Chapter 17
Ileaped to my feet and hurried after him. I should’ve realized he was going into Lucy’s room and not mine.
Another hiss sounded as Raffe snarled.
If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve thought I was at the animal clinic. But no. The snarling wolf was the man I loved.
When I reached the room, I stopped in my tracks. Cat-Keith had her underside plastered to Raffe’s face as she clung to his temples. Raffe’s hands gripped the cat’s stomach to tug her off. With each tug, my cat dug her claws in deeper, and blood trickled down Raffe’s face.
The scent of copper had my stomach churning, and my humor vanished. I hadn’t realized she was hurting Raffe, not with how gentle he was being with her.
“Keith,” I chastised and reached for her.
Raffe jerked. “Don’t.” His words were muffled. That damn cat better not hurt her. I don’t care if it’s her pet.
The last few sentences had popped into my head. That was the third time it’d happened today. I had to be losing it.
Not wanting to analyze possibly losing my mind, I reached over and placed my hands on Keith. As soon as I touched her, I tensed, remembering I smelled like a wolf now.
She could attack me, I thought, but the damage was done. I pulled her toward me and whispered, “Keith, it’s okay. I promise.” I used the same soothing tone I had in the animal clinic when she’d become scared and aggressive around people she didn’t know.
I expected her to turn around and attack me, but instead, she retracted her claws from Raffe’s face, and I took her into my arms. Her body relaxed as I moved my hair over my shoulder, allowing it to blanket her and make her feel as if she was hiding.
Holding her tightly, I stepped away from Raffe, hoping she’d calm completely. I could only imagine the trauma she’d endured while I was kidnapped, being stuck with a wolf shifter she didn’t like and feeling all alone. I wasn’t sure if bringing her home had been the right move.
“Damn feline,” Raffe growled as he wiped blood from his cheeks. Luckily, she hadn’t dug her claws in as deep as I’d feared, but I still didn’t like seeing him hurt.
Rocking gently from side to side as if the cat was a baby, I nodded toward the bathroom. “You should clean those cuts so they don’t get infected.”
Huffing, Raffe bared his teeth at the cat. “I’m fine, but I want to get cat DNA out of my skin. Nothing good can come from that.”
As he headed into the bathroom, I went back into Lucy’s room. She would do better in here with Raffe spending the night in mine.
I shut the door and placed Cat-Keith on the olive-green comforter, which was neatly tucked into the bottom corners of Lucy’s queen-size bed. The wooden end table beside the window held a potted plant along with my phone.
Cat-Keith meowed as I snatched up my phone and looked to see if I had missed texts or calls. I had two texts from Mom, the first from around ten this morning.
Mom: Hey. I hope your classes went well. I miss hearing your voice but understand your throat has been hurting. Hope we can talk tonight.
Even though I hated that I’d have to lie to Mom, I could kiss Lucy for handling the situation for me. If they’d learned that something had happened to me, I wasn’t sure how they’d have reacted. They’d tried to have children for so long, and I had become their miracle child after several failed adoption attempts.
Meowing, Cat-Keith jumped onto the nightstand and rubbed against my side. I scratched behind her ear as the sink in the bathroom turned on.
The next message had come in about an hour ago, so around five.
Mom: Sky, I’m getting worried. Please let me know you’re all right.
Blowing out a breath, I pressed her number. She wouldn’t calm down until she heard my voice. As expected, she picked up on the second ring.
“Sky?” she said hurriedly. “Are you okay?”
It wasn’t meant to be a trick question, but it was just the same. “Yeah, sorry. It’s been a busy day, and I just checked my phone.” Though she wasn’t here and wasn’t a wolf shifter who could detect my lies, I still hated lying to her. “I saw your messages and figured I should call.”
“I’m so glad you did.” Mom sighed. “Your father and I have been so worried. Are you feeling better? Do you need me to drive down there and take you to the doctor?”
If only a doctor could solve my problems. “No, I’m feeling better.” That was true. Two days ago, I was drugged and locked in a room. “I didn’t mean to worry you two.”
“I know that things have been hard for you, but you’re still our daughter. We will always worry about you, and if you ever need us, all you have to do is tell us.”
My vision blurred. “I know. And I miss you two as well.”
“Dad and I were thinking we should visit now that you’ve been there for a while and are settled in.” Her voice rose as if she wasn’t sure she would be welcomed.
“No,” I said way too quickly.
She sucked in a breath, her tell when her feelings were hurt.
Lovely.
“Oh, well. I mean, then, maybe …” she stuttered, searching for the words.
I was an awful daughter, and I wanted to kick myself.
