Free Finding Chrissten: Legacy, Book 5 by N.J. Walters

out.
    Chrissten’s palms went damp and she grabbed Craig’s hand. “Is he that dangerous?” She’d never met Damek, but she’d heard the others talking about him in hushed tones.
    Craig shrugged, looking totally unconcerned. God, he should be in college somewhere worrying about classes and girls, not trying to discover where to find dangerous werewolves and putting himself at risk by working with a vampire.
    “He’s very powerful, no doubt about that.” Craig pushed his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose. “You can sense it the moment he walks into a room. None of the others have any idea exactly how old he is, but he’s been around a long, long time. He wouldn’t hurt me. I trust him.”
    Her brother was obviously fascinated with Damek. Chrissten could hear it in his voice. And when Craig set his mind on something there was no way to dissuade him. He could teach stubborn to a mule. She glanced at Quinn and they shared a look, a moment, a pledge to protect their younger brother at all costs.
    A warm feeling flooded through her. Oh, she’d missed this sense of connection, of belonging that she had with her brother, her twin.
    “Enough about Damek. You’ll meet him soon.” Craig slung his arm over her shoulders and gave her a quick squeeze. “We’ve brought you something.”
    “Really? What?” Craig’s obvious excitement was contagious.
    Quinn walked over by the door and she noticed the two boxes sitting there. They were plain brown packing boxes with no markings on the outside. Her twin grabbed one and brought it over, setting it on the floor in front of her.
    “Thought you might like some of your own things.” His voice was gruff with emotion and his eyes were moist with unshed tears. She couldn’t speak. She was afraid if she tried to say anything she’d burst into tears.
    Chrissten nodded and tugged open the flaps of the box. The scent of vanilla, her favorite lotion, wafted up at her. She bit on her bottom lip to keep from crying as she folded back the cardboard to reveal the clothing neatly folded inside. Her clothes. They’d brought her belongings to her.
    She reached in and pulled out a cotton sweater. It was the same color blue as her eyes. It was soft and long, hitting the tops of her thighs. She loved this sweater. She buried her face against the material and sobbed in spite of her resolve not to break down.
    The mattress sank on her right side. Quinn wrapped his arm around her. On her left, Craig did the same. She was surrounded by their love, their caring.
    “Everything is going to be all right.” Quinn whispered his promise in her ear. She shook her head, not truly believing him. How could it be? She was mated to a monster. One that wouldn’t stop until one of them was dead.
    “We didn’t mean to make you sad.” She could hear the worry, the sorrow in Craig’s voice and forced herself to raise her head. She dropped the sweater back on top of the box and scrubbed her hands over her cheeks.
    She felt like an ungrateful wretch. “No. No. I appreciate you bringing me my clothes. I was just saying to Meredith earlier how I was sick of wearing nightgowns and I wanted to wear real clothing. I just never expected it to be my own.”
    “We’ve both moved around a lot this past year and a half.” Craig glanced at Quinn, who looked away. “I packed up our old apartment and put everything I didn’t sell into storage.”
    Her hands shook. Indeed, her entire body was trembling. They’d kept her things—her books, her clothes, her small treasures.
    Craig got up and went over to the door. He lifted the other box and brought it back to the bed. He opened the flaps and dug inside. A second later he withdrew a slightly bedraggled panda bear. A child’s toy. Hers.
    “Manda,” she cried. “I can’t believe you kept her.” She took the small bear that had been her favorite toy as a child and held it to her heart.
    “You were missing. Not dead.” Quinn’s voice had a hard edge.