Chapter Eight
Hacen needed blood. It had been a couple of days. He would have taken some sooner, but with Jules injured, his attention was on taking care of his mate instead of himself.
He'd take some from Tommy when he came back from grocery shopping. He just hoped Tommy came back soon because his control slipped with each minute he spent in Jules’ company. He wouldn’t bond with Jules without consent, but it was damned hard to resist the way his blood smelled and the way he looked all tucked into their bed.
By the gods, Jules was cute and irritating all at the same time.
He stirred the soup with a wooden spoon, trying to heat it enough so it would be a suitable temperature.
Hacen could hear the abnormal way Jules breathed. The way he held his breath and then let it go in short bursts said more about his pain level than if Hacen had just asked him.
He set the spoon aside and opened the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of water. The pain medication Lucas and Bennett had brought over was a powder. The medicine came from the mother witch. He'd be leery of using it on himself or Tommy, but she loved Jules and wouldn't do anything to hurt him. He had observed Jules around that family enough to not have one single doubt in his mind about that.
He put a tablespoon of the powder in the bottle. The powder turned the water a green color that reminded Hacen of duck shit. It smelled like something that came out of an ass too, but Hacen wasn't the one who had to drink it. Also, the stuff would probably shut Jules up for about twenty seconds. Maybe Jules would even stop glaring at him.
The glare was almost as bad as the little digs he took every ten minutes or so.
Hacen screwed the cap back on the water bottle and shook until the powder was dissolved and evenly distributed.
Jules' gaze followed Hacen and then turned to the bottle of water, eying it with suspicion. "What is that?"
"Pain medication your mother sent with Lucas and Bennett."
Jules raised his eyebrows. He took the bottle when Hacen held it out to him. "You're letting me drink it? Even though it came from Mama."
Hacen sat on the side of the bed. "Why do you have to analyze my every move? Just drink it. It'll make you feel better."
Jules unscrewed the cap and sniffed it before pulling it away from his face, his lips curling up in disgust. "Yep. It's from Mama alright."
Hacen smiled. "Every remedy has to smell and tastes bad, huh?"
"Ugh. You have no idea. And if you don't eat or drink whatever she's giving you, she does the mom stare. You know the one I'm talking about. All moms have it."
"My grandmother had it."
"What about your mom?" Jules took a sip. "It's not that bad. Just smells like shit. Literally."
Hacen kissed Jules on the forehead before standing and walking across the room. "My parents died when shifters attacked our coven. I lived with my grandmother after that."
"I was raised by my grandma too."
"What happened to your parents?"
"Nothing bad. I never knew my father. And my mother just didn't want me anymore. She dropped me off one day and never came back. It's not a tragic story. My mom was a drugged out mess so living with Grandma was better anyway."
"She was good to you?"
"Yeah. I was in foster care for most of my teenage years, and that wasn't fun. The foster care home pretty much kicked me out on my eighteenth birthday. I was homeless for a while, but I finally found a job that came with a place to stay. It was just cleaning up a bar after hours. I lived in the apartment above, and that could be noisy at night, but it was a roof."
"How long did you work there?"
"Up until Mr. Evil kidnapped me. In fact, his goons took me from the bar."
"Mr. Evil. Fitting." Hacen poured some of the soup into a mug and grabbed a spoon from the drawer along with a napkin from the holder on the counter before taking the treasure to Jules again.
He took the bottle from Jules and sat down before handing him the mug of soup.
Jules looked at it and then tipped it up to his lips. He sipped it delicately, which didn't surprise Hacen at all. Everything about Jules was delicate except for his smart mouth. That was like a giant boulder rolling toward Hacen relentlessly every time he even looked at Jules wrong.
Jules held the cup in both hands, setting it on the blankets. "Can I ask you something without you getting mad?"
"Sure."
"Your parents dying. Is that why you don't like shifters?"
Hacen nodded toward the cup. "Eat. You need the nutrients." He watched as Jules tipped the cup up again before taking it away from his mouth.
"Are you going to answer the question?" Jules asked in between sips.
"Yes." Hacen fought the urge to roll his eyes. "And the answer to your question is yes. It was more complicated than just the dying. It was more the way they died, I guess. My dad was in the coven leader’s inner circle and had been negotiating with the neighboring clan over land for a couple of months. I was a teenager at the time. Still a kid but able to understand when my dad talked about the meetings with my mom. I don't know what happened with the negotiations, but my dad went to a meeting and never came home. Next thing I know shifters were in our house, raping my mom. I tried to help her, but they were stronger. At some point, I blacked out. I don't remember what happened. Probably got knocked in the head one too many times by one of those fuckers." Hacen touched the scare on his eyebrow. "It's how I got this."
