Strings of Fate by Kit Bryan
Chapter 38

38- Sleepwalking and spa days

I put it out of my mind and turn my attention back to those in the room. Bellamy looks dead on his feet, he also looks annoyed.

“It’s got

got to be those damn canine Shifters. Wright has always had an issue with me. Mum never liked him either.” He sighs and deflates. It makes him look even more tired.

“But I can’t prove anything. At least not yet. Maybe I should go and try and replace something more solid I could-” I cut him off.

“No, there are more immediate issues. Like you getting some sleep before the party tonight.” I keep my tone firm. I am not suggesting he sleep, I’m ordering it. He needs to rest or he will be totally useless. Tonight will be stressful enough for him as it is. I don’t need him loopy. from sleep deprivation.

“But I need to get proof the canine Alpha was involved in the attack. I can’t just leave it.” He objects. Megan takes the chance to put in her two cents.

“I’m with Ryann on this one Bel, you need sleep. Besides, you have your own personal army of Shifters ready to obey your every whim. Use them.” He is shaking his head before she even finishes talking. He meets her eyes.

“No.” He says stubbornly. He is holding her gaze, Megan stares back at him for about thirty. seconds, there is a clear battle of wills going on here. Ultimately though, Megan fails. She drops her eyes to the floor.

“Dammit.” She mutters. Her shoulders slump and that tells me that she’s done fighting him. on this. Well she might be done but I’m not. I step closer to Bellamy. He is still watching Megan. I see a look of guilt flash across his face, gone as fast as it came. I guess he really does feel bad using his Alpha status to boss his sister around. I put a hand on his arm to get his attention. He turns to me and seems surprised to replace me so close. I put a hand on his other arm and turn him to properly face me.

“Bellamy.” I’m standing close enough that he has to look down to meet my eyes. Standing like this, the red thread that connects us is less than 30cm long.

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38- Sleepwalking and spa days

“Go, you need to sleep.” My voice is firm, but I keep my voice soft, barely more than a whisper. He stares down at me stubbornly. His eyes widen in surprise when I don’t look away. I have no idea how much time passes, but Bellamy eventually relents. He doesn’t look away, he isn’t submitting. He just knows I’m right.

“Fine.” He holds my gaze as he responds. His voice is far more smug than it should be. He just lost an argument after all. I know he is thinking about our previous discussions of my dominance. Dam it. I was hoping to avoid this for a while longer. But I couldn’t let him keep going like this. He needs to rest. I just roll my eyes at him, finally breaking the eye contact.

“Go on, get out. Get some shut eye.” I wave him towards the door. I suddenly want him away from me, I need some distance. Hopefully he doesn’t connect the dots and realise what me being his equal in dominance could mean. Okay, I know he isn’t stupid, but he is really tired. Maybe he won’t realise it. At least not right away. Bellamy groans.

Yes, yes, I’m going.” He turns and trudges slowly out the room. I turn back to Megan. She

has a satisfied look on her face.

“What?” I demand, defensively. She just smiles at me.

“I’m not a Shifter, he can’t order me around like everyone else here.” I make my excuse. I can’t tell if she believes me or not but she thankfully decides not to question me about it.

“We should get going, we have a full day ahead of us.” She looks excited and half skips out

the door.

“I’m just grabbing my bag, I’ll meet you at the door.” She calls out behind her as she climbs up a staircase that I didn’t notice earlier. That just leaves Darrien and I. The moment Megan is out of earshot he starts laughing.

“Shut up.” I grumble. I elbow him as I walk past and head back down the hall towards the front door. He follows behind me, still chuckling under his breath.

Three hours later Megan and I make it back to the house. She had arranged full body scrub spa treatments for us followed by facials, manicures and pedicures. During the process the beauticians brought us drinks and lunch from a cafe next door to the spa. I have never felt so spoiled in my life. Darrien is following behind us as we enter. He is holding our handbags as

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38- Sleepwalking and spa days

Megan was concerned that our manicures might not be totally dry yet and didn’t want to risk it. The risk must have passed though because Megan takes both bags from him and dismisses

him.

