Cal:
...and I was fully prepared to fu-
I tuned out of Ade's thoughts as I walked down the stairs of the school. I wasn't being funny, but ever since I had mated with Annie, talks of sleeping with an endless string of girls were completely wasted on me. Now, my mind was full of thoughts about her wellbeing and our future together. The others had actually written me off as a sad case because all I talked about was Annie. And when I wasn't speaking about her, I was thinking about her, which was just as bad because they could all read my mind.
School was just impossible right now. Every time someone so much as brushed against Annie, I was by her side, ready to rip out their throat with my teeth. It was like an obsession that was getting way out of hand, but apparently, it didn't get any better. I was surprised that she hadn't got sick and tired of the protective mate routine. Mind you, ever since we had been left to babysit Max, I had been nervous about being left on my own with her, which probably made me look completely Bipolar.
I tried to dodge the short first years that were running around in front of me. What was so difficult about walking in a straight line? Fair enough if you were drunk or something, I could imagine it being a little more difficult, but these kids weren't; they were just bloody annoying.
So much tolerance, Annie sang in my head. I smiled at the sound of it, even though I must have looked like a complete idiot.
Says you, Little Miss Impatient, I replied lightly, gently shoving through the crowd,
Yeah, but I'm not the one with baby on the brain, she teased, you've got to be tolerant if you have kids, Cal.
She had a point but there was no way in hell that I was going to tell her that.
If it was our kid, baby, I'd be plenty tolerant.
I was met with silence, and I knew that she was either annoyed with me, or distracted, which, considering it was Annie, the latter was just as likely as the former. I mean, the girl could be in the middle of having a conversation, and then go off and discuss something else which was entirely irrelevant. But it was sort of sweet in a slightly crazy way.
She grabbed me as soon as I had stepped outside the school building, her grip firm on my arm, dragging me towards my car. I let her pull me, mildly amused by the effort she was putting into it. Her scent lingered in my nose, making my wolf get a bit frenzied. She was still in heat as far as I could make out, but for how much longer was anyone's guess. I had hoped that I would be able to sway her on having a baby, make her realise that having a baby wouldn't be as bad as she was making out, but I hadn't made much progress. Sure, she didn't throw things at my head anymore whenever I thought about children, but the block that she had put on her thoughts made it difficult to make out what she was really thinking. She could have been planning my murder and I would be none the wiser. Except, that was unlikely, because I was immortal, but you get the picture.
"What's wrong?" I asked, unlocking the car. She let go and sat in the front seat, slamming her door behind her. Why the hell did she have to do that? What had the car done in the grand scheme of things? I resisted the temptation to pat her door before getting in beside her, fixing a steely frown in her direction.
"We're going for a walk," she informed me curtly, facing the front of the car. Okay, we were going for a walk. In the car. Was I the only one who saw something wrong with that sentence? I raised my eyebrows at her, waiting for her to explain some more. When I was met with silence, I refused to turn the ignition on, turning to look at her instead.
"Cal," she growled, putting her hands on my knees and sending tingles up my legs, "I want to have a chat with you. One that isn't being listened to by half a dozen other people." I turned the key but didn't reverse, still looking at Annie. She sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Please, Cal," she breathed. I hated it when she did put that voice on. It made me want to roll over and beg for her. And she bloody knew it as well, which was why there were fake tears filling her eyes. They could have been real for all the difference it made my wolf; he was giving me an internal kicking for making her sad. Too bad he didn't see her as I did; he only had to watch her when she was asleep or from afar on the full moon. As soon as I put my hands to the steering wheel, her tears mysteriously dried up, and she was wearing that little smirk she dawned whenever she was reminded that I was wrapped around her little finger.
What about the others? I asked her, thinking of her brother, Ade and Eli who would turn up at my parking space and wonder where the hell I had gone.
"Zane's picking them up," she mumbled, drawing pictures on the window with the condensation. "Him and Ade are going to the pub later." I rolled my eyes. Ade and Zane were quickly becoming best friends, which was good for them, but not so great for anyone else. They were both very alike when it came to sense of humour, and when they were together, it took all of my strength not to hit of them. It was like they were born from the same mould and separated, only finding each other now. Annie didn't seem to mind the fact that her best friend was neglecting her. I couldn't exactly say I was upset about it either; the further Zane stayed away from my mate, the better. He wasn't threatening, but the fact that he was an unmated male werewolf was all the reason I needed to be cautious.
