Her lioness stretched through her, but Sage shoved her to the dark depths of her mind before the beast could gloat or flash any impossible sendings at her with the intensity of a baby shaking a rattle. Dangerous man. Dangerous to feel anything for anyone.
Jasper had ruined that, and her father before him.
“I don’t know how to do this,” she admitted in a whisper. “I don’t know how to be normal anymore.”
Even in the worst of times in the pride of their birth, she’d been the one to paste on a smile and toss out a joke to keep Kyla’s spirits up. No matter how awful her father acted, which families he ripped apart, or what unwanted attention turned its evil eye on them, Sage wouldn’t let them dwell. The horrors were real enough without letting them consume their thoughts.
They’d switched places sometime in the last two months. Only, Kyla wasn’t faking it. Her friend and her brother were happily mated and planning out their perfect future. Colette and Hailey were the headstrong ones. Dash spouted off jokes to make the rest of them groan.
She was the one bringing them down.
Rhys took a step forward, towing her along, and it was as if the floodgates opened. She had someone to cling to while all the troubles she’d bottled up poured out of her.
“It’s like I’m living in a dream. I keep expecting to wake up in my nightmares, but every time the sun comes up, I’m still here.
“I didn’t talk to Lin for nine years, and this past year—before I was sold—was full of hesitation and feeling each other out when we managed to sneak in a conversation. I’m forever grateful we have another shot at being brother and sister, and we picked up like we were never apart. But it’s still so, so strange.”
She wound her fingers tighter into Rhys’s mane and passed a look down his back. Even against his white hide, the light scars were easily spotted. That was one thing they had in common. They both wore their damage on the outside as an advertisement to the rest of the world to look and pity the freaks.
Not Rhys, though. He didn’t give her worried looks or sad eyes. She knew she was a mess, but the whole pity thing made her want to run and never look back. Which was entirely fucked. Resenting the very people she owed her life to? Yeah, that certainly deserved some worry.
“Kyla acts like nothing has changed. She still barges through my door, the same as we’ve always done. I get wanting to hold on to the good parts, but everything is different now. She has a mate. Catching an eyeful of my best friend and big brother going at it isn’t my idea of a good time, but she doesn’t have to worry about that, so in she waltzes. Sometimes I just want to scream.”
But she didn’t. She didn’t let her frustrations or irritated objections show. The hurt feelings weren’t worth the fight.
Guilt coursed through her. Even putting the words to air seemed wrong. She’d told Kyla to find Lindley to save herself, but the woman had twisted her words around and put herself on a mission to rescue her.
The worst of the wave crashed over her just as they reached her steps. Her cheeks felt hot after spilling so much. Worse, she didn’t unload on a random stranger. She poured it out for another Crowley, and one sent to take her home by her brother. Secrets didn’t stay secret for long in a pride. No doubt everyone would know by morning.
Fuck.
She unwound her fingers from Rhys’s mane and shot up her steps.
“Sage.”
She turned, brows shooting together when she couldn’t find him immediately. Movement at the edge of her vision twisted her around to his den. He stood in the shadows of his door, eyes still bright silver.
“You’re going to get through this,” he said in a raspy voice. Then he disappeared inside.
She wished she believed him.
Chapter 5
Sage lived an entire life under the noses of the others.
Rhys sipped at his beer and watched as the little cat flitted around the edges of the gathering. She seemed to appear wherever help was needed. Kyla, tangled up in her tank top and bikini underneath? Sage worked the pieces apart. Hailey looking for the bottle opener? Sage found it hidden underneath a bag of chips. Drinks were refreshed, hamburger toppings laid out, and the day went on smoothly.
They were hardly the only ones to take advantage of the nice weather. Clans, families, clumps of friends and those on dates camped out all around the lake. Some swam, others lounged along the shore. Grills and picnic tables threw food scents into the air. Rhys even spotted a kayak or three in the middle of the lake, and tried to drown out the group playing volleyball nearby.
“Rhys! Come in the water!”
He glanced up from his spot at a picnic table. Hailey, Kyla, and Colette were perched on the shoulders of their mates. Hailey and Colette grappled and tried to push the other into the water while Kyla gestured wildly and tried to lure him closer.
A tight smile and a wave to carry on brought a frown to her face, but the sudden screech and splash of Colette being knocked over pulled her focus off him.
“Cheater!” Dash wheezed, pointing a finger at Trent. “You can’t knee a man in the nuts and call it a victory.”
Sweet fuck, this wasn’t what he signed up for when Trent talked him into a job on the ranch. He’d been looking for some shop work where he didn’t even need to talk to the damn customers. He could fix engine innards on autopilot, but making nice with people who couldn’t even describe the
