Falk Clan Tales - Chapter 80: Chapter 80

“Don’t you have to get to work? We should look at the greenhouse so you can get back,” Devine murmured. he’d grown quieter since his brother had arrived—if that were even possible.
“Actually, I am not going in today,” she told him, bumping shoulders as they worked side by side to clean the counter and load the dishwasher. “I asked my brother, River, to fill in for me. He just got his MBA but hasn’t found the right job yet. I know it is different for males, but he is almost thirty and still living with our parents in their RV, and he refuses to let me hire him full time.”
“Your parents reside in an RV?” Nicholas asked. He sat perched on one of the stools as he refilled his coffee mug.
“Yeah, they love it. They’re parked in the old Von Holland lot near Baker Street,” she told both brothers.
“That is where you grew up, correct? In an RV right here in Maccon City. What was it like?” Dev inquired, and his questions warmed her inside.
She liked that he was curious, and she nodded her response. Devine looked as if he was going to add something, but then his brother was there, shoving him aside lightly. Nick turned a megawatt smile on her. Unfortunately, it did not have the same effect as one of Dev’s rarer, smaller grins.
“So, you are ours for the day, are you?”
“Yours? Ha! Are you flirting with me, Nicholas Graystone?” Sunny asked, half-teasing because she liked the Dragon, but her real interest was for her mate. If only his brother was in the teasing mood.
“A little, but who can blame me with a maiden fair such as you in our midst?” Nick admitted and winked.
“Maiden fair? Okay, I see. Well, you are a shameless flirt, sir,” she teased, turning her focus back on Dev.
“Anyway, to answer your question, yes, I grew up here, in an RV, with my parents who love the RV life. This is their fourth one and believe me when I say I had to twist their arms to buy it.”
“You mean, they choose to live in one?” Nicholas asked, seemingly shocked.
“Yep. Have you never been inside an RV, Nick, Dev? It’s not that bad. In fact, the one they are in now is probably the same price as the average three bedroom home in Maccon City. It’s not this,” she said, gesturing to the grandeur surrounding them. “But it’s super nice. I mean, I grew up in a much older one, but I think I turned out okay.”
“More than okay, little Wolf,” Dev replied softly, and closed the dishwasher with a sharp slap, leaving the kitchen and Sunny just standing there.
“Hmm, my brother seems affected by something,” Nicholas said.
“I rub him the wrong way,” she replied and shrugged, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. “I told him the truth about us, and he’s been growling ever since.”
“How do you mean?” Nick inquired. Sunny waited a beat, deciding whether to tell him. Oh well. She never was any good at hiding things.
“He’s my fated mate. I felt it the second I saw him, but he says I’m wrong,” she murmured, sadness filling her gaze. “My Wolf is not wrong. She knows what he is. I know what he is. And I think he knows too,” she continued on a deep exhale. “But he doesn’t want to know it. Or maybe he just doesn’t want me. Either way, it will be a choice.”
“A choice?”
“Yeah, mates might be fated, but it’s our choice to make it something good and strong, If he doesn’t want me, I will go away. Simple as that.”
“Simple?” Nick scoffed.
“No, I guess I should say difficult as that. But what can a girl do? I can’t force him to want me.”
Sunny’s heart wrenched at that small confession, as she stared after Devine. He’d left the room and already she felt the loss keenly. She was getting attached, and fast. If he did not want her, she had to distance herself soon. She turned her attention back to the big man with silver-tipped hair who was still standing next to her.
She saw Nicholas’ Dragon peeking through his eyes, as if weighing her, and she stilled. The way she saw it, this man was her mate’s brother. Let him evaluate her, and if she was found lacking, maybe he could tell her, and she could fix it.
“I know I’m not the kind of mate he expected. I’m not rich or refined I’m clumsy, and I talk without thinking, but I am honest. I’m loyal. And I’m kind. I don’t know why I am explaining myself at all, Nicholas, but here I am,” she said and shook her head sadly.
“Do you love him already?” he asked, and Sunny sighed. She thought about it and formed her answer immediately.
“The seed is there, the bond already formed, but it needs to be tended to grow. The Fates can only pair us up, but we have to decide to nurture or deny our relationship. I am willing to try, Nicholas. Your brother does something to me I never hoped to feel,” she confessed, looking down and exhaling the breath she’d been holding.
“You know something, Sunny Daye? I think my brother is one lucky bastard. Don’t give up on him yet, okay?”
