Chapter 11 Ice Cream
Ice Cream
Elowen pushed open the door with her hip, and I followed her onto the deck. Dark-stained wooden planks ran the length of the house. A railing surrounded it, with breaks for stairs that led down. In the center, wide steps led to a lower deck that became a dock stretching out over the lake.
“This is amazing,” I said, my voice raw as my tears dried.
“Yeah, it’s my favorite place to be.” She used her spoons to wave me forward. We settled on the far end of the deck in a pair of cushioned chairs. Elowen wiggled in her seat until she was comfortable and propped her feet up on the lower rung of the railing.
She plopped the ice cream tub on the small table between us, pried it open, and handed me one of the spoons. Only after she had scooped up some of the chocolate ice cream and sucked it off the spoon did she speak again.
“I understand you came to us through some difficult circumstances.”
All I could do was grunt and take a bite of ice cream as an excuse not to speak.
Elowen’s green eyes studied me. “How long were you with the vampires?”
My voice was thick when I answered. “I was ten or eleven, I think. Not completely sure.”
“Yeah? What was it like in the den?”
I blinked at her. In all of Cade and Luca’s questioning, neither had asked me that.
“It was pretty scary at first. But as I got older, it was home. Especially once Evrin claimed me as his intended mate. Then I was only donating to him, and it was fine. No one bothered me. I spent most of my time sleeping, knitting, and sometimes reading.”
“You like knitting?” She brightened. “I’ve always wanted to, but I don’t have the patience for it. I think I have some yarn and knitting needles somewhere. I’ll try and find them for you.”
My brows furrowed. “You’d just give them to me?”
“Why not?” Her head tilted and hair that blazed almost white in the sunlight spilled over her shoulder. “Make me a baby beanie or something and we can call it even.”
“Sure,” I said, my mouth curving into a genuine smile. It was impossible not to like Elowen. “Congratulations, by the way.”
“Thanks! It was pretty unexpected.” She leaned forward like she was sharing a secret. “We aren’t exactly supposed to be procreating yet. But these things happen.”
“Really,” I said, frowning.
Elowen took another bite of ice cream. “When a new pack forms, we aren’t supposed to start having babies until the new territory is secured. AKA no vampires.”
“So that’s why they are trying to get rid of them.”
“Vampires really like the taste of our blood, and they’ll kill us if they get the chance. Even if it wasn’t about them coming after us, they hurt and kill humans, especially children, so we can’t tolerate them.” I met her sympathetic gaze. “I hope you understand.”
“I’m starting to. I think I was treated a lot better than most donors, if that picture was anything to go off of.”
“Because you were delicious,” Elowen said with a teasing grin.
A laugh escaped me, and I relaxed, grateful to Elowen for making light of my history.
“So anyways, Archer wasn’t supposed to knock me up, but he’s my fated mate and I went into heat, and obviously it’s pretty hard to not get pregnant in heat. So, here we are.” She shrugged.
My eyes widened. “I feel so stupid, but I don’t know anything about any of that.”
Elowen’s mouth popped open. “Oh, honey. Okay, let’s go over it. You need to know this stuff. I didn’t think about what you don’t know since you weren’t raised by wolves.”
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“Don’t apologize. It’s my fault. And I’ll do my best to help, and if you have any other questions about anything, I’m here for you.”
A flush crawled up my neck. It was embarrassing not knowing anything, really. I didn’t even know what questions to ask.
“Okay, so wolves typically select their mates, and those are long term partners like human marriage. It’s super, super rare for a mating to break up.”
“Like Luca and Cade?” I whispered, feeling guilty again for the way Luca was treating me.
Elowen nodded. “Yes. They’re an open pair.
Some matings are closed, and that part can change over time.
So with an open pair, they’ll have other partners, but they’ll always go back to each other.
” She hesitated. “So if you hook up with Luca, that could be a great relationship, but Cade will always be his first priority.”
“I get it,” I said, my throat feeling thick.
My cheeks flushed, embarrassed she had picked up on my connection with Luca. He was all over me, so of course she knew, but I still wanted to hide.
“Anyway, sometimes wolves meet someone and when they first touch, a bond forms instantly. We call it fated mates. It’s a primal thing, like you can’t help but be obsessed with that person. You don’t have to be their mate, but it’s really uncomfortable to reject them.”
“That’s what you guys have?” I asked.
“Yeah, Archer and I met when Cade was forming this pack. At our first meeting, I shook his hand, and ten minutes later he was fucking me on the conference table. Cade was not happy,” she said, giggling.
“Well, once you find your mate, it triggers your reproductive cycle. So, a couple of times a year, you go into heat. I got medication to make sure I didn’t get pregnant, but I’m pretty forgetful, and we were traveling to this territory at the time, so of course I missed a few doses and sure enough, baby. ”
She rubbed her belly affectionately. “Cade would’ve liked to send me home, but then he’d lose Archer too. And they need him.”
“Of course,” I replied, echoing her sentiment.
“Most wolves don’t have a fated bond. It’s pretty uncommon, so it’s not something you need to worry about,” Elowen said, patting my knee.
“Yeah, I can’t imagine.” I scooped another big bite of ice cream into my mouth. “This is so good. You’re right, ice cream makes things better.”
“Totally,” she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
“Elowen, thanks for this.”
Having more information about the wolves, their relationships, and how the pack worked made me feel more in control. Less like I was wandering around in the dark.
She smiled sweetly between bites of ice cream and I prayed that I had made a new friend, like Luca promised.
Archer retrieved Elowen, and I trailed behind them back into the pack house. Finn had returned to his place on the couch, and Jem sat beside him, chattering away as he worked.
I turned in a circle, looking for Luca, but he wasn’t in the open space. Unfortunately, Cade was.
His blond hair glinted in the sunlight as he glared at me. He thought I was on the vampires’ side, and once he realized I wasn’t, things would get better.
Steeling myself, I crossed the room to where he leaned against the wall with his arms folded over his chest. Molten honey eyes tracked my progress, and my heart jumped into my throat.
“Look, Alpha Cade,” I started, stumbling over my words. “I realize I didn’t have an accurate perspective. I’m…”
Cade’s lip curled back. “I don’t want you here. You’re a liability. I’m sending you to another pack as soon as I can.”
I stood frozen, his words cutting through me like a butcher knife. He brushed past me and I flinched away.
“Hey,” I heard Luca say. Spinning, I watched as Cade stalked to him and grabbed his shirt, dragging him in for a kiss. Desire roared to life in my blood as I watched Luca’s hands come up to grip Cade’s face.
Finally, they broke apart, and Cade turned to Archer. “Keep an eye on our guest.” Without waiting for an answer, Cade grabbed Luca’s hand and dragged him upstairs.
Tears pricked my eyes. Was I jealous? I couldn’t fault Cade or Luca for being with their chosen mate, but on some level, I felt left out.
At the top of the stairs, Luca looked over his shoulder and mouthed, Are you okay?
I pasted a bright smile on my face and nodded. To emphasize my point, I gave him a thumbs up. He nodded and allowed Cade to lead him to the bedrooms upstairs.
“You’d like to be in that sandwich, wouldn’t you?” Elowen asked in a soft singsong voice.
Pressing my fingers over my eyelids, I shook my head. “This is fucked up. Luca made it clear he wants me, but he’s with Cade. And Cade absolutely hates me.”
“He’ll come around,” she replied with a shrug. “Now come help me make some dinner. It’s Holt’s night off, and if we don’t keep an eye on Archer, he’ll make something truly atrocious.”
Grateful for the distraction, I followed her into the kitchen and began chopping vegetables.