Forty Seven: But Why Can't I Have One? (The Toddler Complex)
The notion that he may have been lying to get her alone was one that came to mind many a times in the hour ride towards 'Nicole,' but Adrian wasn't being mendacious, Isaline quickly learned when they pulled up to the boutique the female Lew owned, and she saw the dark red vehicle that was Nicole's sports car parked in the back of the building, just like he said.
Not everything revolves around you, Isaline Brianne, She told herself brusquely as she watched Adrian climb out the nice, black car they were in, walk around it, and then open the door for her like the gentleman he occasionally was. When he pulled her out he was a little too rough, the grip on her upper arm starting as a slow aching pain.
"Ow," She said aloud, wincing when Adrian didn't seem to hear her, his focus on the two other cars that pulled up next to him within minutes, "Baby, that hurts, you're holding me too tightly," Isa murmured as Leo and another man got out of a silver car, and Adrian Senior out of a burgundy one.
Adrian's father spoke, "Son, focus on your wife," He said patiently, though the storm that was brewing beneath his son's gaze, Leo's, and this unknown vampire's too, was in his own eyes.
His father's voice was the one that helped Adrian to finally understand what Isaline was saying, and immediately he lessened the death grip he had on his woman's arm, "Sorry, love," He murmured, bending so he could press his lips to hers.
Isaline's lips curled into a small smile, brushing against his as she spoke, "It's fine," She whispered, pecking his plump lips once, "Why are we here? "
Leonardo was the one to answer Isaline's inquiry, "Nicole upset the Beta of a local pack, and he followed her here and won't leave, put his hands on her, so she called in her coven. This is my oldest brother Jackson. Jack, this is Isaline, Adrian's woman. Let's go,"
Isa only had time to take a quick glance at the man who unlike Leo had brown hair and green eyes, and was about two inches taller than him before the four of them entered the store through the back. Adrian's grip on her arm disappeared completely, only to take her hand in his seconds later, and unknowing as to what to do with this man- this vampire- who was on the verge of letting some...Beta-whatever that was-meet his maker earlier than was expected, Isaline squeezed his hand gently, silently telling him that she was there, even though she had no clue what was going on. She was there.
She was there, always.
And he squeezed right back as if to say, I know.
What's a Beta? Isaline asked Adrian through their link.
His voice was harsh, and he snapped back at her, The second in command in a pack of werewolves.
Isa nodded as if she understood, but she didn't, and her next question told Adrian just that, We don't like Betas?
Even with how obviously irritated he was, Adrian answered Isaline, his lips tilted up in a crooked smile that showed his amusement even as he did so, We don't like Betas who fuck with our family; so in this case, no.
She nodded in understanding, and couldn't help the wave of benevolence that ran through her. Not too long ago, he was telling her that just because he was her boyfriend did not mean that she was a part of his family. Now, she was married to him-in the way super naturals did it with the marking and all- and was counted as a Lew in that same unorthodox way. And, God, that felt good.
The life now that she had with her Adrian was one she never thought she would have.
Now, when Leo told Isaline that this...Beta had followed Nicole into her boutique, she was expecting to walk into the storefront, and see Nicole being held up in the air by her neck, with the wolf yelling in her face, and ready to kill her. Isaline was ready to fight.
The thought of someone hurting the woman she had grown to love and call her own sister had her livid, murderous, and she was just as ready as the four men with her to shed some blood.
But when the vampires silently entered the room, they were all shocked.
The Beta was the one being held up by his neck by a large, large man with tanned skin, short brown hair that was cut close to his skull, and casual street clothes. This man was about two inches shorter than Adrian, and had about the same muscle mass, but where Adrian only let his facial hair grow to a short, grisly length at most, this man...this wolf had a groomed mustache and goatee. He was a nice looking man, but Isaline just couldn't figure out what was going on.
This unknown man was kissing Nicole, and not just a quick peck, but a kiss like the ones she and Adrian shared, like the ones Isaline sometimes witnessed her parents sharing and had wished to be a part of when she found the man she was meant to spend her forever with.
"What the fuck?" This question was asked by Isaline, Adrian, Adrian Senior, Leo, and Jackson as a deep moan fell from Nicole's mouth.
Isa could see Adrian's sister's arms come up, and wrap around the wolf's neck, pulling him even closer, which didn't seem like a possibility with how close they were, but she made it happen. Adrian was the one to speak up, when the wolf gripped Nicole's thigh, and hitched it up on his hip as he pressed his groin into hers, flicking his finger, and effectively putting the wolf a good ten feet away from his sister as he walked over, to stand in front of Nicole, Isaline being dragged along too.
"What the hell is going on?" Adrian hissed at his sister, while Isaline turned to look over her shoulder, seeing the large man that was kissing her close friend being held back by Leo, both of them yelling over each other as he tried to fight his grip.
