Witches on the Quad
The sun was warm on my face, making me want to cuddle down deeper into the blanket that I was wrapped in, and simultaneously making me want to get up, because the light was growing brighter. Then the bold aroma of coffee taunted my nose, and I was done for. It was definitely time to get up and ready for school. It was time to get up. That meant I had been sleeping, and I didn’t remember getting home. Panic flooded in as I peeked out from between my eyelids. There was Mikael’s entertainment center. I sat up quickly, looked down at myself. I was still dressed, under a blanket, on his couch. “Shit!” I jumped up and tossed my shoes on my feet. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” I tried to tie as I stumbled my way from the couch to the kitchen.
“Hey, do you want…” Mikael was standing in the middle of the kitchen doorway watching as I tried one last time to tie my shoe while I was moving. It didn’t work out for me, and I fell over onto my ass.
“Shit!” I yelped again, and just stayed there with my butt planted on his hardwood floor while I finished tying. “Why did you let me stay here all night?”
“Oh, Jess, I wouldn’t have missed that show for the world.” He was laughing, and worse, he wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he was laughing at me.
“Damn you! It’s not funny. I’m going to miss my classes.”
“Calm down, Jess. It’s still early, and I’ve got you covered. I called Ashley to find out when class starts. See,” he held out a mug full of steaming coffee. “I was just coming to get you, and give you a caffeine boost before I drive you into town.”
I looked up at him cautiously then. “What time is it?”
“It’s only a little after seven. Ashley said your first class wasn’t until nine. You have time.” He turned to head back into the kitchen. “Do you need sugar, milk, or creamer?”
“Yes,” I called back to him as I got up and started that way myself.
“Yes to which one?”
“All of the above.”
“Seriously?” Mikael asked as he turned to look back at me. I nodded. “Okay, here.” He handed the cup to me, “I’m going to let you handle that then.”
“So, you talked to Ashley?”
“Yes. She wouldn’t stop texting your phone last night. I guess she was worried. I texted her back last night, and let her know that you fell asleep. She said she’d get all the dirty details from you today.” I spit the coffee out that I had just sipped. Mikael laughed again, and handed me a napkin.
“Damn it,” I was full on blushing now. “Ashley always says that. She wasn’t being serious.”
“Oh, she was quite serious. She tried to ask me for the details, like whether or not you fell asleep in my bed from sheer exhaustion or what?”
“Oh God! I’m going to kill her.” Then I looked up at him, “wait, what did you tell her?”
“I told her I didn’t kiss and tell. She said she’d ask you later then.”
“Well, the drive to school should be pleasant this morning.”
“Um,” He didn’t look comfortable anymore as he added the next statement. “She wasn’t the only one trying to get a hold of you last night.”
“What do you mean?” I winced, “my parents were worried, huh? I thought I had told them I was going to be staying at Ashley’s for a few days anyway...”
I had been thinking out loud, but Mikael cut me off. “No, Jess. It wasn’t your parents.”
“Oh?” Suddenly it clicked in. “Oh!” Now I was blushing for an entirely different reason. For a few minutes I hadn’t even thought about Evan. I felt, well hell, I was feeling downright guilty now. “He’s probably going to give me hell.” I mumbled.
“I know you like my brother, but you don’t have to take his attitude.”
“Believe me when I say, I don’t.”
“Okay, well, I’m going to leave that conversation right there. I’m not really comfortable with…” he sighed, a very big sigh. “You know, talking about my brother, since he’s…” Mikael groaned, then walked over to the sink and slung the rest of his coffee into it. “Let me know when you’re ready. I’ll get you back to Ashley’s so you can get changed and grab your stuff.”
“I’m good to go. I just need to grab my jacket.” He walked out ahead of me, into the living room. When I got there, he had my jacket held out for me to put on. He was apparently bound and determined to show me he was not the asshole I met all those months ago. “Thanks.” He walked me out to the bike, and handed me the helmet again. I paused before I put it on. “Mikael?”
“Yeah?” He stopped and looked at me then.
“I, um… well, thank you. Yesterday was a lot of fun. So, thanks for everything.”
His eyes lit up, mouth turned into full, dimple bearing, eye crinkling smile that melted me somewhere deep down inside. “You’re welcome. I had a good time too, right up until you started drooling all over my shirt. I’m not sure that’s going to come out. It was a little purple, maybe from the sparkling grape juice we had earlier. Next time, we’ll go with white grape.”
