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  “Yeah, what?” he asks as he watches my wings. Supernaturals are always fascinated with our wings. We hide them from humans most of the time, and I was a little surprised that Winter didn’t see through my glamor tonight at the restaurant. Her powers are coming through, but I’m not sure what they are, what she is.

  “Jax is protecting her. Our little wildfire is tangling with the wolves,” I tell Wyatt who looks over at me in shock.

  “How?” he asks finally.

  “Jax didn’t tell me. All I know is that he hasn’t killed her, and they have swapped blood. He thinks of her as his pack. I didn’t see it in a vision until after it happened or I would have stopped it,” I tell Wyatt who nods.

  “We always knew she would find us all. I’m more surprised that Jax didn’t try to kill her. I smelt a faint wolf on her, but I assumed she had a friend at school,” Wyatt says, and I nod.

  “My visions aren’t clear about her. There is one, but I’m only getting a part and a bad feeling,” I tell him.

  “You need to work on that, brother,” he smirks.

  “I don’t like it. I’ve never been stopped from seeing something important before. Winter’s future is lost to me, all I see is death and love,” I say tensely. My visions have never been something I’ve feared, but now they scare me.

  “What can we do? We have to be here for her and lead her along her path,” Wyatt tells me. Like I don’t already know this.

  “What is your father up to? My council has told me he has called us three times. Each time, he wants us to stay out of something. I haven’t seen any visions about him in a long time, enough time that I believe he is blocking me somehow,” I tell Wyatt. A worried look clouds his face as he thinks. His father is pure evil; and anything he does, everyone needs to be aware of. He won’t risk a war with the angels or witches. As far as I know, we are both still neutral, the witches are siding more and more with the wolves, and I bet Wyatt’s dad knows this.

  “How could he block you?” he asks me.

  “No clue, man,” I tell him, I don’t know of any power that could block us. I look over at Winter’s simple apartment. It’s a grey building like many others in this town. It’s nothing remarkable, and neither is our university, so why did Winter turn up here? I think someone must have known about her and sent her to the town with the most supernaturals. The only place she could have met all of us.

  “I’m doing a protective ward on her building, Atti is going to come tonight and put another layer of protection on it,” I tell Wyatt.

  “Make sure the wolves can enter,” he says while watching the apartment.

  “Aren’t you worried Jax will hurt her?” I ask. I’m half tempted to tell Wyatt no. I don’t want Jax near her when he is like this. The brother I grew up with, one of my best friends is lost because of his sister’s death. A death I saw way too late.

  “If he does, I will beat the shit out of him,” Wyatt says bluntly. I have no doubt he would. Jax only hates Atti and me because we sided with Wyatt when he needed us. There was no right or wrong person, but Jax didn’t see that. That wolf is as stubborn as the rest of us.

  “So would I. I'm more worried about her heart,” I tell Wyatt.

  “She will fall for me instead,” he laughs, messing with his wavy, blond hair.

  “I'll be around.” I narrow my eyes at him, and he smirks at me.

  “I’m sure you won’t go far,” he replies, a slight challenge in his gaze. There isn’t the normal jealousy you would expect to find when I think about sharing Winter. I know if I had to share her with anyone else, I would lose it. My best friends are different, and I guess it helps that I’ve always known I would have to share her. Sharing mates is not unheard of with many of our kinds, with our races not bringing out an even number of females and males. The slight problem with us sharing is that it’s never happened between separate races before. I know all our families would lose their shit over this, and I have enough problems with my two younger brothers as it is. They highly dislike me and want the throne I will inherit from my council in a year. The problem is, I have to follow every one of the council’s rules, or they will give my throne to one of my brothers. They dislike me as much as I dislike them; a bunch of very old angels who believe their word is law and we shouldn’t help others.

  “I researched her family,” he tells me, shaking me from my own issues. Winter is all that matters now.

  “And?”

  “One mother, no other family, but there isn’t a birth certificate for Winter’s birth. There’s a fake one, but it was made when Winter was at least two years old. I want to meet her mother and ask some questions,” he tells me. I have a big suspicion that Winter isn’t human, maybe a half of something. Purely because I’ve never seen humans have such a strong aura. Or a blue one for that matter.

