Chapter Twenty
KHALIL
Ugh, my feet hurt,” Aurelia whines for the second time in ten minutes. We’re finally heading back to the cabin after spending a couple of days camping by the falls, rather than leaving the next morning as planned.
I stop walking and wait for her to pass me before I scoop her spoiled ass up since I know it’s what she wants. We’re not far from the ATVs anyway, and I’m tired of damn near breaking my neck to make sure she’s still behind me every time she rolls an ankle or falls a little too quiet for my liking.
“Aww, thank you, my big, strong man. That’s why you’re my fave.” She pats my cheek.
Thorin damn near trips over his feet and I smirk at the instant jealousy flooding his blue eyes when he turns around. “Wait, what? Why is he your fave?”
Aurelia hoods her eyes and raises her nose like the princess Zeke proclaims her to be. “Because both of you pretended not to hear me. That’s why.”
Thorin looks at me in complete confusion. “Hear what?”
I could explain to Aurelia that he really hadn’t heard her complaints because he was deep in thought figuring out how to deliver her uncle’s head to her on a platter, but I’m not willing to give up my spot as number one, so I leave his ass out to dry. “No clue.”
I walk past him and Zeke who’s quietly chuckling at Aurelia’s antics. A month ago, he would have been convinced that Aurelia pitting us against one another was a sign of her being up to no good. Now, he finds it amusing, his green eyes twinkling like she’s the most adorable thing ever.
Just what the actual fuck were they doing at the top of that waterfall?
We reach the ATVs and ride back to the foothills of Big Bear, where we store them inside the cave before making the slightly grueling trek up to our lonely cliff.
One of the reasons we chose it was for how hard it was to find and difficult to reach if you did happen to spot it.
Aurelia must have been truly desperate the day she found our cabin.
We breathe a collective sigh of relief once we reach the haven of our clearing and see that it remains unmolested.
“Home sweet home,” Zeke says as he holds open the front door of the cabin for us.
Aurelia smiles up at him as she passes, and when he grins back and immediately goes to follow her like he’s possessed, I grab him by the collar and yank him back out onto the porch. Thorin sees and drops his arm over Aurelia’s shoulder, steering her toward his bedroom before she can see.
The front door slams closed, and they disappear from view while Zeke rips away from my hold. “What the fuck, Khal? What the hell is your problem?”
I shove him into the door, and he grunts from the impact. “Is there something you want to tell me, Ezekiel?”
“Yeah.” He shoves me back and shoulder checks me as he walks past me. “Don’t call me that.”
I don’t point out that he doesn’t seem to mind when Aurelia does. He’s stopped correcting her, but apparently, she’s the exception. Instead, I spin around and grab his nape before he can leave the porch, and then I force the front of his body against the pillar cornering the stairs and railing.
“You can’t be around her,” I warn while he grunts and growls to get away. “Not while we don’t know what’s happening with your alters. Seth and Bane are even more unpredictable now. I mean it, Zeke. It’s not safe.”
“That’s not your call.”
My fingers loosen from the unbridled possession in his tone. “Oh, so you want her now? Just like that?”
Zeke manages to twist enough to throw an elbow into my face that I see coming a mile away and still narrowly miss. “All you need to know is that I’m not going to hurt her.”
Unconvinced, I shake my head. “You can’t promise that.
Something’s changed. You almost died, and Bane couldn’t care less.
Aurelia almost kissed you, and he charged to the surface before you even knew what was happening.
The only thing we do know is that Aurelia is affecting Bane, and until we know why or what it means, stay the fuck away from her. ”
I feel Zeke’s dark energy follow me into the cabin, but he doesn’t come inside. I watch through the windows as he retreats into the woods, and it’s a few hours before he returns.
Just in time for dinner.
Unhooking my tool belt, I give Zeke’s old room one last surveying glance and then leave, following the smell of pasta, tomato sauce, and freshly baked bread up the stairs.
Zeke walks into the cabin sweaty and disheveled just as I reach the landing. He lets the front door slam behind him and then walks past me on the stairs without so much as a glance.
I’m tempted to follow him and talk some sense into him without my own jealousy and anger riding my every word, but I know it won’t do any good.
When I reach the kitchen, Thorin is spooning a huge heap of spaghetti onto the last plate. My mouth waters when I see steam curling from the thick, meaty sauce.
