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Sassy Ever After: Sassy Ink 3: The Hunter's Curse (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Christina Benjamin (9)

Chapter 10

Greyson

Grey was pretty sure he’d died and gone to heaven. His family had arrived three days ago and immediately fallen in love with Izzi, just as he knew they would. But better yet, Etti was still in a fantastic mood and getting along with his family. She and his mother, Sarah, had seemingly buried their differences from their first meeting. Etti even asked Sarah for parenting advice.

And Etti warmed up to Brooke right away. Grey’s shy cousin had a way of putting people at ease and Etti seemed to enjoy her company. The two of them bonded over coffee while admiring each other’s tattoos and talking art. Etti even let Brooke hold Izzi on the first day they met.

Another perk of having Brooke and his mother around was that they were neat-freaks. The two of them kept the apartment spotless and the fridge stocked.

Wes and Cali had made themselves scarce, letting Grey’s family get their time with Izzi, but Marc had suddenly become a fixture in their apartment. Ever since Etti gave Brooke a tour of the Painted Wolf, Marc had been following Brooke around like a lost puppy. It was quite funny actually, because Brooke was completely out of his league.

She grew up in Manhattan and attended Harvard before traveling the world to study art history. Grey could tell right away that Marc was into her. She looked exactly like the curvy pinup girls he’d painted in the lobby of the Painted Wolf. She always wore heels, trendy glasses and sophisticated dresses. Besides their shared affinity for pinup fashion, the only thing Brooke and the pale tattoo artist had in common was their love of ink.

But Brooke’s tattoos were all subtle and hidden, where as Marc’s practically screamed at you to look at them. His colorful tattoos covered every inch of visible skin except for his face. But his face, while handsome, was full of piercings. Grey didn’t know what kind of men his cousin usually dated, but he had a hunch it wasn’t Marc.

He almost felt bad for the guy, but stranger things had happened. When Grey first saw Etti, he’d thought she was incredible sexy and way out of his league too. Grey left Marc drooling over Brooke and walked to the kitchen to find a drink. He grabbed a six-pack of beer from the fridge and handed one to Ethan, who raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“I won’t tell mom if you don’t,” Grey teased.

“Deal,” Ethan said, following Grey onto the tiny balcony off the back of the kitchen.

They both sat outside savoring their drinks in the cool night air. Grey was really enjoying having his brother around. He loved his girls more than life itself, but he was craving some extra testosterone these days. And though Ethan was only seventeen, he’d always been an old soul, and one of Grey’s favorite people to talk to.

“So,” Ethan started. “You’re a dad now.”

Grey chuckled. “Yeah.”

“What’s that like?” The question was light enough, but Grey knew it was loaded. Ethan had been a baby when their own father died.

“It’s great, E. Honestly, it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“You’re good at it.”

“How do you know?”

“I know I don’t have a point of reference,” Ethan said softly. “But I can tell. You seem . . . happy.”

Grey grinned. “Thanks. I am happy. And I hope you get to experience love and fatherhood someday.”

Ethan smiled. “Me too, but let’s not rush.” He held up his beer. “I’m not even old enough to have one of these yet.”

“True,” Grey said, clinking his bottle against Ethan’s. “To the way, way future, then.”

Grey and Ethan sat side-by-side in silence after they drained their beers. “What about the immediate future?” Ethan asked. “What are you and Etti gonna do about the hunt?”

Grey scratched the stubble on his chin. “I don’t know, E.”

After Derik’s attack at the baby shower, Grey had come clean about his Alpha gene to Etti and the rest of his family. His mother hadn’t been surprised, admitting Grey’s father was an Alpha too. The Alpha gene added even more of a target to Grey’s infant daughter. Izzi had not only inherited Grey’s genes, but also his curse. Izzi was heir to the hunt’s throne and once she was of age, she would be able to contest Derik for control. Of course Grey planned to end Derik long before it ever came to that. But the pressure weighed heavily on him.

“Mom says you’re going back to New Orleans,” Ethan pressed. “Why?”

“We have a lead in New Orleans, but it’s not very solid. And even if we find the person who might be willing to help us, I’m not sure if we can trust her.”

Ethan was silent, pondering Grey’s words. “What would Dad have done if he were in this situation?”

Grey’s heart squeezed, thinking about his father. “He would have gone to the end of the earth to protect us. Tracked down every living soul with the power to help and forced them to, no matter what the cost to himself.”

Ethan nodded. “Then it looks like you have your answer.”

Grey patted his brother on the back, smiling. “Are you sure you’re not older than me?”

“Yep. But that doesn’t mean I’m not wiser,” Ethan said reaching for another beer.

Grey knocked his hand away. “I can still teach you a thing or two. Like go easy on the beer, junior. And don’t let Mom catch you or she’ll lay into both of us.”

Etti

Etti was sitting on the couch with Izzi on her lap while Sarah and Brooke babbled baby-talk. At first, Etti didn’t think she’d like having all of Grey’s family around, or having to share Izzi with so many people. But she found the opposite to be true.

Perhaps it was because Etti had never had a real family before. It had always been her and Wes against the world. But Grey’s family was kind and helpful and full of love. They didn’t judge or pressure Etti. They simply loved her and Izzi like they’d always been a part of their family.

And the way they loved Izzi took Etti’s breath away. Etti couldn’t believe she’d wanted to hoard her daughter’s love all for herself. Now that she was sharing Izzi with others that loved her, it only made the love Etti felt for her daughter grow.

Etti was so engrossed in the blissful moment with her new extended family that she didn’t hear the knock at the door.

“I’ll get it,” Marc said, startling Etti out of her daydream.

Instinct made Etti pull Izzi to her chest, and when she saw who was at the door, she knew why. Her father stood in the doorway, with her mother, slightly hidden behind him.

“What is she doing here?” Etti hissed in a low, hostile tone.

But Etti’s father didn’t get to respond. Her mother dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. Everyone in the room was stunned, most of all Etti. She’d never seen her mother cry, or fall down. She was the toughest woman Etti’d ever known.

Grey came to stand at Etti’s side, while everyone in the apartment watched Etti’s mother chant in words only Etti and her father knew. She was saying a Cherokee blessing—one that begged for protection of a child.

A part of Etti’s heart twisted at her mother’s words. Etti had tried for years to harden her heart against her mother so she couldn’t hurt her anymore. But as Etti watched her mother weeping and praying for her grandchild, the protective walls around Etti’s heart began to unravel.

She moved toward her mother, with Izzi tight in her arms. Her father helped her mother to her feet when Etti stopped in front of them.

“Etu,” her mother sobbed. “Forgive me for my foolishness. I will do anything in my power to help you protect this child.”

“Anything?” Etti asked.

Her mother nodded.

“How do I contact Esme Laveau?”

“I already told you, Etu. Blood calls to blood. You only need to put your child’s blood on her ancestral tomb and she will answer the call.”

Etti’s stomach knotted. Her mother had tried to help her after all. Etti just didn’t know what she meant. Etti had stubbornly refused to study the old ways, as her mother called them. She didn’t know how to contact her ancestors. But if this was true . . . they could finally find Esme and ask her to protect Izzi.

“Thank you, mom,” Etti whispered.

Her mother smiled and reached a tentative hand toward Izzi’s outstretched one. Etti nodded and watched as her daughter curled her tiny hand around her mother’s finger.

Maybe new love could heal even the oldest of wounds after all.