Nicole blushed, pressing her fingers to her lips as she responded to Adrian as if she were the younger sibling in the situation, "I....He's the Alpha. Apparently the Beta called him after I threw him across the room after he punched me, and a few seconds before the Alpha...Cory walked in, I felt this...this heat flow over me like I had just stepped into a blazing fire and I smelled this heavenly scent that had me...." She trailed off with a shudder followed by a blissful sigh, and Isaline watched as Adrian's nose wrinkled in disgust before Nicole continued, sounding like herself once more after clearing my throat, "He's my mate. Leonardo, let him go!"
"Mate?" Leo asked to be sure.
When Nicole nodded, Leo let go, and Cory pulled away from him roughly, growling in his face before walking briskly back to Nicole.
Something Isaline could only describe as jealousy flowed to her as she watched this couple who seemed to have an immediate bond. Cory cupped Nicole's cheek, before turning to Adrian, "Alpha Cory Waynes of the Blood Pack. My Beta will be taken care of effectively. You don't have to worry about him."
Adrian's face pulled back into a severely agitated look as he glared down at Nicole's mate's hand, only taking it when Isaline shoved him roughly, "Adrian Lew," He snapped, giving him the once over before hissing darkly in the wolf's face, "I swear to all things fucking holy if you put a God damned hand on-"
"Junior, that's enough," Adrian Senior murmured, clapping his son's back roughly before turning to talk to Cory.
"Let's go," Adrian muttered, dragging Isa away from the little meet and greet that had been started, obviously irritated by the new man in Nicole's life.
Jackson and Leo followed, and when they passed the Beta who had been dropped to his feet, Adrian stopped in front of him, punching him soundly in the nose. Isa gasped as she heard the loud crunch that she knew was bone breaking, and when the wolf went to lunge at Adrian, Isaline lifted her hand, and watched the curly, blonde headed wolf fly across the room, through the glass door to the entrance, and landed on the pavement where glass rained down upon him like confetti. She finally felt like she did something right when it came to Adrian. That wolf would die before he put his hands on her man.
All that Cory did was give his Beta an uninterested look before returning back to his conversation with Adrian Sr.
Cory Waynes's hand was caressing Nicole's back, and her manicured hand was on his chest, her head resting on his shoulder. Isa didn't know how to feel about that. Where she wanted to be happy about Nicole finding her soulmate, she was fighting some inner turmoil as well.
Isaline could wax lyrical for hours on end about the bond that she could already see forming between this high-ranking wolf and his mate, Nicole Anastasia Lew. She already loved Cory, and vice versa. Isaline could see it I the couple's eyes as they shone with the emotion that she was just now feeling for Adrian.
She was the one who pulled Adrian out the store, a deep scowl forming on her pretty face. Leo and his brother were talking to Adrian about eating lunch, and he was in the process of denying when Isaline's stomach roared, making him chuckle and nod, "We'll meet you there."
In the car, Isa didn't speak, staring out the window as she tried to calm her racing mind.
The fact that Nicole got a mate, and Adrian didn't, she didn't, was eating at her. She wanted to know what it was about her that made her unworthy of being his soulmate, and inadvertently making Adrian settle for second best: A Tied. She was made to be his second best.
Maybe it was because she wasn't human.
Or maybe it was something Adrian did.
Could it really be because she didn't start out her life as a vampire? That didn't seem fair, not at all.
"What are you thinking about so hard that's got you pouting like that?" Adrian asked as he rested his hand high on Isaline's thigh.
She bristled at the question that seemed completely and utterly just....stupid to her, but then, she knew that she was just being a bitch, and coveting what her close friend had, and that she shouldn't take it out on Adrian, who was completely clueless.
"Nothing," She murmured, resting her hand on top of his, "Just... hungry,"
"Bullshit," Adrian called immediately, squeezing Isa's thigh roughly before his hand slid higher, "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine, but don't you fucking lie to me,"
Isaline nodded, a sneer quickly making its way onto her face as she spoke, reeling at what this man had said to her, what he had been saying to her since day one, "What the fuck? Why don't I get to lie, but you've been lying to me over simple shit since we met? Are you scared I'm going to lie to you about something that could be totally detrimental to our relationship?"
He was quiet as Isaline yelled, and even for about a minute or so afterward, and while she was pissed, more vexed than she'd ever been in her life, he was completely calm.
"I'll say that this insanity you've been throwing at me since this morning is due to hormones, seeing as you went from calm to crying to this shitty attitude in less than a whole day. I'm going to go with the idea that you're just hungry, and the second I put some food in your mouth, you'll remember who the fuck you are, and who the fuck I am. Watch your fucking tone, Isaline,"
"Fuck you," She screeched, shoving his hand from her skin, and crossing her legs as even with her sour attitude, that powerful, commanding voice had her wanting her drop her panties.