I smacked his shoulder playfully. “I take it all back. You’re an ass!”
He threw his denim clad leg over the bike, and patted the seat, “hop on, Princess. Let’s get you home before you turn into a pumpkin or something.”
“I think it’s already too late for that. Sun’s up.” I squeezed up tight to Mikael, and got as close to his ear as our helmets would allow. “Go really fast for me, I want to fly this morning!”
He pulled my arms tighter around his waist, and then took off. The ride back was amazing, he definitely didn’t disappoint me.
When we pulled up at Ashley’s I took my helmet off and looked for a place to strap it onto the bike or something so that Mikael could take it with him. “Keep it with you, that way you’ll have it next time.” He said to me. “I have to run and go deal with contractors this morning. You be safe, and call if you need anything.”
“Thanks…” I wasn’t sure what else to say, and luckily Ashley stuck her head out the door at just that moment.
“Jess, hurry up, I want to stop off at Java Joe’s on the way.”
Mikael revved the bike, and winked at me. I just waved and walked over to Ashley’s door. She yanked me inside and shut it. “So, you need to get dressed, like now! And then you are going to spill everything.”
I walked towards the bag I had left by Ashley’s couch the day before, and grabbed it to head to the bathroom, where I promptly ran into a fresh-out-of-the-shower Asriel, who thankfully, at least still had a towel wrapped around his lower half. His sandy brown hair looked darker when it was wet, but it still hung from his head in long waves that fell just below his chin. I focused on the hair, so I wouldn’t end up drooling over the abs of my best friend’s man. “Asi, I didn’t realize you were still here.”
“I didn’t realize you ever knew I was here, since you didn’t come back last night.” He snickered as he said it.
“Oh, I came back last night all right, to the audio version of a sock on the door. When it was clear I would be interrupting, Mikael took me back to his place.”
“Shit!” Ashley yelped. “You could hear that from outside?” Ashley’s cheeks were apple red now. Asi wasn’t the least bit embarrassed.
“Did he now?” Asriel queried quietly, his dark eyes flashed a bit of menace my way before he checked himself. I understood, kind of.
I turned from him to Ash. “Ashley, I’m sure your neighbors are frustrated, sexually or otherwise, this morning. You might want to seriously think about moving somewhere with a bit of space between you and your neighbors.” I turned back to Asi then. “And you… just stop. I get enough shit from Evan himself, I don’t need to get a dose of guilt by proxy from you too! Besides, you guys were the only ones getting lucky last night. I fell asleep during The Avengers, and woke up drooling on Mikael’s couch. Now, slide out of the way, so I can get dressed in something other than yesterday’s clothes.”
As I shut the bathroom door, I heard Ashley giving Asriel shit for the look he gave me. He came to the bathroom door, and quietly said, “Sorry, Jess.” A few minutes later the front door opened and shut. I assumed it was Asi leaving, and I finished getting ready. Unfortunately, Ashley didn’t give me enough time for a shower, so I tossed another pair of jeans on, and my black, death before decaf t-shirt. I finger combed through some of the wind knots in my hair. Running a brush through it was going to hurt too bad, so I just tossed it up in a high pony tail on my head, and made my way back out to living room. I heard Ashley talking from the kitchen, and figured she must be on the phone with someone, since I heard Asi leave earlier. Then I heard Asi’s voice, and I realized I had been wrong about him going anywhere.
“Okay, I’m ready,” I called out while I grabbed up the bag that had all my school books in it. “Are we still getting coffee or…” I picked my jacket up off the couch, where I had thrown it earlier, and my phone slipped from the pocket and hit the floor. “Damn it!” I yelped. Then another pair of hands were there reaching down to grab my phone before I got to it. When I looked up, Evan was there holding my phone in his hands. The worst part was, he didn’t try to give it back. Instead, he started going through it.
“I tried calling last night, to check on you.” He still hadn’t looked up from my phone. “Apparently, you weren’t answering, because…” He was reading my texts. The texts that Mikael had sent and received from Ashley. “Well, someone answered Ashley.” Tears were welling up behind my eyes. My hands were shaking, and the sick feeling in my stomach was being replaced by a red-hot, about to blow my top, kind of serious anger. I stared at him for a solid minute, well aware that both Ash and Asi were standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room now. I couldn’t find words, because everything was bubbling up beneath the surface, barely contained. A primal scream of frustration escaped my mouth, turning into a growl at the end, as I stalked forward and snatched my phone up out of Evan’s hand.
