Chapter 29
Jade
Even curled up in Rafe’s blankets that smelled like him, I couldn’t rest. The sun peeked through the curtains on the opposite side of the room and still, my body didn’t feel like resting. Even when the sun was highest in the sky, I didn’t move from Rafe’s bed. I knew there were things to get done but the comforting scent of my mate was the only thing that kept me from falling apart, especially when he didn’t return.
Around noon, Gabriel knocked on the door. I knew I couldn’t hide in here forever, even if I wanted to. “Come in.”
He pushed the door open with his shoulder because his hands were full with a breakfast tray. Gabriel was one of the more serious of the Guardians. He and Rafe seemed to get along better depending on the situation. I wondered if he had been more like Knox before he was Alpha. Gabriel settled the tray over my lap. There was a cup of orange juice, pancakes, eggs, and a thick stack of bacon. My stomach didn’t growl and my mouth didn’t water. Everything that had happened the night before had stolen the appetite that I usually had.
Gabriel backed away and settled into a gray chair in the corner. He watched me with sad eyes but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t going to leave until I had eaten something. I wondered if Rafe had put him up to this. The bacon would have to do. I carefully chewed on the end even though I couldn’t taste it. It was like sawdust in my mouth. The last thing I was worried about was food.
“Where’s Rafe?”
Gabriel shrugged. His eyes dipped down to my cheek then my neck before he turned toward the window. “He had some business he needed to take care of.”
Dread numbed my body. The slice of bacon I had been gnawing on fell back to the plate. “Don’t tell me he went to Damian.”
Gabriel pressed his lips together. “You don’t have to worry about that. We would never let him do something so reckless. That was probably Damian’s plan. He wants Rafe to come to him. He knows the only way to do that is to get to you.”
My shoulders fell. “They’re both playing a similar game.”
Gabriel chewed on his cheek and didn’t say a word. It didn’t matter because after a few minutes Tracey was bursting through the bedroom door with a very pissed off Knox on her heels. Gabriel shot Knox a warning look. Knox sighed and threw his hands in the air. “Do you know how hard it is to tell any of these women to wait a minute?”
Tracey ignored the Guardian and crawled across the massive bed. She settled in beside me before she tore off a piece of pancake and plopped it into her mouth. Knox shot Gabriel an exasperated look. “I came to check on my friend. I told all of you that if you kept me from seeing her that I would rip off your limbs and put them back on the wrong bodies.Alllimbs.”
Knox shivered with her warning. “We only wanted to give Jade the opportunity to eat before you came up here and gobbled all her breakfast down.”
Tracey lifted a brow. “I would suggest you both leave. You can stand outside of the door for all I care. She doesn’t need either of you. She needs me and possibly Rafe but he’s too worried about his wolf to be here right now. You should both be worried that he can break through the barrier any second now and spoil all of the plans you made.”
Knox and Gabriel looked at each other before they nodded in unison. “You’re right, he’s going to screw all of this up if we aren’t careful.”
They were gone in a flash.
“Is it that bad?” I asked as I looked down at the tray full of food.
Tracey looked away from me. “The bruising or your mate?”
“Uh, both?”
My best friend ran her hand down her face. “Both are pretty bad.” She shuddered. “He used magic so your body can’t heal at its normal rate and Rafe’s wolf is fighting him.”
“Over what?” I picked the bacon back up.
“Over claiming you. His wolf wants to claim you now and then hunt Damian. He’s struggling with his human side. He doesn’t want to hurt you, especially when you’ve already been hurt enough.” Tracey swallowed hard. “Hurt by him and Damian.”
I didn’t say anything and instead chewed on the bacon. It still didn’t taste like anything but it was better than talking at the moment. I didn’t want to dump all of my emotions out. I didn’t want to speak about these things with her. I wanted to speak to Rafe but he was too caught up to be here.
It took Rafe six hours to face me. His clothes were shredded and there were claw marks on his arms. I sat up as he came through the door. The book I had been reading was completely forgotten about as I tossed it to the side. “Are you okay?”
He wouldn’t look at me as he walked into the closet. My stomach clenched as I thought of my underwear in there but I quickly tried to ignore those feelings because it was most certainly not the time. Rafe came out of the closet with new clothes but his body was still shredded.
His wolf fought for the change.Nalia spoke inside of my head.
Nice of you to join me again after an entire day of radio silence.
She snickered.I figured you needed time to yourself. What you have gone through is traumatic enough. You needed to be alone with your thoughts. You need to figure these things out for yourself.
Rafe wouldn’t look at me as he settled into the chair Gabriel had lounged in earlier that morning. “My wolf was being stubborn.”
