Chapter Twelve – Raeka #2
“You said you liked pink, so…” Gideon shrugs his shoulders once, standing at the doorway, as if he can’t come deeper into the room. “If something isn’t to your liking, or if there’s something I missed, I can order it for you.”
“No, it’s fine. Missing my favorite pillow, but once all my stuff is up here, that can be easily fixed.” I flash Gideon a wide grin, hoping to relax him, but he only ends up rubbing the back of his neck and averting his eyes from me.
Is he… nervous about me moving in? He shouldn’t be. This was his idea to begin with, not mine. I’m only here because of him trying to set me up with his nephew.
“Where’s Colter?” I ask, slow to walk across the room and stand closer to him. I hold my hands behind my back, studying the way he leans away from me.
“His room and his studio are on the top floor. He has his own bathroom up there, too. He hardly ever comes down. I told him you were moving in. He doesn’t, uh, know yet that you’re not moving in for me.”
“You mean you didn’t tell him you’re setting him up with a beautiful omega?” I dramatically flip my hair over my shoulder and act like I’m the prissiest bitch around—although in this house, I guess I am the prissiest, but only on a de facto basis.
Gideon laughs, but it’s an awkward, stilted laugh. “Um, no. I didn’t.”
I don’t miss it, though. “So that means you think I’m beautiful?” Don’t ask me why I said that; I won’t have an answer for you.
“Um,” he says again, and I swear I see his cheeks flush a bit. He lifts a finger and tilts his head, like he’s hearing something. “I think I…” Then he turns around and walks away before he finishes, “Hear… the… door.”
Wow. Somehow, I don’t think I need to worry about that particular alpha trying anything with me. If I so much as give him a sultry look, that guy’s liable to turn into straight goo. It’s kind of sweet.
Also kind of funny.
I step out into the hall and turn my head, watching him hurry away.
Whether or not he really did hear the door is beyond me; I didn’t hear a damn thing, but I’ll let him have his escape.
I shouldn’t have asked that question to begin with, but I couldn’t help myself.
It just slipped out. My inner omega wanted to know if he thinks I’m beautiful.
Once he’s out of my sight, I push away from my new room and head to the stairwell. Instead of following after him, however, I decide to venture up. I’m curious about Colter, what can I say? I don’t want to wait to meet him. Let’s get the initial awkward meeting over with now.
I head up to the third floor of the house, making no noise at all, step after step.
When I reach the third floor, I pass a bedroom, then a closed door—maybe the bathroom?
And then I walk past what must be a paint studio.
I step inside that room. Every room up here seems to have tall ceilings, which makes them feel huge, and also simultaneously empty.
My feet bring me to the easel in the center of the room. A stool sits before it, along with a small table where a palette of colors are, half-used, along with multiple cups of diminishingly not-so-clean water with paintbrushes submerged in them.
Chaos. Absolute chaos.
And I love it.
I step closer to the canvas itself, studying what’s on it.
A painting of a landscape, with trees and grass.
The point of view is as if you’re looking out of a window when you stare into the canvas, and I realize it’s because the design on it is exactly what you see when you gaze out of the window a few feet away, at the expansive yard and the forest that begins not too far away from the house.
Wow.
I hear a door creak open, and I imagine it’s Colter.
I turn around right as Colter himself strolls into the room, and the moment he spots me, he halts, his amber eyes widening.
The beta wears a hoodie, its sleeves tugged all the way down, along with sweats that have paint all over them.
In fact, so does his face. He has a smudge of green just beneath his left eye and maybe even some in his brown hair—a few shades lighter than Gideon’s.
He has a typical beta build: maybe five-eight or so, not overly muscled. Normal, for lack of a better word.
But cute.
Before the silence can stretch out too long between us, I say, “Hi. I’m Raeka. You’re Colter, right?”
Still staring at me with wide eyes, he nods once, though he doesn’t dare come closer.
“Gideon probably wanted to be the one to officially introduce us, but—” I shrug.
“—I don’t see the point of waiting around.
You can come closer, you know. I don’t bite.
” To try to make him feel more comfortable, I turn my eyes back to the painting.
“You’re really good. You should see me try to paint.
A third grader could make better stuff than me. ”
While I’m not looking at him, he cautiously approaches, though he takes his good old time doing it.
I use my peripherals to watch him approach. He’s like a frightened animal; if you stare at him too much, he’s likely to bolt. But soon enough he stands within a few feet of me, and I turn a wide smile his way. “I’m so jealous of your skill.”
He swallows hard, then points to his throat and shakes his head.
“I know,” I say. “Gideon told me. It’s okay. Trust me, I can talk enough for the both of us.”
I don’t want to come on too strong, especially since he’s under the impression I’m here for Gideon and not him, so I sigh as I step away from him and his canvas.
“I guess I’ll see you later, when Gideon introduces us.” I give him a wave and turn to leave, and I’m pretty sure he signs the word bye .
Hmm. As I walk toward the stairs, away from Colter and his art studio, basically his entire floor of the house, I can’t help but think about the beta.
I saw traces of his uncle in him, but at the same time, he was softer all around.
His face was less hard, less angular, like most alpha’s faces are.
Those amber eyes of his, though I didn’t get a good, long look into them in fear of scaring him off, did seem insanely sad.
It sounded like he went mute after he lost his parents. I don’t know if he witnessed the whole thing, or even how his parents died, but the trauma must be intense. I can’t imagine what that’s like.
No matter what happens here, I hope I can help him come out of his shell a little. Someone with his talent shouldn’t lock himself away in a house like this—he should be out in the world, sharing his creations.
He’s a Chase. I’m sure someone would love to buy his art.
I make my way to the first floor of the house, and when I step off the final step, I hear two masculine voices conversing near the front door. Huh. Maybe Gideon didn’t make it up and actually did hear the door.
Or maybe it was just good timing.
Regardless, it’s time for me to meet whatever alpha would become my bodyguard, whether I was in this house or out and about in the world.
I follow the voices, and as I get closer, I’m hit with a strange mix of scents. One is cinnamon, Gideon’s, and the other… I stop in my tracks, much like Colter did when he first saw me. The other scent is all-too familiar, a thick musk, a woodsy scent.
No way.
I force myself to keep going, and I turn along with the hall and spot them both further down. Gideon and the other alpha.
Pax Alabaster.