“Thanks for being a good sport this morning Darrien. That had to be pretty boring for you. You can go relax now. I promise to call if either of us need to leave the house.” Darrien smiles.

at her.

“Of course Miss Kane.” He wanders off into the kitchen. Probably to eat more cookies. Maggie

is the best cook after all. I also really doubt that he was bored. Most of the time he seems content just sitting and watching Megan… exist. Megan thrusts both handbags into my arms. All she has now is her phone which she apparently had in her pocket.

“Head up the stairs, remember, my room is the first door on the right. Let yourself in and make yourself comfy. I want to call Tristan real quick.” She waves me away as she heads into Bellamy’s office for privacy. I follow her instructions and head up the stairs. The top of the stairs lead to another hall with four doors. The first on the right has a cute little name plate. on it with Megan’s name. The others are all plain. Still, I know that Bellamy must be asleep in the room to the left, I can see our thread. The other rooms are spare bedrooms I think. It seems a little odd to me that they live together even as adults. But apparently most Shifters stay close to home. They like to live in family groups. Megan and Bellamy’s household is considered tiny since they have no parents, grandparents, mates or children living with them. For a brief moment I consider what it would be like to live here one day. I dismiss the thought, it’s far too early to think of things like that. I’m lost in thought and not prepared for Bellamy’s door to swing open and I stumble up the top step and drop the bags I’m holding. They land at my feet. Bellamy stands in the doorway. He still looks exhausted, actually he looks half–asleep. The room behind him is dark.

“Sorry, did I wake you? I didn’t mean to.” I apologise. Bellamy shakes his head, although his eyes still seem glazed over a bit. He just stares at me.

“Uhm, did you need something? You still have time to sleep for a bit longer-” I stifle a squeak as he steps forward, grabs me around the waist and pulls me to his chest. He is surprisingly tense for someone who is barely conscious.

“Was so worried last night.” His words come out slurred, like he’s drunk. But I can’t smell alcohol on him. I think he must just be pretty much asleep. I freeze in place and his grip

around my

waist tightens. One of his hands moves up to the back of my head. He gently but

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38- Sleepwalking and spa days

firmly pushes my head against his chest. Not wanting to wake him up entirely and deal with the awkwardness that would result, I give in and relax against him. As I relax, so does he. I can feel his shoulders softening. His head moves to rest on mine. He releases a deep breath. I stand with him like that for a minute before I begin to worry that Megan might come up. I don’t know how long her phone call is supposed to take.

“Bellamy. You should go back to bed.” I tell him softly. As I speak I pull away from him, this

time he lets me move back a little but doesn’t totally release me.

“Kay.” He mumbles. He starts to move back into his room, but his hand is still on my waist and he tries to pull me along with him. If nothing else, this tells me that he isn’t really awake enough to be aware of his actions right now. Even if Bellamy was going to ask me to come into his room, he wouldn’t just try and drag me in without even asking. I grab his hand and pry it away.

“Go back to bed.” I repeat. He sighs and shuffles back into his room. I close the door behind. him. I then quickly pick up our bags and dash into Megan’s room. What the hell just happened? I guess Bellamy is clingy when he’s sleepy. I really hope he doesn’t remember it when he wakes up. I’m so glad Megan didn’t replace us like that. It would be too awkward. I groan as I realise that Shifters can scent when I’ve been close to someone. Megan is going to be suspicious anyway. I wonder if I can hide it somehow. The best option I can think of is to cover it up with another scent. Since I’m in Megan’s room, obviously it has to be hers or it would be equally suspicious. I glance around for a way to accomplish my goal. Eventually I decide to just curl up on Megan’s bed for a while. We spent quite a while relaxing on her bed

last time I was here, so I know she won’t mind the intrusion. I climb onto the bed and cover

myself with one of her blankets..