Chapter Twelve – Raeka
My family wanted to come with me on move-in day.
Nicole stayed home from school—and my mom let her so she could see me off.
My dad even took the day off from work. But I convinced them that I wanted to go home with Gideon, start our new life together quickly and all that shit.
My sister knew better, but my mom was just so happy to hear that she didn’t put up a fight at all.
And my dad? I think he’s still skeptical, but hopeful.
When Gideon comes to pick me and my suitcases up, the family piles outside and watches him load the SUV. My dad helps him, and as they exchange pleasantries, my mom decides to get in one more lecturing session.
“Now, living with your alpha is going to be different,” she says. “Being away from your family, your hormones are going to kick in more often. It’s always best to let them take over. Fighting them will only make you both miserable—”
I roll my eyes. “I know, Mom.” I’m sure she says more, but I tune her out. Beside her, Nicole stands, watching me with big, sad eyes. “Don’t look so sad. We’ll still see each other all the time.”
My sister rams into me for a hug, and I let her hug me for as long as she needs as she mumbles, “I’m going to miss you so much.”
“I’ll miss you too,” I tell her, meaning it. Out of everyone in this house, my little sister is the only one I can stand to be around—even if she sometimes does nothing but echo our mom’s talking points about how wonderful it is to be an omega.
The guys finish loading the vehicle, and Gideon shuts the trunk, the action causing Nicole to finally unentangle herself from me. She wipes a tear away from the corner of her eye and goes to stand beside our mom, who drapes an arm around her shoulders and hugs her close as they both gaze at me.
Gideon and my dad approach, the former saying, “You ready to go?”
I nod once and step away from my family. My dad stands beside Gideon, giving me a warm smile. “Good luck, kiddo. We’re always a phone call away, got it?” He gives me a bear hug before joining Mom and Nicole near the front door.
Gideon escorts me to the front passenger seat, opening the door for me—a strange, gentlemanly gesture that catches me off-guard a bit.
Once I get over it, I give him a nod to thank him and wave at my family one last time before I get inside.
He shuts the door and walks around the front of the vehicle.
Soon enough he’s in the driver’s seat and we’re driving away from my childhood home.
It’s a bittersweet feeling, watching the home you grew up in get smaller in the side mirror, knowing you don’t technically live there anymore. It had to happen sooner or later, I just didn’t think it’d happen this soon. I thought I’d have more time.
He pulls us out of the driveway and onto the road, and after a minute of silence, once the house is no longer in sight, he asks, “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I am. I thought I’d be happier leaving, but… I don’t know. It’s a weird feeling.”
“Are you regretting accepting the offer?”
Glancing at him, I study his profile. He watches the road ahead of us as he drives, though every few seconds he glances at me.
He wears only a button-down, long-sleeved gray shirt with black slacks today, no full suit or tie.
I wonder if this is how he dresses at his own house.
For some reason, I can’t picture this particular alpha in anything comfortable.
“No,” I tell him, and his shoulders visibly relax after that.
“I’ll be left alone because everyone will think I’m yours, and I can come and go as I want.
All I have to do is hang out with your nephew a bit.
I’m stoked I don’t have to listen to my mom drone on and on anymore. I am going to miss my sister, though.”
As soon as I say it, I wonder if I shouldn’t have. After all, his sister is dead. Does me bringing up Nicole make him think of his dead sister?
He must be on the same wavelength as me, because he says, “It’s okay. You can talk about your sister. I don’t mind. My sister and her husband died eleven years ago. I wouldn’t bring the subject up with Colter, but it’s okay. I’ve learned to move on.”
Even as he says it, it doesn’t sound quite believable, but I don’t question him on it.
It isn’t my place to poke holes at his grief.
I’ve never gone through anything like that before.
My grandparents died, but they were old, and it’s kind of expected.
Losing a sibling so young, and then being forced to turn into a dad to take care of your nephew; I can’t imagine.
“So, avoid talking about his parents. Got it. Anything else I shouldn’t bring up?”
“The fact that he doesn’t leave the house, for one. Also, I wouldn’t mock him for not speaking. And don’t mention his—”
“His what?”
