Chapter 29
ERICA SAVAGE
“See how he looks at her, Erica?” Vivi asks.
“Uh huh, I sure do.”
Jason Creed is a testosterone-fueled powder keg and our sweet, inexperienced Bailey Blackwood has become the fiery match.
When we found out Bailey put Jase under Aphra’s shield and knew he was in there and ready to go into the rut the minute he got out, we were beyond concerned.
It was good that Bailey asked for help because the last thing we wanted was for him to drag her off somewhere and make things even worse.
Dani’s plan to get him to slow down and pay attention was perfect.
“I know from firsthand experience that when we finally let this wolf off his leash, this poor girl is going to need a whole lot of ice for her lady parts.”
“Mm hm,” Vivi says knowingly.
But she doesn’t know.
You don’t truly know until you’re attached to a super alpha’s oscillating knot for days because it won’t let go.
I fear something like what happened with us could happen to Bailey if this situation doesn’t sort itself out soon. Because these two are end game. Of that, we’re sure. We just don’t know how long it’ll take for us to get to the end of this unusual game.
Jase is following her after that scene. Bailey is mostly demure and happy-go-lucky, except from what I can tell so far, when it comes to people she cares about.
Case-in-point: when she punched Sherry in the mouth at Ivy and Tyson’s wedding.
It sounded like Sherry not only had it coming, but she’d had it coming for decades.
Bailey put up with a whole lot of bullying and never stood up for herself, but when Sherry set out to hurt Amelia and by extension caused a scene at Ivy’s wedding, Bailey let Sherry have it.
And now here, with Jase. We heard Caroline’s comments just before Bailey grabbed her by the hair.
And if we heard it, Jase definitely did, too.
And as for the way Jase looks at Bailey, Vivi is absolutely correct. He tracks her every move. He stares at her longingly. If Bailey could have glimpsed into a crystal ball and seen the Jase of today a few weeks ago, she would’ve swooned. Hard.
Uh oh. Riley is stalking in this direction. And he’s ticked. I see it and feel it.
“Here we go,” Vivi mumbles.
“Uh huh,” I agree.
Riley is kind of pissed at us. And he’s not hiding it.
He’s still my Riley, my sweet, doting, ravenous soulmate who rocked my world both last night and this morning, but outside of the ravishing, he’s made it no secret he disapproves of my coven getting between Jase and Bailey.
“Release that poor fucker from this misery or he’s going to snap, Rikki,” Riley warns.
“He’ll survive,” I say and it comes out more blasé than I intend.
He growls. And my panties become saturated.
“I’ll just give you two a minute to talk,” Vivi says, moving toward Ivy, Amelia, and Stacy, who are in a huddle.
Caroline has gone back into the town hall, looking angry but wobbling a little. Pretty sure she’s had too much to drink.
I had a conversation with Addy today and she’s worried about her pack friends.
Many of those women are like her, suffering with the aftermath of the abuse they endured.
I’ve had a conversation with Stacy about it too, and I think I’ll suggest we have Dani come in and do a talk circle tomorrow morning, offering any abused former Silver Hills pack members counselling while we’ve got easy access to them.
Dani is great at counselling and at mentoring young women; she minored in psychology when she went to school after her witch training.
“What happens tomorrow?” my guy demands.
“We’re meeting at Bailey’s folks’ solarium where we’ll hear Bailey’s case as well as Jase’s. Then the coven will talk and go from there.”
“You five get to decide whether or not Jase is off the hook? That’s bullshit, Erica.”
Uh oh. He’s calling me Erica. Not a good sign. I’m Rikki. Rik. Baby. Little witch. Little Witch and Rikki are my favorite nicknames from him. When he pulls out my given name and aims it at me, it’s generally not good.
“This doesn’t need to be a Riley and his little witch problem,” I advise cheekily, trying to inject some levity.
My efforts fail as he folds his arms over his muscled chest and shoots me a dirty look. “This isn’t fair to Jase.”
I raise my hand. “Let’s not do this, Mr. Wolf.”
“He’s–” he starts but I cut him off.
“I’m doing my job,” I tell him. “Me and my coven are doing what we need to do right now.”
“Looking after this pack is my job, little witch.”
“This situation has been taken up by the coven in conjunction with Fate. Please trust that we can do our job, honey. We’re all on the same side.”
“So, this is how it’s supposed to go?” he asks. “Jase is suffering. Bailey’s moping around on the verge of tears.”
“Yes,” I tell him.
Because the alternative of letting Jase go level ten alpha and cart her off to claim her would be an absolute disaster.
There might be times when it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission, but we all agree wholeheartedly that this is not one of those situations, that it could do irreparable damage to Bailey, and Vivi firmly believes that’s not possible, it’d be a definite.
My mate is grimacing. “Mating should be a celebration. This isn’t that. Celebrating by the pack who’s happy for them and more importantly, both people in the relationship celebrating because they’ve found their soulmate. This is supposed to be the happiest time of their lives, Rik.”