A faint knock came from the door, and it cracked open enough for me to see a sliver of Raffe’s face. He whispered, “You should invite them to the game this Saturday.”
Game? For a second, I furrowed my eyebrows until understanding slammed into me. He meant the football game a week from Saturday. Between the capture, the drama, and all the fighting, I’d forgotten he was one of the best quarterbacks in the division.
“Mom, hold on a second.” I hit mute on my phone and continued petting Cat-Keith. She pressed her entire body against me and purred.
Apparently, that was enough for Raffe to feel comfortable opening the door wider. He kept a wary eye on the cat.
“Do you think it’s a wise idea to invite them here?” I couldn’t deny that seeing them would be nice. Though I’d never felt super close to them, they did love me. They just didn’t understand me. But seeing how often Mom had texted to talk revealed a facet of our relationship I hadn’t seen until now. “I mean, with witches, vampires, threats, and me all at the game?”
He smiled sadly. “Weren’t you the one who said you didn’t want what’s happening to make you live your life any differently?”
Touché. And some women said men didn’t listen. Clearly, they weren’t lucky enough to have a man like Raffein their life. Still, I couldn’t give in too easily. Where was the fun in that? “Those weren’t my exact words.” I shrugged and tsked as if I were disappointed in myself while trying to fight a smile.
“Oh, excuse me.” He touched his chest. “I was listening for understanding. I didn’t realize there’d be a pop quiz later.”
I snorted, feeling happy … and almost normal. “I would hate for something to happen to them. And what if your dad comes?”
“I’ll make sure eyes I trust are on you at all times, and my dad won’t show up, not after how we left things. He won’t risk having a confrontation in front of everyone on campus. That’s not how he works. Besides …” Raffe averted his gaze, looking vulnerable. “I kind of want to meet my mate’s parents. We could go out to dinner afterward.”
“Okay.” There was no way I’d say no after that. I’d never had a chance to introduce a boyfriend to my parents, and the fact that my first was Raffe felt right. “Let’s do it.”
His head jerked up, and a weight lifted off my chest as if he hadn’t expected me to say yes. “Great. It’s a noon game, so dinner after works.”
Unmuting the phone, I placed it back to my ear. “Mom?”
The front door to the apartment opened. Raffe must have informed Lucy that Supreme Priestess Olwyn and Slade had left.
“Yeah, honey?” Mom replied, her voice sounding tight.
“You know what? Why don’t you and Dad come down for our next football game, and we’ll go out to dinner with Raffe after?”
Lucy appeared at Raffe’s side and blinked at me standing in her room.
“We’d love to,” Mom said enthusiastically. “And who is Raffe? Will he be watching the game with us?”
Jaw dropping, Raffe dramatically placed a hand in front of his mouth as if surprised I hadn’t told them about him.
I snickered, unable to hide the sound. “Raffe is my …” I trailed off, searching for the right word. Boyfriend didn’t hint at the depth of our relationship, but I was afraid to say anything too strong because then they’d be worried. So, I settled on the safest bet. “… boyfriend.”
“Well, that’s a first.” Mom giggled. “I know you were hesitant to attend EEU, but my gut screamed this would be good for you. Though I will say, I expected you to say Slade since he’s the only guy you’ve mentioned.”
Cold, sharp tingles of hurt and the icky, slimy sensation of jealousy flowed deep within my chest where Raffe’s emotions sat. This was one of those times I wished his hearing wasn’t so amazing. I’d hurt him again in less than twenty-four hours. I was doing great.
“Slade’s just a friend. Raffe and I were kind of dancing around each other.” That was the nicest way I could think to phrase what our relationship had been like before. Trying to explain our secret moments together, his assholey indifference in public, and the way he had taken over my thoughts and heart would put my parents on edge. We had to be careful about how we presented our relationship to them. “But we finally got things right.” At least, I hoped we had.
“Seriously?” Lucy scoffed at him.
“I’m very excited to meet him. We’ll get down there around eleven, so we aren’t in a rush to get to the stadium,” Mom replied, almost with a squeal.
“Sounds great.” I could only hope we hadn’t made a huge mistake, but Raffe had been right in reminding me what I’d said. I couldn’t allow these people to control my life and make me afraid of doing normal things. If I did that, they’d essentially win.
Mom said, “I’ll call you later. I need to tell your father about our plans. He’ll be thrilled. I love you, baby.”
She hadn’t called me by that nickname in years. “Love you too.”
When I clicked the end button, Raffe was still pouting.
I wished I could go back in time and tell Mom all about him. “Raffe, I’m sorry. With everything going on, I didn’t want to tell them about you, and then—”
“Oh no.” Lucy lifted a finger and stormed into her room. “Do not apologize.That’s not how this is going to go.”