Adrian chuckled, a pompous sound, as they pulled to a stop in the parking lot of a nice restaurant, "Act mad all you want, baby, because no matter what comes out of that mouth of yours, I can and will always be able to tell what you really want, and from what I'm getting scent wise, and from your mark, you want me. Come on."
Isaline had nothing to say to that, she climbed out the car, and Adrian rested his hand on her backside, stopping before they came to the entrance, "Give me a kiss,"
"No," Isa muttered, "Let's go, I'm hungry."
He laughed darkly, and that sent chills down Isa's spine as he roughly slapped her backside as he whispered in her ear after licking the shell, "Fine. Let's go eat."
She felt as if she was going to pass out.
In a booth towards the back of the restaurant that was a little more casual than the one Adrian owned, he and Isa sat on the right side of the table while Jackson and Leo sat on the opposite. A waitress came up, and Adrian ordered for both Isaline and himself, and though he was in a snappy mood, she didn't argue when he ordered her the exact thing she had gotten earlier that day-a rare steak with a side of mashed potatoes and green beans. He even got her drink right, which was a cranberry juice with no ice.
While the drinks were brought around, Isaline took the moment to properly introduce herself to Leonardo's brother, "Hi, Jackson, it's nice to meet you," She smiled gently, "I didn't know that Leo had a brother."
Jackson was the same height as Leo, and besides the hair and the eye color, with a half a glance at the two men, you would think that they were twins. Isa didn't know who was older. Adrian told her Leonardo was three hundred sixty four days younger than his brother.
When Isa put her hand out for the man to shake, Adrian shocked her when he gripped her wrist in his hand, and pulled it down until her hand was resting on his thigh, and intertwined with her own fingers. He completely disregarded the look of confusion sent his way.
"Do you live around here, Jackson?" Isa asked as she took a sip of her juice.
Jackson smiled, waving his hand side to side in a 'so-so' manner, "I live about forty five minutes away. I just moved quite recently actually when...."
His voice trailed off as Isa felt a warm hand slide up the jean skirt she was wearing, his fingers gently brushing over her pantie-covered core, and she couldn't help it as her knee came up, hitting the table in her shock when Adrian's long fingers pulled her panties to the side, "Holy shit,"
Leonardo sent her a look as if to say that he knew what exactly his best friend was doing to her beneath that table, but Isa's pride wouldn't let her look away as she stated, "The baby just kicked," In the most convincing voice she could, as she gripped Adrian's hand in her own, and rested it on her belly as her voice entered his mind, Stop it!
Stop what? He asked, his eyes wide as he feigned innocence, but the smirk on his face was a mischievous one.
After one glare in Adrian's direction, Isa turned back to the brothers sitting across from the two, listening to a story Leo was telling his brother about a baby cousin of his who was just beginning to talk, and his first word happened to be, "Shit,"
Upon catching the giggle that fell from Isaline's mouth, Leo's amused gaze fell to her, "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you, little one. You're an angel, but between you and Junior? I'd be surprised if that kid's first word wasn't cock or fuck."
Heat fell upon Isa's cheeks at that, and Adrian chuckled, nodding along, as he spoke, "Isaline was supposed to have stopped cussing the week after I told her she was pregnant. It didn't last a day before she was cussing even more than she usually does."
"Shut up," Isa muttered as the three men laughed at her, trying to force the smile working its way onto her lips to disappear.
This time, when Adrian's hand started to wander, Isa was ready, and she shocked him when she slid his fingers inside the wetness that he had brought on from a single touch. A smirk of triumph found its way onto her lips as he jerked back as if she were on fire, whispering harshly, "Shit,"
Before Isa could speak, Adrian was hauling Isa out of her seat, shouldering past the four waiters and waitresses that were bringing their food, and back outside in the cool of the waning winter's night.
"I'm not fucking you in the car," Isaline murmured, as he pulled her at the quickest pace Adrian could get away with.
He scoffed, "Baby, my cars bigger than that little toy you have. Get in, and don't make me repeat myself."
"Alright," Isa responded with a roll of her eyes as she slowly climbed into the back seat, "But don't get mad when-"
Adrian dove into the car after her, somehow landing on her but keeping his weight off. His lips came down on Isa's, those large hands of his cupping her face as the car door slammed and locked, all the while, the muscle of his tongue dominating Isa's mouth and kissing her hard enough to think that he was trying to ravage the small confined space. As her teeth clashed with his, Isa could no longer hold back the moan of need that fell from her mouth, and into his, her own hands coming up to grip those dark curls of his which had gotten longer.
She filed away the thought to tell him later that he needed to get a trimming.
The black shirt that she had on was the first thing to go, and it was comedic how large Adrian's eyes got when he finally noticed that Isa wasn't wearing a bra. He asked her why, his voice thick and hoarse with lust.
