Chapter 18 - Jade
I stood frozen in the meeting room. The small space was packed, filled with the elders of the pack, including Lionel, who looked pissed. Everyone was talking at once, and I didn’t know what to think. I looked at Brandon, who stood next to me, looking just as surprised as I was.
“Why are they all here?” Brandon asked as he looked at Kaleb. Kaleb shrugged. “They demanded a meeting tonight rather than doing one tomorrow. They won’t go home until we discuss what happened.”
We looked back at everyone who suddenly fell silent when they noticed we had entered the room.
“We need answers,” an old man said. I recall his name being Joel. He looked between his eyes, narrowing on me. “How long have you had these powers?”
I swallowed, knowing that these questions were coming. But I at least thought I would be able to sleep on it, process my emotions, and go through the day’s events before being questioned.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate to jump us like this when we are all exhausted.”
“We should question you while the events of tonight are fresh rather than tomorrow when everything becomes fuzzy.”
“It’s ten at night. I have a kid asleep in the hallway on a bench,” he snapped back.
“Then answer the questions, and you can be on your way,” Lionel said, waving a hand.
I watched Brandon’s hands curl into tight fists, and I looked at Joel. “I’ve never known I had a power. Today was my first time.”
Joel raised an eyebrow at me, but someone next to him spoke up. “And you used fire today?”
I nodded. I didn’t know anything about witches, even though I was part of one. It had been dormant in our family for so long that none of us saw a need to learn anything. Why learn about something you don’t possess?
“Do you know how to use your gift now that you’ve pulled it out?”
I only felt a sensation take over before I released the fire. I could only guess that it was because I had a strong emotion, but otherwise, I didn’t know.
“I don’t. I don’t know how to pull it out.”
The room was filled with whisperers, and I swallowed. Brandon sighed, irritated next to me.
“You’ve never used your gift before?” Another asked, seeming not to believe me.
“She’s never used her gift before,” Brandon snapped. “Any more questions?”
“Brandon, we are only asking because we care,” Lionel said, softening his face. “We are a pack after all. You’re a witch with a gift, so it’s only natural that we all have questions.”
His words confused me, but they lessened the questions. After a few more questions, everyone seemed to settle. I turned to Brandon, ready to go home, when my Lionel spoke up. “Hold on a moment.”
We both paused as Lionel stopped next to us.
He offered a smile that was different from his expression just a moment ago.
“I’m only asking questions so I can understand.
This is good news to hear. Jade, having a gift like this will be a great advantage for the pack.
” Lionel looked at me, his smile growing.
“How about we have dinner tomorrow? Mary and I will cook. We can discuss this further. Look into what else you can do.”
The question threw me, and I stared at Lionel. I tried to search through my memory to see if he’d ever asked me to join them for dinner, but nothing came to mind.
“Okay,” Brandon said, hooking his arm with mine. “It’s late, and we’re tired.” Brandon turned us, and my mind seemed to glitch out. Had Lionel just invited us over for dinner? Had I heard him correctly?
We arrived home, and Brandon picked Ilsa out of the car and carried her inside.
I followed behind them, yawning as I moved.
As we got upstairs, Brandon turned into Ilsa’s room.
I paused in the doorway as he placed her onto her bed, pulling the sheets over her.
I watched him pat her hair and lean over, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
Brandon turned, shutting the door, and I leaned against the wall in the hallway. Brandon paused and tilted his head at me. “What’s wrong?”
“I just…your dad is inviting us for dinner.”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Surely it’s not the first time you’ve gone over there.”
I shook my head. “No, we’ve gone over, but we’ve never been invited for dinner.”
He looked shocked. “What? You’ve never been invited over for dinner?”
I shook my head, and he scowled. “That’s terrible. Not even for Ilsa?”
I had thought they might once Ilsa was born, but it was never asked. His mother was more open, but she never asked me to stay for dinner. Never asked us to come over.
“Are you worried about tomorrow?”
I didn’t want to consider that it was Ilsa’s family, but a part of me questioned why there was a sudden need to invite us over. Was there an ulterior motive? Maybe I was overthinking this?
“A little. I mean, it’s dinner, so I’m not sure how to explain this to Ilsa. It’s becoming hard to explain the dynamic here,” I sighed and pushed off the wall. “I just…wish things were simpler.”
Brandon nodded. “You and me both.”
I swallowed, taking in the relaxed look on him.
He looked tired, and yet he stayed with me the entire night.
