Six

Kinsey stared into the flames, a glass of Merlot in her hand. The Florida air felt humid, the stickiness seeming to cling to everything, even the air itself. She glanced over at Alanna, who stood there sipping a beer and teasing Josh Rayburn about his cooking skills. “Tell me again why we’re having a bonfire in the middle of summer?” Kinsey asked. “Isn’t it hot enough without burning a giant mountain of wood on top of it?”

Josh laughed as he shrugged. “Tradition is the answer you’ll get from Dimitri if you ask him. Trust me, I wondered the same thing. We could have a nice weekly gathering in the comfortable air-conditioning, but no, the man wants his outdoor forest fire.”

“With as dry as it’s been lately, I’m surprised we haven’t started a forest fire,” Alanna added as she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. “June is not the season for a fire.”

“Hey, we never do anything small,” Dimitri said as he stepped around a couple of toddlers tossing more twigs into the blaze. “And I love traditions. They give us a foundation to build upon.” He held a long-neck bottle of beer between two fingers at his side as he approached. “Something my mother taught me, even if my father did all he could to twist her meaning.”

Kinsey smiled at the thought of the Everest matriarch. Jenny Everest wasn’t a tall woman by any means, but what she lacked in size, she more than made up for in grit. She had to in order to stay married to someone like Daniel Everest who thought every move in life played out on some giant chessboard, and he strategically moved toward a checkmate against an opponent he didn’t even know. Jenny was soft spoken unless riled and taught her children the importance of family and friendship, loyalty and honesty. Their father, however, twisted her teachings to mean an Everest sacrificed everything for the sake of the family, no matter what, even themselves.

“Right before I went to college, your mother took me aside for a talk,” Kinsey said as she stared into the fire, images of the past dancing in the flames. The smile never left her face, dancing in her eyes as the memory played out. “She told me then she knew about Fitz and me. She told me she loved me and she loved her son, but she wanted me to experience everything I could experience when I went away.” She glanced up into Dimitri’s soft, blue eyes. “She told me that once I committed to the family, things would change as they had for her, and she warned me against it. Not to lose myself in what others thought was the proper path for me.” She nodded, turning her gaze back to the fire. “I wondered afterward, when I returned and your brother married Mandy, if your mother hadn’t been speaking about herself, more than about my future.”

Dimitri nodded before lifting the bottle to his lips, taking a long swallow. Josh and Alanna just stared into the fire. Kinsey had known Josh for as long as she had known Dimitri, so she knew the other man knew her story, and if the way he clutched to Alanna was any indication of their relationship, then there was no doubt the redhead knew her story as well, regardless of the code of secrecy in Bull Creek.

As Dimitri lowered his beer bottle again, he stared into the fire as well. “Mom sacrifices daily for my father’s ambitions,” he said. “I don’t think she’s ever been truly miserable, but I know she can’t be truly happy. She would never betray Dad, however.” He shrugged. “They both follow a very old school way of tribe life. Lainie and I were the first to break with tradition.”

“Your father wouldn’t hurt her, would he?” Alanna asked, shock masking her face.

Dimitri stared in the fire for a moment, silent. Then, he shrugged. “I don’t really think so, but then again, mother never pushes him really hard, either. It’s like she knows just how close to the line to push and backs off at the last minute. She probably bore quite a bit of slack from Lainie and I leaving, but I made sure she wasn’t seen as complicit in our decision.” He turned to Kinsey with a lopsided grin. “We bear that burden alone.”

“I don’t understand how someone could be so adamant about other people’s lives,” Alanna said, and Kinsey had to admit, she didn’t understand it, either. “We’ve seen enough of it over the last couple of months to last me a lifetime. Yet, every time I think it’s over, someone else rears their bully attitude and tries to squash other people’s happiness. Stupid.”

“People’s happiness,” a voice repeated from behind them. They all turned as a gray-haired man approached, his shirt and tie out of place in the campy setting. “But you’re not really people, are you? You’re something else. Something not natural.”

Kinsey glanced over at Dimitri, his jaw set, eyes narrowed as he stared at the older man who stopped just a few feet away from them. Two younger men accompanied him, flanking him as if bodyguards ready to step in when the man’s mouth overloaded his ass. Kinsey imagined that scenario probably happened quite a bit.

“Jeremiah, why are you here?” Dimitri asked the man, his head cocked to the side. “With our kind? Shouldn’t you be holed up in your slick mansion, licking your wounds?”

The man smiled, but it was obvious it was fake. Kinsey made a mental note to find out what had happened between Dimitri and this man in front of her.

“But I thought your weekly bonfires were for everyone,” the man said as he glanced around the small clearing. He then turned and gave Dimitri a questioning look. “Is that not the case?”

“It’s for people who don’t stir the pot and can get along with others,” Dimitri said.

“Something tells me you don’t play well with others,” Josh added. “Probably not your crowd, you know?”

The man didn’t even look at Josh, his gaze fixed on Dimitri. “The Order of Wardens is still here; I just wanted you to know. You’ll pay for what you did to my grandson. I’ll make sure of it.”

Kinsey watched as Adira stepped up behind the man, her arms straight down at her sides, her palms out, and what appeared to be sparks of magic flickering around her fingertips.

“Your grandson kidnapped innocent people and tried to kill them,” Dimitri said. “He got what he deserved.”

