Chapter Twenty-Five
Jeremy
My wonderful mate was sleeping and looking all adorable as he snuggled with Daisy. I had to admit these past two days had been tough on both of us. He’d taken the potion as Nic had advised, but even with the help it offered, Cass still struggled with bright lights and boredom.
The TV had been off as Nic had ordered, and instead I’d read books to him. I’d downloaded some audiobooks, letting those with way better voices do the talking. I had to admit it was tiring reading aloud for so long, and my poor mate needed something to do.
He'd fallen asleep with my headphones on, likely listening to the lengthy fantasy novel he’d begun last night. It was one with a clumsy main character on a quest to slay a dragon, or lay with the dragon. I hadn’t really understood which part had Cass so excited.
I was still staring at him, smiling like a fool, when someone knocked on the door. It woke both Cass and Daisy from their cute nap and I cursed whoever dared ruin the moment. A quick sniff told me who it was, though.
Opening the door, I greeted Greg with a smile. “Hey, man.”
“Hey!” he greeted back, stepping inside. “I brought muffins and I also baked a new Banana Nut recipe, hoping it would help him heal quicker.”
“Muffins truly do heal the soul,” Cass stated seriously from the living room.
Snorting a laugh, I followed behind Greg. It was sort of cute how those two just seemed to get each other, always matching the other’s energy perfectly. If I wasn’t certain their relationship was strictly platonic, I would’ve been jealous as hell.
“Any news?” Cass asked in way of greeting, making gimme hands for the muffin basket.
Greg shook his head. “None, sadly. But I think Silas is feeling done with it all.”
Rowan and Greg had called Cass yesterday, asking for me. They wanted me to help Silas with his pack, but truthfully, I couldn’t. An Alpha needs to be the Alpha, and it seemed, to me, that Silas didn’t want that.
“He knows where I live if he ever needs to talk,” was all I said to that.
“I feel so bad though,” Cass said, pouting. “Why won’t your pack just accept him?”
“It’s not about that,” Greg argued gently.
“It’s mostly because Silas hates being Alpha.
He grew up being told what to do and beaten if he stepped out of line.
It’s hard for him being the one in control.
Normally, Alpha’s teach their children to one day take over as Alpha, like Paul did with Jeremy and Milo.
Silas’ father… yeah, he never did anything to help Silas’ out.
He just upped and left when things turned bad. ”
“You’ve known him for long, then?” I asked. It sounded like it.
“Yeah, since he was born, really,” Greg shrugged. “It’s always been Silas, Rowan, and I.”
“Hmm,” Cass hummed. “Maybe Silas needs to spend more time with our pack then?”
Before they could get further into it, I pointed my thumb at the back door. “While you two talk, I’m gonna run for a bit.”
“Kiss,” Cass demanded before I left, and I happily pecked his lips.
Once outside and undressed, I shifted. The need to run was a constant hum under my skin, but I hadn’t felt good about leaving Cass behind after the fight. Greg being here helped immensely. At least I knew Cass would be safe and protected in my absence.
Leaves flew off the ground as I dashed through the trees chasing nothing but the high of running. The woods were my second favorite place to be. My favorite place was beside Cass.
I wondered if I should visit Darius. It couldn’t hurt seeing Milo.
He was still my baby brother after all. I felt so conflicted when it came to him.
He’d gone out of his way to hurt me, and I still had no idea why.
Then he’d tried coming between me and Cass, once again aiming to hurt me. But he’d also saved Cass…
Dammit! Why did it have to be my brother who was all hot and cold?
At least it wasn’t just me who was struggling to understand Milo.
Darius seemed just as infuriated with him.
I didn’t envy Darius his rocky relationship with his fated.
Although I honestly wished he’d been gifted a better mate, and that hurt to acknowledge.
My wolf started to grow agitated, wanting to get back to Cass. Our claiming ceremony had been interrupted twice now and it wasn’t happy about Cass walking around without my claim on him.
It was a weird sort of need that came out of nowhere. A whimper escaped my throat, forcing me to stop mid run, panting from the effort of having run for miles. It wasn’t a decision I’d consciously made, but my wolf took over, flying back home through the woods, needing Cass.
Needing to claim him.
Once I’d reached our house, I tried to get control back, but my wolf side was done waiting. Even if I logically knew Greg was no competition, my instincts still told me he was too close to our unmarked mate.
Now, opening the door with paws wasn’t easy on a good day, add in my wolf’s agitation, and it turned into me breaking the freaking door just to get inside.
This startled both Cass and Greg from the couch where they’d been reading what appeared to be some kind of anime or manga.
“Red?” Cass asked, eyeing me warily.
“Oh,” Greg exclaimed, seeing the fury in my gaze. “I’ll be back in a week’s time, Cass.”
Cass frowned at that, but went to hug him goodbye. Greg darted around him, evading the hug, while I growled low, warning anyone who dared to touch Cass that pain would fall upon them.
“Gods,” Cass breathed, staring at me with confusion. “What has gotten into you?”
Greg managed to escape the house unscathed and with his departure my wolf approached Cass. He wasn’t afraid, more worried about me it seemed. He was backing up, not taking his eyes of me as I prowled closer. Once his back hit the living room wall, I finally shifted, caging him in with my arms.
“I need to claim you.”