"Possessive," Annie muttered, shooting me a coy smile. I winked at her and turned to drive down the main road.
"Where were you thinking?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the road.
"The park," she replied without any sort of hesitation.
I navigated us there, weaving in and out the heavy traffic. Night was rolling in by the time we got there and the park was completely empty, which Annie seemed to be thankful for. She opened her door and stepped out into the cool evening breeze, pulling her hood over her flyaway hair. I just watched. Everything about her, from her stance to the way she was biting her nail nervously was alluring. If I had been any other sort of person, I would have definitely grabbed her and pulled her back into the car. But I wasn't, so I got out as well, locking it behind me.
Just to be on the safe side, I took Annie's small hand in my own and pulled her close; the threat of having a new pack in our territory was still too raw to let her be far from me. Even when we were at school, I was constantly checking up with the guys to make sure she was staying out of trouble. It was turning me into a nervous wreck, just trying to keep her safe. Every time she went out of range or I couldn't pinpoint her exact location, I was shaving about five years off of my immortality.
"C'mon," she moaned, trying her best to pull me again. This time, I put up a fight, making her huff and puff as she tried to get me to move. Realising that she was fighting a losing battle, she turned and looked at me curiously. Then, without warning, she planted a kiss on my lips and pulled away too quickly. I growled and pulled her back, but she managed to move from my hold and dash across the grass, towards the playground on the other side. I tore after her, more worried about her safety than about the fact that I had just been well and truly played.
She stopped when she reached the swings, turning to watch me catch up, her chest rising and falling with her pants for breath. She sat down on the swing, still looking up at me, licking her lips.
"I won," she announced triumphantly. I groaned and took the swing next to her. It was going to be one of those chats.
Annie:
We were sitting on the swings, neither one of us looking at each other. This had been my idea but, now that we were here, I didn't know what to do. Ever since that incident with Max, we had been a bit awkward with each other. Not bad awkward, just...awkward. Every time he even so much as brushed his arm against my skin, I would be reminded of what we had nearly done. I could have sworn that this thing with being in heat was getting worse. We could hardly bear to be in the same room as each other. Apparently, it was reaching its "Peak". Well, it could take its peak and shove it where the sun didn't shine because this was like a living nightmare.
I had thought that coming to the park, where there was lots of fresh air and other smells for his nose to contend with, would be better than speaking to him while we were in the house. No such luck; I had been reading his thoughts since we had left school, and most of them had been pretty dirty, courtesy of his wolf trying to egg him on.
And he knew that I could tell what was going on in his head, because he kept shooting me apologetic glances.
"Let's play twenty questions," I announced to the dark and empty playground. Cal looked at me like I was crazy, his eyebrows raised.
"Why?" he asked, his voice hoarse. I suppose this wasn't one of my better plans. Ah well, too late now.
"Because," I teased, getting to my feet and turning to look at him. "I don't know very much about you, apart from the fact that you snore."
I don't snore, he retorted grumpily.
How would you know? I shot back, a smile on my face. Cal shook his head in defeat and took me by the belt loops of my trousers, pulling me between his legs. I was a bit hesitant about getting into this position; the last time we had been this close, and alone, we had got a bit carried away. And besides, I didn't like the fact that his face was just about level with my boobs; it was just a bit too much temptation on his part. But when I tried to wriggle away, he just held me closer, so I gave up.
"So about those twenty questions," I jumped in, before we had a repeat of last weekend. "I'll start." Cal let out a low exasperated groan, slightly irked that I wasn't going to give up on this.
"Fine," he mumbled reproachfully. I gave him a cheesy grin and put on a mock thinking face.
"Well, let's see," I said, putting a finger to my chin and cocking my head to the side. "What do I want to know about Caleb?" He winced when I used his proper name. I put my lips to his ear, like I was about to ask him something amazingly in depth.
"Did you really shag Loretta Pike?"
Cal leaned back on the swing, his eyes narrowed and foreboding.
"Who told you that?" he asked suspiciously. I bit my lip and shrugged; a good interrogator never revealed her sources.
Bloody Radleigh...
Actually, I had just made up the question on the spot but now that I knew it was true, I was all ears. Cal considered me for a moment before sighing.
