. Chim-chim-cher-ee, motherfuckers.
“It’s not that easy.”
“You managed to worm your way in even though it was supposed to be Alek. Seemed easy enough for you. That spell was supposed to be a one-way ticket on the Sunshine express. Non-transferable. Seems to me like you can make it happen. How about you give it the old college try before I make good on my offer to tear out your vocal cords?”
Tor narrowed his eyes, looking like he wanted nothing more than to pull my spine out through my asshole. I really hope he tried. I was itching for a fight after finding Sunday distraught on the floor. Even now, her tears slid down my chest.