27. VANYA: HE'S BACK!

It was one thing I hated—being locked away while they were placed in danger because they wanted to protect me.
I ran a hand through my tangled hair as I stared at the door. There wasn’t much I would be able to do, I knew that, but I couldn’t just sit here and prey that they would return to me unharmed.
Devrim hadn’t returned yet which meant that Obsidian was going to have to fight alone.
Before I knew it, I was unlocking the bathroom door and walking out of it. My eyes darted around in search for a weapon but the angry growls coming from outside had me rushing towards the open door.
“You shouldn’t have brought her here!” Obsidian growled.
I came to a shocked halt when I saw exactly who Obsidian was talking to.
“Ezra,” I gasped, making all eyes snap to me. “Ezra!”
I took off running towards him.
“Vanya—” his words died down in a groan when I threw myself at him.
Ezra stumbled backwards but managed to catch his footing at the last minutes. He pressed his cheek to mine as his arm around my waist tightened. “I missed you too, sugarplum, but I’m about two seconds away from passing out. Please loosen your hold.”
I jerked away. My eyes locked on his face.
He was pale and sweating. I noticed that he was shaking too when he raised his arm to wipe the sweat away from his forehead. The action made my eyes drop to his chest.
“W-what happened?” I gasped.
“He thought that he was going to win a fight against a mama bear.” Red stepped into view. “Don’t worry, princess. Your mate will heal.”
I looked at Ezra. “Why would you want to fight a bear?”
At that moment Obsidian stepped up to my side. His arm slipped around my waist and a second later, I was jerked against his side.
“You’re going to pay for disobeying me, sweets,” he growled in my ear.
I scoffed, making his fingers twitch against my hip. Ignoring him, I focused on Ezra.
“Come on,” I urged him as I slipped out of Obsidian’s hold. “You need to sit down.”
Ezra nodded and swallowed loudly. I moved to his uninjured side and wrapped my arm around his waist as I guided his arm over my shoulders.
“Not you.”
Obsidian’s words made me glance over my shoulder to find him glaring at Red.
“Take her with you.”
Her? I hadn’t seen anyone other than Red. My eyes darted over to the car and narrowed as I tried to get a better look inside it.
“She stays,” Ezra told him.
“She’s a fucking stranger,” Obsidian snarled. “I don’t want her anywhere near—”
“She’s family,” Ezra interrupted him.
His eyes locked with mine for a second before darting away.
“Whose family?” I questioned, making his eyes drop to mine again. “Yours.”

***

Family.
I had no family other than my father. I couldn’t remember if Mom had ever mentioned other family who lived elsewhere.
“Rosebud, stop staring,” Devrim whispered in my ear. “I’m sure that she won’t disappear into thin air if you look away for a second.”
I slapped his shoulder. “I’m trying to find a resemblance.”
“There are some,” he muttered.
Turning around, I gripped his hips and pulled him closer as I tilted my head back to look up at him.
“Do you think that it’s true?” I asked.
“Ezra believes so.” Devrim reached up and gathered my hair from my neck. “Like I said, there are a few resemblances.”
“I’m not sure how to feel about this,” I whispered. “I want to be happy because I have more family, but on the other hand. . .I’m scared that this is all part of Joy’s plan.”
His head lowered and instead of saying anything, he pressed his lips to the tip of my nose. Devrim ran his hand through my hair but his fingers got tangled in the strands.
I winced as he freed his hands.
“How about I run you a bath?” he asked.
“That would be great.” I sniffed at my hair. “I stink.”
“You smell like Obsidian and me,” he muttered. “If I had a choice, I won’t let you bath for at least a few more days so everybody knows that you belong to us.”
“Am I included in that us?” Ezra questioned as he joined us in the kitchen.
“No,” Devrim answered.
“Yes.” I glared at him as I freed myself from his hold. “You are definitely included in that us.”
“Good.”
“You said that you were going to get some rest. Why aren’t you sleeping?”
Ezra’s eyes narrowed. “Everything smells like sex. It’s hard to sleep.”
I blushed. There had been no time to wash the sheets or air out the house before they entered it. The sliding door next to the fire place was open but only because Obsidian was outside, chopping wood.
My stomach clenched as I stole a glance in his direction. Fucking sexy. I licked my lips as I turned back to Ezra only to find him watching me. He wasn’t staring at me like he normally would.
“Will you help me change the bandage, Dev?” he asked him, eyes still locked on me.
“Sure.” Devrim kissed my cheek when he passed me. “I’ll be right back to run you a bath.”
I nodded and stared at them silently as they headed to the bathroom. The moment they disappeared from sight, my eyes darted over to the girl sitting on the couch.
I disliked the fact that our time together had been interrupted by them. But I’m happy that Ezra was back. I just wished he didn’t have to bring a stranger with him.
Filling two glasses with water, I picked them up and carried them over to her.
“Thank you,” she said softly when I handed one over to her.
I took a seat across from her. “Are you my cousin?”
“Yes.” Iris took a sip of water. “I had a photo of my Mom and yours but they took it from me when I was kidnapped.”
I choked on my water. “Kidnapped?”
Nobody mentioned anything about Iris having been kidnapped. Was that how she met Ezra?
Iris nodded as she clutched the glass with both her hands and stared down at it.
“I never knew that Mom had a sister until I found that photo. She was never planning on telling me.” Her eyes darted up to mine. “This trip is the first time I’ve ever set foot out of my town.”
“And it hasn’t been your best experience, has it?” I placed the glass down and leaned forward. “I’m sorry that you were—”
“Don’t apologize,” she interrupted me. “It was scary, I have to admit. For a while I thought that I was going to die but I’m glad that I took the trip.”
“You’re glad that you got kidnapped?”
“It sounds stupid doesn’t it?”
“A little,” I admitted.
“Mom has secrets that she refused to tell me,” Iris said softly. “I know that they involve you and things about—”
Devrim appeared next to Iris, making her mouth snap shut. His eyes darted between us before they locked on mine.
“Ezra asked for some of your help, rosebud,” he said softly. “He’s still in the bathroom.”
I hesitated.
But then got up and headed toward the bathroom. A glance over my shoulder assured me that Devrim was waiting for me to leave so he could talk to Iris alone.
What where they hiding? Shaking my head, I entered the bathroom. Ezra was seated on the rim of the bathtub, shirtless and staring down at the floor.
His injuries were on full display since Devrim hadn’t bandaged them. My stomach twisted with nausea as I took it all in. It was gruesome.
“Why hasn’t it started healing yet?” I asked him.
“It’s deep,” he muttered, glancing at me. “It will take weeks before it starts to heal.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Hurts like hell.” He gave me a crooked smile. “The painkillers work great but once they start to wear off it’s hard to focus on anything other than the pain.”
I swallowed as I moved closer to him. Hesitating a moment, I lowered myself to my knees between his parted thighs and looked up at him. Ezra sighed as he reached up with his good hand to stroke my cheek.
“Are you still made at me?” he asked. “I didn’t want to leave you but I had to.”
“I would never have gotten the chance to. . .” I trailed off as tears filled my eyes.
“It doesn’t matter because I’m here now.”
“But you almost died, Ezra,” I whispered.
He leaned forward but froze, lips curling up into a sneer. “Fuck.”
“What do you need me to do?” I asked him, instantly on alert.
“I just need some painkillers,” he whispered, “and to hold you close.”
“I need to take a bath first,” I told him.
He smiled. “Later.”
“Ezra. . .”
“You really don’t smell so bad, sugarplum. I’m trying my best to imagine what happened between the three of you.” He licked his lips. “I have some interesting ideas.”