"It was only once, Annie," he muttered. "And we were both pretty hammered." I laughed and Cal looked shocked. He had probably expected me to go off on one and scream and shout. Showed how much he knew about me, anyway. But his surprise had caused him to loosen his grip on me and I jumped away, cackling at the top of my voice.
"Annie, what're you so happy about?" he asked, getting to his feet to follow me.
"I don't know," I called back to him. "Just life, I suppose." I could tell that he was shaking his head at me, but I didn't care. I found the whole thing extremely hilarious. Loretta Pike? I loved it.
"You know, when most girls find out that their other halves have slept with someone they don't like, they go off the wall," he growled. "And you kill yourself giggling?" I stopped prancing about and swayed over to him, my lips disappearing into my mouth. He was standing in front of me, his eyes blazing in confusion. I wrapped my arms around his waist and looked up at him.
"You slept with someone named after a fish, Cal," I whispered, licking my lips. "It's fucking typical." He growled again and bowed his head to kiss me, but I ducked and began to skip over to the roundabout, still laughing. I was beginning to annoy him, that much was clear but he was doing a pretty good job of hiding what he was thinking now. I sat down, propelling myself round with my feet. Why was it that everything seemed much better when you were dizzy? You could kid yourself that everything had changed and then come crashing back to reality gradually. Sounded great.
"My turn," Cal said, watching me spin. "Why don't you want a baby?" I stopped moving and glared at him. This was meant to be a fun outing; not just a chance for us to relocate our problems to a better place.
"Because," I replied simply, wringing my fingers, "I'm scared." Well, we were meant to be truthful, and that was the truth. Cal just stared at me, like he couldn't believe what I had just said.
"Scared?" he breathed. A lump rose in the back of my throat. We had been through this a million and one times. It had become an almost daily argument that always ended in a couple of slammed doors. Cal and I had some amazing arguments; we could shout from one end of the house to the other, trying to break the other one down. And then there came the making up of them. It was almost worth the fighting...
"Right," I dismissed before he could say something else, "How old were you when you lost your V-card?" Cal blinked at the forwardness of the question. I smiled, trying to forget about what I had just told him, and I waited for my answer. He muttered something and I leaned closer to him.
"Sorry," I boomed, "Didn't quite catch that!" A snarl escaped from the back of his throat that he tried to silence.
"Fifteen," he grumbled. I smirked and lay back on the roundabout, looking up at the stars. I used to know all of the constellations; Dante had taught them to me. Now, they were just vague reminders of everything that I had been through. Still, didn't stop them being shiny.
"That's not that bad," I whispered. "Could've been worse." I wasn't sure if I was just speaking to myself or Cal, but I felt him sit down on the roundabout, his hand finding my knee and resting on it.
"So what about you?" he asked. Oh God, now he was asking. I should have expected that one. I bit my lip.
"Sixteen," I squeaked. He snorted. Wait, he didn't believe me? I sat up, frowning at him. He was chuckling to himself but stopped when he saw the look on my face.
"You're serious?" he asked. I nodded slowly. "Who'd you lose it to?" That was two questions! And, actually, I really didn't want to answer that one. I bit my lip, deciding whether or not to procrastinate and get annoyed at him for thinking that I was telling fibs, or to just get it over and done with.
"Erm," I faltered, trying to think about how to phrase it, "Are you sure that you want to know?" Cal was wearing a pissed off expression on his face and he nodded, looking like he wanted to hit something. Or someone after I had answered this question...
"ItwasZane," I said quickly, trying to look up at the sky. "Now I get two questions because you-"
Cal growled and got to his feet, towering over me. He was trying really, really hard not to wolf out but it was proving difficult. He turned away from me, running his hands through his hair.
"Zane?" he spat. "You've fucked Zane?" If he wanted a list of all the guys I'd slept with, then we were going to be here for a while-
Then I realised that he had been listening to that because he suddenly span around, his face bloody livid. Shit. I was alone in a park with a rather annoyed werewolf. These were the sort of moments that I just seemed to skip into. Cal took a step towards me and I instinctively shuffled backwards on the roundabout, landing on the middle pivot and inwardly cursing. He stopped and shook his head. Okay, maybe he wasn't about to hit me. That was a good thing.
