Chapter 23 Meetings
Meetings
When I finally dragged myself out of Luca and Cade’s room, the rest of the pack and our guests had closed themselves into the meeting room. I had barely touched my lunch, so I crept down the stairs to the kitchen.
“There you are,” a sweet voice said. Elowen closed the fridge. “I was thinking about bringing some food up to you.”
“Sorry,” I muttered, ducking my head.
Elowen tutted. Dishes clinked against the counter, and she stretched out for a dish she couldn’t quite reach.
“Here,” I said, standing on my tip toes to grab it.
“Thanks, love. Would you get the chips from the pantry?” Bemused, I wandered into the pantry and found the massive bag of potato chips. When I returned, Elowen was holding a platter covered in different smaller bowls. I frowned at her.
“Holt made a bunch of different dips for serving our guests. But I’m pregnant and you had a crap day, so we are going to help ourselves.
” She grinned. “We’ve got onion dip, guacamole, a bacon ranch dip, a spinach artichoke dip, oh and I think this one is some sort of blue cheese situation.
You might not like that one, it’s a pretty strong flavor. ”
I blinked at her. “We’re just gonna eat dip?”
Elowen’s laughter sounded like bells. “It’s time for a girls’ night. Bring that along, and the soda. Yup, that’s the one.”
There was nothing to do but dutifully follow Elowen up the stairs. She didn’t stop at Luca and Cade’s room where I had been staying, but pranced past to the end of the hallway.
Hesitating, I studied her face. She rolled her eyes and waved me into the room she shared with Archer. To my surprise, it was bigger than the Alpha’s bedroom.
A sofa sat wedged against a pair of bookcases.
I recognized a couple of the books as ones she had leant me, but I had no idea her collection was so expansive.
Beyond the sitting area, a huge bed stood between a dresser and a small crib.
Dozens of pillows covered the bed in shades of green and blue. It looked insanely comfortable.
Elowen plopped onto the sofa. “Get your ass down here, babe. It’s snack time. I’m starving.”
“Did you eat lunch?” I asked without thinking.
“Girl, I am growing a baby. I’m always hungry when this little baby isn’t cramming its feet against my stomach and making me sick.” She rubbed at the top of her belly, high near her ribcage.
Carefully, I settled on the cushion beside her. “Your room is really nice.”
“Sometimes a girl needs her nest,” Elowen said with a wink. “No such thing as too many pillows and blankets.”
The idea struck me as strange, but appealing. Cade and Luca had the bare minimum, but with Luca curled around me every night, I hadn’t been suffering.
She reached into the bag of chips between us and drew one out. With a flourish, she stabbed it into the spinach dip before crunching down on it with a groan.
A genuine smile warmed my face for the first time since Cade’s collapse, as I reached for my own chips and tried the first of the dips laid out.
We sat and ate for a few minutes in companionable silence. “You doing okay with Cade?” Elowen asked softly.
I cringed, closing my eyes for a second. “He really scared me today.”
“It was the mate bond, wasn’t it? I knew it would make him sick if he kept fighting it. He’s such an idiot sometimes.”
My brow furrowed. “He’s your Alpha.”
“Doesn’t mean he’s the brightest crayon in the box.”
A laugh escaped me, between mouthfuls of chip and the wonderful bacon ranch dip Holt had whipped up. Compliments to the chef.
“He won’t want to be weak. It’s just one more reason for him to get over himself and get with you.”
Nausea rolled through me. “He dislikes me so much, he would rather be sick than accept our bond. That doesn’t make me feel good about our relationship.”
Elowen paused and her hand went to cover my wrist. “I’m sorry.
I can see how it seems that way. But the rest of us see him pining after you.
He watches you when you’re not looking.” She chewed her lip.
“It’s clear that he’s infatuated with you, but he’s decided it’s bad for both of you to be together. It’s nothing about you, love.”
I wanted so badly to believe her.
“So we are going to cheer you up and not let him ruin everything, okay?” She reached for a small plastic tub on the side table.
Sniffling, I nodded. “What’s that?”
“My manicure supplies!” She waved her pink fingernails in the air. “What color do you want?”
Eyes wide, I peered into the box. Little bottles of every color lined the bottom, along with tiny clippers and a bottle of liquid labeled nail polish remover.
“What about this?” I lifted a lavender color.
“Nice choice.”
“Are you sure you don't mind? I don’t want to be a bother. I should be helping you with stuff,” I stuttered. Elowen ignored me, seizing my hands and setting about trimming around my nails and shaping them with a file.