“All he did was go hunting out of season,” Jeremiah said with a slight shrug, and it was almost as if he yawned the words, instead of speaking them. “Shifters aren’t people. We will own this land, exterminating you all. Consider yourselves on the endangered species list.”

Dimitri chuckled as he stepped closer to the older man, the bodyguards shifting slightly to intervene if necessary. “Others have said the same thing, and we’re still here. Give it your best shot. Or was that what we saw when your grandson kidnapped two women and knocked out a guy from behind?”

Jeremiah Prescott sneered. “You haven’t seen my best shot, trust me. But you will and soon. I’d take my advice and leave if I were you. Go deeper into the swamps, make a home in the everglades, disappear. Go willingly or be hunted like the vermin you are.” He shrugged. “Either way is fine with me, but go you will. Mark my words.” He glanced around the wooded area surrounding the clearing. “Be careful you don’t start a fire and burn the place down. I’d hate to see someone’s cabin decimated.” He turned his attention back to Dimitri. “Fires tend to get out of hand this time of year.” He smirked once more, and then turned and walked away, his bodyguards right behind him.

Kinsey stared as they left, feeling like she needed a shower just being that close to the man. “Not everyone’s a fan, it seems.” She shook her head as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I remember him from Draven Falls. Not the nicest of people even to those he likes.” She glanced over at Dimitri. Kinsey was unaware the Order of Wardens ventured out of Draven Falls. Of course, she shouldn’t be surprised since the hate group was hellbent on eradicating paranormals from the planet. From what she just heard, Jeremiah Prescott had already made an attempt and failed. “What happened with his grandson?”

Adira walked over, wrapping her arm around Dimitri’s waist as he told Kinsey how the Prescotts tried to run Wes Stapleton out of town and kidnapped his mates and Noel’s mother after wrecking Everglades, Wes’ bar. She had to admit the description of those animals busting into a mansion to save the day made her giggle. Then, Dimitri’s words sunk in a little further, and not the ones about the fight at the Prescott mansion. “You’re telling me that two bears scented the same human as their destined mate?” she asked, confusion wrinkling her brow. “How is that possible? I’ve never heard of such a thing happening. I mean, I’ve heard of polyamorous groupings, but actual mates? With the calling and everything?” She could feel her panther purring within her, still slightly confused at what the animal felt when Mandy was at her place a few days ago.

Dimitri shrugged. “I hadn’t heard of it, either, until I watched it happen. From what Jed says back in Draven Falls, it happens more often than we think.”

Adira smiled as she squeezed Dimitri’s waist. “Love knows no bounds, it seems. The heart wants what the heart wants.”

Dimitri leaned down and kissed her nose, and Kinsey smiled at the display of affection, even though she felt an ache within because she didn’t have the same thing. She paused a moment. Or do I? What if what I felt with Mandy had nothing to do with Fitz, but everything to do with Mandy? Her eyes widened at the thought, and the way her panther purred within her, feeling the animal’s arousal over a woman she barely knew told her she hit the truth. About the only thing she did know about Amanda Everest was the woman married Kinsey’s mate. Now, it seemed like there was more to their story, but what was she to do with it? She left Draven Falls already. She couldn’t go back claiming Mandy was her mate as well. That would be ludicrous. People would think she was just horning her way into Fitz’s marriage to be close to him. She couldn’t do that. No. She wouldn’t do that.

“You all right?” Alanna asked, giving Kinsey a strange look.

Kinsey sent the thoughts away as she turned her gaze to the redhead. “Yeah, just thinking back to something that happened before I left Draven Falls.” She shrugged. “I may have left too soon.”

She felt Dimitri watching her, but she was afraid to look his way. She needed to find the bear shifters they talked about and see how they figured out their relationship. Could a polyamorous relationship truly be possible? She sighed as she turned her gaze back to the flames flickering into the night sky. The real question was, did she want one? Could she be in a relationship with another woman sharing the same man?

“We should do a ladies night tomorrow night,” Adira said, and the way she said it, Kinsey got the impression the witch knew the thoughts floating through her mind. “Wes and his mates work at the bar most nights, so can’t make it to the bonfire. We should go to them.”

“Every time you ladies do a night out, all hell breaks loose,” Dimitri said with a groan. “I think we should just make it a night out and invite the gang. There’s strength in numbers, and with Prescott lurking around, I think numbers are what’s needed.”

Adira glanced at her mate, lifting up her hand, white sparks shooting from her fingertips. “I dare him to try,” she said with a grin, and somehow, Kinsey knew the tiny woman could very well take care of herself.

Dimitri leaned over and kissed the dark-haired woman’s nose. “Even with your sparkly fingers, I’m still going.” He then turned to Josh and Alanna. “How about you two? You in?”

“I can always use a night in a bar,” Josh said with a grin and a bounce of his eyebrows.

“I’ll fill Eve and Lainie in, and they can tell their men,” Alanna said.

“And I’ll tell Ezra,” Josh added. “We can make a giant party out of it.”

Kinsey kept smiling, but she didn’t really need a crowd around when she asked the bear shifters about their mating life. Adira offered a smile, and Kinsey could tell the woman knew what bounced around in her head. Adira nodded, as if to say she’d help Kinsey. Kinsey just smiled back at her. What if I did leave too soon, and there was another option? What did I do by not staying in Draven Falls?