Shameful by May Dawson
24
Legacy
As the boatskimmed across the lake, the sky above seemed dark and ominous. The waves were choppy, and I clung to the railing. Then I wondered why I even bothered. Did I really care if I was thrown overboard?
Ahead of us, the island seemed to rise suddenly out of the mist. It was densely wooded except for the strip of rocky beach and the dock; beyond the beach, there stood a stone castle, with twin spires on eitherside.
“Wow,” I said. “It’s beautiful.”
I was shocked that this was the place we’d been relegatedto.
“If it were just the three of us,” Rhett agreed, “it would be pretty sweet.”
I glanced at him curiously.
Killian said, “Four.” His jaw was tight, as if Rhett was always trying to exclude him. The tension between the three of them hung in the air, as crackling and intense as the ozone building in the air from the oncoming storm.
“I was talking about the ghost who lives with us,” Rhett said, but I wasn’t sure he meant it. “He’s the worst roommate.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Killian, feeling the strange tension I always did when I looked at him. I’d had a hopeless crush on him when I was younger. It was strange to see him again and feel like an awkward idiot all over again.
“Killian sleeps in the castle, but spends his days playing Guard, like he’s not one of us rejects,” Rhettsaid.
“I’ll be staying close the next few weeks,” Killian said. His hand settled on my shoulder, and a glow of warmth through my chest surprised me. “The four of us can train together, if I can tear you away from your busy schedule of wasting time, then killing time, then—”
“To what do we owe that honor?” Rhett asked.
“I don’t trust you with Legacy.” Killian’s tone wascurt.
Why didn’t he trust Rhett and West? I’d felt safe with them last night—unexpectedly so—but now I wondered what they’d done to end uphere.
“I think she can take care of herself. Look at West’s face.” Rhett shook his head. “I guess she didn’t think he was ugly enough already.”
West was definitely not ugly, not that I was in the business of noticing. He seemed to be pretending that no one else existed on the boat; his dark hair was tousled by the wind as he gazed out to sea. His eyes were the same color as the stormy water.
“Tell me about the ghost,” I said, trying to cut off the fight that seemed to be brewing between Rhett and Killian.
“It tries to kill us from time totime.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I never kid,” Rhett said, then, since no one could possibly take that seriously, he added, “About ghosts.”
“That’s very specific.”
Rhett shrugged. “Ambiguity is the enemy.”
“Why are there ghosts?” I demanded. “I don’t even know that I believe in ghosts.”
Rhett couldn’t hide his smile. “It’s okay. The ghosts believe inyou.”
“What happened to it? Why is it stillhere?”
“Too ornery to leave,” Rhett said. “We’ve found ways to disperse the ghost, but it always comes back eventually. Sometimes in a day, sometimes we get a whole monthoff.”
“What does itwant?”
Killian shrugged. “Who knows? Ghosts live to go boo and fuck thingsup.”
“Who doesn’t?” Rhett asked.
“Why do they make you stay here with the ghost?” I demanded, turning back to face the castle. It seemed to loom above us, enormously tall. “What did youdo?”
My voice seemed lost in the thunder of the sea and the window.
No one answeredme.
We docked. I was eager to get some time to myself to settle my feelings, because I felt like I was losing my mind. I turned so tongue-tied and stupid around Killian, it was embarrassing. It was like I reverted to the giggling fourteen-year-old who’d had a hopeless crush on him even though he ignored me completely.
I was also curious about this new place. I wondered if the vamp would ever even be able to find me here, if he were still searching forme.
I head up toward the castle. The tall, heavy wooden front doors were hard to open, but they were unlocked. I swung one open, then stepped inside.
The entryway was open to several stories above, with elaborately wrought walkways looking down at us. My footsteps echoed through the hall, over the marble floor.
Rhett leaned in the doorway behind me. “This place was built as a gift. From a rich man to hiswife.”
“Oh?” I turned around, taking in the alcoves in the stone walls. They were draped with spiderwebs, but they would be beautiful filled with flowers and art. The sun filtered in through dirt-streaked windows.
“But she died here,” he went on. “Along with their children. Murdered.”
The thought sent a chill down my spine. “Who killedthem?”
“No one knows.”
“Maybe that’s why the place is haunted. Maybe they’re trying to get justice.”
“There’s no justice for the dead. Nothing’s going to give them a chance at living again.”
“Maybe. But we cantry.”
“We can try,” Rhett mouthed, looking amused. “Look at that. You’ve been here for ten minutes and you’ve already got yourself a mission.”
“Well, what else am I going to dohere?”
“Train.” Killian strode into the entryway confidently, his boots loud on the floor. “You used to train for Security when you were in ourpack?”
“I still am in our pack,” Isaid.
“You know what I mean,” Killian said. “Keeping your skills sharp, continuing to develop, it will give you something to do. Something to focuson.”
Rhett rolled his eyes. “Maybe you could give the girl a day off to come to terms with being rejected. Unwanted. Unb—”
“Please stop helping,” I interrupted.
Rhett didn’t look apologetic.
“Where’s West?” I asked Rhett.
“Miss him already?”
“Why don’t you give me a chance to miss you, Rhett?” I shotback.
Killian’s lips twitched. But I ignored them both and kept on walking through the levels of the castle. It was huge, but what drew my attention most was the enormous, eerie pool in the basement. Sunlight falling through the arched windows dappled the green water with sunlight.
“Don’t come down here at night alone,” Rhett warned. “I’ll come withyou.”
“Why?” I demanded. “Is this where they were killed?”
“Maybe I just don’t want to miss the chance to see you in a bathingsuit.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t have a bathing suit. The jackasses who brought me here didn’t exactly give me time topack.”