“You have no right to go through my phone. If you wanted to know why I didn’t answer my phone, you should have asked me. If you wanted to know where I was, who with, or what I did…” I was shaking as I yelled the words at him. “Then you should have asked me! I didn’t answer your damn call, because I was asleep, you asshole!”
“Oh, yeah, I saw that. And was it because of sheer exhaustion?” I saw Ashley tuck her head in her hands, knowing that he read her texts, and what he took from it.
“Well, this is why we set ground rules, isn’t it? You’re not allowed to ask that. And I’m certainly not inclined to answer now, because you just overstepped by a mile with me. Now, piss off. I have school.” I shoved past him, heading to collect the rest of my stuff.
Evan grabbed my arm before I was out of reach, “Jess.” He let out a breath he’d been holding, and the tumultuous blue oceans of his eyes were begging me to stay, to forgive him, and a myriad of other things that I just didn’t care about in that moment.
“Get. Off. Of. Me.” I snatched my arm away, and he let it go, as I grabbed my bag and took off out of the apartment. Unfortunately, I was stuck waiting there for Ashley anyway, because in my anger, I had forgotten to grab the keys to my Jeep. It took a few minutes, and then she came out dangling the keys from her fingers.
“I’m so sorry, Jess. I shouldn’t have texted that to Mikael last night.”
“Do not apologize!” I said to her as Asi and Evan walked out of Ashley’s apartment. “He’s the one who violated my privacy. It’s on him, not you.”
“Shit!” I heard Evan say, as I hopped in the Jeep with Ashley. I ignored him, and we took off for school. I was so angry still that I probably broke a few traffic laws, and I definitely forgot to stop at Java Joe’s. When we pulled in the parking lot at the school, Ashley finally spoke.
“Well, I guess we can do the coffee thing later. I’m high on the adrenaline from your fight right now anyway.”
“I’m sorry, Ash. I was on autopilot.” I got ready to throw the Jeep in reverse and head back for coffee, but Ashley put her hand on my arm.
“Jess, stop. It’s cool. We’ll call the lack of coffee my penance for helping screw up your morning.”
“Ashley, seriously, this was not your fault at all.”
“I know, but I still feel bad. I’m sure it made things worse for Evan than it would have been.” She shrugged, “He already got snippy while you were getting ready, because he could smell Mikael all over your jacket.”
“How in the hell am I supposed to survive months of this? I can’t…” I sighed deeply. “Ashley, he’s driving me away with this bullshit. I can’t keep going like this. The first good day I’ve had since, well hell, since that day at your parents’ house, before Marcus…” I shook off the memory before it could take root and drag me further down the self-pity road I was about to travel. “The first good day I’ve had since, and it was with Mikael, not Evan. He was amazing yesterday. There was the motorcycle ride, which was complete awesomeness, especially this morning when he went really fast for me. The puppies. The waterfall. Lunch. And just watching a movie until I fell asleep. There was nothing complicated, and he didn’t make a big deal out of anything. It was just a good day.”
“Puppies?” Ashley asked, then she smiled at me. “You can tell me all about it later. I’m glad you got to have a good day, finally. Sucks that Evan had to ruin it this morning. I’m sorry about that. It’s hard on him. Asi told me there was a girl before, that Evan liked, and it didn’t work out. He wouldn’t elaborate, but he said this stuff with Antoine making you date both of them is bringing up some really ugly shit for Evan. Hell, even Asi has yelled at him for how he’s treating you. Old wounds or not, there’s no reason to take it out on you.”
“Yeah, well, he’s dooming himself. If he keeps this up, it won’t be Evan I pick.” I was crying now. My tears were made up of the same emotions I couldn’t wrap my own head around. Anger, sadness, disappointment, and regret all mingled together, and they were streaming hot down my face.
“Aww, come here, Jess.” Ashley pulled me into a hug, then she took the edge of her sleeve, and wiped at my face. “We’ll figure everything out, okay? Maybe, I don’t know, maybe I should have a talk with Evan. Or maybe Leanna should. She seems to want you to be with Evan.”
“I’d rather not involve any more of that family in all of this. I don’t know why, but Annabelle gave me the creeps, and I really don’t know what Leanna is up to.” I shrugged. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Well, come on, let’s get you to class now. We’ll work on everything else later.”
