CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Scarlett
When we arrived back at Cade's house, Blake was waiting in the kitchen with Gary. I was surprised to see him because I thought he'd gone to school. It was another couple of hours before school ended for the day. I walked in first and Cade followed behind.
"What are you doing here?" I asked Blake.
"I thought I'd skip as well to make sure everything ran smoothly while you guys had your talk."
I hadn't even thought about it. It was then that I realized the responsibility that Cade had on his shoulders.
Blake began to stand up and Cade walked over to him and before I even realized what he was going to do, he hit him in the face. Blake took the hit and didn't even attempt to defend himself or try and hit Cade back. It was like he'd expected it.
"What the hell?" I gasped, taken by surprise as I rushed over to Blake. His lip was cut and bloodied.
"That's for being a shitty friend," explained Cade calmly and then he turned and walked over to the kitchen sink.
"I deserved that," Blake said to me. He didn't deserve it. He'd kept my secret because I'd asked him to. I would never understand guys.
"No, you didn't," I weighed in as I threw a glare at my mate.
"Yes, he did," stated Cade as he rinsed blood from his hand.
"We good?" Blake said, wiping the blood from his lip.
"Yeah, we're good," confirmed Cade as he walked over to the fridge and got out a bottle of water.
The slate was wiped clean. Men were so confusing. If they were girls, they wouldn't talk to each other for a couple of weeks. Gary looked from Blake to Cade and shook his head.
"What are you doing out of school?" Gary asked when he realized I was home early.
"Cade and I had some stuff to sort through," I began to explain. I sat down in-between Gary and Blake.
"Remember what Blake and Cade told you about mates and stuff like that?" I asked.
"Sure, I remember," he answered as he nodded.
"Well, Cade is my mate," I stated. Gary's gaze flickered from me to Cade and then it settled back on me. Cade leaned against the kitchen counter, keeping his distance as Gary took in the information.
"Wow," he mumbled as he pushed away from the table and turned to face me.
"How are you feeling about it?" he asked. It was so like Gary to worry about me.
"It's going to take some getting used to," I replied with a shrug. It was inevitable and it had to happen sometime, I just wanted to wait for a time when I would be ready.
It wasn't like I wasn't physically attracted to him, because I was. There was no denying it, but I wasn't sure if I was prepared for the emotional side of what would happen.
"I've decided I'm going to join Cade's pack," I revealed to Gary and Blake. Blake smiled and shot a look at Cade, but my eyes were focused on Gary's reaction.
His eyes widened in surprise and then he reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze.
"You know what you're doing," he said. "You've always had a good head on your shoulders. You've never needed me to point you in the right direction or tell you what to do. There is a reason I never fought you when you wanted to take control of your inheritance. You were responsible enough then and you are responsible enough now to make your own decisions."
My throat thickened at his words.
"Thank you," I whispered as I leaned forward to give him a hug.
A soft growl emanated from behind me as Gary's arms wrapped around me and hugged me. I released Gary and turned to see Cade growling at him.
"Down, boy," I told him as I shot him a glare.
I knew Cade was the possessive type, but I wasn't going to let him make a big deal out of nothing. Although technically Gary wasn't blood related, he was my family and I wasn't going to stop giving him hugs or showing him affection just because Cade got jealous.
"I don't like it when any guy touches you," he said through gritted teeth as he glared at Gary. Gary shifted back slightly, feeling intimidated by the power emanating from Cade.
"Like I said before, this is going to be fun to watch," Blake murmured to me as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. I shot him a glare and I was tempted to wipe that smug look off his face. But the fact that he'd taken a hit for keeping my secret for me softened me up a bit. I'd let that one comment slide.
"Enough," I said to Cade as I stood up and walked to him.
"I don't want any guy to touch you," he said softly to me. His anger began to ease now that I was standing in front of him.
"You're going to have to get used to it because I can't have you overreacting every time a guy comes near me. Gary is my family," I explained to him as he reached for me and pulled me into his arms.
With the first touch, I was distracted and I was lost when his lips brushed against mine.
"I'll try," he whispered.
It took me a minute to remember what we'd been talking about. I pulled away from him because I couldn't think properly with him so close.
"So are you ready to join my pack?" he asked, letting me have my space.
