“Hello sister,” One of the brothers, a rugged man with the piercing blue eyes I had seen the night before, called with a smirk on his face. He was tall- They all were, and his facial features were especially defined. He walked towards mum and I, the smirk on his face giving him a mischievous look.
“Hi,” I croaked out, heart pounding loudly in my ears. I had no idea how exactly I waa supposed to react. Do I pretend that I had never met them?
“Boys, be nice to Hannah please. I will be back with your dad later tonight. Show her around the house and help her settle in, alright?” Mom instructed and the mischievous one nodded, stopping right before me, his eyes boring intensely on my face.
“Of course, mummy," He drawled. "She's in perfect hands”
Mom snorted, giving him a side eye.
“That's the first time you are using that word on me and I already know you're up to no good. I mean it Damian, play nice."
"I very well swear it," He teased, gave her a mock bow and she slapped his arm, rolling her eyes at his antics.
I watched them, my heart twitching with jealousy. She seemed to have a very good relationship with her new family. Not that I had anything to be jealous of since they were my family too, right?
“Go ahead Ma Elena, we'll take care of her. Just ignore Damian,” Another of the brothers said, standing up from the mat he laid on and approached us. He had been the one from last night who had wiggled his eyebrows at me like a pervert. My skin ought to crawl at the sight of him, but hell there was a slight tingle and I looked away.
The third brother remained where he was and just stared at us, with an unreadable expression on his face. His brown eyes were focused on me causing the hairs on my neck to rise.
“Great! At least I trust Damon a bit more." Mom said, clapping her hands. Damian faked a wounded look but mom brushed him aside. "Hannah honey, you are in good hands,"
I almost snorted at her words. Was I the only one who could see that I was definitely not in good hands?
"I will be back tonight okay? This is really really important, I hope you understand." She continued, staring up at me with her large brown eyes.
I faked a laugh and nodded. “Go do your thing mom. I promise to be in one piece when you come back."
She smiled, and turned to leave then yelled as she did.
“There is lunch in the microwave Dean. Warm it up when you guys get hungry, Don’t worry about your Da and I.”
“Got it, Ma,” The quiet brother yelled back.
Her footsteps receded and I was left alone, in a huge gigantic house with my new step brothers. Step brothers whom I had seen naked just last night.
I swear the house seemed to shrink in size and I felt slightly suffocated.
Damian cleared his throat and leaned close to me, his musky scent teasing my nose. I almost leaned back so I could get a stronger whiff of his scent but that would be terribly embarrassing.
“So,” He began, “I wonder if Elena knows that her only daughter spends time in a sex club."
My heart leaped and I stepped back, putting space between me and him.
“I wonder if your father knows the same."
He raised his brow and grinned wider.
“Feisty. Say, did you have fun watching us last night?”
“Hmm lemme think about it, oh wait- No,” I shot back, ignoring my cheeks getting hotter, “There is nothing fun about seeing three men with a woman. What? You guys couldn't score chicks for each of you so you had to share?”
“Leave the poor girl be, Damian, you are embarrassing her.” Damon said, slapping him over the head. His dark blue eyes, the shade of the night sky, glinted in amusement. “Hello Hannah, I am sorry about my brother here. I am Damon, and it is really nice meeting you."
I smiled back, shakily, but a smile anyways. “Thank you.”
“Come on. I will show you to your room," He offered and I swear I could have hugged him in relief.
Thankful to be away from all the testosterones, I followed him back inside the house.
“I don’t see any suitcases, I am assuming you are just going to be staying the night?” Damon said as we took the stairs.
“Yeah.” I mumbled.
“Oh, Great. How's life in Chicago?”
I stopped walking with a sigh. Might as well come clean. “Damon, I get it. You are nice and I appreciate you trying to make me comfortable with chit chats. But don’t, okay? I am not interested in chit chats with anyone and I am not here to make friends either."
His eyes widened at my sudden outburst, obviously caught off guard.
“Got it,” He said and pointed down the hall at a room, “That is the guest room. Do call me if you need anything. Or not. The room is neat, the sheets and curtains are clean. I made sure to keep my brothers out of it. They can be pretty nosy. Well maybe not Dean, but you know Da-”
“Thank you Damon,” I interrupted. I didn't need him rambling his head off.
He smiled, opened his mouth to say something then shook his head as if deciding against it. He walked down the stairs without another word.
With a deep breath, I slipped into the room. Sleep sounded very good at the moment.
****
"Hey… Hannah? Your mom's back." Damian said, knocking on my door.
I stirred in my bed, mumbled a "thanks" which I'm sure he heard. Lycan's had impeccable hearing.
Groggily, I went to the bathroom to freshen up with the supplies available there and stepped out.