“Oh, hey, how did your test go yesterday?”
“It went. I’ll find out tomorrow when I go back to that class.” Ashley chewed on her lip. “I’m not sure I studied enough. I’ve had a lot of distractions lately.”
“I know. I heard you being thoroughly distracted last night.” I was laughing at her as we walked near the fountain on the quad. Ashley smacked my arm.
“Shut it!” She was laughing too, though.
“Oh, no way. You don’t get to demand juicy details from Mikael, and have me remain quiet about all the screaming we heard from your apartment.” Her blush let me know she was more concerned about the fact that Mikael heard her too. “Oh yeah, he walked me to the door, and stood there with me. My keys were locked up in your apartment, so I couldn’t take my Jeep home. That’s why I ended up going back to his place.”
“Damn.” She whispered.
“I have to say, as many times as I’ve been in your apartment when you’ve brought guys home, I have never heard you quite so vocal. Asi must be doing a good damn job.”
“Oh, he really is.” Ashley took a breath and got ready to launch into details I probably didn’t want, when I felt that weird tingle down my spine. I grabbed her arm hard, which shut her right up. “What?” She asked, and quickly realized something was wrong, because the playful demeanor fell away from me, replaced by fear. I scanned the area, looking for a sign of something, or someone, out of place. I didn’t see anything that stood out at first, and then a woman stepped around the fountain heading towards us with a purpose in her step.
“Ashley, be ready to run. She’s a witch.”
“That means running will do no good, if I wished you ill.” The woman called out to us, hands raised in a pose that said she meant no harm. “I just want to talk for a moment.”
“I can’t even fathom why you would need to talk to me. I don’t meddle in witch business. I’ve never even met one that I know of.”
She smiled, “well now, you’ve met me. I am Estella Sophia Marquez.” My brain fired off a response to that name, but it took a second for me to place why I recognized it. “I see you know the name.”
“You’re the one who helped Antoine.”
“Guilty.” She sat down on the edge of the fountain and looked up at me. “Now, you understand why a witch is meddling in your affairs, because they are entwined with the De’ Lunes, and because you are the white wolf.”
“How?”
“Witch.” She pointed to herself. “Wolf.” She pointed to me. It is my job to know these things.”
“You were in the woods yesterday, watching us?”
“Indeed. I do hate to spy, but I needed to see something for myself. I’ve heard the warning bells lately. I just needed to make sure you were on the right track.”
“Okay, that really didn’t clear anything up at all.” My fingertips were suddenly massaging my temples, because I felt another headache coming on. This one was not Antoine induced though.
“You are the last white wolf. If your line dies, the white wolf dies with it.” She looked at me gravely then. “Do you understand?”
“How do you know I am the last?”
“Witch.” She stated again simply.
“Right. So, I’m in danger? Again?”
She huffed out a laugh that sounded disturbingly like a snort. “Child, you are fated to be in danger, it seems. It is the burden of the white wolf when she comes into her power. Once you have achieved all, the danger will lessen, but you are vulnerable now. You must be cautious.”
“Clearly.” I agreed.
“You must also choose wisely. You have a decision to make amongst which mate you will take, correct?”
I nodded my head, not trusting myself to speak.
“One will see your flourish and bloom. The other will destroy you. A choice must be made soon.”
“That’s not cryptic or anything.” Ashley chimed in finally.
Estella smiled, “You are the red wolf. You will know before she does which is worthy. Make her listen!” She eyed me longer, seeming to see something that wasn’t obvious to everyone else. “You are coming into more power, be careful how you use it. Do not tip your hand too soon.”
“What?” I asked, but Estella had already gotten up and turned her back on us.
“Keep your growing power to yourself. Those who covet it will show themselves, those who care not are your allies. Keep this one by your side. She is your balance.” The woman drifted off beyond the fountain to blend with the students milling about the quad, and then she was gone.
“Just what I needed. Crazy witch prophecies on top of all the other shit.”
“We need to call Asi, and let him know.” She looked at me, with her phone in her hand. “I didn’t know if you wanted to call Mikael or Evan though.”
I just closed my eyes, and sat down on the rim of the fountain. “Just Asi.” I put my head down in my hands.