  Vampires have a black aura, angels are yellow, witches are purple, and shifters are green. Humans are gold.

  “Her father?” I ask.

  “None around, her mother grew up in the small town she lives in. She moved into her family home when her parents passed away. I saw that she went to university a few years before Winter was born but nothing else,” he says.

  “It’s odd. I expected her parents to protect her from us, not send her straight to us,” I tell him. I knew we would meet her eventually, but I expected her to have protective parents. I know she isn’t all human because a seer told us that she would have strong parents. That was over a hundred years ago, way before any of us were born, so who knows? It could all be hearsay.

  “Me, too. Something is going on, and I’m not sure what. From the pictures I have of Winter’s mother, they do look kind of alike, so I doubt she isn’t really Winter’s mother,” Wyatt says.

  “I'll look into it, I wish I knew a dark angel who didn’t like their queen,” I joke. Dark angels can see the past and have visions of it, unlike light angels who can only see the near future.

  “I don’t know any. I bet my father does, but I’m not telling him about Winter, he would expect me to turn her,” Wyatt says.

  “I'll ask Atti,” I reply, with a slight grimace at his father being mentioned. The King of the vampires isn’t a good man, and I want Winter as far away from him as possible.

  “Got to go, I’m hungry,” he grins at me.

  “Later, vampire.” I laugh and walk towards Winter’s home. I whisper the protection ward, linking it to my powers; it will hold until I die. I will feel everyone that enters her home with bad intentions, it’s a power meant to protect our young and our mates.

  I watch from the shadows as Wyatt drives off before letting my bright white wings out. I’m flying home when suddenly, a vision hits me.

  Twelve

  Winter

  “I can only say sorry in advance for Atti. The guy knows no boundaries and says whatever he thinks," Wyatt tells me, a small, affectionate smile on his face. We are driving towards our restaurant. Atti, which I've learnt is short for Atticus, is meeting us there.

  "No problem, Alex can be the same, and she is my best friend," I tell him, and he laughs.

  "She has nothing on Atti, trust me," he mutters.

  "Alright, I will believe you,” I say.

  “When we were kids, about eight, Atti decided that he thought it was funny to hide my things in random places. I’m not a control freak, but I don’t and didn’t like things in my room being moved. Anyway, he started off with little things—books, clothes—and then moved on to bigger stuff. The worst one I can remember is when we were fourteen. I liked this girl and invited her back to my room. I was hoping to get my first kiss; it didn’t work out like that,” he grins at me.

  “Atti had hidden my shaving cream bottle under my pillow on my bed, so when I sat on my bed and laid back, the can exploded all over my back and into my hair,” he chuckles.

  “I bet you weren’t happy with him,” I giggle.

  “No, the prettiest girl in class told all her friends. Let just say I was uncool for a month or s
o. I never did get that kiss until I was fifteen. It helped that I had a massive growth spurt at fifteen.”

  He just chuckles at me. I laugh as I think whoever that girl was that got his first kiss was lucky.

  Wyatt is dressed like a supermodel tonight, making my mouth water every time I look at him. He has a white shirt and black blazer over black trousers. His hair is styled away from his face, and his jaw is freshly shaven. It doesn't help that he smells amazing, too, so even when I'm not looking at him, I’m forced to remember how hot he is.

  "Tell me a hobby of yours," I ask. He seems to think about it for a while before he answers.

  "I play the piano. I enjoy making new music too," he tells me.

  "I would love to hear you play sometime." I look over at him.

  "One day. What about you?" he asks, directing the conversation away, a sad look passing on his face.

  "I can sing. I don't like to, but I've been told I'm good at it," I say quietly.

  "I could play, and you could sing for me," he smiles at me. The sadness slips from his face slowly. The drive ends too soon as we pull up at the restaurant. We walk straight in, with Wyatt's hand on my waist.

  "Hello, Albert." I smile at the waiter. He smiles back, a true friendly smile.

  "We will have our old table, is Atticus here yet?"

