Chapter 19
Effie Harlow
“Effie?”
Julian’s voice drew my attention to the balcony door.
“Hey you.” I smiled, happy to see that he was done showering.
I’d missed him. He was also dressed in more comfortable clothes than what we had all rushed out of the London property wearing—we hadn’t been worried about comfort at the time.
I had showered as well after Ruby’s departure, knowing that once we got to Milwaukee things were going to speed up very quickly.
Which is why it was so important to relax right now.
I was currently curled up on a large patio chair, a blanket tucked around me as I listened to the distant sound of the television playing in the den.
It was getting later into the night—nearly nine, if I had to guess—and each moment we were here I found myself thankful for whatever Ruby needed to do.
It was forcing us to relax, and after a few hours, I think the others were finally managing to do just that.
Tore had fallen asleep on the couch watching a movie while Dakota read something.
I couldn’t see exactly what it was, but it looked like something about university programs. Caedmon and Ryder, on the other hand, were playing checkers.
I had asked them a million questions, all of which they’d answered easily, before I’d gone to the kitchen to make myself hot chocolate and come curl up out here.
It was a cold night, but the deck was equipped with heaters, so I was rather comfortable.
I was even happier when Julian joined me, pulling up a chair next to me.
Then, deciding that wasn’t good enough, he lifted me with one arm and slid underneath me, holding me on his lap.
I let out a pleased noise and tucked my nose against his throat as he placed my hot chocolate on the table next to us.
“How are you feeling with this dark god shit?” he asked softly after a minute. “Coffin is about to flip his shit about it. I…I don’t know how I feel.”
He sounded so confused by that. It didn’t completely surprise me, though. Julian was really confident and always seemed to understand what he was thinking and feeling.
I was extremely jealous of it.
“I feel conflicted, but that’s because of Mona,” I groused, the sense of betrayal still radiating through me. “There isn’t anything I can do about that. I just keep trying to focus on the reality that there are women who need my help.”
“It’s bullshit though, what she’s asking of you.” Julian’s anger made me feel better in some ways, like my reaction was justified. I inhaled and nodded, deciding to fully explain how I felt.
“It just sucks,” I admitted. “I didn’t know if I believed her about the mom thing, but now it doesn’t even matter. I mean, she’s using me, and sure it may be for a just cause, but at the end of the day…it’s still using me.”
Julian made a low rumble, nodding in agreement.
“With that being said,” I drew out, “I think that it’s worth it if it means stopping the problem in its tracks.”
“But not if you end up hurt,” Julian said, brushing his nose against mine.
“Mona didn’t know you had Ruby’s connection with Reaper, right?
So she had no idea how the hell you were going to manage any of this.
I could—” He stopped himself, his eyes darkening.
“I hate that she’s putting you in danger without a fucking thought. ”
I nodded, my eyes stinging. “I just don’t get it,” I whispered. “Why even include the mom part? Just to try to get on my good side? I would’ve done all of this anyway.”
“Maybe to explain your magic. If what she’s saying is true, she needed to give you a reason to believe you actually had that magic,” Julian said.
“I don’t know if Mona is lying about being your mom or not, but what I do know is that you have true magic and that no matter who she is to you, she’s not a good person. ”
I almost found myself wanting to defend her, but he was right. I turned into him, and he cupped my jaw. “She’s also not worth your tears, preciosa.”
Nodding softly, I let out a sigh at the soft touch of his lips that he pressed to mine. He let out a low rumble before pulling back. “Now come inside. I want to show you a game.”
“A game?” I perked up.
Julian hummed in agreement and lifted me from the chair, carrying me into the living room.
I let out a small giggle as he plopped me down right next to Dakota on the couch, who flashed me a smile, tossing aside a small packet about a school I didn’t recognize.
I wanted to ask him about it, but an odd object was placed in my lap before I could.
“What the heck is this?” I asked Julian. Dakota chuckled, putting his arm around my shoulder so that I could lean into him. Julian positioned himself in front of me on the floor, his hand capturing my leg and pulling it over his shoulder to keep it hostage.
“It’s for a video game,” he explained as the screen turned on.
“Is it a mini steering wheel?” I examined the red and black object with interest. It had a few buttons in the center of a black console, but other than that it was rather simple and extremely lightweight.
Excitement bubbled through me, and I wiggled in my seat, watching the screen as cartoonish characters popped up.
“Yep.” Julian tilted his head back, offering me a rogue smile. “Mario Kart.”
“Mario Kart,” I repeated with interest. “So is it a driving game?”
“Racing.”
Oh.
I smiled. “I’ve never played video games, but I’ll try.”
Try being the key word…
Although apparently try was enough because after two rounds of the Grand Prix, or something like that, where I lost the first one miserably by getting myself turned around, and then the second one where I came in dead last…
something changed. During the third race I honed in on the screen, pulling my legs up, crossing them and sitting forward, trying to take it seriously.
And it worked!
“What the—” Julian’s voice was cut off by my squeal of excitement as I slid across the finish line before him, meaning I finished in second place.
“I did it!” I smiled at Dakota, who looked elated at Julian’s grumbling. The totemic wolf tugged my jaw and pressed a soft kiss to my lips.
“You sure did,” he drew out before looking at Julian. “Dude, your skills are in need of a brush up—”
“Nope,” Julian interrupted him and came to sit up next to me. “That’s it, Effie. We’re doing this for real now.”
“Before wasn’t for real?” I asked, alarmed.
“Oh, it was.” Dakota chuckled. “He’s just being bitter about it.”
I examined Julian’s face for signs of him being actually upset, but I just saw determination and a glint of amusement, which had me feeling more excited than anything. “Let’s do it then. Is it another three races?”
“Yep.”
I was going to win. I was totally going to win.