I mashed my lips together, unsure what to say. Lucy had no problem being assertive, but she didn’t usually get this worked up. “But he’s hurt that—”
“Sky, I know exactly why he’s hurt, but that’s his own damn fault.” She stood beside me, glaring at her cousin.
Tilting his head back, he scowled. “How do you figure?”
“Oh, okay.” Lucy nodded. “We can do this. First, you were an asshole when she came here. You publicly humiliated her while she was struggling with her magic so that people would keep their distance. It wasn’t until after Slade tried to kiss her that you showed her consistent interest, but then you made her keep it a secret because you didn’t want anyone to find out about you two.”
Raffe lifted his hands. “I was there. I am aware of all this.”
“I’m not sure you are since you’re over there acting all butthurt about her mom not knowing about you and knowing about Slade.” She spun her hands. “So, I’m going to continue.”
If I didn’t have a fated-mate bond with Raffe and wasn’t completely in love with him, I could have fallen for this amazing woman.
“While you two were secretly dating, you had one of your closest friends still pretend to be your girlfriend in front of everyone, including Sky. And when Keith caught you two in her bedroom, you didn’t make it clear that you wanted to be with her. You were torn. So why would she want to tell her mom about you when your entire relationship was ambiguous?”
I hadn’t thought about it that way, but she was right. That was exactly why I hadn’t told my mom. I’d considered Slade a true friend, so it had been easy to talk about him and Lucy.
“But we’re together, so forgive me if it hurts that my mate had to tell her mother who I was.” His jaw clenched. “You don’t know the other shit she’s thought about me, so don’t come at me with this lecture.”
My heart panged with hurt, and Lucy glanced at me. She asked, “Like what?”
“It’s none of your business. I’m just saying you don’t know—” Raffe started.
I cut him off and told her about the pictures and what I’d asked him. He’d brought it up, and I wanted her to get off his case. If I wanted to heal things between Raffe and me, I needed to own up to my mistakes.
The more Lucy heard, the pinker her cheeks became.
When I was done, I prepared for her to rip into me. Instead, she marched over to Raffe and smacked him on the back of the head … hard.
“What the fuck?” he snarled.
“You’re more of a jackass than I realized.” Lucy pointed her finger in his face. “And that’s really saying something.”
I blinked, trying to understand what the hell was going on. “Shouldn’t you be mad at me?”
“No,” Lucy answered, turning to me. “Did you not list all the reasons why? You two got your shit together right after you almost died and Raffe told us you were it for him. Then you got kidnapped and went missing for over three days!”
She had a point. Though our relationship felt like we’d been together a lot longer, it hadn’t even been a week. We’d gone through so much in so little time that it felt like months.
“You were continuously drugged, manipulated, and shown actual pictures. Who in their right mind wouldn’t have a seed of doubt after that, especially after how poorly Raffe and Keith treated you?” She placed her hands on her hips and glared at her cousin. “After being back for less than a day, she got into a confrontation with your dad and came back only to be forced into yet another confrontation! I thought fated mates were supposed to be considerate and kind to one another.”
The back of my neck tingled, informing me that Raffe was staring at me. I wanted to meet his gaze but kept my attention on Lucy.
“Sky, do you mind if I have a moment alone with Lucy?” Raffe’s voice was deep, and his emotions in my chest were a strange combination I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
I dropped my hand from Cat-Keith and nodded. Having a moment alone to process everything Lucy had said would be wise. She had a lot of valid points, but I didn’t think she was being completely fair to Raffe. “Yeah, but what about Keith?”
As if she knew I was worried, she jumped on Lucy’s bed and curled into a ball in the center, then began licking her paws as if she hadn’t attacked Raffe moments ago.
Lucy smiled. “She seems okay to me.”
“Okay. I’m going to my room to change into pajamas.” I forced a smile. As I left, my arm brushed Raffe’s, and the buzz sprang to life.
I didn’t pause as I went into my room and shut the door, giving both them and myself privacy. I grabbed a pair of lilac pajama bottoms and slipped them on, then threw on a dark-purple shirt. When the door to my room opened quickly, I jerked back, caught off guard that their conversation had gone so fast.
I pulled my hair from under the shirt and turned to Raffe.
His expression was strained, and he shut the door. I didn’t feel only anger but a mix of emotions. My breath caught. “Is something wrong?”
He exhaled. “Yes, very.” His face twisted in agony, and regret flooded that spot of his, nearly weighing me down.
The walls closed in on me, and for a moment, I didn’t want to hear more.