"Like you're holier than thou, Cal," I muttered. "It was almost two years ago." It felt like a lifetime, actually. So much had happened in that period of time, I had had time to dwell on it. I was glad though; it hadn't been a particularly pleasurable experience and, because Zane was a wolf, I hadn't been able to walk straight for a week. It was enough to make you swear to celibacy. And then I'd moved in with Dante and his pack, and celibacy hadn't really been an option.
"And you didn't even think to tell me this?" he demanded, hurt in his eyes. After it had happened, I hadn't had time to dwell on it. I was glad though; it hadn't been a particularly pleasurable experience and, because Zane was a wolf, I hadn't been able to walk straight for a week. It was enough to make you swear to celibacy. And then I'd moved in with Dante and his pack, and celibacy hadn't really been an option.
"And you didn't even think to tell me this?" he demanded, hurt in his eyes. "Because now I've got to see him everyday knowing that he's..." His voice trailed away in a blind fury and I could see that he was dying to get his hands on Zane.
"Now you've got to see him everyday," I murmured, getting to my feet, "knowing that I'm yours and no-one else's." I touched his arm and he, thankfully, didn't jerk it away. I felt guilty about telling him about Zane, but he had asked. And the whole point of this was so that we could be truthful with each other. Cal grudgingly wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to his chest, so tight that I could hear his heart hammering. I knew that he was having a conflict of interests between him and his wolf, and I was hoping that it would fizzle out with more of a hiss than a bang.
"And Dante's pack?" he breathed. "What about them?"
"That's three questions, Mr. Impatient," I stalled. Cal made a whimpering noise, as if the thought of not knowing hurt him. I sighed.
The ones that didn't have mates, I told him, glad that this mind link meant I didn't have to say anything, used me to get their rocks off. It was depressing and moral crushing and I don't really want to relive it, okay?
Cal kissed the top of my head, putting his cheek against my hair.
"You owe me three questions," I mumbled meekly. He let out a dry laugh, raspy from my little revelation. I couldn't really understand why he was getting so upset from what I had said; it was in the past. But, when it came to me, the past seemed to have a funny habit of just materialising in front of my eyes.
"Shoot," he muttered, not letting me go.
"What were you like before you met me?" I asked without thinking, biting my lip. Cal's arms fell to his side and he sat down, his face paling. Ah-ha; so I wasn't the only one with a dodgy past. I resisted the temptation to smile. Actually, he looked like he was about to throw up, so I sat down next to him.
"Don't...Don't get annoyed," he pleaded. Oh Jeez, I was beginning to really regret asking these questions. I quirked my eyebrow, but said nothing, my heart rate beginning to increase.
"I, erm, I was a bit like Flint," he muttered. Was that it? I was expecting some seedy past and he gave me a Flint comparison? Anti-climax much?
"And?" I said, wondering why he was getting his knickers in such a twist.
"Annie...I wasn't exactly the best kind of bloke," he told me.
"So you were a bit of a man-whore?" I helped, tilting my head to the side. Cal's eyes widened. "That's fine, Cal; I don't really care."
He shook his head at me in disbelief. What a drama queen.
"Okay, next one," I said. And I was stuck; I had no idea what I wanted to know about him.
"Why," I mumbled, so that it was barely audible, "do you want to have a baby so much?" He bit his lip, trying to think of a reasonable answer. I should hope so; he was going to have to have a very, very good idea about why he wanted to bring a - illegitimate! - child into the world. Cal bowed his head and pressed his lips to my forehead, letting them linger longer than was necessary.
"Recently I...I've been thinking about the future," he admitted, rubbing my arms with his hands. Ah, thinking. No wonder the poor lad was confused; thinking was a bit too much for his poor old brain. Cal frowned at me when he heard it. Oops.
"And I want us to be happy, Annie."
"We can be happy without a baby," I argued, trying to give my best. Cal shook his head.
"You're just not getting it," he whispered, his voice tinged with regret. "Do you know what I dream about these days? You, me and our child; this faceless little kid who we both absolutely adore. And then I wake up and I have to remember that it's not real.
"And you've got no idea how much I want it to be true."