It was a funny feeling. I’d never gotten a manicure as a kid, and the vampires certainly didn’t care about grooming past rinsing us off every so often.
“You have pretty hands,” Elowen said, unscrewing the bottle of light purple polish and painting the first nail.
“Oh, thanks.” I grimaced. “You are really pretty, like all of you.”
She giggled. “Thanks, sweetie. Now, while I’m painting, why don’t you tell me about Luca.”
My stomach swooped. “Luca?”
“I know how things are with Cade. But what about Luca? He seems pretty attached to you. What’s happening there?”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“There were a lot of noises coming from his room this morning. I was headed to my room to change.” She took a sip of her lemonade, her eyebrows arched.
“Nothing happened,” I squeaked.
“Would that nothing include him making you come?” She grinned wickedly.
“No, ah, well…kinda?” I gaped like a fish. She set my hand down and took the other one.
“Oh, interesting,” she said, dimples showing in her cheeks as her grin tightened.
“Is it weird to be with Luca when he’s mates with my fated mate who hates me?” I blurted. Embarrassed, I pressed my free hand to my face to cool the burn.
“No!” Elowen chided, grabbing my wrist before I could ruin my still-wet nail polish.
“Sorry. I just feel so ridiculous.”
“That’s okay,” Elowen said. “So is Luca good in bed? He looks like he would be.”
“I couldn’t say,” I said. “But he’s well-equipped, if you know what I mean.”
“Oh, really.” She finished and screwed the top back on the nail polish bottle, setting it aside. She guided my hands flat between us, and waved her hands to blow air on them.
“If Cade ever comes along, I don’t know how I’ll handle both of them,” I admit. “Luca is already a lot.”
“You’ll figure it out. And it’ll be really fun trying things together,” she said, winking. “There’s all sorts of options.”
My pulse stuttered. I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I was too shy to ask.
“You know, the two of them are really opposite. I suppose that’s not helping right now,” she mused. “I mean, Luca gets off on taking care of you.”
“I noticed.”
“But I think Cade is attracted to people who are strong and confident. So next time you want to put yourself down, try to remember that you are his fated match. That means you are confident and powerful.”
“I don’t know about that,” I protested.
“Hey, ladies,” Archer said, standing in the doorway. “Having a nice time?”
He strode in and leaned over the sofa, stealing a handful of chips. Before stuffing them in his mouth, he leaned over and kissed Elowen on the lips. It was a quick peck, but both smiled sheepishly. They were head over heels for each other, and I wanted that so badly.
But maybe I already had it… Luca appeared in the doorway. “There you are, wildcat,” he said softly, crossing the room.
“Do you want any help cleaning up?” I asked Elowen, wanting to be helpful before Luca dragged me away.
“Oh, no. We can finish these off. Don’t worry.” She held up the bowl of spinach dip for Archer who scooped some up with another chip.
“Wow, this is hot,” Luca said, picking up my hand and turning it so he could admire my purple nails. “My favorite color.”
“You’re so funny,” I said, rising.
“I’m serious! It’s pretty and it looks good with my tattoos,” he said with a goofy smile. “Are these dry enough for you to use your hands?”
“Yes, and get out of here,” Elowen said playfully. Archer had abandoned eating chips and instead had his hands on his mate.
Blushing, I pushed Luca into the hallway. He kissed my palm and drew me closer until he could wrap his arm around my waist. “I missed you.”
“Needy much?” I said, as if I wasn’t clinging to him at that moment. He laughed, and the smooth sound was a balm to my anxious soul.
Smirking, he tugged me down the hallway and closed his bedroom door behind us. The room was empty.
“No Cade?” I asked, hating myself for having a shred of hope.
“That would be a fun surprise, but I doubt it. Unless we lure him in through your bond.”
My heart squeezed. “I don’t want to keep trying to seduce him. Besides, he’s probably feeling pretty crummy.”
“And you feel fine, right?” he asked, pressing the back of his hand to my forehead.
“I’m fine!” Rolling my eyes, I changed the subject. “How was the meeting?”
That threw ice water on his flirtations. Sighing, he let his shoulders droop, hand rubbing over the back of his neck.
“Cade doesn’t want to wait for the next full moon. Which makes sense, I guess. They’ve predicted our movements. So he wants to move fast.”
“How fast?” My fingers curled inward anxiously, and I was pleased to find my nails really were dry.
“I don't know. Hopefully tomorrow, but it’ll depend on how preparations go.”
“How can I help?” I asked.
Beaming, Luca framed my face with his big hands. “Just be your beautiful self and relax. We’ve got this.”