  "No, he is not. This way." He nods to Wyatt, and we both follow him to our table. The restaurant is full this time, mainly couples, but one table has a few children with them who are staring around the room.

  Wyatt pulls my chair out for me, and we both sit and order our drinks while we wait for Atti.

  A kiss is placed on my cheek as I feel a warm body lean over the back of my chair. I move my head, and I'm faced with the palest grey eyes I've ever seen. The very attractive man winks before moving back, and my eyes widen at how hot he is. This guy has blond hair, much like Wyatt’s but darker, and it's long but tied up in a man-bun on top of his head. He has a big build, towering over me and the table. The guy must be six-foot-eight, with large, muscular arms that look like he works out all the time. The man is wearing a black t-shirt that says “you know you want me” in fancy writing across his chest. He is wearing black jeans and has on glasses that make him look like a hot geek.

  "This is Atti. Atti this is Winter Masters," Wyatt interrupts my staring at his friend, and I suddenly look away at Wyatt who is just grinning at Atti, both of them are looking like they are having some kind of silent conversation.

  "Everything alright?" I ask after the silence becomes deafening, and they are still staring at each other. They don't look angry; in fact, Wyatt looks like he won some kind of bet.

  "Sorry, pretty lady, I'm just surprised," Atti says.

  "What about?" I ask him.

  "Wyatt told me he had met a beautiful woman. He told me I had to meet her. He forgot to mention how sexy and completely, fucking stunning you are," he says as he waves a hand at me, and I'm sure I'm blushing five different shades of red.

  "If I had told you that, you would have demanded to meet her sooner," Wyatt says with a small chuckle.

  "Anyhow," I clear my throat, desperate to change the subject. "Tell me about yourself, Atti."

  "Well, I make gaming software for a living. I have two cats, both of which are crazy. I am single and like brown-haired girls, that like to wear purple dresses." He raises his eyebrows at me. Yes, I'm wearing a purple dress.

  "What are your cats called?" I ask.

  "One is called Mags because I found her in a box of magazines in a bin one day. She was only a few weeks old, and it was touch and go for a while. I kept the name Mags because she likes to sleep on them even now that she’s eight years old," he tells me.

  "Aw, poor thing," I say, feeling terrible for the little kitten, and I try to ignore how much of a turn on it is for him to like to rescue animals.

  "Tell her about Jewels." Wyatt laughs, and Atti narrows his eyes at him.

  "Jewels is my other cat, only three, and I've had her a year. My friend runs a cattery, and Jewels had been returned five times. She was going to be put down, so I offered to give her a home. Little did I know that she got her name from her obsession with stealing people's jewellery and swallowing it. Sometimes she puts her findings in her bed but not often," he smirks.

  "I can't imagine you have a lot of jewellery." I laugh imagining a cat wearing a shiny necklace.

  "Oh, not mine, only all the neighbours for a ten-mile stretch; she has robbed them at least once," he says with a slight blush on his golden cheeks.

  "It's so fucking funny when he calls to say he has to go through her shit again," Wyatt chuckles as Atti punches him on the arm.

  "At least she does it in only one place in the garden," Atti shivers, a grim look on his face as Wyatt and I laugh.

  "Doesn't it ever get stuck?" I wonder.

  "No, the vets think she is some kind of wonder. She is some kind of pain in the ass instead." He winks at me.

  "Why don't you keep her in, a house cat?" I ask.

  "She can open doors," he says dryly. A slight annoyance is clear on his face.

  "Sounds like a smart kitty," I reply.

  "They rule the house," he laughs.

  We all order food while we chat, and Atti never takes his eyes off me, as I tell him about my childhood.

  "What about you? Siblings?" I ask him.

  "Nope, I am an only child like Wyatt. Dabriel’s an unlucky fucker with two real half-brothers," he says.

  "Are you all the same age?" I ask.

  "Yes, we were all born on the same day. Strange, huh?" he asks.

  "Yes very, very strange," I mutter. I’m sure I’ve seen similar things happening in those magazines and tabloids you can buy in nearly every shop.