Actually, I had a fair inclination. It was all that he thought about these days; babies. He was like a walking advert for nappies. I saw the way he looked at Max, the way he looked at me whenever I was near the little terror. And, even though I didn't want to admit it, I was, very slowly and unwillingly, beginning to see where he was coming from. I was starting to see life with a child in it. I could see how much strain it put Sierra under, and I was fearful that it would have the same effect on me, but at the same time, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be a mother. It was completely absurd of course; anyone calling me mum would be better off not existing. However, I would catch glimpses of Sierra rocking Max to sleep and I would feel this very light, almost unnoticeable pang of jealousy.
"Okay," I breathed, taking in his scent. "I get it now." He nodded but said nothing, his face slightly panicked. But he had no reason to be; I wasn't going to shout and scream and kick up a fuss. I knew where he was coming from and, even though I was slightly resentful about the fact that he never seemed to give up on the baby thing, I needed him to know that I didn't mean to shoot down his dreams. Dreams? Who really dreams of having a baby? I was seventeen years old; babies weren't exactly on my to-do list.
Good thing I had never been one to make lists then, wasn't it?
"Hmm," I said, trying to think of another question. If I couldn't make this, how was I going to make it to twenty? Then one rushed to my head with all the elegance and grace of an elephant on roller skates. I looked at Cal thoughtfully, my heart beginning to race in my chest. I couldn't possibly ask him that.
Could I?
"Cal?" I mumbled. "Why...Wh- Why do you leave your dirty boxers on the floor?"
The question came out in such a rush, it took a moment for him to realise what I had said. But when he did, his eyes crinkled in a smile, and he shrugged. Okay, so it wasn't what I had wanted to ask but it was broken the ice, surely?
"Because," he murmured in my ear, "you never pick up your clothes; all's fair in love and war." I rolled my eyes at the corny expression but we went back to asking each other stupid stuff, that we probably should have known beforehand. Apparently, Cal's favourite food was steak (like I hadn't been expecting that one), when he was younger he wanted to be a fireman (I had sniggered when he had told me that, which I refused to apologise for), and he had always thought that baths were an abomination. I was one hundred percent behind him when it came to that; who wants to lie in their own dirt? And it went on and on until we had both, finally, reached question twenty. By that point, it really was night time and I was starting to get cold. Cal was holding me as I shivered involuntarily, attempting to persuade me that it was a good idea to go home.
"But we need to finish the game," I insisted, my teeth chattering together. He shook his head at me, but instead of telling me that I was being ridiculous, he just held me closer, letting me bury my head into his chest.
"Okay," he said, stroking my hair. "One last question." I looked up, staring at him through the darkness. His eyes glinted with happiness and I was pretty sure that mine twinkled back. It was the sort of moment that they lovingly write about in fairy tales, when the prince and the princess share that moment of pure and utter adoration. Only, this was no fairy tale, and the closest thing that Cal had to a white stallion was that wee rust bucket he called a car.
"Annie," he said, attempting to stop his voice from shaking, "D'you...regret coming back to find your dad?"
A few months ago, I would have said hell yes and be done with it. But now...Now, I was very content with the way my life seemed to be falling into place. Sure, I could have done without the pack of rabid werewolves who were after the child that I wasn't sure I wanted to conceive, but everyone's got shit to deal with. And, as much as it pained me to admit it, I was beginning to come round to the idea of having a dad in my life again. He was as big a bastard as I had first thought, which was always something.
And, of course, I had Cal; the nervous looking man who was standing in front of me, just waiting for my answer. So, in reply, I reached up on my tiptoes, and brushed my lips against his, smiling.
"Nope," I murmured. "Not at all."
Cal kissed me back, and I closed my eyes, letting myself get carried away in the moment. It was only when I felt my fingers tracing the waistband of his trousers, did I reluctantly pull away. Instead of looking hacked off, Cal wore a look of understanding, which made me feel slightly warm and squishy inside. Oh God, what was this boy turning me into? I was using words like squishy? Someone come and wash my mouth out with soap.
"My turn, Mutt," I said playfully. He growled at the use of my familiar pet name, and gripped my arms that little bit tighter. I bit my lip.
"Can we...Can we maybe have an early night?" I asked, trying not to blush. Cal sighed and put his head down. And then snapped it right back up when he realised what I meant. He gave me a crooked smile, swallowing.
"Really?"
