Free Eruption (The Hunted Series Book 3) by Ivy Smoak Page A

here to celebrate
you and James." He pulled me past them and through a long hallway.
    I could hear James raising his voice. It echoed in the large
foyer, making it impossible to hear what he was saying. Rob picked up his pace,
trying to put distance between them and me.
    I breathed in through my nose, not even trying to hide the
sniffling noise.
    "Oh, geez." Rob looked down at me and stopped.
"Don't cry." He pulled me to his chest. "Don't show them that
they won. That's the last thing you want."
    "They did win. They didn't even give me a chance."
    He put his hands on my shoulders. "Part of being in this
family is learning how to ignore my parents. You have to have thick skin. You
can't let stuff like this bother you."
    "They invited his ex wife to our engagement party."
    "Yeah, my parents suck. That can't come as a surprise to
you. They're the fucking worst."
    I laughed and wiped away a few tears that had fallen down my
cheeks.
    "You're going to be my little sister. I'm going to help
watch out for you. But you can't let them get under your skin. Show them that
you don't care. That's what the three of us do."
    I took a deep breath. Rob always joked around with me. It was
nice to hear that he truly cared.
    "And they're not even doing this because of you. They're
mad at James. And trust me, not having their approval makes us all like you
even more. So cheer up." He lightly bumped my chin with his fist.
    I laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm still focused on the fact
that you said I was going to be your little sister."
    "Ugh. Don't hold that against me. I mean, if you're
looking for less drama, I don't have an ex wife." He winked at me.
    "You can't take it back now. I always thought it would
be nice to have a brother."
    He rolled his eyes. "Don't let it go to your head. I was
just being nice."
    "Mhm."
    He removed his hand from my shoulder. "So, are you
okay?"
    "The brotherly pep talk definitely helped. Thanks,
Rob." I looked down the hallway toward foyer. I wanted James to walk into
the party with me. I didn't want him to be fighting with his parents. And I
definitely didn't want him to talk to Isabella. I just wanted him by my side.
    "Come on," Rob said and held his arm back out for
me. "I'm supposed to be escorting you to the party. Not letting you mope
around in the hallway."
    "I'd rather just hide somewhere and not see
anyone."
    "Just bottle up all your emotions and try not to think
about them. That's what becoming a Hunter truly is. Why do you think we're all
so messed up?"
    I laughed as he walked with me down the hallway.
    "Welcome to the family, Penny." He winked at me
again as he turned the corner. We walked through a marble archway into a room
filled with at least a hundred people. And I didn't recognize any of them.
    "Shouldn't we wait for James?"
    "I don't know. He said to bring you in here." He
looked over his shoulder. "How about I go grab you a drink to calm your
nerves. What's your poison?"
    "Don't leave me."
    He laughed. "Jen's over there. I'm sure she'd love to
introduce you to some of the family."
    I nodded. "Get me something strong."
    "I'll do my worst." His arm fell from mine.
    It felt like everyone was staring at me. I smiled awkwardly
and walked over to Jen.
    "What took you two so long?" she said as she gave
me a quick hug. "Wait, where's James?"
    "Talking to your parents." I didn't want to think
about what he was doing. "Rob said you might introduce me to some of your
family members. I thought this was going to be a small thing. Why are there so
many people here?"
    "Well, your wedding is going to be so small that Mom and
Dad insisted that everyone come down to meet you now. They're all so excited to
meet you."
    So this was basically everyone we hadn't invited to the
wedding? Oh God. I swallowed hard. They all probably hated me too.
    "You okay?" Jen asked. "You look really
pale."
    "I'm fine. Do I know anyone here?"
    "I think the invites got a little confusing. Most of
your friends are arriving around seven I think. But