  "So, tell me, are you sleeping with anyone? I know dumbass over here hasn't gotten you into bed, but I'm curious." He points a thumb in Wyatt’s direction.

  "That's a rude question," I say. I’m not exactly annoyed by his question, but it doesn’t mean I want to answer him.

  "I'm a bad boy, what can I say? Do I get an answer?" he asks.

  "You don't have to answer, Winter," Wyatt tells me and shoots daggers at Atti, who ignores him.

  "No, I'm not," I say with my arms crossed.

  "Do you want to be?" He winks, and Wyatt whacks him on the back of the head.

  "Enough! I am sorry, sweetheart. I forgot to tell you that he can’t be taken out in public." Wyatt says, shaking his head.

  "You wanted that answer as much as me, I just have the balls to ask," Atti replies and calls the waiter over.

  "We will have three chocolate puddings, I heard someone is a fan." Atti smiles at me.

  "Don't tell me, you've met Alex?" I say.

  "Yep, I like her. Drake is a lucky guy," he tells me.

  "He is," I comment back, a small smile on my face.

  “Although, Wyatt told me the most about you. I have to ask, do you still own that kitten underwear?” Atti asks, and Wyatt tries to hold in a chuckle when I glare at him.

  “No, I’ve outgrown them. Thankfully,” I say to Atti.

  “Oh, I don’t know. You already know I like kitties.” He grins as he rests his head on his hands on the table.

  “I imagine you don’t have any trouble finding another kitty to play with,” I say, empasizing the word “kitty”, and Atti throws his head back, laughing. Wyatt is laughing too as I grin.

  “No, I don’t, but I think Wyatt has found the best kitty yet. I'll let you know when I find out how sweet she really is,” he says, and I shake my head as my cheeks go red. I don’t have a comeback for that, and I have the feeling not a lot of people can spar words with Atti. Hell, the man looks like a giant, so I doubt a lot of people would beat him in a fight either. I’m trying to ignore the underlying attraction I’m feeling towards him, it feels wrong when I’m sort of dating Wyatt. Wyatt doesn’t seem remotely concerned about Atti and me flirting, and I want to ask him why. He seems like the jealous type, so this isn’t ma
king any sense.

  "So, tell me more about you?" he asks, leaning on his hands on the table.

  "Not much to tell, I am studying to be a vet, and I live with Alex. I'm going back home soon for a couple of weeks at my mum’s," I say smiling.

  "No stepdad around?" Atti asks.

  "Nope, but my mum is better than two parents put together," I tell him.

  "My mum is the same, she never needed anyone," he chuckles.

  "We have that in common," I laugh.

  "Maybe I can get you to come to my house to see my cats?" He looks at me suggestively.

  "No, Atti. I’m sure she doesn’t want to meet your cats. I can tell you now that’s not how you’re getting her back to your place." Wyatt glares at him.

  "Not yet," Atti smirks at Wyatt, who looks ready to start throwing things at him.

  Our dessert arrives, saving the day. Between bites, we chat for a while. Atti tells me what Wyatt was like as a child, and Wyatt tries not to inflict bodily harm on Atti, if looks are anything to go by. After finishing the amazing chocolate, we all stand to leave.

  Atti walks out with us, and I see a bright yellow convertible parked next to us.

  "I'm guessing that's yours?" I ask, laughing because it doesn't surprise me.

  "Yep, you’re more than welcome to a ride," he jokes. Just as we get to the cars, he leans close to my ear. "I didn't just mean a ride in my car," he whispers in a very seductive tone, a tone I’m sure has brought many women to their knees.

  I cough when I get his meaning, and I'm sure I'm turning redder than is attractive.

  "Don't I get a hug goodbye?" Atti asks as Wyatt unlocks his car. Wyatt gets in after opening my door and putting up a middle finger at Atti, who can’t stop laughing.

  "I'm sorry, I think I've put him in a bad mood for your drive home," Atti says as he moves closer.

  "It's fine," I say trying not to look up into his eyes.

  "So, about that hug goodbye? I'm a hugger, so I'm not leaving without one," he grins.