Caedmon Moroz
Effie’s giggling and squeaks of excitement instantly drew my attention from the game Ryder and I were playing.
I looked down at the checkers board before meeting his gaze, except it was already over by Effie, which made the decision to get up easy.
I crossed from the breakfast nook in the kitchen over towards the sizable two-story den.
I wasn’t positive how long they’d been in here, having been focused on our game, but Tore had now woken up and even lit a fire, the firelight warming the room and creating a cozy atmosphere.
Effie was standing up, nearly bouncing on her toes while using a little wheel to control the car on the screen, Julian cursing up a storm as he tried to beat her little car to the finish line.
Dakota offered me an amused look as Tore shook his head, completely transfixed by Effie.
I couldn’t blame him—her laughter and lighthearted nature were completely infectious.
“What’s this?” I asked when Effie crossed the finish line, jumping up on the couch and letting out an excited squeal. I didn’t smile often, but I couldn’t help but smile at her reaction, wanting to kiss her hard enough that she got that dreamy look in her eyes.
“I think it’s Mario Kart?” Ryder hazarded a guess, and Tore nodded. I stood behind the couch as Effie handed the controller to Dakota, nearly bouncing over the back as she threw herself into my arms and kissed me enthusiastically, excitement radiating off of her.
My cock was instantly hard, and I groaned against her lips. She pulled back and kissed me again, offering me a massive smile. “I won! I won a game, Caedmon—I never win games! I never even play games.”
Holy fuck she was adorable.
I chuckled softly, her eyes widening at the sound before she kissed me a third time, cutting it off momentarily. As she slid down and turned to watch the race, I couldn’t help but run my fingers over her hips and bury my nose in her hair, loving her sweet smell.
I rarely laughed, and I almost never smiled this much, but I couldn’t think of a time when I’d been happier, and it had everything to do with my mate.
My angel.
My angel, who was surprisingly good at racing games. Over the course of the next hour or two, I had even given the game a try when the others went to make a late snack, and—unsurprisingly—she’d kicked my ass. Although she had sat on my lap the entire time, so who was the real winner?
I hadn’t even realized how long we’d been playing until she won the last round and collapsed happily against me, her smile causing me to stare like the obsessed bastard I was. “Alright, no more. My fingers are cramping up! We need to bring this with us, though—everywhere.”
I would get her whatever the hell she wanted if it made her this happy.
“That we can do,” I assured her, tossing my controller down before lifting and carrying her towards the kitchen, taking a moment to appreciate how casually I was able to touch her now. How comfortable she was with me—how much she trusted me.
I wasn’t positive what the others had decided to make with the limited food we’d ordered from the store, but it smelled amazing.
Effie looked around the kitchen with interest, making me wonder if she liked cooking.
I bet she’d never had the opportunity to do it without someone breathing over her shoulder.
“Do you like cooking?” I asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
“I don’t know,” she answered, a small smile playing on her lips before a shadow of sadness crept in. “Theresa always told me my food was horrible, so I never got a chance to practice. She’d always interrupt me halfway through before Gerald got home.”
I blinked, trying to control my anger, before asking, “Did she serve the food to him?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Sometimes me but usually her, after she ‘fixed’ it or whatever. Never seemed much different to me, but I didn’t always get to eat it.”
I examined her face before suggesting something to put it in a different light. “I don’t think your cooking was bad at all. In fact, I think Theresa wanted to take credit for it. So she would take over once the hard part was done.”
Effie stared at me in shock. Her mouth dropped open, her plush lips parting enough for me to get distracted, before she let out an actual huff.
“You’re right. You’re totally right, Caedmon.
There was this one time when I spent hours breading chicken—like so many chicken breasts—because I knew people were coming over, and once I was halfway done cooking them, she came in and told me I was messing it up…
and then I watched her do exactly what I’d been doing for only like twenty minutes before they were freakin’ done. ”
I nodded, hoping the news wouldn’t hurt her more than Theresa’s words had. My intent had been to make her feel better, but now I was second-guessing it.
Effie huffed again, giving me a tight smile. “Well, that means I didn’t suck at cooking, so I’ll have to try again. This time she won’t be there to take the freakin’ credit.”
“If you’re ever interested,” I said, squeezing her hip gently, “I know a chef who’s based out of Chicago, although his roots in cooking tie back to South America, that likes taking on beginner chefs.
I know you probably don’t have a serious interest in cooking, but you could do one or two classes just for fun.
I’m sure he’d be thrilled to come to us, wherever we end up. ”
“That sounds amazing.” She smiled softly, her eyes sparkling with interest.
It did sound amazing, and I was going to do anything, pay any amount of money, to keep her saying that to me.
“Dinner’s ready. Probably will be hot, so be careful,” Julian called out in warning to Ryder and Dakota.
They were talking about something in the den now, looking over a school pamphlet.
I knew Dakota had been doing research on London-based schools since the other day, so I had a feeling it was something about that.
As we sat down to eat, I looked over everyone’s relaxed faces, and while I knew that life was about to get more complicated, I couldn’t help but enjoy the security and peace of the moment. My life had never held this type of normalcy before.
I should’ve known it wouldn’t last.
Lifting a bite of lasagna to my lips, a sense of premonition had me looking around. The security sensors were quiet, but I absolutely knew something was wrong.
“Effie, come here.” I told her to stand as everyone else went quiet, clearly sensing—
The windows shattered inward, tiny shards exploding through the room. Wind slammed through them, and a sonic wave of magic crashed over us all at once. It was a pure chaos that knocked us unconscious, the darkness dragging us under without a chance to escape.
The last thing I heard was Effie crying out my name as she curled against my chest, sheltering her face from the glass. Someone was going to fucking pay for taking away her happiness.