Chapter 15
Jenny stood in the long corridor of the infirmary, her staff standing alongside her, backs pressed into the cold white-painted walls as they waited.
The sound of many booted feet preceded the doors at the end of the long hall being pushed open as Sentries filed in. It was quite a display as rows of towering Sentries, all donning their black tactical gear, escorted Monroe as he led his parents, Elias and Fleur StoneCrow, into the infirmary.
Jenny noted the proud twist to Monroe’s lips, and she got it. He’d worked his ass off to make this place into what it was, and he’d done extremely well, even if it was just recently up and running.
She remembered listening to him talk about how his Walker safe haven would be the largest, most protected compound any Skin Walker had ever seen. He’d done it, and he deserved every ounce of pride that poured from him as he showed his parents a few of the exam rooms as they made their way down the hall toward the staff.
Inside, Jenny had her own emotions warring. She was happy to see Elias and Fleur. And even though she spoke to them monthly, it’d been a long time since she’d seen either of them in person.
Her eyes drifted over Elias’ massive suit-clad frame. He looked like a slightly taller version of Monroe with sharper features and just a touch of gray marring the jet black hair at his temples. Jenny’s eyes slid down to Fleur’s more slender stature. She was elegant—as always—in a navy colored pleated flare dress and matching heels. The color was exceptional on the stunning brunette. Neither Elias nor Fleur appeared to have aged a day since Jenny had last seen them, and while it was good to lay eyes on the two people who raised her, Jenny’s eyes couldn’t help but stray to where Bishop stood near the front of the processional.
His eyes were hard, lips set in a determined line. He was all business, but Jenny’s breath hitched when his stoic gaze slipped down to her for just the briefest of moments.
“Jenny!” Fleur’s excited voice brought her attention back to the visitors, and Jenny shoved off the wall, rushing forward to bury herself in Fleur’s open arms.
Fleur hugged her hard and Jenny inhaled deeply, letting contentment settle in her bones at the familiar scent of lilacs that never ceased to remind her of home.
“Ma,” she breathed, and when she pulled back to study Fleur, it was through eyes filled with tears. Fleur was crying too, but it was the happy kind that had the woman chuffing a watery laugh as she squeezed Jenny’s arm with one hand and then turned to beam, “Elias! Look! It’s Jen.”
Elias’ beamed a perfect smile as he stepped forward and settled his hands on Jenny’s shoulders. “And how have you been, young lady?”
Unsure how to answer, Jenny shrugged and smiled up at him. “Same as always.”
Elias barked a laugh and pulled her in for a hug, whispering, “So good to see you, sunshine.”
Jenny was glad she’d donned her lab coat and didn’t have to endure the painful skin-on-skin contact that came with still being afflicted.
With her head turned, Jenny’s eyes landed on where Bishop stood staring at the interaction in clear confusion. They’d talked about a lot, but never her family. He didn’t know that Monroe’s parents had raised her like one of their own. Bishop didn’t know that she thought of Monroe as an annoying older brother.
“She’s quite the asset here,” Monroe interrupted, stepping forward as he stared approvingly down his nose at Jenny. “Smarter than I ever thought she’d turn out to be.”
Rolling her eyes, Jenny pulled from Elias’ hug. “Well thanks,” she muttered sarcastically even as Fleur slapped Monroe’s chest with a disapproving, “Son!”
Monroe shrugged but shot Jenny a wink. She swore that when he did, she saw Bishop stiffen in her periphery.
Fleur gave her attention back to Jenny. “You’ll join us for dinner won’t you, sweetheart?” She glanced up a Monroe. “Both of you.” Fleur nodded, “Soon as we’re finished here.”
It wasn’t a request. In the Skin Walker world, Elias StoneCrow was king, which made Fleur the queen, and the queen always got what she wanted.
“Yes,” Jenny breathed, “of course.”
Monroe reached out and gripped Jenny’s shoulder. She found it odd because he wasn’t the handsy or affectionate type and he rarely ever touched her.
“Yeah,” he muttered, squeezing her arm. His eyes though lifted from hers to something over her shoulder as he said, “It’d be nice to have you for a night.”
Jenny’s spine locked. It took her all of two seconds to realize Monroe was baiting Bishop. Asshole! She jerked her shoulder from his hold but didn’t get the chance to reprimand him because he turned and escorted his parents deeper into the infirmary, talking all while he walked.
Glancing over her shoulder, Jenny noticed that Bishop’s expression had turned to stone. He looked like a pissed off gargoyle.
“Bishop,” she turned and approached to speak to him quietly, stripping out of her lab coat while the other Sentries followed the Dominant and his family down the hall. Every time she was near Bishop she was always so damn hot that it felt like her blood was on fire.
“There’s something I need to tell you about Monroe,” she began.
Bishop’s eyes were full of ice though when they lowered to hers. “You don’t need to explain yourself to me.”
His tone was so cold that it felt like an assault. After everything they’d shared, he was acting so distant that she took a step back from him and lowered her head, her inhalation sharp as she thought how to respond.
“Is ‘at my Jen?”
Jenny’s head whipped up, and she looked down the corridor to where the words had come from. A Sentry stood there, wearing all gun-metal gray fatigues and it took her a second to place him. When recognition finally registered, Jenny gasped and took a tentative step toward him. “L-Lawder,” she breathed. “Is that you?”
Lawder Cassell, the Sentry who’d saved her from her captivity, stood before her. His eyes shone with delight as they strolled down her frame in clear approval. Hell, the last time she’d seen him, she’d been just a child. A child who’d had the worst ever crush on a Sentry who was too experienced and too old for a girl her age.
“Ain’t you all grown up?”
She felt herself blush and turned her head to try and hide it from Bishop who’d just slid his heated gaze from Lawder to her.