“Well, at least I didn’t have any tests today.” She glanced at her watch as she waited for someone to pick up on the other end of the line. “Asi, we need you at the school. We’re waiting in the quad, right now.” She was silent a moment. “It’s very important, and I don’t…” her voice cut off. “There was a witch here talking to Jess.” She was quiet again for a minute, then hung up the phone. “Asi will be here in a minute. He’s bringing us to Evan too, so get yourself prepared for that.”
“I figured.”
Asi showed up about ten minutes later on high alert. The few people still milling about in the quad between classes were enraptured with him. The men looked like they were trying to figure out what his deal was. Asi could have been security detail, spy, or drug lord. He was dressed to impress today in slacks, a button down shirt, with blazer over top, and shiny dress shoes to round out the look. His sandy hair was slicked back from his face with some styling gel, and the longer ends were beginning to curl up on him. The women in the quad, were gawking. A couple brave ones started heading towards him until they realized he was walking with a purpose, and ignoring them completely. He was scanning the entire area as he approached, no doubt looking for threats, but he seemed unaware of the attention he was getting. “Come on, let’s go.”
We followed Asi to his car, and got in with him. “What about…” I started to say, but he cut me off.
“We’ll come back for your Jeep later. I’ll send someone else to make sure it wasn’t tampered with.”
“What do you mean tampered with? If the witch wanted to hurt us, she was standing two feet away. I’m sure…”
“Jess, I know you enjoy your independence, but I work for someone. I can’t question direct orders.”
“Fine. Whatever.” I was angry again.
“Jess, it’s not…” I cut Ashley off before she could finish defending Asi.
“I know it’s not his fault, but damn it I am tired of people acting like I am not my own person, in charge of my own destiny. If one more man tries to tell me how to run my freaking life, who to love, how to use my cell phone, or when to drive my own damn car, I am going to blow the fuck up!”
Ashley’s eyes were huge, and she was staring at me like she didn’t even know me. “You need a serious vacation,” She looked me over once more, “or maybe at least some chocolate, or good sex.” I rolled my eyes at her, but I couldn’t help the smile.
“I’m not hormonal, I’m pissed.”
Asriel was apparently feeling brave, because he chimed in with, “I think we get that.”
I sat in silence for the rest of the short drive. We were being taken to De’ Lune’s, the club, not a private residence. That was good, or at least I thought so until we walked in. Evan was waiting for us in the back room of the club. He was not alone though. Eleanna was there with him. Both of them looked stunning, which made me wonder what everyone had been up to today while Ashley and I were at school. Ashley didn’t really seem to be caught off guard by everyone’s dress, so I assumed she already knew.
“Jess,” Evan spoke first, “come tell us what happened.”
My first instinct was to tell him, and his whole family to fuck off. Instead, I took a deep, calming breath, closed my eyes for a minute, and then started in with what I wanted them to know. “A lady approached us on the quad today. She said her name was Estella Sophia Marquez.” Leanna sucked in a breath at the mention of the name.
“It really was a witch, then,” she said.
“How do you know?” I asked her.
“Because she’s the reason I ended up bonded with Antoine. Estella, well she goes by Sophia, is the one who stripped his first bond.”
“Oh, right!” I squeaked out. “Sorry, I feel like I’m in a stress blender today.” Everyone was talking in a big cacophony of noise after that. I was tuning them all out successfully, while lost in my own thoughts, until someone grabbed my arm.
“Jess!” Evan snapped, trying to get my attention back. “We need you to tell us what happened.”
“She just said I had to choose a mate soon, and that one of you would destroy me, and one would help me, or some nonsense. Of course, she wouldn’t tell me which was which, so fat lot of good that conversation did.”
Evan looked hurt, and I realized that may have been because I made it sound like there was a choice to be made now, instead of insisting that I would be with him. I hadn’t thought about it like that. Even though I had a good day with Mikael yesterday, I still didn’t see him as competition for Evan. I just saw him as something completely separate, while Evan and me had our problems we needed to work out. I was not going to get into that with Evan in front of everyone else though.
“Was there anything else?” He finally asked.
“Nope. She just faded off into the crowd and vanished.”
Ashley looked at me like I had two heads again, but she didn’t dare say anything about the rest of it.
“You’re sure?” Leanna asked. “That seems very obscure. Why would she come to tell you to choose soon, but not say why, or who, or anything else?”
