Here Be Dragons (Completed)

Identity

I quickly cleaned up the photos, feeling disturbed and saddened by what I'd found, and double checked the room to make sure it was exactly as I'd found it before bolting from the bedroom like it was on fire. I couldn't say exactly what it was about those pictures that filled me with such unease but I wanted nothing more than to flee from their memory, so I did. I ran from the room and took the hallway to the stairs and leapt down them like I had sprouted wings.

It wasn't until I was at the front door that I paused with my hand on the doorknob. I jerked my hand back and flattened my palm to my racing heart, utterly confused at why I was acting like this. So the guys may or may not share a similar history as me, so what? That didn't change anything...right?

A deep laugh echoed from somewhere behind me followed by a childish giggle and I spun around in bewilderment. What in God's name was a child doing in a place like this? I'd never been maternal, never for a moment thought of bringing a child into this shit world and screwing them up like my stepmother had done me. Other people's babies were noisy and dirty, they stank and slobbered. Nope, kids weren't for me, and yet the thought of a child in this place sent ice through my veins.

I followed the noise into the dining room, passed the grand table filled with a large candelabrum and decorative pieces of crystal, and to the door to the kitchen. A child's laugh sounded again, though now that I was closer, it sounded a bit deeper and not quite as young. Tilting my head to the side, I peeked through the opening between the kitchen doors and my brows furrowed in confusion as I watched North's black clothed back move across the counter as he mixed something in a large bowl. He was talking to someone, though from my angle I couldn't see who, and I was struck stupid as he rumbled out another deep laugh. I didn't even think he knew how to laugh.

Tiptoeing up to the doors, I struggled to see through to find the other person, the possible child, in the room, but my forehead knocked the door harder than intended, causing the door to squeak open a foot as the loud knock alerted North to my presence. He glanced over his shoulder, the warmth in his dark eyes icing over immediately as he spotted me, but I was instantly distracted by the second person in the room.

Luke sat on top of the kitchen island, his long blond hair pulled back in a messy bun at the base of his neck, and he was dressed in a one piece dinosaur footy pajama. He followed North's focus, turning his blond head to look at me and I was shocked to see him blush bright pink before whirling around to show me his back as another childish giggle escaped him. North narrowed his eyes at me in warning before he returned his attention to the bowl of mystery contents and started mixing.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" He snarled and Luke gasped, bringing his hand to his mouth.

"You said a bad word!" He squealed in awe, a naughty giggle bubbling past his lips. "Oh, oh, oh, you said a bad word!"

With a grunt, North leveled him with a stern, almost parental stare. "I'm allowed to say that word, so stop your sniggering."

Luke merely dropped his eyes to his lap as his shoulders shook from silent laughter and I swallowed thickly before I slowly entered the room. North ignored my presence as he continued mixing what looked like dough in the large bowl. The air smelled like musk, vanilla, and sugar and as I approached the duo, I felt the space warm from the oven that was heating. Was North baking?

I came to the edge of the island and I angled my head to try and meet Luke's eyes. I felt terrible about what had happened last night, both him getting almost drugged and setting him off with my disturbing story about Mike. I didn't know for sure if I'd been the one to trigger him, but I had a feeling the guilt rested solely on me for that. Either he was quite upset with me over it or he was embarrassed, because he pointedly looked at his lap as his ears turned more and more pink the longer I watched him.