Gideon’s mouth clamps shut. “Ah, nothing. Never mind that. If he wants to discuss them, he can, but it’s not my business to say.
” He glances at me. “He communicates with me through sign language. I won’t force you to learn it, but it might mean a lot to him if you try to learn at least a few phrases.
He has a tablet he can use to write things down on. ”
Of course. I didn’t even think about how hard it might be to talk to him, since he’s mute. It’s not something I ever had to think a lot about. I’ve never had to deal with anyone who wasn’t…
No, let me rephrase that.
I’ve never interacted with a person who has a disability, not that I know of.
I know some disabilities are invisible, so it probably happened and I had no idea.
People who are disabled don’t have to broadcast their disability to the world if they don’t want to; the world makes it hard enough as it is.
When it comes to Colter and his mutism, I want to do things right.
I want to try.
“I’ll look for some online courses or something,” I tell Gideon.
A gentle smile forms on his face. “Good.”
His approval shouldn’t mean a thing to me, but it makes me warm up inside regardless.
“I should warn you, I don’t have housekeepers or gardeners or chefs. It’s just me and Colter. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do—I’ve done everything and will continue to do so.”
I giggle. “Does that mean you’re going to cook me dinner?” The thought of an alpha cooking is more amusing than I thought it would be, even if the alpha in question is Gideon.
“Should I only cook for Colter and myself?” he replies dryly. It must be his type of humor. “I suppose I could go on pretending you don’t exist, but that seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it?”
Another laugh bubbles its way up my throat. “No, I want you to cook for me. I’m curious now.”
“I’m no chef, but I do my best.” His fingers tap on the wheel. “The bodyguard I hired for you should be arriving shortly after we get there. I’ll help you get situated first.”
I still can’t believe it. I’m basically getting everything I want out of this little deal. Sure, I have to live in a house with Gideon and his nephew and this bodyguard, but I’m fairly certain I can continue to handle myself.
I breathe in deeply and get a whiff of Gideon’s scent: a musky cinnamon that suddenly feels as though it wraps around my neck and tries to pull me closer to him. It takes everything in me to ignore that bizarre urge.
Crap. It’s not quite time for a re-injection, but I might just have to.
Gideon’s house is a good twenty-minute drive from my parents’ house.
It’s not in a neighborhood like I’m used to, but the house is still generous in size.
The yard expands in all directions, fenced in all around.
Big trees, much bigger than any on my parents’ property, line the edges of the land, making me think the house is a bit older. No neighbors in sight.
“How much land do you have?” I ask.
“Thirty acres. I wanted something secluded.”
Damn. Secluded this definitely is.
He pulls us up to the garage, and after he hits the button on his vizor, the garage door opens and we drive in. He parks the SUV and turns it off, and after I undo my seatbelt and hop out, I head to the back of the car to grab a suitcase, but Gideon stops me.
“Don’t worry about any of that. I’ll bring everything up after I show you around.” His dark blue eyes appear even darker in the dim garage lighting, and though he stands three feet away from me, it’s like he’s on top of me—and because of that, I feel as if I can hardly breathe.
Man, that’s a weird sensation, isn’t it?
“Lead the way, then,” I say, swallowing hard as I look away from him.
Gideon doesn’t say anything. He takes the lead, bringing me into a hall that eventually let out into the kitchen—a kitchen whose last remodel was probably fifteen or twenty years ago, based on all the tan colors.
The house is pretty straightforward. Kitchen, dining room that never gets used, a living room, a seating room, and a small library room all take up the first floor, along with a half-bath.
The second floor contains Gideon’s bedroom, along with mine and what will be my bodyguard’s.
There is only one bathroom—the house is definitely smaller than my parents’ house, because at least I had my own.
It’s fine. I’m sure I’ll get used to it.
We spend a longer amount of time in the room that is now mine. The walls had been painted a light, bubblegum pink, and the sheets on the bed are a bright neon color, along with the pillows. You’d think it’d clash with the walls, but it actually goes together pretty nicely.
It’s a lot of pink.
“Wow,” I say, glancing all around. The room is about half the size of the one I’m used to, but at least it has a TV mounted on the wall opposite the bed. No walk-in closet, but a tall, large dresser and a short dresser instead. “You understood the assignment.”