Chapter 9
Jade
I was thankful for our workout clothes. Rafe had worked out earlier in the day and was wearing his workout clothes when the blast happened. I had intended to run around the property to help ease my anxious mind. I had never been a runner before Nalia but after everything had happened, I felt like I needed to run more than I ever had in my life. It was an itch in my legs and my soul. As we knocked on the front door and my mom looked at me with surprise, I was glad for some kind of excuse.
“Jade, honey, is everything okay?” Her eyes lit up when they landed on Rafe. I should have thought about it more. He shouldn’t have come with me but it was too late to turn back now.
I smiled brightly and pretended to be winded. “Yes! We were on a run and I just thought we would stop by for a minute.”
She wiped her hands on the dishtowel tucked at her waist. She looked at Rafe again. “Its so nice to see you again, dear.”
She had on her sweet voice today and it made me want to double over in laughter. Thank goodness my dad was the love of her life or there was no telling how she would spend the rest of her days. She would probably spend them at the pool with all sorts of cabana boys surrounding her. My mother loved to talk about progression and sexism but she was probably more of the problem than she was helping. I snickered to myself as Rafe pretended to be embarrassed. Like the man needed a bigger ego than what he already had.
“I’m making cookies,” my mom announced as we followed her into the kitchen. The kitchen was always the main hangout ground for her. “Would you like to bring some to Tracey from me?”
I smiled. “Yes, I know she would love that.” There weren’t many vegan food options that I cared for but my mom’s cookies were some of the best. They tasted better than regular cookies and that was saying something. Especially considering that I loved cookies more than just about anything. Probably not steak but that was Nalia’s preference I was sure. There were two racks of cookies cooling on the counter and I could see two in the oven. She must have been really bored and didn’t know what to do with herself.
When my parents weren’t traveling and my father was busy, my mom baked. She would bake everything in sight until she was out of ingredients. She would deliver all the goodies to her church then go buy more groceries. Somedays she would learn a new skill with baking like fondant.
The first time she had made it, it had looked incredible. But it tasted awful. I had learned my lesson that day. Always let Mom try her experiments first. Especially with them being vegan. I didn’t know why she didn’t open a bakery. She would be a hit. I leaned against the counter. “Where’s Dad?”
She slid a cookie from the baking rack and took a bite from it. Some chocolate smeared across her bottom lip as I pulled two bottles of water from the fridge. Rafe’s eyes calculated everything around us. He didn’t miss a thing while I spoke to my mom. His shoulders were still tight.
“He had to go into the office. There was an emergency on their computer system and they needed him to go in to diagnose it.” Dad was a jack of all trades. I would give him that. He wasn’t a computer expert but his work knew his strengths and he had many. My stomach did a flip. Was he safe at his job? Why couldn’t they leave to go out of town again?
I nodded my head and looked to Rafe. His eyes were focused on me again. They looked like molten heat and it did something to my insides. I cleared my throat again and hoped he couldn’t smell what his look was doing to me. “Will you go up to my room and grab my suitcase? I didn’t grab it last time I was here and if we are going to go on that trip, I think I’m going to need something bigger than what I have back at home.”
Rafe’s brows crinkled briefly before he nodded and marched up the stairs. My mom’s brows rose on her forehead. Shit. We were a newcouple, at least to my mom. How did I explain that he had been here before? I chewed on my bottom lip. “We are going to the beach in the next few weeks. Tracey is hating the snow.”
Her face relaxed and I thought she was going to forget that Rafe knew the outline of the house like the back of his hand. But then she spoke and I knew it was too good to be true. “So he’s been here before?”
“Yes,” I didn’t know how I was going to recover from this. They knew I wasn’t a saint but it still felt awkward. “He helped me move out my things a few weeks ago. Don’t you remember?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t care if he was here or if you’re sleeping with him. Those things don’t matter to me. All that matters to me is that you’re happy and treating yourself with respect. I would hope that he would be, but if he doesn’t, I hope you have enough respect for yourself to walk away from that. No matter how hot he is.”
I stretched my hearing and listened as Rafe chuckled from my bedroom. Of course, he was listening. I wondered what else he was doing up there. Especially since I knew he still had my panties in his drawer at his house. Nalia was satisfied with that but I regretted not taking them back with me. My cheeks heated at the direction my thoughts had taken.
I nodded my head. “I can promise you that if Rafe,” I raised my voice a little bit so he couldn’t pretend he didn’t hear me. “Ever hurt me physically or emotionally, I would run as far away as I could. I wouldn’t look back and I would probably eat his heart.” The last bit was definitely from Nalia.
My mom snickered. “I wouldn’t go that far, but I won’t say I’m not proud. I know you’ve always been a partier and I haven’t had any issues with that but your father has always worried more than I have. I think he’s gotten worse in his old age.” She winked.
Tracey was waiting for us when we got back to the Pack Lands. She eyed my bright pink suitcase with a lifted brow. “What’s that for?”
“I told my mom we were going to the beach in a few weeks.” I shrugged my shoulders like it wasn’t a big deal.
Tracey sighed with pleasure. “Yes, please. No men allowed?”
Rafe growled behind us but we both ignored him as I dragged my suitcase through the snow to my cottage. It made a soft scraping noise but I didn’t pay it any attention as Rafe followed behind it like a puppy.
“No men allowed.” I nodded.
I waggled my fingers at Rafe as we entered my home. He leaned his body forward, ready to protest.
Gabriel had picked up Chinese takeout on his way back from checking on the elders in the pack. They were staying with elders of another pack, being protected through their people. I could tell by the set of Rafe’s jaw that he wasn’t happy about leaving his people’s safety up to someone else. All of the Guardians hardly fit in my little living room but it was comfortable.
Lucas sat at the bar in the kitchen while Tracey poured herself a glass of wine. They had all sworn off wolfsbane after what had happened. I didn’t blame them, I certainly wouldn’t be touching it for a long time, if ever again.
Knox slurped up his noodles from his paper container in the most annoying fashion. Tracey snarled at him with disgust and Lucas watched the exchange with a frown touching his lips. Mav leaned against the couch this time, instead of sitting on it. He had ordered beef fried rice but there didn’t seem to be any beef in it. Rafe had his hands shoved in his pockets while he watched his men. I looked up from my perch on the floor.