“Well, Leanna, maybe, just maybe, unlike everyone else around here, she values my ability to make a decision for myself instead of being forced into one.” Leanna looked taken aback, and actually got up to leave. Then I felt bad, because she hadn’t done anything wrong to me personally. “Sorry.” I added, “I’m extremely frustrated right now.”
“Believe me when I say, I understand.” She said to me. I slouched down into the couch and buried my head in my hands ready to cry, scream, or just take a damn nap. Honestly, I didn’t care which at that point. “I have to be going. Jessica, call me if you need to talk. If you need someone just to listen, or if you could use some advice. I would be more than happy to help ease some of the burden you are having to carry.” I heard the clickity clackity sounds of her heels as she walked briskly to the back door and saw herself out.
Ashley came over and patted me on the back, “I’m going to go up front and get you a drink, maybe a few of them, because I think you need it at this point. We are going to talk later though.” She walked away. “Asi, come with me, please.”
Just like that, I was left alone with Evan. My head was still firmly hidden in my palms so I wasn’t sure exactly where he was until he sat down beside me, put his arm out, and pulled me to him. I let it happen, because I was too embarrassed, angry, confused, and whatever ugly mix of emotion you could throw in the blender along with those, to worry about anything else. “I’m sorry.” Evan whispered into my hair as my head tipped down onto his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Jess.” I didn’t say a word, just focused on what his voice sounded like as he spoke. His warm arm snaked around me, something I had grown so accustomed to before, and didn’t realize I had been missing.
“How did everything turn upside down and then inside out so quickly?” I didn’t expect an answer from Evan, I was just thinking out loud.
“I don’t know, Jess. I guess a lot of it is my fault. I…” He stopped for a minute, trying to collect himself or figure out what he was trying to say. I didn’t know, then he started again. “I went through this once before, and it made me crazy. I forget sometimes that you are the present, and not my past. It’s been difficult on all of us, but I’ve made it worse for you than it needed to be. I apologize.”
I still didn’t say anything until after Ashley came back with the drinks. When she walked in the room and saw me leaning on Evan she looked disappointed. It was just a second, a brief glimpse, something Evan, himself, probably wouldn’t have noticed. Ashley and I were close though, and I knew that face, and I would have to talk to her about it later. I took one of the drinks from her and sniffed. It was a rum and coke.
“Bless you my child, for you are a saint!” I said to her, and then tipped back the cup and took a couple deep swigs. That was about the time I felt my phone buzzing. I put my drink down, and grabbed it out of my back pocket to take a look. It was definitely an incoming text.
Just wanted to check on you, and make sure you got to school all right this morning. It was from Mikael.
I didn’t even think before my fingers flew over the keys. I texted right back.
Got there ok, but had to leave. The witch found me, and delivered a message.
WHAT? Where are you?
I’m fine. Was with Ashley. Asi brought us back to De’ Lune’s. We’re there now.
Good, stay there where someone is keeping an eye on you.
Ok.
Jess, she didn’t do anything to you, did she?
No. She just warned me that I needed to make a choice of mate sooner rather than later. I’ll tell you about it when I see you.
I’m on my way.
That’s probably not a good idea, and you know why.
I don’t really care about his feelings, when you have a witch trailing you.
“Jess? What’s going on?” It was Evan, and he didn’t look happy. He nodded at the phone in my hands that I had been furiously texting on.
“Nothing.” I said, and then I texted back to Mikael. You may not care about his feelings, but I do. And I don’t want any more fighting right now. Please!
Fine, but you go nowhere alone. Promise me.
I promise.
“Unbelievable! You’re texting him, aren’t you?” Evan’s tone got my attention quickly. It was all accusation, and I felt myself getting pissed all over again.
“What?” My fury was stewing as I snapped the one word, and just like that, his switch flipped, and he was in pissy-jealous mode again.
“You’re sitting here, practically in my lap, and you’re texting Mikael.” He hissed out, and then looked at me as if I had grown two, very hideous, heads. “I can’t believe you.”
“Excuse me?” I jumped up off the couch, and looked down on him now. “First of all, I wasn’t in your lap. For the five minutes you decided not to be a douchebag, I let you hold me. I won’t bother making that mistake again.” He flinched, now that hurt feelings were boring in through the flash of anger he had. “Second, Mikael was with me when I first saw the witch yesterday, so I thought he should know when he just checked in on me.”
“What do you mean when you saw her yesterday?”
