Freed Wolf

82 Check Mate

"Which makes you Queen," Helena announces with a mixture of satisfaction and annoyance in both her voice and on her face.

"Excuse me?!" I gasp.

This has got to be a fucking joke! I am no queen!

"Breathe baby. We will figure it out, one step at a time, right?" Chris says, shifting gears from silencing Helena to damage control with me.

At a rush of lightheadedness, I drop down into my seat and the hammering of my heart beat drowns everything out. I focus inward on my breathing, forcing myself to take slow deep breaths in, hold them then let them slowly out.

They all knew and they didn't say a word!

'Cause that went over well,' Ember snickers.

'A warning that it's not just cosmetic like I was led to believe would be nice,' I groan.

"Just breathe, Princess," Derek whispers beside me while rubbing soothing circles on my back. "You good?"

After a final deep breath, I give him a small nod.

Just when I think I'm coming to terms with everything there's something more... There's always something more...

I open my eyes and see Chris standing in front of me, his brows pulled tight with concern. His guilt floods back through the bond but does little to ease my tension.

"Any other secrets I should know about?" My voice strains as I fight my temper for control.

"No Jess, that was it. I was just waiting on Garrick," Chris assures me. I can't help how skeptical I feel and purse my lips. "I promise, baby."

"No more secrets," I growl.

They only bring heartache and pain.

Chris grimaces and nods, regret written across his face as he watches me for any indications of whether I'm going to vomit, have an emotional meltdown, or kill him.

My skin crawls as my irritation blooms, knowing after all we've talked about he still kept that a secret. I'm not sure how much of it is warranted and how much I can blame on mood swings.

"Is there more? I'm really tired," I mumble, not looking forward to more hearings and what not.

"Nothing pressing, you and Caimen can tell more about people then all of the rest of us put together. Thank you," he whispers, placing a soft kiss on my forehead.

I nod, get up, and turn to head to the kitchen. As I enter the kitchen, Jude pushes off the wall he's leaning against and beelines for me. Clearly Chris radioed ahead and he was waiting for me.

"So..." he starts with a crooked grin. His crystal blue eyes are soft but have an extra twinkle.

"So?" I parrot back with a scowl. "You're usually more creative than that."

He laughs and I walk past him to the fridge to scrounge leftovers. Automatically the kitchen staff come over to help me but I wave them off.

I have no idea what I want to eat.

Shelf after shelf, nothing catches my eye. I hear Jude shuffle over and he pulls the freezer door open. Curiosity gets the best of me and I look but see nothing appealing either. He reaches in on the top shelf all the way to the back and pulls out mint chocolate chip ice cream.

'Gimmie!' Ember shouts.

"There's no real soft way to talk about everything dumped on your plate at once... but you used to have a soft spot for this," he teases, holding up the box like a scooby snack.