“Give it time,” I say.
He frowns. “This makes no sense whatsoever.”
“To you, it doesn’t. But believe me, it’s how it’s supposed to go.”
“You saying Fate wants them suffering like this? I have a hard time wrapping my head around that.”
“We suffered, and look at us now.”
His eyebrows fly up. “Are you telling me it might take seven years for the suffering to stop for them, too?”
“No, Riley. It means Jase is currently learning. So is Bailey.”
“But this is what Bailey wants,” he says. “Or wanted. Though her mind would be changed back if Jase got a chance to show her how he feels.”
“This is what Bailey and Jase both need, honey.”
“I don’t get it. And it’s pissin’ me off because of what we went through. I don’t want anyone in this pack going through that kind of pain.”
I’m melting now. My sweet, awesome soulmate…
“It’s not for you to get, Scooby Dooby,” I say, cupping his jaw with both hands.
He’s grimacing now, flexing that defined, stubbled jaw.
“I’m pissed on Jase’s behalf and thinkin’ now about living without you for seven years.”
I put my chin on his chest and gaze up into those gorgeous green eyes. “Riley. We’ve got this. It’s gonna work out. I don’t think it’ll take seven years.”
“How’s that?”
“Vivi is plugged in, so to speak. We’ve done our part and now we mostly wait.”
“But Dani’s the one that started this.”
“Yes, because she’s Bailey’s champion on this issue.
We all are, but especially Dani. Trust me, Riley.
Bailey needs this time. And Jase needs to learn things about his mate before he claims her.
Jase needs this time to show Bailey what Bailey needs to learn about him and about their bond. Believe me, it’ll work out.”
“When?”
“When it works out,” I tell him.
“You don’t know when?”
“No.”
“Do you know if it’ll be soon?”
“No,” I say.
“What about Linc?”
“What about Linc?” I parrot.
“Linc’s gonna be on edge now about when he’ll get his turn.”
“He’ll get his turn when it’s time, Riley.”
He growls again, then mutters, “Not always a good thing my getting pissed off means this reaction from you.”
Yep, I’m even slipperier.
“Maybe it is a good thing,” I say, smiling, “Because this reaction from me often means you stop being pissed off.”
“Good point,” he mutters, still looking annoyed.
He’s going to have to get accustomed to the fact that he might not always agree with my work.
Most of the time, he won’t even know much about it.
Obviously, that’s not the case with this.
He definitely didn’t like it when I had to meet up with Sergei Voitenko recently. Riley insisted on being there.
Sergei was less than pleased that I can’t help him with his problem. Sergei is ready to end his time in this plane, but Fate has other plans for him.
Other plans that include mating with his very dangerous good friend’s daughter when she comes of age, which won’t be for quite some time.
Riley found the whole thing repulsive. He was also more than unsettled with me pissing off a dangerous elder vampire.
Though Sergei is one of the oldest vampires on the planet, he certainly doesn’t look like it.
“Different topic, do I smell like myself?” I ask him.
He frowns. “Huh?”
“I felt super-duper grossed out when someone mentioned deviled eggs earlier. Dry heaves and everything. It was pretty dramatic. I had to walk away from the table while they were eating potato salad because of the deviled eggs. The girls thought it might mean something.”
Even now there’s bile bubbling at the back of my throat at the mention of it.
“Mean something?” he asks.
“Yeah, like a food aversion due to… you know… pregnancy.”
He startles, looking me over.
“Do I smell pregnant?” I ask.
He wraps both arms around me and inhales deeply at my mate mark.
Goosebumps rise everywhere on me.
“You smell like you, little witch.”
“Oh,” I say, my disappointment clear.
“You’re not due for your time of the month.”
I shake my head
“Not due for what? A week?” he asks.
And I smile while nodding. It’s amusing to me that he knows this already.
“I guess we’ll see what happens,” he says, loosening his grip and looking at my face, smiling. All the tension has left his body. He’s no longer fretting about Jase. He’s thinking about babies.
Oh. Judging by the hardness poking my belly, he might also be thinking about making babies.
I’m a little baffled because I think it’s too soon for me to get pregnant based on the protection spell that was the source of a huge argument between me and Riley right after we finally decided we were together.
Summer is nearly over and this means it’s almost time to find out what might be next for this couple we’re protecting.
Either I’m not technically pregnant yet and I’m showing those early signs in anticipation of safeguarding that couple’s son, or maybe I am pregnant with our baby, which should mean things will work out for them, too.
I’d be panicked right now about being pregnant and worrying about a supernatural safeguarding pregnancy pushing our baby aside except that we already know Vivi foresees that things are going to work out okay, which might mean the coast is clear for Riley and me to have a baby.
If I’m not already pregnant, maybe I will be very soon.
I know two things about this right now. One: I want zero to do with deviled eggs and two: I absolutely love the look on my man’s face.
“Wanna go home?” I ask.
“Damn right I do,” he says gruffly, before he calls out, “Night everyone!”