“While we were out, she was there, I felt her presence, but she didn’t approach. She waved at me and faded off into the woods. We left after that.”
“You need to tell me exactly what happened yesterday. Right now, Jess!”
“Actually, I really don’t. That’s the only thing you need to know about yesterday. I saw the witch. She left, and then today she showed up at school.”
“Damn it, Jess! Stop playing games. What the hell were you and my brother doing in the woods?”
That was it. I lost it. “You know what, Evan? Screw you!” He was so taken aback he flinched as if I had hit him. “That’s right! Screw you, because you know what? It’s not even about you. It’s not even about you being worried about the witch. You want to know if your brother and I were running together, letting our wolves bond, or whatever. Well, it’s none of your business. And if you keep it up, soon nothing about me will be your business. I hope you’re understanding what I am putting out there, because I’ve had it with your bullshit.”
Ashley and Asi had not left the room this time, but they did keep themselves out of the way as I let lose my temper tantrum. Asi tried to pretend he wasn’t paying attention, but Ashley was unabashedly watching the drama unfold. She mouthed, “you okay?”
“No, I want to go home. Right now. Can you take me to my Jeep?”
Ashley agreed immediately, but both Asi and Evan said, “NO,” at the same time. I looked back and forth between them, and then at Ashley, whose face was reddening. She clearly couldn’t go against her mate’s wishes on this, because it was his job to do what Evan asked, and besides, she didn’t have a car of her own here either.
“Fine.” I picked up my phone, and dialed a number, when it was answered I asked a simple question. “Can you come get me, please?” My voice broke on the please. I was holding on to my dignity by a string, but that little string was beyond frayed and ready to break. Hell, I would damn the wind if it attempted to blow right now, because pieces of me would scatter off and be lost.
About fifteen, very uncomfortable, minutes later there was a knock on the back door of the club. I went to the door, but Asi beat me there. He opened it, looked out, and turned to me. “Your ride is here.” I nodded, grabbed my bag, and headed the rest of the way to the door.
Evan caught hold of my arm before I could get two steps. “Don’t do this, Jess. Don’t leave like this.”
“I wouldn’t have. I was happy to sit like we were earlier, you know when you apologized for being a complete dick. What I’m not going to do is have this continue in a cycle. Not ten minutes after your apologies, you were losing your temper with me again. You need to stop looking at me as the bad guy here, and go look long and hard in the mirror. Seriously, don’t even bother talking to me again until you do.”
“Jess…” he all but whispered my name, but it was thick with pain, longing, and regret. I could hear it all there, and I couldn’t turn back to him. What we had now was toxic, and I couldn’t handle any more of it.
I just shook my head, and walked to the door. Asi was wise enough to close it behind me when I left, and I was pretty sure he probably stood guard there for a while too. He didn’t want Evan to see that it was Mikael who had come to my rescue. He would know, of course. But at least he could live with a little bit of denial for a while.
Mikael was straddling his bike, and as I got closer, I realized that my helmet was in the backseat of my Jeep still. “I don’t have my helmet. The Jeep is still on campus.”
He took his helmet off, and handed it over to me. “You wear it until we get to your Jeep. I’ll check your car out, and follow you home. That way you won’t be stuck again, okay?”
“Thank you,” I took the helmet, and put it on. His was one of the full-face helmets, so it hid the tears that started to fall down my face. It also wrapped me in his scent, which I was starting to associate with being calming and having choices that were actually mine. This is what I would have wanted Evan to do. I climbed on the back of the bike with Mikael, and we took off for the college campus. I held on tighter to Mikael than I probably needed to, but he didn’t seem to mind. When we pulled up next to my Jeep, he grabbed hold of my hands with his, and held me there for a minute. Then, he let me go.
“I’m sorry things are still so out of control for you, Jess.” He took the helmet I handed back to him. Then he walked over to my Jeep and gave it a good once over before I got in it. When I was sitting in the driver’s seat, he leaned in the window to talk to me. “I’ll follow you back, and make sure you get in the house with your parents before I take off, okay?” When I just nodded at him, he added, “I just want to make sure you’re safe with someone who can protect you.”
“Thank you.” I looked up at him then, his vibrant green eyes were full of concern, and I felt something pulling at my heart as he stood there, just waiting on me. “Not just for the ride, and seeing me home safe, but for treating me like…” I didn’t know how to say what I wanted. “Well, for not treating me like shit, I guess. For not making everything out to be my fault.”
