Chapter 11 #2
“I know them,” I blurt again without thinking, interrupting him. It was like the words just came out on whelm. I shouldn’t have said it, but I did.
“Raine, I heard them out there. It took a lot for me not to tear them limb for limb. The only reason I didn’t is ‘cause you were there. Now, talk to me. The prospect will be here in an hour with the pizza. If we get this out of the way, we can enjoy the pizza free and clear.”
Free and clear.
I’ll never be free and clear.
“I can’t,” I tell him. “It’s not your problem or my brother’s.”
“Dolcezza, you’re my mate. Anything to do with you is my problem. And to fix it, I need to know what the fuck I’m dealing with,” he explains.
“Just because you say we’re mates doesn’t mean my life is any of your business,” I say a bit heatedly.
“Raine,” he growls.
“Dane,” I snap and sit up straight. “I might not be a shifter, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to take care of myself. Last night, I’d been caught by surprise.”
“Raine, I fixed your car myself,” he states matter-of-factly.
“Your car might be a piece of shit, but it shouldn’t have broken down where it did.
The fact it did, and those men happened upon you, didn’t add up.
So, you knew them. They knew you. I got that part.
Same as I got that they were delivering a message. Now, what was the message?”
I narrow my eyes on him, glaring at him, not liking how easily he put that together. I could tell him and get it over with, but I don’t want to. It’s not anything he needs to concern himself with.
“I want to go home now,” I announce.
“Baby, you ain’t goin’ home right now. We’re discussing this shit, then eating pizza, and after that, we’ll watch something else. After that, I’ll take you home if you want, but we’re spending the day not only getting to know each other but also giving you a chance to learn you’re safe with me.”
That’s sweet. It really is, which makes it suck that I can’t deal with this.
“Talk to me, Raine,” he grunts.
Sucking in a breath, I shake my head. “I can’t.”
“You won’t,” he counters.
Instead of giving him words, I just simply continue shaking my head.
Dane’s phone rings, breaking through the moment between us. He growls, twists, and grabs it off the nightstand. Without looking at the screen, he answers it, bringing it to his ear, barking, “What?”
There’s a long pause, he is listening to whoever was on the other end. Then he growls harshly. “No fuckin’ way. You ain’t coming here, and I’m not coming to the clubhouse. I’m with Raine, and we’re —”
He doesn’t finish what he is saying, evidently being interrupted.
“Prez, it can wait. You show here, it’s going to fuck everything up. Karsyn can get over wanting us there.”
Another long pause, and Dane growls. “Right. Fuck. Whatever. We’ll be there.”
Pulling the phone away from his ear, he tosses it onto the couch, eyes coming to me. “Looks like our date is being moved to the clubhouse.”
“What was that all about?” I whisper, uncertainty seeping inside.
Dane lets out a rough sigh, rakes his hand over his face, and gets to his feet.
“My sister and I, we don’t share the same mother.
Our dad had two mates. My mother was by choice.
He married her after they found out she was pregnant with me.
She was killed by blood witches in front of me when I wasn’t old enough to defend her or be able to do anything about it.
His second mate, she was his fated mate.
I didn’t even know about her until recently.
She was an earth witch. Karsyn, my sister, she’s more than just an earth witch.
Powerful. Yet, she’s also a pain in my ass. ”
“Your sister is a witch?”
Holy shit. I’d never met a witch that I knew of.
“Yeah, she’s a witch. Lake’s a Fairy. At your brother’s clubhouse, I know Harmony’s a witch as well. I believe Jabba’s ol’ lady is one too, but I don’t know them all that well. The truce between clubs is still new, so we’re not that close.”
“Wait a minute, Harmony’s a witch?”
“Yeah.” He nods.
“Wow,” I whisper softly to myself, though I know he heard me. “I can’t believe I didn’t know about this.”
“Not something anyone’s gonna just blurt to everyone. We’ve got a delicate situation we’re dealing with, and we’ve got to protect the women from the evil that wants to take them.”
I could understand this. But I mean . . . it’s not like I need to know everything about my brother’s life and, in turn, his club, but you’d think he’d tell me something like this knowing how I already feel like an outsider sometimes in my own family.
It’s hard not to feel this way. I’m human. There’s nothing special about me. Now, I find out that there are witches in the mix too. Let’s not forget he mentioned a freaking Fairy to boot.
Dane bends at the hips, reaches for me, lifts me up off the couch, and sets me on my feet in front of him, hands staying at my hips. “What’s with the look that just crossed your face, baby?”
“Nothing.” No way am I telling him my thoughts of how out of place I feel.
“Don’t lie to me, Raine.” He growls, his eyes flashing, the blue of his eyes deepening. “Tell me what’s with the look.”
“It’s nothing.” I try again. “Don’t we have to leave?”
Dane looks at me closely, his arms circling me fully, pulling me even closer. “We’re not done with any of this conversation, but I’ll tell you something that I want you to think on.”
“What’s that?”
“Fated mates are fated for a reason. So, for you to be my fated mate, there’s got to be something special about you that the Goddess of the Moon and fates deem worthy, right?”
Well, that’s one way to put it.