Aurelia is getting really fucking good.
Pride spears my chest just like this morning during training when she made me lose my footing and very nearly put me on my ass.
I know how tenacious Aurelia can be. I’ve seen it when we’re training.
Even when her mouth is complaining, her eyes and ears are soaking up everything, feeding her need to master any task put before her.
I also know her secret. Though she’s usually so full of confidence, I know that Aurelia still doubts whether she can survive without her uncle controlling every aspect of her life.
That insecurity only doubled after seeing him at the ranch, but one glance at the subdued pleasure in her expression as she admires her handiwork tells me she’s coming around again.
That’s right. My baby can do any-fucking-thing and I dare anyone to tell her differently.
She’s standing at the island across from Thorin when I wrap my arms around her waist. Aurelia immediately melts into me with a sigh, and I kiss her neck. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“I’m starving. Thank you.” I kiss her neck again and then pull away to help Thorin carry the plates over to the table.
He made four even though Zeke still won’t eat.
As always, he’ll wait until Aurelia has climbed into bed with one of us for the night and then make himself a sandwich or something.
During meals, the broody bastard usually sits quietly at the far end of the table to watch the rest of us interact.
Still, Aurelia always makes sure he has something to eat despite the sting of rejection that always comes from her efforts.
Once the plates are in their correct settings, I grab the leftover food and set it on the table in the middle for easy-to-reach seconds.
Aurelia pauses at that since we never have before.
It took us a while to get past the awful taste and fear of food poisoning to even finish our plates despite our size and voracious appetites, so until now, a second helping was out of the question.
I wink at her when she gapes at me and then I lick my lips with a different kind of hunger when she blushes so prettily. The three of us sit, and then I hear the shower turn off downstairs, and minutes later, footsteps on the stairs.
Zeke and I lock gazes when he walks into the dining room wearing only basketball shorts and socks. Water from his shower still clings to his bare chest while his black hair looks ruffled, sticking out in every direction as if he’d quickly toweled it dry.
“I hope you like spaghetti,” Aurelia says as he joins us at the table.
He doesn’t sit. Instead, he stares at his plate, not touching it at the end of the table.
In what can only be described as a fuck you to Thorin and me, Zeke lifts his plate and moves into Seth’s old seat across from Aurelia.
She’s in the middle of pouring a glass of water for herself when he sits down.
She keeps pouring, her gaze locked on Zeke while I watch the water get dangerously close to the rim with no signs of her stopping.
Thorin reaches out at the last moment and relieves her of the pitcher before the ice water can spill over the top.
He sets the pitcher down with a thud, and it finally snaps her out of it. Aurelia’s questioning gaze becomes embarrassed, dropping to her own plate as she shifts and fidgets in her seat like she’s suddenly nervous.
“Looks good,” Zeke compliments, and her wide-eyed gaze flies back to his. “I love spaghetti.”
He hates spaghetti. I barely suppress the urge to roll my eyes.
Even if he liked the dish, Zeke won’t eat her food.
He never does, so what the fuck is he playing at?
One glance at Thorin and the annoyed look on his face at the lie, and I know he’s thinking the same thing. We’re not left wondering for long.
I’ve got one eye on my plate in front of me and the other watching Zeke so the moment he reaches for the fork sitting next to his plate, my entire focus shifts that way—as does Thorin’s and Aurelia’s.
We all watch in shock as he stabs the huge mound of spaghetti and slowly twirls it around the prongs, his gaze pointed with intent across the table at Aurelia.
One glance at the girl sitting next to me and I see she’s no longer breathing. Her lips are parted just the tiniest bit as she watches Zeke twirl that fucking spaghetti.
Finally, he raises the fork, his lips parting halfway, and then he cleans the fork with one bite. He chews, slowly…thoughtfully. It feels like it goes on forever before he finally swallows.
“Mmm,” Zeke hums rather dramatically. “It tastes good too, princess. Really fucking good.”
A rush of breath escapes Aurelia. “I…” She seems at a loss for words for a moment. “Th-thank you.”
He winks, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Thorin roll his eyes. “You’re welcome.”
The rest of dinner passes uneventfully with the four of us mostly eating in silence. After dinner, Aurelia grabs the ice cream from the deep freezer and fills up four bowls before passing them around.