Isa's voice when she answered was deeper than normal, filled with ardor as she panted from where she was lying on her back in the car, Adrian positioned between her legs, "They're too sensitive, and I need to go up a size,"
"Jesus," Adrian cried, taking his time to kiss the top of each of her breasts before returning to the left to take a sensitive, pebbled nipple in his mouth, pulling a loud cry from Isaline.
The fleeting thought that someone could park next to them, and hear her cries of need passed through her head, but she didn't care, the excitement of someone else hearing how Adrian did her body seeming to order more wetness between her thighs.
After Adrian showed some love to the neglected breast, he moved on, leaving a trail of hot, wet kisses down Isaline's pregnant stomach, stopping at her navel to speak to their unborn child, "I know you're probably tired of hearing this, baby, but Daddy is about to show Momma some love. I'm sorry if we...if I bother you," The cute statement was followed by a, "What the fuck is this?"
Isa's whole body was taken over with a heat that she was well acquainted to as embarrassment, making her brown skin feeling as if it were cooking as she responded ,"A...ponytail holder."
Adrian of course, was talking about the contraption Isaline had to make to wear the skirt that she refused to change out of after finding she could no longer button them. What she had done was taken a bright orange ponytail holder, looped it through the hole her button was supposed to go through, doing the same on the side the button was on, and then looped the free end back on the button, securing it all with a paper clip she found in her desk drawer.
He couldn't seem to figure out what was going on with her clothes, muttering a completely confused, "What the fuck?" Before his wide silver eyes were looking up at Isa, his fingers still gripping the little system Isa had rigged, "Baby, if you need clothes, all you have to do is tell me, and we'll go shopping. Don't do this shit. What if the clip had popped and cut you, huh? Then I'd be pissed off, all because you're going through denial because of the fact that you're getting bigger."
When she let out a sigh full of shame, Isa found that she could no longer keep eye contact with this man, "O-Okay, I get it." She whispered, pulling her shirt back on, feeling mighty filthy as she did so.
Adrian watched her, then cursed, pulling Isa back by her shirt when she went to crawl out the backseat. She knew she looked like a damned fool. Adrian was right. She should have just changed.
"Damn it, Isa, no...I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"
"It's o-okay," She stuttered, "It's these stupid hormones, and I just thought....You told me I looked pretty last time I wore this skirt, and it made me feel...good, really, really good, and I just wanted to feel like that today. I know it was dumb, but-"
Adrian cut her off, pulling her into his chest, and cupping the back of her neck. She felt his lips press to the top of her head before he said to her in the gentlest voice she'd ever heard, "Sweetheart, you look beautiful no matter what you wear or what you do. We'll find you tons of clothes to make you feel like that, even with the baby, okay? You don't have to be ashamed, and I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, because you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and with you being pregnant with my baby, it makes it all even better for me. Don't cry,"
She sobbed once before she gained control of herself, and took Adrian's face between her small hands, pressing her lips to his as she whispered a watery, "Thank you," before resting her head against his chest, listening to his slow heartbeat before letting him help her out of the car.
"Adrian, let me suck you," She said quietly as she watched him close the door, then wince as he adjusted his evident arousal, "I didn't mean to ruin it,"
"You didn't ruin anything, pet," He murmured against her lips, pecking them softly, "And I'm fine, just give me a minute,"
So for the next few minutes, Adrian and Isa sat on the hood of his nice car, and watched the light traffic flow by, until Adrian deemed himself appropriate, and they walked hand in hand into the eating establishment where they ate in peace before Leo obliviously ruined it, "I'm so happy Nic got her mate after all this time. She deserves it,"
And Isa's appetite was gone just like that.
No matter how many times she told herself through that lunch they had that there was nothing wrong with neither herself or Adrian , and that having a Tied and not a mate was pure coincidence, she still couldn't push away that jealousy the possibilities that flowed through her head.
If we were mated, he would have loved me and treated me right from the beginning.
I bet if we were mates, he wouldn't have kept Ren, or the paintings, or his love for me, or even his daytime occupation a secret. I bet we'd be happy.
I bet we wouldn't constantly hurt each other's feelings.
We'd be happy all the time.
We could be that perfect couple....
What did I do to not deserve to have that?
Her self-confidence had been a sinking thing since she had started to show, but this mate business?
It had her drowning in jealousy of all things, when Nicole was one of her best friends.
Jealousy.
Guys, Hey :) I just wanted to tell you how much I really and truly appreciate everyone who reads my stories, especially this one. I just noticed that it's June,and I started this book last August. Crazy, right? Dried and Dying Roses is one of the best things to come from my mind, and I am so,so, so, SO proud of it!This book, On Word is 421 pages long, and I still have so much planned! I just wanted to tell y'all how much I love and appreciate you guys for helping me get this far ♥♥