I nodded slowly, and he pulled me into a hug, crushing my whole front. Ouch, it hurt! When he finally released me, he was wearing this huge grin that made my insiders glow knowing that I had made it happen.
Wrapping his arm around me, we walked towards the car.
"You're putting a condom on, by the way," I remarked, making him whimper. "This is just to relieve you of some of the tension in your trousers; it doesn't mean I want a baby." I pulled open my door and slid in, waiting for him to join me. When he did, he shivered and turned the key, the engine roaring into life seconds later. While we drove, we spoke about everything and anything, the twenty questions just making us even more inquisitive about each other.
When we parked in the driveway, Cal turned to me and kissed me on the forehead.
"I love you so much, Annie Knight," he said, his face completely straight.
"I love you too, Cal," I replied honestly.
His wide smile made me want to giggle, and that would have been a step too far. So I clambered out and walked towards the door of the house, Cal close behind me. But as I reached for the door handle, I heard shouting coming from inside. I pushed the door open, only to find Ade and Zane at opposite ends of the hallway, each of them wearing furious looks. I raised an eyebrow and shot a curious look at Radleigh, who was sitting on the stairs, looking from one man to the other.
"...and all this time you were just trying to put the fucking moves on me!" Ade roared at the top of my voice. I was surprised that Max hadn't contributed his lungs on this one, the level of noise that was being created by Ade alone was enough to wake the frigging dead.
"It's not like I chose to do it!" Zane shouted, looking defensive. "It wasn't my fault!"
"Bullshit," Ade snarled, his face going red. Zane looked as though he was about to reply angrily, but Radleigh just held his hands up, looking wearied.
"Two hours you've been doing this," he told them, "and in those two hours you've successfully thrown every plate in the house," he looked at Zane, "and busted in a wall," he glared at Ade. "So how's about we all just calm. The. Fuck. Down." I smirked at my brother, but I was still dying to know what was going on. I took a step towards Zane but Cal grabbed my arm. Was he kidding me? Was he still jealous that I had had sex with him?
Well you don't need to worry about that now, Ade spat furiously.
"Why?" Cal demanded, still not taking his hand from my arm.
"Because that bastard," Ade retorted, glaring at a broken looking Zane. "Mated with me."
My eyes widened, and I looked at Zane. He avoided my gaze, rolling his eyes to look at the ceiling. He always did that when he was under pressure; it was his way of coping, I suppose. Cal was shaking beside me and, when I turned around in surprise, there was no hiding the look of glee on his face. I scowled.
"If you're going to be a dick about it," I snarled, "just go upstairs and leave well enough alone." Cal shook his head.
"And there was me worrying that he was going to come back for seconds," he mused, his smile one of complete delight.
"Not now, Cal," I groaned, looking at my best friend. "Not now."
Cal:
It transpired that Ade and Zane had never made it as far as the pub; they had been mucking about in the street when Ade tripped over and Zane caught his wrist. That's when it had happen. It always seemed to be the wrists though, never any other body part.
I was sitting on the sofa, Annie by my side. I could sense her tense heartbeat thudding away and I wrapped my arm around her rigid body. She didn't even react, just staring at Zane, who was sitting at the table, glaring into his cup of tea. None of us, apart from Annie had even had the slightest clue that Zane was gay. If we had, Ade most certainly wouldn't have given him the time of day. It was a lesser known fact that he was pretty intolerant when it came to homosexuality, children, old people, boy racers and tinned spaghetti. But I could see the pain in his eyes as he sat across from Zane, and feelings of hurt and resentment that were not my own, settled in the back of my mind.
Radleigh was the first to speak, his voice loud and clear.
"You're going to have to tell dad," he said, leaning back in his seat. Zane's face paled and he sunk down in his own chair, looking defeated. Ade noticed and his whole body stiffened; evidently the effects of having a mate, no matter what gender, were beginning to take hold of him.
"I'm not eighteen yet," Ade murmured. "How can I have a mate if I'm not eighteen?"
"I am," Zane said, swallowing. I looked to see if he was going to say anything else but he had resigned himself to his silence once more. Annie got to her feet and hugged Zane, kissing him on the top of his head. I watched in awe as my normally standoffish and aggressive mate crumble as her friend did the same. It was almost like watching her with Max; the maternal instincts shone through her like the bright light that she had emitted that night in the forest.
It'll be okay, Annie soothed, stroking his pale hair.
