I chuckled to myself.
“Here.” Cabe set a plate down in front of me. It was piled high with cheesy eggs and bacon. Just how I liked it.
That’s weird. “Explain.”
He sighed as I looked from the plate up to him. His eyes told me that he knew what I was asking. He cleared his throat again, clearly a nervous habit. “This is not going how I planned.”
“Throw your plans in the trash; I don’t play well with rules,” I stated, grabbing a piece of bacon and ripping it in half. I started to eat one half as I handed the other to Quint over my shoulder. He hummed happily and began chewing, running his big fingers up and down my spine. I was immediately aware of how small I was compared to him. I still had to look up at him, even sitting in his lap. These guys were huge.
I froze, feeling his fingers gently tugging apart the tangled strands that had come loose from the messy bun on top of my head. Someone must have done that last night. No one had played with my hair since...
No.
Don’t think of him.
“I have the gift of Sight, but for some reason, my gift has only been trained to see one person,” Cabe began, eyes only for me. “You.”
I stopped chewing mid bite. “Me?”
“Yes, you. I started getting visions of you eleven years ago.” He stopped but started right up again as I resumed my chewing. It was weird as hell, but I was gathering information, so I wasn’t going to freak out just yet. “I saw you the first time when you turned ten, and the visions came once or twice a day—sometimes more—every day since then. Up until a month ago when they stopped.”
A month ago was when my strength changed, when I started noticing a difference in my abilities.
“You probably began to Transition a month ago, Pup. That’s why the visions stopped,” Quint supplied from behind me. He reached over my shoulder and snatched the bacon right out of my hand. I turned and smacked the back of his head, taking it back. He just laughed and grabbed a new one from my plate.
“Okay, I want to know what exactly you saw for all those years, but I’ve got other questions on my mind, and that answers how you knew what I liked to eat…so I’ll let it go for now.” I turned to Lanier, studying his black hoodie. The back dipped down lower than the front, a look I’d always loved on guys. Paired with his ripped jeans? He looked sexy as hell. But not pretty enough to completely distract me. “What’s up, Stony? Your turn to talk.”
I looked up into his eyes and paused for a moment, not breathing. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me. He was angry as hell, poised for a battle. It made me itchy. His glare was intense and unfocused, like he wanted me to know that he didn’t like my presence in his house. I wasn’t sure if he would start anything with me, but he seemed to be getting angrier the longer I sat in Quint’s lap. “You had a spirit inside you, right?” he asked, voice hard. “Some sort of animal?”
How did he know that?
“Beast,” I corrected. “She isn’t an ordinary animal. She is a beast. So I named her Bestia.”
He watched Quint pick up my fork and pile eggs on it before lifting it to my face. I opened my mouth and ate the food he offered, inwardly chuckling as Lanier’s expression darkened. He hated that his brother was touching me, and I loved that it got him so riled up. Quint squeezed my hip in response. He was enjoying it too. Sick bastard.
“Nice name.” Quint laughed a dark sound, deep and sexy. “Bestia turned into your wings. She probably showed up when you were around nine or ten years old, right? She’s been getting to know you, protecting you, and last night she manifested herself into the form of your wings. Now she will have your back, literally.”
I nodded, remembering that exact scene as it happened. I saw Bestia’s spirit enter the wings, her body disappeared, and the wings pushed through my skin.
I shuddered at the memory, causing Quint to run a hand down my back. I shivered for a totally different reason, his fingers licking the sore muscles in my back through the shirt I wore.
Fuck, this was intense.
I looked toward Lanier and gestured for him to continue, but his eyes were narrowed on Quint’s hand. I rolled my eyes.
“Can you let her sit on her own stool, Quint?” Cabe asked with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Lanier can’t even focus long enough to explain anything. We’re going to be here all night at this rate.”
“Aww, Stony, do you want me to sit on your lap instead?” I mocked, not moving from my spot. I was comfortable, and I liked making him squirm.
“Annalise, just...” Lanier began, frustrated. “Just shut up.”
I giggled and put a hand to my chest. “Touchy, touchy.”
“For fuck’s sake, just get on with it,” Quint said seriously, not willing to let me go. “She’s content here, and it’s not like I’m shoving my dick in her right here in front of you. This is strictly PG material.”
“I don’t care,” Lanier muttered back before turning to look at me. “So last night was your beast—er, Bestia—becoming a physical part of you. She will now be able to speak freely to you, and when you’re in danger or in need of her strength, she will manifest in your wings. It’ll hurt at first, but after a few shifts, you’ll get used to it.”
I was shocked and confused but didn’t want to show it. “So I’m a shapeshifter?”
I was going off of what little knowledge I had of the supernatural world from books I read. None of this made any sense, but I refused to look weak. I’d take what they told me with a grain of salt, and I’d figure it all out later.
“No, you’re an Angel,” Lanier stated.
“Half Angel,” Quint corrected.
“Way to ease into it, guys,” Cabe groaned.
All thoughts of weakness and the will to act strong vanished.
“How in the fuck?” I yelled.
Yeah, that’s about what I expected to come out of her mouth when we told her. I was instantly annoyed with myself, with her. The fucking bond was shimmering between us, making me weak for her. It was there, but I refused to acknowledge it, though I wasn’t sure why—it was exactly what I wanted three days ago, but now that it was here…now that it was her…
I covered it up, slamming the lid on my need to protect her, and said, “Listen, Annalise, we could have eased into it for you, but I’m assuming you’d rather me rip the Band-Aid off than coddle you. Or am I wrong? Because if I’m wrong, you’re not cut out for this life, and we’ll have to toughen you up.”
She stared at me, her bright lilac eyes seeing right past my bluff. One second passed, then two…
She burst out laughing.
She actually laughed so hard she had tears running down her face after a few moments. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” She took a few deep breaths before continuing, “It’s just hilarious to me that you think you could even touch me without my permission, much less toughen me up.” She said the last words in a mocking tone.
She was laughing again. But this time Quint joined her, Cabe letting a small smile show before shaking his head like he just couldn’t help it. I was far from laughing; this girl had a lot of fucking nerve—it was hot. Too hot. “You may be Miss Bad Bitch on the streets, Annalise, but you’re in my house now, so let’s get a few things straight. We own you. You need us. So you won’t escape, trust me when I say that you don’t want to risk that. You have no idea what you are, how powerful you are, and who out there might be looking for someone with lilac eyes just like yours. So pretend to submit if you have to, otherwise we will have some serious problems.”