“Sorry,” Rhett said. “But some of your things are in the trunk.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Killiansaid.
Rhett faced him skeptically. “You don’t really want to train me. But Legacy is special.”
“You’ve never seemed interested in applying your life to anything useful.” Killian nodded toward me. “Legacy is a goodgirl.”
I couldn’t help the faint smile that came to my lips, but Killian caught me smiling, his gaze fixed on my lips, and I felt color rush to my cheeks all over again. Holy shit. I needed to get away fromhim.
“Fine.” Rhett turned that smile on Killian. “I’m ready to apply myself to something useful now. I’ll train withyou.”
“Great,” Killian said, sounding as if it were anything but great. “We’ll start in the morning. Have you cleared the house of ghosts?”
“It sounds like that’s a useful service I offer.” Rhett noted.
“I’ll take that as ano.”
“What do you do to the ghosts?” I asked as I wandered deeper into the house, with Rhett followingme.
“We disperse them,” Rhett said. “We haven’t found a way to remove them permanently yet, but we do get rid of them until they materialize again.”
“Can they hurt you?” I asked.
Rhett hesitated. “They’ve never hurt me. But they are… alarming.”
“They scare you,” I filledin.
“No,” he scoffed, glancing over his shoulder to check for Killian or West. There was no one there, so he whispered, “Yes.”
I grinned. It was hard not to like Rhett, but I reminded myself that I should keep my distance until I knew if he was safe ornot.
“Why are you here, Rhett?” I asked.
I turned to find him behind me, close enough that I could feel the heat and breathed in the scent of his body—which reminded me of aftershave but deeper, dark and spicy.
“Why are you?” he asked.
My lips quirked. “Because everyone thinks I’m aliar.”
“And areyou?”
“No.”
“So if I tell you why I’m here, will you believe me? Orthem?”
I stared into those brilliant blueeyes.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
He nodded. “Wise ofyou.”
Then he walked ahead of me through the castle. “That’s why I don’t want to tellyou.”
“That’s not fair, Rhett.”
“We’re trapped in a haunted castle on an island for rejects and we don’t have wifi. Nothing here isfair.”
I spent the rest of the day going around poking through the entire house. It was fascinating, from the many old-fashioned bedrooms with big stone fireplaces and canopy beds to the two-story library that smelled of dust and old paper and leather bound tomes. In the hallways, portraits of unknown people stared down at us, unsmiling in their old-fashioned clothes. I kept expecting to be startled by a ghost, but nothing ever happened.
Rhett tried to explain everything to me. Their—our--food was dropped off from the main island by boat. The enormous galley kitchen, spacious enough for an entire catering team, was stocked with just a few items looking out of place on the shelves next to an industrial stove.
But he chattered cheerfully as he made the two of us an omelet for lunch. He’d tell me anything, it seemed, except for what I really wanted to know: why he was here, and whether I could trusthim.
“What about West and Killian?” I asked as he sliced the omelet in half and slid one side onto my plate, oozing cheese.
“Killian’s going to have to come ask me nicely if he wantsfood.”
I was curious about that. “Why don’t you two get along?”
Rhett’s gaze was too knowing. “If you don’t find Killian cute, there aren’t a lot of other redeeming features there.”
“Oh, shush.” I pointed my fork at him like I might stabhim.
Rhett leaned back in his chair, a playful smile coming over his lips. “I think you and I already know each other too well for pretense, Legs.”
His gaze heated, as if he remembered that night in the bed together fondly even though he had never touched me, and I felt a throb of lust between my thighs that had nothing to do with Lucas.
I straightened in my chair. Focus on the eggs, not the sexy and infuriating man. “AndWest?”
He shrugged. “Sulking somewhere. Sulkers can eat cereal.”
“Why is he sulking?”
Rhett just smiled and didn’t answer. “Eatup.”
“Is he mad because I’m here?” The thought made something squirm in my stomach. Maybe I had been pretty annoying the night before.
Rhett sighed. “You seem to think my brother is the most fascinating person on the island.”
“Well, you won’t tell me anything about yourself.”
“I’m an openbook.”
Well, let’s see how true that statement was. “You had a bad reputation when we werekids.”
“Is that a question? Because it sounded like a statement, and I already know I’m a disappointment to my mom.” His tone was light as ever, but something flashed in hiseyes.
I had the feeling maybe now wasn’t the time to press the why are you here question. “Do you miss ourpack?”
His lips quirked. “Should I? Does anyone there missme?”
“I think so,” I said, thinking of how popular Rhett and West had been in high school, no matter how rowdy Rhett was or how broody and dangerous West seemed.
Rhett’s brows arched. I went on, “Did you have a mate? Did you ever find anyone in the ceremony?”
“No,” he said. “Which is a good thing, given how this all turnedout.”
He spread his hands to encompass the enormous kitchen around us. So he’d feel badly if he had a fated mate somewhere waiting on him, stuck in limbo while he was on the island.
“You know, some packs don’t even do a ceremony like that,” he said. “Some packs manage love and marriage without any deities taking an interest.”
“Do you wish you belonged to a pack likethat?”
Rhett leaned forward, one elbow propped up on the table. “I wish I belonged to a pack that let people be whoever the hell theyare.”
There was an undercurrent of anger in his words, and it made me wonder what had happened tohim.
“And who areyou?”
“I’m a little too complicated to be summed up in a question-and-answer session, Legacy. Just like you. But we’ll get to know each other.”
“I guess we have plenty of time,” I agreed.
Rhett smiled his crooked smile.
“Plenty of time,” hesaid.