Chapter 10 - Lucas
I clutched my mug tightly and took a deep breath, trying hard to keep myself awake. Owen, who stood across from me, made a face as he cleaned the dishes. "You good?"
I nodded, rubbing my eyes. "Just tired. Haven't gotten much sleep."
Owen smirked, and I glared. "Not because of that. Jesus, I think you've been spending too much time with Miles."
Owen snorted, placing a plate aside.
I glanced at my phone, tempted to give her a call. She had seemed off this morning, and I worried that Chris had put her off wanting the house. Clearly, he’d gotten under her skin, and I wanted to help. I wasn't sure how I could. She was hardly letting me in.
I kept seeing her face when she stepped out of the shower. She was red, and I wondered if she'd been crying. Her face had been red, and I knew it wasn't just because of the hot water.
The room was steamy, and there was a scent in the air. I knew it was one I knew, but I couldn't put my finger on it because it also smelt like lavender soap.
I had imprinted the image of her with just a towel. Her skin was dripping wet, and the towel clung to her like a second skin. Her hair was damp, dripping down her shoulders. And I imagined that was how she looked when she had sex.
I quickly shook my head, clearing the thought away.
"How have things been?" Owen asked, setting another plate aside.
"We've only been doing this for a couple of days, but it's been good so far. I'm trying to give her space and let her settle."
Owen raised an eyebrow. "And you're okay with someone being in your place?"
It wasn't easy for me, but with Gina, it wasn't as hard as I had imagined. Sure, she left stuff everywhere, but she wasn't dirty, just messy. It was normally papers or random things that she left lying around. And she was quiet. Even when she was around, the only noise he ever heard was her playing some quiet music and the sound of her typing on her computer.
"It's been fine," I admit with a shrug.
Just then, I could hear Cayden and Miles coming up the stairs. They both stopped at the island. Cayden yawned, looking tired, and Miles looked directly at me.
"She still alive, or did you kick her out of your house?" Miles asked, a smirk pulling at his lips.
"I could ask the same of your wife," I said, raising an eyebrow at him.
"My wife loves me, but the woman you opened your house to does not. If anything, I'd go as far as to say she hates you."
He wasn't wrong, and the thought irritated me a little.
Owen cleared his throat. "It's a little early for me to play parent, guys. Can we be civil?"
"I'm being civil," Miles said, looking back at me. "It was an honest question. You don't like people in your house."
"Correction, I don't like annoying people in my house," I sipped my coffee. "You fall under that category."
Cayden snorted as he moved towards the coffee maker, pouring himself a mug.
Miles scowled. "You just don't know how to have fun."
I set my mug down and looked at him. "The last time I invited you over to my house, you brought a girl, and she broke a mug."
"That was three years ago, and it was just a mug."
"She threw the mug at your head, missed, and busted a hole in my wall."
Cayden laughed. We all knew the story: the one time I allowed Miles to stay with me because he was having his place painted and just needed to be out for a day. Ayden told him to stay with me. I'd allowed it once and one time only.
"Yeah, about that." Owen turned from the water. "Who is a guest at someone's house and brings a lady over?"
"She was my girlfriend," Miles quickly added. "We were dating."
"You met her the night before," I said.
"It was a quick relationship," Miles barked back.
"Yeah, you broke up the following morning."
Miles threw his hands up. "You all are making it seem like this is about me. The topic was him and Gina."
I sighed, taking another sip of my coffee. "Gina is fine. She's quiet and clean. A lot cleaner than you are."
Cayden and Owen chuckled, ending the conversation.
I pulled up to the house and stared at it. I glanced at the bag sitting on my passenger side. It was a little after one, and I figured Gina hadn't eaten, so I ordered her a sandwich and chips.
I took a deep breath, got out of the car, and headed up to the front. I didn't bother knocking and opened the door.
I took the space in, not having had the chance last time. It was a large open space with a tall ceiling, hardwood floors, and white walls. There was a lot of sunlight, and I looked from the living room into the dining room, finding it quiet.
"So, how much do you think this will cost?" Gina's voice broke the silence, and I turned towards the dining room.
Walking into the dining room, I continued down and then turned towards the kitchen. The door was open, and Gina stood in the doorway, leaning against the wall. She was talking to someone standing in the kitchen.
"Right now, it's hard to estimate. There is a lot of wiring that needs to be done."
Gina clicked her tongue and turned, her eyes dropping to me. "Lucas.." She pushed off the door frame, and the door to the kitchen shut off as she did. "What are you doing here?"
"I brought you lunch," I said, pulling the bag up.
She smiled, and then her eyes went down to her watch. "Jesus, it is that time, isn't it? God, the day got away from me."
I looked towards the kitchen. "Who's in the kitchen?"
"An electrician," she said, opening the bag. "I have a plumber coming as well to get an estimation. I want to get as many things done as possible while not living here."
