With the Sunrise - Fiona Davenport Page 0,15

and vulnerable.

“Have you talked to Stephan lately?” Kieran asked.

I swallowed the liquid in my mouth before answering. “Not really, he’s been working a lot. He was at the party last night, but I took off with Selene.”

Kieran glared at me. “Yes, something that greatly distressed my wife, who’d missed her friend for a very long time. If I didn’t know what you were experiencing, you’d be groveling to her right now.”

I snorted. We were matched pretty evenly in size and had yet to end a tussle in anything other than a draw. Stephan was more toned and had several inches on us, and his strength wasn’t to be underestimated either.

“Thana says he’s been working so much because he’s struggling with how long it took us to find our consorts. It’s a good thing I have a female who sees that kind of shit because I missed it completely.”

Nodding, I drained the rest of my glass and rinsed it in the sink. “I can understand that. He’s young. It’ll probably be even harder now that I’ve found Selene. I wish there were a way we could help him find her.”

Kieran brought his empty cup to the sink, and I washed it out as well before putting both glasses in the dishwasher. “I know. But it’ll happen when the time is right. I think maybe we should try to take his mind off it a little more.”

“Silas is having an anniversary party next month. There are bound to be numerous single women there.” I chuckled as I thought of my friend. “Any excuse to do some matchmaking. I swear he grew a pussy when he mated.”

Kieran laughed, then shrugged. “Maybe, but at least it ups the odds that some of us will find our fated mate.”

“True.” I cocked my head and smiled in the way only a brother can when he’s about to fuck with his sibling. “I’ll call Stephan in the morning before he goes to bed and tell him we’re taking him to the party.” We walked toward the door to the garden, and I added, “Hog-tied if we have to.”

7

Selene

Thana hushed me when I started to talk after we stepped outside. “If we’re going to girl talk, we need to be farther away. Kieran and Athan have great hearing.”

She practically dragged me across the patio and into the garden. I looked around in awe at the flowers surrounding us. “Wow, this is so beautiful.”

“Yeah, Kieran and Athan definitely inherited a green thumb along with their vampirism.” Thana huffed, which I found hilarious.

I bent over at my waist, slapping my thigh as I giggled. “Remember that time in science class when we had to measure plant growth, but you almost failed because you kept killing your sunflower? Even though Mrs. Walters said they almost grow themselves?”

“Don’t remind me.” She planted her hands on her hips and glared at me. “She was so awful about it, acting as though I’d killed the stupid plant on purpose or something.”

I straightened and grinned at my best friend. She looked so grumpy about the memory from almost a decade ago. Moving closer, I gave her a big hug. “At least she didn’t get the chance to fail you.”

“Only because you rescued me by planting three different kinds of plants and bringing me the one that sprouted the quickest.” She laughed and shook her head. “I ate the crap out of that darn radish once the assignment was over even though I don’t like them. I just did it to spite her.”

“Oh, my gosh.” I giggled so hard that tears streamed down my cheeks. “I totally forgot about that. You waited until Mrs. Walters had lunch duty and brought the radish into school even though you bought lunch, just so you could eat it in front of her. Man, she really hated you after that.”

“So much,” Thana groaned, dropping down onto a stone bench and tilting her head back to stare up at the night sky. “My mom gave me this huge lecture about not being petty with authority figures, but then she went into the school and raised hell with the principal about how Mrs. Walters better not take the whole thing out on me.”

Sitting down beside her, I gripped her hand in mine. “Your parents really were the best.”

“I miss them so much,” she whispered, resting her head against my shoulder.

I hugged her close. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you when they died. I hate that your aunt took you away