The Brothers and I

Chapter 36

"Are you being serious?"

The complete look of horror on Liam's face combined with his incredulous tone had me stifling my laughter against the coffee mug held tightly between my lips.

An hour of observing the gradual shift in his features, which had gone from excited curiosity to utter shock as I regaled him with stories of how "their world" was portrayed in Hollywood movies had been sadistically entertaining on my end.

Liam on the other hand, was thoroughly unamused.

His brows threatened to disappear into his hairline as the poor man sat at the other end of the table looking absolutely bewildered and perhaps even a little offended.

"Is that what humans believe? Silver bullets, glowing vampires and musical elves ?!"

"It's sparkling. Not glowing..." I corrected politely in between my barely suppressed giggles. "...and I said Elves were shown to be ethereal. Where the hell did you get musical from?"

Liam grunted, his features set in a humourless expression as he continued to eye me in a way that questioned mankind's sanity.

"Hey! Don't sit there looking all judgemental! Not when your knowledge about humans come from porn!"

A devious smirk lit up his face in response. "So, you're telling me that humans do not eat each other's excrement during mating? I watched two females -"

"Ewwww ! Stop! That's disgusting!" I barely suppressed a shudder at the thought. "Normal people would never do half the things you see in porn! How could you believe that?!"

"In the same way you believe a piece of metal can kill us and vampires glitter in the sun?"

His quick-witted retort took us both over the edge as we burst out laughing, the ridiculousness of the whole conversation hitting us both at the same time.

And while we continued to guffaw like idiots for the next few minutes, I eyed the male seated across the table with affection, realizing that I hadn't laughed like that in a long time. Hadn't felt so unrestrained and free from the stress and tension that had weighed me down since I arrived here. It warmed my heart to know that this male, who owed me nothing, somehow cared enough to see me happy.

I knew then, that this friendship was quickly becoming an important anchor to my new life here in Portland.

Thinking of my "new life" however, my mind irrevocably drifted back to the recent events that had taken place since the pack announcement. Two weeks had passed since Thomas and I had settled into our new home on the pack grounds. The place was a modest one-bedroom cabin, a bit bare-boned but clean and well maintained. Surrounded by nature within a secluded cluster of trees, the place was warm and comforting. Like an actual home.

The peace and quiet that followed the move did wonders for my mental state as the days slowly passed by. Or maybe it was because the other four brothers hadn't bothered us since the night of the announcement. Whatever the reason was, my moods improved and the constant fear that I had been under had finally begun to recede. Of course, I wasn't foolish enough to think that all was well when I still remained in this place against my will but my mind no longer suffered from frequent attacks of paranoia and anxiety.

But what I did suffer, was the terrible bouts of loneliness and heartache every time my thoughts drifted to the other four.

This time however, I wasn't flying blind. Now that I was schooled on the effects of the mate bond, I realized this feeling for what it was but I still couldn't help but feel ill-equipped to overcome it. When fighting it proved unsuccessful, I turned to the only thing I could do in this instance – distract and avoid. So, I had busied myself with decorating and organising the place when my things had finally arrived from my flat in Manhattan. Even managed to dig up a small patch in the back for a little garden! Something that I had always wanted to have but couldn't do while living in the city.