Chapter 5 #2
Yes, but it wasn’t like she was going to ask the beta of the pack to go get her some.
“No, I’m—”
He got up without a word, slipping his phone into his pocket as he did so. The man was a little too good at reading body language. She’d have to work harder to keep her tells hidden.
With a sigh, she dunked herself into the warm water, dragging in all her hair. When she’d surfaced, he was sitting down again. He held out the water bottle.
“Thanks.” She unscrewed the lid and drank half before putting it down again. “You told Jessie to start healing me early, didn’t you?”
“Yes. If she was going to heal you anyway, there was no point in waiting.” His body flared in ways that indicated slight annoyance.
“What?” she asked.
He didn’t respond.
“What?” she pushed.
“Jessie is not happy with how your training is going. She doesn’t like feeling you in so much pain so often.”
“Jessie isn’t happy with anyone in pain. She’s supposed to close the connection. Uncle Auzzie has sat in on a few trainings. He’s given his approval. He knows how it goes.”
“I know, which is why I didn’t say anything.”
“Just thought it.”
“Can’t help thoughts. Can’t help that you can read those thoughts. I’m working on it.”
She blurted out a laugh. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
He grunted, a laugh for him.
“Not to be rude, because thanks for helping,” she said, “but why are you here?”
“First, because Nessa asked me to let you know that even though tonight’s dinner is supposed to be business casual, we should show up stylish casual. She went with Aljoe and Mr. Tom to pick up his sisters at the airport—just two of them. The third stayed back with the pack. They’re…”
He had so many micro movements, the meaning got lost.
“Don’t follow.”
He scratched his neck, a sound like rubbing against sandpaper. “Nessa said they gave her Austin at the bar vibes.”
“Ah. Incredibly comfortable clothing—meaning well-worn clothing—with no regard for what anyone thinks. The clothes are trying to put up the white flag, but the wearer is ignoring it.”
He shrugged. “She thinks they’ll dress up for dinner, but their version of dressing up won’t match ours. Aljoe confirmed. He’s going to need a few lessons on flair himself. His version of a suit is off the rack, I guess. No tailors. No style.”
“From what I heard, Yazanth wasn’t the type of guy you’d look directly at long enough to critique his choice of suit.”
“True, but he’d already earned his reputation by then. He was at the top of the status quo. Now he’ll be viewed as a has-been. His sisters are on a level with everyone else. They all need to get with the times and boost their images.”
Aurora put up her hands. “I’m not arguing. Just assessing.”
He grunted again. Got it.
She bit her lip in thought. “My version of stylish casual will probably be too much.” She looked around the edge of the tile for her phone. “No one dropped off my phone, did they?”
“Not that I know of. Should I check the mailbox?”
“No, Jasper or Ulric would’ve come in the house to leave it on the coffee table. They’re probably busy. I don’t usually need it until the next day.”
His body flared again.
She sighed. “What?”
His turn to sigh. Another thought he hadn’t wanted her to read. “I don’t like that it’s so easy to get into this house.”
“You’d have to kill one of us to use as a key, and that’s a lot harder than picking a lock or busting down a door. Besides, this place is covered in wards. There is nowhere else as safe, except for Ivy House. You certainly aren’t as safe.”
“I’m in the middle of town.”
“Do you think that matters to an invisible mage?”
“Yes. Because while they might be invisible, scentless, and soundless, they still have mass. If they have mass, they have a presence. We have enough coverage in town to sense presences. We don’t have much of that on the outskirts, like here.”
He had a point, which was annoying, because she hated losing arguments.
“Soon it won’t matter, because I’ll be moving into Ivy House with the mages for the conclave. They’ll use this place for extra housing.”
“I know. I’ll be moving into Ivy House as well.”
She couldn’t help the surprise in her bodily reaction. Nessa had once said how private he was, and that his home was filled with memories of his past. Pictures of his late family. He had a hard time allowing others into that space—allowing others to see that painful part of him.
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, obviously seeing her unvoiced thoughts. His shoulders sagged a little.
“I’m sterilizing the space. It’ll be as clean as a rental.”
He looked down at his phone, but she could tell he wasn’t reading what was on the screen, just staring, and she knew a sliver of what he was feeling from her own troubled past. She knew how the pain lingered, a solid weight lodged within.
With Uncle Auzzie back in her life, and her forgiveness of his indiscretions, she was finally healing. The weight had been lifted.
But Sue would have to forgive himself, and that was exponentially harder. Even if he did, the pain of their deaths would never go away.
She really shouldn’t comment, because it could be seen as prying, but she was no longer technically under his jurisdiction. She was under a different beta now, one that was treating her like a stepdaughter, elevating her ranking.
And also…she was human. As was he. Commenting was sometimes the decent thing to do. And in this instance, she didn’t have to struggle for the words to say.
She kept her voice neutral. She’d always hated when people got emotional, or worse, expressed pity. “Where will you put your things?”
He continued to stare at the screen. “I don’t know. Right now, they are in a couple boxes on the floor of my room.” His voice was also neutral.
A shock of pain pierced her at the sadness of that statement. She didn’t let it show. Hopefully.
“Bring them tonight.” Her voice was strong now, a little commanding.
“Bring them to Ivy House. We’ll steal a few minutes away from the others and you can ask Ivy House where to put them for safekeeping.
She’ll help you, I know she will. And if not, I’ll get Jessie to force Ivy House’s help.
Only Ivy House, you, and Jessie will know the whereabouts of your family, and you know Jessie would never tell.
She’ll keep your heart safe for you, like she does my uncle. Like she does for all of us.”
His body tensed. His fingers tightened. A man ready to break.
And so, she took a page out of Tristan’s book when he dealt with Nessa. His and Nessa’s situation was wildly different to the working camaraderie of her and Sue, but a distraction was a distraction.
“What’s the second reason you’re here?” she prompted him.
He let out a deep, slow breath, one he’d clearly been holding, keeping emotion at bay. He straightened slowly, dropping his hands between his legs. It took him a moment to get his bearings.
“Alpha—” He shifted, humor coloring his posturing. “I’m supposed to call him Austin now. Did you hear?”
“No. Why the change?”
“He wants his betas to have equal standing with the visiting alphas. We’ll have the same power or more. He’s ensuring there can be no doubt as to what we really are. He’s sacrificing the prestige of his own title to elevate us.”