The Curse of Bliss

Chapter Eight

Amery finds himself spending the next few days hauling everything he can up into the tree house. That means all the stuff from his car and everything from the storage sheds spread out throughout the property. It has been tiresome but satisfying at the same time.

Chaser and Violet follow him as he carries the last box from the farthest storage shed. It is about a half a mile away, used mostly for storing tools to work on the grounds, but he packed anything he thought could be useful.

"Come on, you two," Amery says, smiling as he watches Chaser and Violet wrestle.

It is finally clear outside, no pouring rain and the ground is relatively dry. He has a feeling that it isn't going to last long since it is the beginning of Winter. That's why he has been trying to finish up as quick as possible. That and the fact that they don't know how long they will be safe up here before those creatures come.

By the time he makes it back to the main house, Rex is taking his last measurements of the ramp while Sebastian is hammering things together on a workbench a few yards away.

"All done?" Rex says, letting the measuring tape rewind as he looks over at Amery.

Amery comes over to join him. "Yep. This is the last of it."

Rex nods, gesturing for Amery to go up the ramp. "Great. We can get started then. Can you send Sage down here? We're going to need his help pulling up the boards."

"Sure," Amery says, taking a step onto the ramp. "Do you need an extra set of hands? I'm sure I can help with something once I drop off this box."

But his little brother just shakes his head. "We got it. Go lie down, Amery. You look like you are about to keel over any minute now."

Amery opens his mouth to protest, but Rex just starts to push him up the ramp until Amery walks on his own.

There is another fire roaring in the hearth, and Lyla is in the kitchen humming to herself. Amery closes the door behind him once Violet and Chaser follow him inside. They make a bee-line for the fire, laying down on the carpet in front of it. Chaser greets Kinsley who is sitting on the loveseat before he joins his sister.

Kinsley sees him walk over to the nearest couch once he sets down the box. "Was that the last of it?"

"Mm-hm."

A sigh escapes his lips when he relaxes into the couch, pulling a blanket around him. The rain might have stopped, but that doesn't mean the cold disappeared.

Sage walks into the room then, and Jamie relays his brother's message. The alpha immediately heads in the direction of the door. Savannah jumps up then too, and Amery just now notices that she was sitting on the other couch.

"I can help," she says.

Amery looks at her, noticing that she still looks tired as well, and maybe a tad bit underweight. But, it is hard to tell with the jacket she is wearing. It is way too big on her, hanging down low. Upon closer inspection, he recognizes it as the jacket Sebastian had given to her in the van all those days ago.

"Are you sure you feel up to it?" Amery asks, despite the fact that he had been saying the same thing to Rex.

Her eyes flit to him and then away again, hands tightening in the jacket as she pulls it tighter across her.

"I-I can help," she repeats.

Kinsley stands up then, going to stand next to her best friend. "Yeah, we can. Come on." She puts a hand on the bottom of Savannah's back and leads the other girl after Sage.

It is oddly quiet after they leave, and Jamie finds himself worrying again. He had been trying to reassess Savannah ever since she became truly conscious, but she wasn't having it. She had been shying away from him, and he wasn't one to push a patient unless it was life-threatening. So, he had stopped pestering her.

"Here, sweetheart," Lyla says, carrying over a plate of steaming hot stew. "Everyone else already ate. This will warm you right up." She hands him the bowl, and he takes it gratefully.

She looks over at the windows, hands absently rubbing over his hair. "It looks like it is going to snow. About the right time of year, but I don't know if they'll be done with the renovations before it starts."

Amery swallows the bite he just took. "I'm sure it won't take them very long," Amery assures her. "They have five different people working on it, and Rex and Sebastian know what they are doing."

Lyla nods her head, a sly smile spreading across her face as she looks back at him, pushing back a few locks of hair from his face. "That Sebastian boy," she begins, smile widening. "He's a handsome one. Not as eye-catching as my Addilynn, but handsome nonetheless."

"He's... He's decent," Amery responds, mind flashing back to the moment they had a few days ago. But there is no way in hell that he is going to tell Lyla about that. It would just confirm her theory and send her into full-on matchmaker mode.

She just raises a knowing brow at him, humming in disbelief before walking back to the kitchen. "Whatever you say, sweetheart."

Amery eats in silence once she leaves, listening to sounds of the construction happening outside. He knows that Lyla was correct about Sebastian. He is handsome, and Amery has a feeling that he isn't the only one to notice.

There is something about the alpha that draws Amery to him. He knows it isn't his heat, because he isn't due for another 3 weeks. Maybe it's the lack of suppressants? All of their scents are stronger without them, and it is definitely been noticeable. Perhaps that could be it, but Amery isn't sure.

He can't remember the last time he was attracted to someone. There was no one in his childhood that he liked, all of the people within the cult power-hungry and pedophilic alphas. After he left, he couldn't stand being touched after what happened to him. He got through all of undergrad and nursing school without anyone. Hell, it wasn't until he had graduated and started working that he had sex for the first time. Since then, it has only happened a handful of times, and none of them had been too memorable.

Now, though....

He sets down his bowl and goes to look outside. Just as Lyla had predicted, it is starting to snow. Not too much, just a few flakes that aren't sticking yet. His eyes focus on the people down below. This tree house is the closest to the ground, only about ten feet in the air. It makes it easy for him to see the others.

Sebastian and Sage are quickly moving down the ramp, unscrewing the boards before handing them to Kinsley and Savannah who then carry them down to Rex. His little brother has taken over Sebastian's job of hammering at something on the workbench. It looks like some type of panel, but he can't be sure.

They are moving quickly though, all of them seem determined to get this done as quick as possible.

Lyla comes to join him in his watch, shoulder brushing against his. "Looks like you were right. They've got this handled." She turns to look at him. "And you look exhausted. God lay down, sweetheart. You've done enough today, and you aren't helping anyone by forcing yourself to stay awake."

Amery can't find it in himself to argue. She's right. He is exhausted. He has worked 12-hour shifts when he first started working at the hospital. But he can't ever remember being this tired at the end of those shifts.

Lyla gives him a side hug before walking back into the kitchen. He refolds the blanket he had been using, hanging it on the back of the couch. The dogs follow him out of the main house and down up the bridge that leads to the smaller house he is staying in. It is about a three-minute walk, the snow barely a dusting, but he is still shivering by the time he makes it to his tree house.

Violet and Chaser go to their beds that are spread on the floor, and he gives them a few pets and kisses. Once he is assured that they are okay, he strips out of his clothes and under his sheets. His eyes are closed in a matter of seconds, but he still has that feeling from before burning under his skin.

Something akin to shame bubbles up inside him as he slides a hand down his body and wraps his fingers around his half-hard cock, thinking of the alpha outside in the snow whom he can't seem to get off his mind.