"Your mom was gone when you woke up?"
Hacen shrugged. "I woke up in my grandmother's home with a witch standing over me chanting something and throwing some liquid on me that smelled about as bad as your pain medication there."
Jules handed the mug to Hacen. He held out his hand, the invitation clear. Hacen put the cup on the small side table next to the bed and leaned into Jules, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him close. "I'm sorry that happened to you."
"Ditto, baby."
"My family isn't like those shifters."
How could Hacen explain what happened to his body when he's around a shifter? If he tried, it would make him sound weak, and that was the last thing he wanted to be for Jules. Jules needed his strength above anything else. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."
"Okay. I won't push it. Especially now that we're finally getting along."
Yeah, Hacen was pretty sure that wasn't going to last very long, but he didn't want to tell Jules that and pop the good vibes bubbling up between them.
Jules tried to move closer but hissed in pain when he moved his injured leg the wrong way. Hacen lifted him at the waist and set Jules on his lap, so he was sitting sideways against Hacen's chest. Jules turned his head, meeting Hacen's gaze.
They sat there in silence. Hacen felt as if he understood Jules a bit better and he hoped Jules could say the same thing about him. The problem was their issues were in complete opposition to each other, and that wasn’t an easy fix.
Hacen leaned in for a kiss, and to his surprise, Jules let him.
Jules’ lips were as soft as they looked, and he relaxed as he wrapped his arms around Hacen. When Hacen demanded Jules open for him, he did immediately, not even hesitating.
Hacen laced his fingers through soft, dark hair, cupping the back of his head even as he ran his tongue along Jules’ bottom lip. Jules whimpered, and he wiggled around as if he were uncomfortable.
Hacen took one more taste before ending the kiss.
Jules opened his eyes only part way. He looked lust-addled and sleepy all at the same time. His lips were shiny and red from Hacen's kisses. "Why'd you stop?"
Hacen smiled. "To ask you if you were okay. I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything you didn't like."
Jules lay his head on Hacen's shoulder. "That's sweet and completely unnecessary. I liked it. A lot."
"Good. Maybe we'll do it again when you feel better."
Jules sighed. "I don't think that's a good idea. I mean it'll only make things harder when I go back home."
Hacen stiffened and growled. "You're staying with us. Tommy will take you for a visit when you're feeling better. Visiting only."
Jules tried to move away. Hacen kept an arm around his waist to steady him and then stood, guiding him back to the bed. He got in, settling against the headboard. Hacen pulled the covers up around his legs and handed him the bottle of laced water.
"I'm not okay with being here. You're keeping me against my will just like I was before. You and Tommy are no better than him."
Hacen gave Jules a hard stare. Of all the things Jules said to him so far that had to be the worst. "Watch what you say."
"Fuck you, Hacen. You watch what I say. I'm tired of being a victim. You're not going to make me one. I can promise you that. I'll go home on my own as soon as I'm able."
"And I'll keep bringing you back."
Jules let out a frustrated growl that made him sound more like a paranormal than human. He pounded a fist on the bed, causing the water bottle to bounce around. The water sloshed against the sides of the plastic. Thankfully, the cap was still on or the water would be everywhere.
Hacen just raised an eyebrow. The corners of his mouth turned up into a slight smile.
"Oh, you think I'm funny."
"I think you're ridiculous."
"No, I'm reacting to my current situation. The one you put me in. It's the same situation I was in before. The only difference is you're not treating me like an animal who you can kick around. Literally. And use as your punching bag. Literally. I slept in the corner of his room and had one single blanket like a dog. But you know what the worst part was?"
Hacen swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. He tried to clear it before he spoke. "What?" He still sounded as if he gargled with gravel.
"I knew no one was looking for me. No one would save me. I'd be his favorite chew toy forever."
"Tommy and I were coming."
"You didn't."
"We tried. I swear it."
Jules shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I'm right back where I was. The only difference is I have a family now."
Hacen turned, kneeling on the floor beside the bed. He took Jules’ face in his hands. "I will go the rest of my life regretting not taking you with us when we had the chance. The truth is Nicolono scares the shit out of me and always has. I let him get to me, but I won’t make that mistake again."
Hacen wouldn't give Jules up. They might fight every step of the way, but they were in it for the long haul. Hacen would prove it.