Chapter Fifteen
“Do you have enough strength to ride? Are you sure the baby is okay?” Jaxon stepped away from the window and turned back to Ginny. Her bruises from where John had hit her were now healed, and only the dried blood on her shirt showed evidence that she’d been stabbed by her psychotic mother. He stepped closer and rested his hand on her stomach.
“I can ride. The baby is werewolf. He’ll heal.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “What about you? You’re the one bitten with silver.”
He rolled his shoulders where John’s teeth had sunk into his flesh. He was still sore, but the wound was closing up fast.
“I’m good.” He narrowed his eyes on the corpse of her husband. “I can’t believe that fucker had his teeth coated in silver.” It was a sadistic move. “If he had bitten his own cheek, he could have poisoned himself.”
“He had it done right after we were wed. He said he wanted every part of his body to be a weapon so any werewolf who went against him would feel the bite of death.” She swallowed and looked away.
“Ginny?” His gut clenched.
“Yes.”
“Did he ever use those teeth on you?” He forced the words out, needing to know the truth. “Did he ever bite you?”
“Every time he forced me to have sex.” Her voice was distant but soft.
He took a step toward her, but she held up her hand to stop him.
“I need you to know that I never mated with him. Never. I was forced to wed him and act the wife to him.” She shook her head. “But I was never his. Not in ways that it mattered.” She looked up at him and lifted her chin.
“I don’t expect you to want me after this, after he’s had me. I know I’m ruined. I’m not that perfect girl you once knew.” She shook her head. “But if we get out of here, then I can have some kind of peace, away from this life, away from this violence. Then that will be enough for me.” She licked her lips.
“Ginny”—he took a step—“we’re getting out of here. And then we’re going to talk. If you think you can get rid of me this fast, you don’t know me very well.” He glanced at the floor. “Besides, it’s not like I’ve been lily-white. I’ve had other women. You need to know that.” He looked at her. “I never felt the same way about any of them that I do you. They were just there to try to fill a void. But they never could. You need to resign yourself to the fact that you’re not getting rid of me. Not now, not ever. As far as I’m concerned, you are the only mate for me.”
Her blue eyes swam with unshed tears and her lip trembled. It was all he needed.
He closed the distance between them and covered her lips with his in a promise-filled kiss for the future. When he pulled back, he looked down into her face.
“I promise you that we are getting out of here and back to Arkansas. It’s safe there. Barrett will see to that. I promise my life on it.”
* * *
“Thank you for inviting us over for dinner. Sorry Damon couldn’t make it.” Ava wrapped Granny in a big hug. The scent of old-lady perfume and dessert had Ava smiling.
“Come on in. Lucien and Catty are here. So are Jayden and Haley.” Granny waved her in toward the dining room.
The aroma of home-cooked food made Ava’s stomach rumble. She smiled when she saw her friends already seated around the table.
“You’re here,” Jayden groused. “We can finally eat.”
Haley giggled and stood up and gave Ava a kiss on the cheek. Ava liked Haley. She thought of her like a sister and knew that she was a good match for Jayden.
“Hey girl.” Ava hugged Catty and then turned her attention back to Lucien. She patted him on the chest. “Looks like you are as good as new.”
“I am.” He grinned and pulled Catty into his embrace. “It helps that Catty knows how to make a werewolf get better quick.”
“Maybe I should go into medicine instead of law,” Catty quipped.
“When do you start college?” Ava sat down in the dining room chair and looked around for Granny. The older woman had disappeared back into the kitchen.
“In the fall. But I’m already reading up on everything. And talking to my dad.” She grinned. “He’s glad at least one of his children decided to follow in his footsteps and go to law school. He thought it would be Zane, but it turns out, to everyone’s surprise, it will be me.”
“I’m not surprised.” Ava placed her napkin on her lap and suddenly wished Damon were with her. Now that he was filling in for Barrett, she was getting lonely. Looking around the table at the couples made her a little sad that her mate wasn’t with her.
“I do miss my partner in crime, though. I mean, who’s going to go on chocolate runs at ten o’clock when I need something sweet?” Ava crossed her arms and feigned a pout.
“I thought that’s what Damon was for.” Jayden snorted. He sighed with relief when Granny walked out of the kitchen carrying a large plate of roast beef.
“Not anymore. Not since he’s filling in for Barrett while he’s gone doing whatever it is that he does.” Ava sighed and held her empty wine glass up. Catty smiled and poured a liberal amount of red wine into her glass. Thank God Granny always had an abundance of wine with dinner.
“So where did Barrett go?” Granny asked and sat down at the head of the table. She passed the beef to Jayden, whose eyes grew wide, and Ava was pretty certain she saw a bit of drool on the corner of his mouth.
“Some Pack Master’s meeting. I think they were having it at Jack Welbourn’s house in Mississippi,” Ava said and then took a sip of wine and cringed at the sour taste. She grabbed her water instead.
“Jack Welbourn. That’s a nice-looking gentleman if I ever saw one.” Granny grinned a little. “And if I were a few years younger, I just might take a crack at him.”
Jayden’s fork clattered to his plate and he gave his grandmother a look of horror. “Absolutely not! You got yourself in enough trouble with that little Valentine’s date from hell.”
“How was I supposed to know he was a criminal?” Granny shrugged.
“Maybe by the look in his eyes.” Jayden frowned.
“To be honest, I thought he looked constipated. I figured once we had dessert and coffee that would loosen his bowels up a bit. Figured after a trip to the bathroom, he’d come out a different man.”