"Yes," I said with a nod, sounding calmer than I felt.
Blake got up and got a knife from one of the drawers.
"I'll do it," insisted Cade. Was it too much to see someone else hurt me? Blake didn't argue and he handed the knife to Cade.
"This will hurt a bit," Cade told me as he took my hand in his. The knife was sharp and he made a small cut. I grimaced with pain and I felt my knees wobble a bit at the sight of blood.
It made me queasy, but I bit down on my lip and ignored it. I didn't want them to see me as weak. Cade made a small cut in the palm of his hand then he took my hand and gently pressed it to his.
His eyes held mine as our blood mixed and Blake and Gary watched. At first there was nothing.
Then I heard it. I can't believe she is mine.
It was Cade and I smiled at him.
"I heard that," I revealed as he released my hand and pulled me into his arms.
"It worked," he murmured as his lips feathered a kiss to my forehead. I couldn't help but smile.
If I don't hurry, I'm going to be late.
I pulled away from Cade and looked up at him.
"Was that you?" I asked. He shook his head as he watched me carefully.
I wonder if this is going to be enough food for lunch.
The next time he swings, I'll duck and swing with my right fist.
I need to finish repairing this before lunch.
One thought after another hit me and my head began to pound. It was like I was standing in a room full of people, all talking to me at the same time. I raised my hand and touched my forehead as I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to shut out the flow of thoughts into my mind.
"What's wrong?" Cade asked with concern.
"I don't know," I muttered as more and more thoughts flooded into my mind. I couldn't think because of the jumble of thoughts. The pounding in my head began to get worse and I stumbled forward.
Arms reached out to steady me, then I felt someone lift me up and carry me.
"Say something, Scar?" Cade said as he laid me down. I opened one eye to see I was lying on the couch. Gary and Blake were standing behind a kneeling Cade, watching with concern.
"I don't know what's happening," I said as more thoughts flitted through my head. I closed my eyes again to try and push the unwanted thoughts from my head but it only got worse.
The pain started to become unbearable. It felt like my head was going to explode from the overflow of thoughts. I cried out.
"Scar!" I heard Cade say desperately from beside me.
The pain became so unbearable that when the darkness came, I gave in to it.
When I woke up, my head was still sore but the invading thoughts were gone. I rubbed my forehead and opened my eyes. Even though the room was dark, I recognized it as my own. I spotted the tall, lean form of my mate beside me in a chair.
“You’re awake,” said Cade. I heard the relief in his voice.
I reached for the lamp on my side table and switched it on. It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the light. I tried to figure out what had happened and what I was doing in my room. Cade watched me silently as I began to piece everything together.
I’d joined Cade’s pack and then thoughts from the members of his pack had begun to overload me. And then I’d passed out.
“How are you feeling?” he asked softly as he reached for my hand and held it in his.
“I’m okay,” I answered while trying to sit up. Immediately, Cade was standing and he helped me to sit. Once I was comfortable, he sat back down beside me in the chair.
“What happened?” I asked, still feeling a little disorientated.
“We think you got overloaded with thoughts from my pack,” he explained. “I’m sorry—I had no idea that would happen.”
“Why do you think it happened?” I asked, rubbing my temple. If he hadn’t seen it coming, then it wasn’t something normal.
“I think it’s because you haven’t grown up in a pack. Most werewolves have and we learn from an early age how to cope with thoughts from the other pack members. It almost becomes second nature for us.”
It made sense.
“So because I haven’t been raised in a pack, I didn’t know how to cope with all the thoughts?” I asked.
“Yes, pretty much,” he answered. “I’ve never had anyone join my pack that hadn’t been brought up in a pack before, so they knew how to control the mind-link.”
“Why has it stopped?” I asked, because I couldn’t hear a single thought. Not even his.
“I’ve got everyone in my pack keeping their thoughts to themselves at the moment, at least until you get used to it. They’re only allowed to contact me if there is an emergency,” he explained as he caressed my hand in his.
“You guys can control what thoughts are projected to the rest of the pack?” I asked.
“Yes.”
It was probably a good thing because it would be weird for other people in the pack to hear private thoughts that didn’t concern them. I’d definitely have to learn how to do that.
