N. Walters - Finding Chrissten

“I know. I’m sorry.” Craig acted so mature it was easy to forget he’d been a kid when he’d been left all but alone to fend for himself. She reached out and took his hand. He closed his fingers around hers and held on tight. “Why didn’t you use the money to live off of?”

“I could have done that,” he agreed. “But that would have been wasteful. Better to make it work for me.”

“You really invested in the stock market.” Her younger brother was a financial wizard. It was strange to wrap her head around the concept.

“Sure. It’s really only a game of numbers.”

She laughed. “I’m sure there’s a lot more to it than that.” She leaned back in her chair. Quinn was sitting back looking entirely too pleased with himself. Chrissten could also see the twinkle in Craig’s eyes.

“Okay, tell me. How much money do we have?”

“Two million.”

She felt her jaw drop. She’d been expected maybe he’d doubled their money. “How?” she managed to ask when she could get her mouth working.

“I told you. I have a knack for it.” He ran his fingers through his thick blond hair, looking both pleased and slightly embarrassed. “And I might have invented a couple of Apps while I was at it.”

Chrissten burst into laughter. “Oh, is that all.” She shook her head and beamed at her younger brother. “You’re amazing.”

He grinned and it made him look impossibly young. Craig was still only twenty, a big kid and a man all at once. He was one of a kind and she loved him dearly.

“Which leads me back to my original question,” Quinn interjected. “Where do we go from here?”

“I’d like to stay in Chicago.” Chrissten was surprised by Craig’s declaration. She’d assumed both her brothers would like to leave this city where so much bad had happened. Of course, so much good had happened here too. They’d found one another again and that was everything.

“We could buy a building of our own,” Craig continued. “I’m going to keep working with computers and investing. You two could do whatever you wanted. Start a business. Whatever you want.”

“You don’t want to leave the vampire.” Quinn obviously wasn’t happy about Craig’s attachment to the paranormal creature. She figured Craig was old enough to make his own decisions. He’d managed to survive and flourish when most kids his age wouldn’t have. She wanted him to have a stable life, to give him what he wanted. He’d sacrificed so much for her.

It had nothing to do with her wanting to stay close to Hank. Nothing at all. Liar , she silently berated herself.

“I like Damek. I like everyone here.” Beneath Craig’s words, Chrissten heard the thread of loneliness running through it. He’d been alone for so long. Was it any wonder her little brother wanted to stay where he’d been accepted and found such fascinating new friends?

Before Quinn could reply, the door to the stairwell opened and Hank stepped into the room. She had her back to the door but that didn’t matter. She sensed him immediately.

Quinn glared behind her, his dark scowl meant to intimidate. “We need to get away from here.”

“Why?”

“Why? You’ve already been through so much. You need to get your head on straight before you get involved with another male.”

Her twin wasn’t saying anything she hadn’t thought of herself, but she still rebelled against it. “Maybe I need to be here to figure things out?”

Quinn frowned and balled his fists on the table. “You slept with him, didn’t you?”

So much for secrecy. “So what if I did? It’s my business.”

“You’re my sister.”

“Exactly.” She was doing her best to keep her temper but Quinn wasn’t making it easy. “I’m your sister. Not your mate or your daughter.” She knew Hank could hear their entire conversation. Michael probably could too. But there was no stopping it now.

“I spent eighteen month searching for you.” His stark words and the anguish behind them bled her temper dry. Her brother had suffered as much as she had because of her abduction.

“I know.” She got up, went around the table and hugged her brother. “I know. And I love you for it and appreciate it more than you’ll ever know, but that’s behind us now and has nothing to do with the future.”

“How can you say that?” Quinn asked. “It has everything to do with it. You need time to yourself without being pressured by any males. And, make no mistake, if we stay here that’s exactly what you’ll get. They won’t be able to help themselves. All the males want a mate.”

“Maybe I want one too.” She spoke her deepest longings aloud. “Maybe I want one I choose this time, not one forced on me.”

“Oh, Chris.” Quinn stood and took her in his arms.

His hug was so familiar. How many times had they stood like this in their lifetime? Too many to count. But it was all changed now. Quinn had Bethany. She was his mate, his life. As for Craig… Well, her younger brother needed to have a life of his own, one that didn’t revolve around his older siblings.

She felt Hank behind her, hovering like a sentinel, ready to jump in and protect her if it became necessary. She pulled away from Quinn, but before she could say anything to Hank, her twin whisked her behind his back. She thought about kicking his ass but decided to see what he had to say for himself.

“We’re leaving.” Quinn’s statement was nothing less than a lie. They’d decided nothing.

Hank paled slightly, his body tensing. “When?”

“Soon.”

“Where to?”

Quinn shrugged.

Chrissten didn’t know whether to laugh or to hit someone. Honestly, couldn’t they talk in sentences consisting of more than one word? Quinn was baiting Hank for some reason only he knew.

“I’ll be packed and ready to go.”

Chrissten sucked in a breath. That Hank wouldn’t hesitate to leave his pack for her made her chest ache and made her love him even more.

“Who said you were invited?” Quinn snapped.

Enough was enough. Chrissten stepped around her brother before he could take this farce any further. “Your home is here, Hank. With your pack.” No way would she allow him to lose it. To werewolves the pack and family were everything. They needed that closeness, that sense of community, of being among those of their own kind. She knew she’d be lost without her brothers.

His hands were fisted by his sides when he turned to her. “Are you saying you don’t want me to go with you?”

She couldn’t lie to him and simply shook her head.

“Then I’m going.”

“Why?” Quinn asked. “Why is it so important?”

Hank squared his shoulders. “Chrissten is everything to me.” His gaze was steady. He wasn’t looking at her brother but at her. His eyes burned with lust and something else, something that made her heart race.

“What are you saying?” Quinn demanded.

They’d drawn a crowd as the others heard the slightly raised male voices. The rest of the pack stood around them now. Watching. Waiting. Bethany stepped forward, put her hand on her mate’s arm and shook her head. “This is something for Hank and Chrissten to discuss. Alone.”

Quinn started to protest, but Bethany wasn’t having any of it. “You didn’t allow anyone to interfere between us, did you?” That shut her brother up fast. He swallowed his frustration and glared at his mate. Bethany seemed supremely unconcerned. Chrissten was impressed with her new sister-in-law.

Chrissten wanted to be that secure in her relationship with the man she loved. She envied Quinn his mate, his good fortune.

“Chrissten.” Hank held his hand out to her. “It’s time we had a talk.”

She took his hand and let him lead her from the room. She could feel everyone’s eyes on them. Chrissten glanced over her shoulder. Quinn was scowling but Craig smiled at her. He even gave her a thumbs up.