I knew that was going to cost a pretty penny, and suddenly, I wondered what she did for a living. She'd said before that she made good money, but I had no idea what she did for a job.
"Are you sure you want to spend a bunch of money right away?" I asked her.
She froze, and her eyes snapped up to me. She frowned. "What do you mean?" her words came out clipped, and I knew to choose my words carefully.
"I mean, is this really what you want?" I waved at the house. "This is going to cost a lot….and I mean…like a lot of money. You're completely remodeling, including wiring, plumbing, and whatever else this place is going to need."
"Are you saying I can't?" she asked, her voice shifting into anger.
"No," I said. "I'm just worried you don't know how much work this will take and how much money. I'm just making sure you know what you're getting into."
She shook her head and sighed. "Money isn't an issue."
I frowned, still on the fence. It wasn't that she couldn't do this because she could, but it would cost her. And she was just a single person.
After a moment of silence, she sighed. "Lucas, money isn't an issue. If I didn't have any, would I have asked you to sign a prenuptial agreement?"
"I figured you had important valuables."
She snorted, taking a seat in a chair and taking a bite of the sandwich. "No, I mean…I do, but that wasn't why. I make good money. I'm a freelancing IT specialist. I'm a hot commodity and make substantial money, so it won't be an issue."
I was a little surprised. I knew so little about Gina, and I had no idea she'd done so well for herself.
I leaned back on my heels, resting my hands on the back of a chair. "IT? I never knew that."
"Why would you?" she said, the same words she'd used before.
It twisted me up because she was right. I wouldn't have a reason to know—I never had a reason to know until now—and now I wanted to know everything I could.
I tightened my grip on the chair. "If you have money, why didn't you leave the pack?" I figured maybe she stuck around for the money, but that didn't seem to be the case. It sounded like she had everything she needed to leave.
She fell quiet for a second before she shrugged. "And go where? As you all have told me my entire life, I'm just a weak wolf that will cross the wrong wolf and end up dead."
I frowned, hating that I'd said words like those to her. I hated a lot of the things I had done before.
"It was better to live around people that pitied me rather than people that could actually kill me." She took another bite. "Though it isn't like the pack didn't try."
I had always wondered how she lasted. And as I stared at her, I realized that Gina was so much more than a small wolf. She was smart and calculated. But I could also see Gina had clearly suffered.
Over the past few days, I could see how she jumped slightly when I entered a room or if something was loud. As smart as she was, she still constantly looked behind her back—the result of having to do it for years.
"We were all clearly wrong," I said.
She paused as she pulled a chip up to her mouth. Her eyes snapped to me, and she tilted her head. "You've said those words before."
"And they still stand. You have made a living for yourself, and you are thriving. I know plenty of people who thought they were talented but haven't done anything with their lives."
She shrugged, but I wanted her to understand. I pulled the chair out and took a seat. "Gina, your brother was a college dropout who lived at home."
"Even so," she popped the chip into her mouth. "He was the prized jewel."
"A piece of shit," I corrected. "He was no one. He was a drunk. He used and abused and got the death he deserved."
She swallowed. "Weren't you friends with him?"
I had been at one point before I realized how childish everyone was. I lived by the code that only the strong survive, but I was learning that strength comes from more than muscle. It was something I was still trying to learn.
"I was before we left high school. Your brother was a drunk who enjoyed watching people's pain. You weren't the only one he tortured."
"You did at one point," she countered. "You enjoyed watching my pain."
I scowled. "No, I correctly told people the truth. I didn't enjoy people's pain for the fun of it." I was straightforward and to the point. People considered me cold, but it was just how I was. It was how I was raised.
I could still hear my folks reminding me that only the strong survive and everyone gets what they deserve. I knew if I did everything by the book, everything how I should, I would be fine.
She made a sound deep in her throat and looked at her food. "Interesting because that's not how it felt to me."
I stiffened suddenly, at a loss for words. There was nothing I could say to change the past. I had done what I did, and Gina felt how she felt.
As honest and open as Gina was speaking, I could still see she had her guard up. And I wondered if it would ever come down. Would this be as close as she would allow me? Would I ever make up for what I'd done?
She popped a chip into her mouth. "Did you come here right away after leaving the pack?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I was the first person to work with Ayden at the fire station."
She raised an eyebrow. "And Owen is above you?"
"He's Beta."
She tilted her head. "And you didn't want that?"
I smirked. "Fuck no." I never wanted statues. “I don't like the thought of people constantly bothering me. I liked my solitude."
She smirked. "You'd be a terrible Beta anyway."
I couldn't help the laugh that built up and came out. She smirked, proud of herself, and I stared, feeling my heartbeat quicken. It was odd how quickly this woman was changing everything around me in such little time. And I found myself enjoying it.