I glanced down at our hands. I loved the way my hand fit in his.
“And you brought me to my house,” I said.
“Yeah, I didn’t want to take any chances so we brought you here. The farther away we are from the pack, the less intense the thoughts are, so if someone slips up it won’t be as traumatic for you,” he explained.
This whole werewolf thing was going to be more difficult to get a handle on than I’d previously thought, but I was up for the challenge.
“If I’d had any idea…” he started. I could see he felt responsible for what had happened, but I didn’t blame him. I was okay and there were no lasting effects.
“I’m fine,” I assured him. “You didn’t know it would happen.”
“But it’s my job to take care of you,” he said softly, like he’d failed me in some way. I reached out and caressed his cheek. I couldn’t help the intense flutter I got in my stomach at the thought that I meant so much to him. It made me happy and possessive of him.
“I’m big enough to take care of myself, you know,” I chipped back. It was still hard trying to balance this intense connection we had as mates and my need for my independence. I understood his need to keep me safe, because I felt that same need for him.
But I didn’t want to turn into one of those girls who couldn’t be without a man. To me there was a big difference between wanting and needing someone. I wanted Cade in my life but I didn’t need him and I wanted to keep it that way.
“Yeah, I know,” he said, glancing down at our connected hands.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Late, you’ve been out for a while,” he said. “I was so worried I even brought Curtis with me so he could keep an eye on you. I also brought a few others to help protect you.”
“It’s fine,” I said, waving off his concerns.
“I hope you don’t mind, but they’ve all kinda moved in until you can manage the mind-link. Once you’re able to manage, we’ll move back to my house,” he said.
“It’s fine.”
I was glad to be home, even if he and some members of his pack had invaded it. Everything had happened so quickly that I hadn’t really thought about packing up again and moving in with him. At least now I had time to get used to the idea.
“You know, I need to learn how to protect myself,” I mumbled to him.
“Yeah, I know. That’s why I dragged Hank along,” he revealed with a smile, knowing it would make me happy.
“Really?” I asked, a little surprised, but the corners of my lips were already tugging upward in a smile.
“Yes, really. You need to learn how to protect yourself. With the rogue after you, I can’t take the chance of leaving you defenseless. I’m going to make sure you won’t need to use it, but it will make me sleep better at night knowing that you can.”
“Thank you,” I said as I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. The feel of his lips against mine kick-started the butterflies in my stomach. Touching him, in a way, was comforting and volatile at the same time.
He pulled his lips from mine and held my face.
“The training is just to help you defend yourself; it doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to fight,” he spelled out.
I could feel my temper rise.
‘Allow me’? Who the hell does he think he is?
“Allow me?” I repeated, because I couldn’t believe he’d actually said that to me. I pulled free of him.
“Listen—”
“No, you listen to me,” I warned angrily. “You don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do, do you understand?”
He rolled his eyes at me. I slipped off the bed as he rose up out of the chair he’d been sitting in. I hated the fact that I had to tilt my head up to his to glare at him.
“There is no need to be dramatic.” He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. My anger began to grow because now he was treating me like I was a child.
“I’m not being dramatic,” I assured him, balling my hands into fists so I wouldn’t be tempted to slap him again. “Just because you’re my mate doesn’t mean you get to tell me what to do.”
“Take it however you want to. You’re not fighting,” he stated firmly, standing in front of me with his arms crossed over his chest. It was like he was a parent calmly dealing with a child who was throwing a tantrum.
The urge to slap him was so strong that I nearly gave in but I remembered how he’d battled to control himself the last time I’d given in to the urge.
“Get out!” I shouted at him. My temper was in full force now. I wanted him out of my sight before I really lost my temper and slapped him.
“Scar, don’t overreact,” he said, shaking his head at me.
“I said get out!” I repeated and pointed to my bedroom door.
“Fine, I’ll be back when you calm down.” He sighed and turned to leave. I watched him walk out of my room and close the door.
I took a deep breath as I tried to calm down. I was still so angry I wanted to throw something.
Was it so wrong that I wanted to be treated as an equal? I didn’t want him to look at me and see a weak mate that he had to protect. I wanted him to look at me and see a mate who was ready to fight alongside him to protect him and our pack.