The Girl Who Cries Colors

“We aren’t sneaking, little demon,” Ronak says with a chuckle. “We upset you, and now we’re comforting you.”

“Why is Valentine’s Day so important to you?” Sylred asks.

“Because. It’s the one time of year where people actually seem to try. The dates. The thinking-of-you gifts. The flirting. The love. The sex. It’s beautiful to see everyone taking a day to celebrate love. It’s what we should do every day. Imagine what life would be like if everyone took the time to adore our loved ones—to express that love in whatever way is meaningful to them. As a cupid, that’s the dream. That love would be cherished, always. So that’s why Valentine’s Day is important, okay? It reminds us to take a moment and appreciate our loved ones.”

They all nod, like they get it, and they continue to rub on me. I frown and look down at all of their sweet touches, and my suspicion starts to build.

“Sorry for giving you a hard time, Scratch. We just want you to take a break and be able to relax,” Evert says. “We understand the Valentine’s thing.”

Wait. Evert is apologizing? Okay, something is seriously up. He didn’t even apologize for that time he left the toilet seat up, and I fell into the basin, getting gross toilet water all up in my business. I also got stuck. Yeah. Stuck. As in, I couldn’t get my ass back out. I had to call for help, and Evert had to yank me out. Do you have any idea how humiliating that is? And the fucker laughed!

I narrow my eyes on him. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Evert says too quickly.

I swing my eyes to Sylred. He can’t keep anything from me. “Syl?”

He runs a hand through his pink hair a bit nervously. “Well, we received a message when we were walking back from town and—”

Evert slaps his hand over Sylred’s mouth before he can say more. He then pulls out a letter from his pocket, but when I try to snatch it, he holds it over my head and hands it to Ronak.

I watch Ronak’s brow furrow as his black eyes flit across the page. When he’s done, he passes the letter back to Evert—who’s still clamping a hand over Sylred’s mouth. Sylred just stands there like he’s glad he doesn’t have to be the one to tell me what’s going on.

“Well?” I ask, putting my hands on my hips.

Sylred and Evert both look to the alpha, and Ronak settles his gaze on me. “Our parents are back from vacation.”

Chapter 8

I’m sitting on the floor of our shared closet in our bedroom, completely naked.

Crying. I’m also crying.

That’s how Evert finds me.

He walks in, fresh out of the bath, and stops dead in his tracks. His blue eyes immediately go to my boobs. I mean, they’re gigantic, so it’s understandable. Still, it takes him a good five seconds to look up from them long enough to realize that I’m crying.

His eyes widen, and he immediately kneels down next to me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing fits,” I sniffle, before digging into the food tin that’s on my lap.

Evert grimaces. “How many times have we told you to stop eating fish right out of the can?”

Meeting his eye, I slowly lift the small fish and slurp it up like it’s a spaghetti noodle.

“Fucking gross, Scratch.”

“I’m hungry.”

“It smells like rotten ass.”

“I’m feeling attacked right now.”

After eating the last of the fish, I tilt up the can and drink the juice out of it. Evert starts to gag.

He snatches the empty tin from me, storms out of the closet, and then stomps back in with a freshly warmed lime from the tree in our garden.

He tosses it to me, and I immediately peel it and start sucking on it like it’s my favorite lollipop. I’m pretty sure he only gave it to me to help my fish breath, but I appreciate any time someone brings me food, regardless of the reason.