I was grateful that none of them had come to disturb me all day. Except when one of them- Damon most likely came to tell me that lunch was ready, and I had refused to come down- A decision I regretted already, because my stomach was growling in pain.
I heard laughter when I got to the sitting room and followed the direction to the dining. Everyone was seated at a long table, laughing and talking about something.
“Oh, my you should have seen her face,” An elderly man, who I assumed was Alexander because he looked very much like all his three sons combined, narrated. “COMIC! She came rushing to Ellen and I, for rescue as the man ran after her."
“No fucking way!” Damian yelled and they laughed harder.
“I mean, I actually felt for her at that time. But it really serves her right,” Mom said, wiping the side of her eyes.
“Totally!” Damon said, nodding, his shoulders still shaking with laughter.
“Let's hope she sorts everything out before the end of the day because…. Oh, Hello,” Alexander stopped when he saw me standing at the entrance, looking like a lost puppy.
They stopped laughing and turned to look at me.
“Oh, Hannah," Mom greeted, patting the chair beside her. "I didn’t know you were here yet. Come on, sit down. Alex and I bought takeout."
I sat down on the empty seat, ending up between her and Dean.
“Good evening,” I muttered, keeping my gaze entirely on the embroidery of the table cloth.
“Hello Hannah. Your mother has told me a lot about you. It is really nice to finally meet you,” Alexander said with a warm smile. His blue eyes stared kindly at me.
He seemed nice enough, but his presence brought back memories.
Panic gripped me, and I felt a rush of anxiety coursing through my veins.
Breathe in Hannah. Not everyone is Nathaniel. Do not let your past cloud your judgment.
Gripping the tablecloth, I forced a smile and uttered, “Thank you sir. It is… uh… nice meeting you too”
“Call me Alex my dear. Or Xander. We are family after all.” He said.
Call me Nathan, my dear. My mind replayed an unwanted memory. We are to be a family soon.
Panic slammed into my chest and desperately, I tried to suppress it, concentrating on my breathing.
Shut your mouth! You stupid human being. You call me sir you hear me?! Don’t ever mention my name!!
Breathe in Hannah. Fuck just breathe!
I jumped,mouth parted in a silent scream when I felt a warm hand grip my bare thigh under the table and turned to see Dean staring at me with concern.
He stroked my skin lightly and somehow his touch brought me back to the present.
“You are fine," He muttered, before releasing my knee. I wanted to scream for him to touch me again.
“Hannah? Are you okay?” Alexander asked and while his voice sounded cool and concerned, I still felt overwhelmed.
I excused myself, mumbling something about needing some rest after the long day and ran back to my room.
With the door closed behind me, I let out a shaky breath, trying to compose myself. But the memories were relentless, anxiety caused through my bones, refusing to let me find peace.
I sat on my bed, tears welling up in my eyes, as I grappled with the swirling emotions inside me.
I heard a knock on the door, but I ignored it. Go away, I wanted to scream. Leave me alone!
The person left after a while, and I collapsed on the bed, praying for the night to be over so I could just go back home. It was a mistake coming here. Chicago was safe. Decorah was not.
*****
My own screams woke me up. Painful screams that tore at my heart. Another nightmare. I hadn't had one in weeks!
Footsteps resounded outside my door and seconds later, the door burst open.
I screamed in fear as a man stepped in and for a brief moment I thought it was the monster who haunted my dreams, Nathaniel.
The man stepped closer and I blinked. It was Dean. His brown eyes held mine, as he stared at me, compassion written all over his face. He locked the door behind him and drew closer.
Speechless, breathing heavily, I watched him sit down beside me, gently placing a hand on my back.
"It's just a dream. Calm down Hannah," he hummed softly, rubbing my back gently. "I am here."
Hard sobs wracked my body as I tried to relax. To be free from anxiety.
“Breathe in Hannah, concentrate on the sound of my voice.”
It took a lot of effort but I did. I focused on the sound of his voice, staring up at him, searching his face for something to hold on to. His warm brown eyes.
Slowly the tremors reduced, and I buried my face in his chest, sobbing furiously. Dean sighed, wrapped his hands around my waist and held me closer.
We stayed that way for minutes until gradually, the frantic beating of my heart began to slow down and my breathing steadied.
"Thank you," I croaked.
“Not a problem,” Dean hummed, his voice vibrating through my body.
I looked up at him and our gaze locked. Was it just me or did his breathing become labored? It fanned my face, warm and stirring and all the chaos and fear from the nightmare seemed to fade away.
My eyes fell on his lips and unconsciously I licked mine. His chest rumbled with a groan and his eyes slowly shifted from brown to gold.
Fuck me.
Could he smell my arousal? My body shuddered when his arms tightened around me and without thinking, I leaned closer, my lips softly pressing against his.