“Jesus, Granny.” Jayden flinched. “I’m trying to eat here.”
“Watch your language at my table, Jayden.” Granny narrowed her eyes on him. “You’re not too old for me to take you across my knee.”
“Actually, I am.” He pointed his fork at her. “Plus I’m faster. I can get away from you.”
Ava burst out laughing. Whenever she felt a little down, she knew a visit to Granny would perk her up.
“So how long is Damon filling in for Barrett?” Lucien cut his eyes at her. The large Were might look big and intimidating, but he’d always been kind to her. He’d been through a lot in the last few months after being captured and tortured. But his mate Catty was bringing him back to life again. They both seemed to help heal each other from their painful pasts.
“Not long. Just until he gets back from this meeting with the Pack Masters.” She shrugged. She didn’t care for this side of Pack business. She preferred Damon doing his missions and coming home to her. It was a simpler life than the political bullshit that Barrett had to muck through.
“I’m kind of surprised that he didn’t ask Zane to fill in.” Catty frowned and then spooned some potatoes onto her plate. “I thought he was Barrett’s right-hand guy.”
That thought had crossed her mind. She looked up at her friend and shrugged. “I don’t know. I think he felt like Zane had enough on his plate with getting SYKLAR’S HOME ready to open.”
Catty averted her eyes from Ava.
Unease settled in Ava’s gut. She looked at her friend. “Catty, are you upset that Damon is doing this rather than your brother?”
“It’s not that, Ava.” Catty set her fork down and sat back in her chair.
“What is it?” She looked at everyone around the table to see if they knew where this conversation was headed.
“Is the reason Barrett didn’t offer the job to Zane because of me?” Catty met her gaze.
“What are you talking about? Why would that have anything to do with you?” Ava asked.
Catty lowered her gaze to her lap. “Look I know that people put a lot of stock into what you do with your life. And the fact that I used to be a stripper…”
“Wait.” Ava held her hand up to stop her friend from going any further. “Stop right there. I can honestly tell you from the bottom of my heart that your past had no bearing on why Damon was put in charge.”
“Catty.” Lucien turned and wrapped his arm around Catty. He pulled her into his protective embrace. “Why would you even say that?”
“Because I know what mistakes I’ve made in my past. I own them. They are what made me the person I am today. I just don’t want my family to pay for my choices or my mistakes.” She lifted her chin and looked round the table.
“And you know our Pack Master.” Jayden nodded and stopped eating. “He would never judge someone by their past. He’s not like that.” He cut his eyes at Ava. “I agree with Ava. Ever since Zane and Skylar hooked up, I see a change in Zane.”
“A change?” Catty frowned.
“I mean, he’s still a hard-ass,” Jayden admitted.
“Jayden, language.” Granny scowled.
“Sorry, Granny.” Jayden looked back at Catty. “But I see something else in him. He seems calmer now. I mean, he’s over at SKYLAR’S HOME for children every chance he gets. He loves his job as Guardian, but being over there with Skylar, I think he’s a different Were. I don’t think he wants to be next in line for Pack Master.”
“Whoa. Hold on. Wait a second.” Ava set her water down. “What Damon is doing is just filling in. Not prepping to take over for Barrett on a permanent basis.” She grabbed her fork and pointed it to everyone around the table. “Let’s get that straight.”
“Wouldn’t you like to be the wife of the Pack Master, Ava?” Haley grinned and took a sip of her wine.
“Ah, no.” She shook her head and concentrated on cutting her roast. She didn’t like the direction this conversation was headed in.
“Why not? I bet you’d get invited to a whole lot of parties and balls and…” Granny had a dreamy look in her eyes as she spoke.
“Balls? Parties?” Jayden’s eyes grew wide. “This ain’t no President of the United States. This is Pack Master. Why Barrett’s lucky if he gets an invite to a barbeque.” He snorted. “And have you seen his home?”
“Barrett has a home?” Catty sat up and paid attention.
“Well, he has one in Fayetteville when he wants to go see a football game. It’s an older home but it has been updated.” Jayden had stayed in that house when he’d been protecting Haley from a stalker.
“What about here? I never see him leave that office of his. Does he have a place to sleep in there?” Granny frowned.
“I bet he does. I bet it’s behind one of the walls. Like that secret gun room.” Lucien nodded.
“He’s got a secret gun room?” Granny sat up in her chair.
“Yeah. And you’re never going to see it, so get that out of your head right now.” Jayden scowled.
“I personally don’t think he sleeps.” Lucien shrugged, forked some roast beef into his mouth, and chewed thoughtfully. “I mean, I’ve never actually seen him leave the Compound unless it’s on business or for some meeting. He’s there when everyone arrives and there when everyone leaves.”
Ava frowned. She crossed her legs and took a sip. “I don’t think being Pack Master would suit Damon.”
“You mean it wouldn’t suit you.” Granny gave her a knowing look. “I can’t imagine you two parted for any length of time.”
“Yeah, me either.” She crossed her arms and fidgeted. She hoped Barrett would hurry his ass on back to Arkansas so Damon would come home to her. She was proud of her man, she really was. She just didn’t want to be put on the back burner for a job.
“Granny, mind if I take a plate to Damon?” Ava asked.
“Sure, honey. After we eat I’ll fix a big plate. And don’t let me forget to get you a big piece of hummingbird cake to go along with it. That will put a big smile on your mate’s face.”
“I don’t need any cake to do that, Granny. I can manage that on my own.” Ava smirked.