He stood by me during the meeting and helped with Ilsa.
I wanted to ask him if he wanted me to tell Ilsa who he was, but I knew he wouldn’t answer.
It was up to me to decide when that was right.
“Get some sleep,” he said, filling the silence. He stepped closer to me, pressing a kiss on my forehead before he turned to his bedroom. I watched him walk away, feeling an ache in my heart.
I slept heavily that night, having a hard time waking myself up. I blamed the fact that I hadn’t slept well in several days, and my body was screaming for sleep after it.
I slowly pulled myself out of bed and headed down the stairs. As I made it to the bottom, I spotted Ilsa standing on a stool next to Brandon in front of the stove. Ilsa was giggling as Brandon talked, stating something about not burning the eggs.
I felt my heart stop beating as I watched them. Ilsa laughed at Brandon, leaning to look over his arm as he moved. He smiled at her like she was his entire world, and I knew she deserved to know the truth. She needed to know who he was and just how important she was to him.
“Look who’s finally awake.” Brandon smiled at me. “I made coffee for you. You looked like you were tired, so we decided to make breakfast.”
“Brandon is letting me help,” Ilsa said, jumping off the stool. “We made omelets.”
I looked at Brandon, who nodded with a smirk. “We tried at least.”
Ilsa grabbed a plate and showed me. I smiled as we all moved to sit down at the table. I listened as Ilsa told me about how fun it was to cook with Brandon. She was giddy in her seat.
“Speaking of food,” I said. “We have dinner plans tonight. Do you remember Grandpa’s neighbor?”
Ilsa nodded. “Yeah.”
“They invited us over for dinner.”
Ilsa paused her hand and frowned. She looked between us before she spoke. “Why?”
I swallowed, knowing this was the moment to tell her. I should tell her that Brandon was her father and those were her grandparents. But the words seemed to freeze in my mouth.
“Because I don’t want to go alone,” Brandon said, smiling at Ilsa. “You and your mom are going to save me from a very boring dinner.”
Ilsa smiled, seeming to brush past it and nodding. “Okay, we can do that.”
A little before dinner, we headed over to his parents’ house. I was nervous, tugging at the dress I put on. I had tried to look nice. I’d seen his parents plenty of times, but tonight it was different. We were going together as a family.
Ilsa was sitting in her chair. She’d put on a purple skirt with a bright blue shirt. She was wearing bright white shoes. We pulled her hair up into two little buns, and she had a smile plastered on her face.
Brandon was wearing a pair of nice jeans and a plain white shirt. He looked underdressed, while Ilsa and I were clearly trying to make sure we looked nice.
We pulled up in front of the house, and I swallowed. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that it would be okay.
“You ready?” he asked, giving me a gentle smile.
I nodded and pulled myself out. I helped Ilsa out, and we headed for the door. Brandon pulled the door open, and as soon as we stepped inside, I could smell chicken and rice. My mouth watered, and Ilsa pulled her shoes off.
Mary came into the entryway and threw her arms around Brandon. She hugged him tightly, and I could see the love in her eyes. Mary had always been a softer person than Lionel was.
“I’m glad you guys were able to join us,” she looked past Brandon toward Ilsa and me. Ilsa gave Mary a big smile.
“Hi, Mary.”
Mary smiled at Ilsa. I could see a flicker of hurt cross her face, knowing it hurt her to hear her name rather than grandma when she saw Ilsa.
“It’s lovely to see you, Ilsa. You’re getting so big.”
Ilsa giggled. I heard footsteps and looked up just as Lionel stepped into the entryway. He looked sharply dressed as he stood there staring at us for a moment. I felt a shiver roll down my back and straightened my shoulders. Brandon looked at his father.
“Glad you guys could join us.”
“Thanks for the invite,” Brandon said, raising an eyebrow at his father. “Apparently, this is the first time you’ve invited them over for dinner.”
Lionel didn’t say anything to him. He pointed toward the dining room. “We have dinner set up already.”
“I even got a little extra seat in your chair so you can sit up higher on the dining table,” Mary said, placing her hand on Ilsa’s head. She played with her hair and smiled. “And I made green beans.”
Ilsa beamed with eagerness and moved hurriedly to the table. Mary walked after her, leaving Brandon and me with Lionel. Lionel looked at me for a moment before he turned, heading to take a seat at the table.
“You okay?” Brandon asked, stopping closer to me. “We can always go home.”