“None of this is your fault, Jess.” When I looked down at my hands that I was wringing in my lap, he reached in and tipped my chin back up. “You have to understand that. This is not your fault. Evan’s issues, they aren’t your problem. They’re his.”
“Yeah, I know. It just feels… well thank you for not being like that.”
“Start your Jeep. Let’s get you home. I think you could use a hot chocolate, and maybe for your mom to just put her arms around you and give you a hug.”
“Seriously? You’re sending me home to my mommy?”
“Hey, don’t knock it. I think mom hugs are medicine you never grow too old for. Enjoy it while you have it.” He got ready to walk away and then turned back around. “Did you tell your parents about the witch, yet?”
“No. I didn’t really get a chance to.”
“Okay. Let’s make sure they know before I leave then.”
“Okay.”
Once we got back to the pack lands, and to my house, I parked the Jeep, and waited for Mikael to come walk me in the house. He was nice enough to make sure I had an escape hatch from his brother’s bullshit, and to see me safely home. The least I could do was humor him in making sure my parents knew about the latest possible risk.
“Mom, dad?” I yelled when we came through the front door.
“In the kitchen, Jess,” my mom called out.
I reached back and grabbed Mikael’s hand. The gesture surprised him, but he went right along with it, as if it were a normal thing for us. He closed the door behind us, and locked it, then we headed into the kitchen. My mom was working on a stew for dinner tonight, and the smell wafting out to us was mouth-wateringly good. “Oh God, your stew! It smells delicious already!” I dropped Mikael’s hand to go over and take the lid off the pot and sniff. Actually, I was in the process of trying to taste test it, but the minute I attempted to pick up the spoon my mom was there smacking my hand.
“Not until it’s ready, Jess. You know my rules.” She looked over at the man standing behind me. “Mikael,” she acknowledged. “Will you be staying for dinner?”
“No ma’am. Jessica has something to talk to you and Jameson about, and I wanted to make sure you both understood what happened before I left.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” my mom said as she wiped her hands off of on the towel she picked up.
“No, it doesn’t.” My dad had come in behind us. “Let’s sit down, and clear the air, then.”
We all sat down together, and I told them what happened when Ashley and I got to school. I still left out the part about the growing power, and about Ashley knowing who I should be with, but I told them the rest about me having to choose a mate soon, and how one would destroy me, but the other would help me. My parents, of course, looked at Mikael as if he were the destructive force. I hadn’t really been filling them in on how horribly Evan was treating me, or for that matter how well Mikael had been. He noticed my parents’ looks, and behaved as if it never happened.
“Listen, the only reason I stuck around is to let you know, this is serious. When the witches get involved, big things start happening. This particular witch is the same one that dissolved my parents’ binding.” He cleared his throat when my mom gave him a pitying look. “I’ve never known her to purposely hurt a wolf, without being asked to, but you never know. We need to make sure Jess is being looked after, and at the same time, not smothered. She’s an adult, and I think she’s just about sick to death of other people telling her what to do and when.” He looked at me and offered a week smile again. I was fighting back tears, because it was like he spoke from my own heart. I had been feeling caged lately. “Rest assured when she’s with either myself or my brother, she will be well looked after. I do believe Asi is going to start looking after the girls when they’re in school as well. I know you’ll do your best here too.”
“Of course, we will.” My father said, and for once he didn’t have attitude about it. I’m not sure what changed in the time Mikael had been talking, but my dad was looking at him a little differently. When Mikael got up to leave my father offered to walk him to the door, and I figured that was one scene I was going to stay out of.
“Good luck,” I mouthed to Mikael when he looked back over his shoulder to wave goodbye. He winked at me, and then he was gone.
My mom sighed to get my attention back on her. “What on Earth are you going to do?” She laughed as she tossed her towel down on the table. She had been twisting it in knots throughout the entire conversation with Mikael. “I think I may have judged that one too quickly.” She smiled at me, and grabbed my hands. “Time to tell me everything that’s been going on, because I know you were leaving things out about the witch. More importantly, you’ve definitely been leaving things out about Evan and Mikael.”
“Yeah, I have. Can I get some hot chocolate, first?” I thought back to the suggestion Mikael made earlier, to get hot chocolate and a big hug from my mom. That man was wise beyond reason, because suddenly, that was exactly what I needed.
“I’ll get it. You sit, and start talking.”