Dash had been the one to pull me from the nest, but only because I wanted to. When I was awake, all I could do in there was fidget. There wasn’t anything to occupy my hands or time.
“I’m fine,” I reassured. “But I could maybe use a snack?”
Mercury had vanished to the kitchen in seconds, and Dash nipped teasingly at my ear. “You know how to work him, don’t you princess?” he murmured.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, smiling.
We worked through the functions of the machine—which could do so much more than I could with my hands and some needles. They were right that it was easy to comprehend when I knew the basics of the stitches. By the time I’d finished the apples and peanut butter Mercury had chopped for me, I was ready to bring my dream garments to life.
Leighton and Ambrose came home, laden down with bags of things from Leighton’s apartment, before I could lose myself in the project.
I had no desire to go back to that apartment myself.
The thought made me a little sick, actually.
All I could associate with my original nest was how I’d been dragged from it. How from then on, my pain had only gotten worse.
From being struck unconscious by the gun, to the searing dark bond attempt by Cordian…
Shuddering, I hopped off my chair.
No one had told me anything about what happened either, but I was about ready to start threatening violence for answers. They were my alphas, but I’d escaped my family on my own and I had a right to know if they were on their way to take me back.
I gave Leighton a chaste kiss in greeting.
“Did they treat you good while I was gone?” Leighton asked, a quirk to her lips as she looked at the sewing machine and beginnings of my project. “This is the most I’ve seen you do in a while.”
“They did,” I said, stepping back. “And it is. Which means I’m ready for you all to tell me what happened to my brother and father.”
All movement stopped so abruptly it was like time froze.
Mercury was horrified that I’d asked. Ambrose’s expression was unreadable, while Dash smirked, knowing it was only a matter of time before I asked. Leighton sighed, looking me up and down.
Maybe I should have waited until I had put on proper clothes, as opposed to fluffy pajamas with Nyla’s holster strapped to my hips.
Then again, I couldn’t see myself wanting real clothes for a few more days, and I wanted answers now.
“It was taken care of,” Mercury said. “That’s all you need to know.”
I pinned him with a glare and he had the good sense to look away.
“Would you be comfortable only knowing that, Mercy?” I demanded.
He had no answer.
That’s what I thought.
“Are you going to tell me, or do I have to find out on my own?”
“We’ll tell you, dove. We’re not doing it in the front entrance, though. Go sit on the couch.”
She injected a bit of command into her words, enough to get my feet moving before she let it drop. Leighton wasn’t hesitant to use the dark bond, and maybe I should be scared of that. I wasn’t. I liked having her use it, because it was a constant reminder that she was confident she knew what I wanted. My alpha was certain she would only ever command me to do what I wanted to do.
I brought my knees to my chest on the middle couch cushion, and Dash was quick to plaster himself to my side. The rest of the pack trailed in slower, Mercury arguing with Leighton in hushed tones.
“I shot your brother twice,” Leighton said, sitting on the coffee table in front of me.
While my satisfied grin might have put some people off, my mates didn’t mind that I was a fan of violence.