Will it fuck, Zane snapped. I growled at him, my wolf becoming enraged, but Annie gave me a pleading look, which I reluctantly leaned back in response to; I didn't need her jumping down my throat at me because I was being insensitive. I was trying my best to show her that I had changed.
You okay, Ginger? I directed at Ade, still watching Annie carefully.
Do I look okay, you prick? He demanded. I didn't need to look at him to know that he was glaring at me. What the hell was I meant to say? Annie was much better at dealing with this sort of things than I was.
"I'm going to bed," Zane grumbled, breaking away from Annie's arms. She watched him walk over to the door, sadness in her eyes. Once he was gone and the door was shut once more, she rounded on Ade.
"Could you be a bigger arsehole?" she exploded. I stood up, more to protect Ade from Annie's wrath than anything else. I stood between them both, while Ade groaned. He didn't even think about reacting to her anger, which struck me as odd, considering how much Ade liked to prove he was macho. Radleigh just observed, his mind wandering to something else.
"Annie, just leave it," I hissed. She shook her head, her mouth twisting in contempt. Oh God, she was ready to start a fight with him, and I wasn't sure that that was the best thing for Ade to get into at the moment. So I hooked my arms around Annie's waist and dragged her out of the kitchen, literally kicking and screaming abuse at Ade. Normally, I would have found it hilarious that Annie thought she could take on the 6'7' solid brick that was Ade, but right now, I just wanted her to stop making things worse. I could understand the fact that she was angry on the behalf of her best friend, truly I did, but what about Ade? He had had this thrust upon him, without any warning. Remind you of anyone?
"I know what you're thinking," she grimaced, finally letting herself flop in my arms. I tentatively let her go, hoping that she wasn't about to kick off again. "But he has no right to treat Zane that way."
"I know, babes, okay?" She winced when I called her babes but other than that, she kept quiet, too lost in her own thoughts. Then, she let out a long sigh, resting her head against the wall. She shook her head, her hair dancing by her shoulders.
"He's always been scared of this," she mumbled fearfully, looking me straight in the eye. "Please say you'll talk to Ade about it; I don't think I could bear to watch him break Zane." Was it wrong to say that her concern for her friend was a complete turn-on? But I ignored it and stared at Annie. Her face was full of pain, her eyes watery. I wanted to make it all alright. But before I could do anything, she wrapped her arms around my waist and put her head against my chest. I hugged her back, glad that she had simmered down a bit. So much for having an early night.
We broke apart at the sound of the front door opening, but Annie still kept one arm around me, her eyes suddenly tired. I so wanted to take her upstairs and let her sleep, because it didn't seem fair that she should stay up any longer. Gordon and Jase came through the door, their faces grave. When they caught sight of Annie, they stopped dead in their tracks, neither quite being able to look at her straight.
Annie wrinkled her eyebrows, confusion etched in her delicate features. Her lips went out in a subtle pout as she tried to work out what was causing her father and brother so much angst.
"Annie," Gordon choked, his eyes strangely glassy. Annie stepped away from me and towards her dad, cocking her head to the side. I couldn't see the expression on her face, but I could tell that she was completely in the dark.
"What's happened?" she asked, her voice catching in the back of her throat. "Oh God, it's not...Nothing's happened to Max, has it?" Jase shook his head vigorously, and Annie sighed with relief.
"Annie," Gordon said again, placing his hands on her shoulders. "It's your mum.
"She's dead."
I was ready to let Annie fall into my arms sobbing. I was prepared to comfort her for however long it took to make her better. But the tears never came. Instead, she looked at her dad, not even moving.
"Oh," she said, her voice surprised. "That's rather...unfortunate."
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ah...this chapter was boring...but I wanted it to be long, so this is what we got left with...
The whole thing with Zane and Ade...I had always planned on Zane being gay but him being mated with Ade came to me in a dream last night...it was proper freaky...but I'll listen to my dream because they could be good together...or not...
OKay, the next chapters are going to be interesting to write...and it's going to take time to write them...so I would like 15 votes before I upload the next chapter, just so I have time to physically write them...and if you've already voted on this chapter...go back and vote on the other chapters because that makes me smile just as much as getting votes on my current chapter does...
so..vote and comment and fan... PLEASE???
thanks for reading
x