Flock (The Ravenhood)

I’ll follow the rules. No phones. No texts. No emails.

But if they won’t let me come to them, I’m going to make damn sure they come to me.

I’ll be a siren impossible to ignore.

Maybe I’ve read one too many books, but I have faith this tactic will work because there’s no way this isn’t going to turn a few heads, with the added possibility it will lead the curious to this particular secret. By drawing this attention, I might be inviting more danger into my life, but it’s a chance I’m going to have to take.

“K.” by Cigarettes After Sex blasts into the woods on repeat as I settle in for the duration.

And I wait. And I wait.

By the third hour, and the sight of the abandoning sun, I feel the weight of my failure, and finally close my eyes.

These men are infuriating, not only because they are willing to abandon me so easily without ample explanation but because they expect me to fall back to sleep after they’d strapped me to an electric chair.

I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive them for the hurt they’ve caused but being ripped away from them is a hard pill to swallow, despite the betrayal that still courses through me. Fuck them for allowing it.

As I reach back and really think about our conversations, about Sean’s life lessons, the more I start to piece together.

And the more furious I become.

I also realize I do know more, and it’s in the more I see these growing pains are necessary. They both invested a lot of time in me, Sean especially, and I can’t at all find a motive for that other than what I feel in my gut. It keeps bringing me back to the same conclusion—that they do love me back.

My heart aches every beat for two men who made sure to stake a claim on me. But I’m still a woman scorned.

In a matter of months, I went from boy crazy to man insanity. And they made damned sure of it.

I love them, and I hate them. But I can’t walk away from them, as toxic as they may be. Not yet.

But right now, I just want someone to talk to me.

Sighing, I wipe the tears away from beneath my eyes and internally scold myself. Maybe this was a stupid plan.

There’s no room for self-pity, not now, maybe not ever. I can’t believe I was so gullible, playing right into their hands.

Anger thrums through me as I jerk my position back to opposition. I don’t have room to make any more mistakes. I find some satisfaction in knowing that at the very least, I’ve annoyed them. Made my presence known, let them know I’m onto them.

It’s then when I sense I’m not alone, and I allow a lazy smile to upturn my lips. Sliding a hand over my naked breasts, I flatten my palm over my stomach before I lift my hand to shield my eyes.

“Nothing to say?” I taunt, my eyes still closed as a shadow covers me, blocking out the sun. My skin prickles with anticipation as I slowly open my eyes.

And freeze.

For endless seconds we just stare, and in those seconds, I’m made acutely aware of my position, my cape coloring red by eyes so penetrating, they grip me like a hand to the throat.

“We don’t want to let the wolf get a whiff.”

There’s no mistaking it. I’m staring directly into the eyes of said wolf.

He hovers over me, in complete contradiction to my attire in a tailored black suit. Hair the color of a raven’s wing, dark olive skin deepened by the sun, thick dark brows slashed over hostile eyes. Below, a strong prominent nose resting on a chiseled face, thick, God-kissed lips, broad shoulders, defined pecs, a trim waist beneath his open jacket, and muscular thighs that strain against his suit pants.

That’s when I know that knowledge truly is power, and I’ve been utterly stupid to think I had anything figured out.

I’ve been so fucking blind.

I’m drowning in fiery amber depths and nowhere near strong enough to withstand it. It’s the most I’ve ever felt under a man’s gaze in my life. I shuffle to cover my bare breasts as his eyes trail down my body. He’s ready to pounce, his posture livid, his fists clenching at his sides. I’m positive if I were standing, my knees would have buckled under the weight of his blistering gaze.

I’d gotten it totally wrong—one step forward, ten steps back.