Nicholas forced her to lift her gaze with his forefinger and thumb against her chin. They were standing kind of close to keep their conversation secret, but the Dragon who’d returned to see if she was ready to look at his orchids did not know that. The sound of his growl reverberated in the room and Sunny jumped back as Devine launched himself at Nicholas from the doorway.
Thank fuck for Werewolf reflexes! Stunned, she watched as Nicholas barked a laugh just before Devine’s fist smashed in his face. They tumbled across the tiled floor, and Sunny ran to open the sliding door to the patio facing their yard before they crashed through it.
She yelped, avoiding their claws as they snarled and snapped, and beat the living piss out of one another. Footsteps sounded, and she turned to see three hulking males racing across the sand. One of them had a small child on his shoulders. She smelled of Wolf and Dragon—must be Callius and Fred’s young.
“What is going on?” roared the black-haired man holding the tiny girl. But she was not frightened, being raised Shifter was a lot different from human. Fights were natural even among kin.
“Uh, I’m not sure,” she said, watching as the two brothers continued their fight throwing each other off the patio and onto the sand. “We were having breakfast and Devine left and Nicholas and I were chatting⁠—”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Sunny, Sunny Daye. I met Devine at my garden center. He needed help with some orchids, and well, my Wolf says he’s mine. I came over today to get to know him and to help⁠—”
“Ah, I see. This is fine then,” he laughed. “I am Callius. These are my brothers Castor and Sander. And this is my little princess,” he said proudly.
“Nice to meet you. But, um, why aren’t you stopping this?” she asked, clearly confused by Dragon politics.
“They will be fine. Sometimes, it is good to clear the air. You say your Wolf identified him as yours, but Devine has not yet claimed you. Nicholas has the right to challenge him for your hand⁠—”
Thunder roared in her ears as the two males backed up and half-shifted. Holy fuck—was it terrifying! Enormous bat-like wings protruded from Nicholas’ back and curling silver horn sprouted from his head.
Devine, on the other hand, seemed to grow gigantic stone spikes from his back, shredding his clothes with his half-shift. His tail was thick and enormous, the beast a muddy brown color at first glance, but she soon realized his scales glittered with dark blues and blacks, offsetting the dark brown tones.
He was magnificent, and she could not stop staring. But this was wrong. All wrong. He hardly acknowledged her claim. Why would he fight for her? Shit. Did Callius say Nicholas was challenging Devine for her?
No! her inner Wolf snarled. The big gray and brown brindled beast inside her was not happy with that idea at all.
“Wait a minute—Stop!”
“Sunny, you should not interfere,” Callius said, but she was so not doing this.
“Oh, yes, I should. I am not a freaking carnival prize, for fuck’s sake,” she growled and stomped her feet towards the two battling half-changed Dragons. “I said STOP!”
She vaulted over the patio, landing on her ass between the two warring brothers. A scream hovered on her lips as Nicholas charged, but Devine, seeing her directly in his path, turned around to shield her and, using his tail, propelled his brother some twenty feet away where two of the Falk brothers wrestled him down.
Thank. Fuck.
“Sunny! Are you crazy, woman? Jumping between two fighting Dragons! Do you have a death wish?” Devine snarled at her, raking his hands through his hair, and pacing in front of her.
His chest was heaving, and dayum, he was hot—if a little bloody. Sunny frowned. He was really going to have to stop yelling at her.
“First, help me up,” she snapped, and he turned, offering his hand. Sunny pulled herself to standing and crossed her arms. They had a lot of things to say to each other, but first things first.
“Second, what the hell was that all about?”
“What was what about?” he asked, chest heaving with exertion.
“The fight. You and Nicholas. What happened?”
“He was touching you,” he whispered, and his face turned bright red.
The whole world seemed to disappear as his words sank into Sunny’s brain.
Touching her? Nicholas touched her—when? Ohhhhh.
Realization dawned, and Sunny could hardly stop herself from whooping with joy. Devine was jealous, and that meant, he cared.
Holy shit.
Her mate was trembling with fury, but Sunny, she was grinning like a lunatic. He stopped and turned and walked right into her space.
“What, that makes you happy? Having my brother’s hands on you?” he snarled.
“No. His hands don’t make me happy. You do,” she said, surprising him into silence.
The energy around them became charged with another emotion, and she felt her Wolf staring into the eyes of his Dragon. Something was happening here. Something big.
Score three for Sunny.