by Mikayla Lane
Melina stood up and looked around worriedly. Not wanting her to be afraid, Reven rushed to ease her worry. “Wolfen is the baby dog we found while we were looking for you. His mommy died bringing him to us. He’s at my place waiting for me to get home and take care of him.”
Melina looked up at him with wide, excited eyes as the baby cooed and swung her arms up to be carried. Jax gave her a big smile before swooping Bayla into her arms.
“He’s a beautiful puppy that I think is going to be a wonderful dog.” Jax told the girls as they bent to say good-bye to Cal.
Jax and the girls gave hugs and wet kisses to the tiger and promised to come back again before Melina followed Jax out of the sanctuary.
“How old is the puppy? You named him Wolfen? What does that mean?” Melina asked curiously as they headed out of the forest.
By the time they reached the car, Jax was more than ready to head home and get the girls settled. She knew the medibands on the children were providing them with additional nutrients to combat the malnutrition, and they probably weren’t hungry.
However, all she wanted to do was get them in some warm pajamas and feed them until they were stuffed and happy. No thirteen-year-old child, in this day and age, should have to ask what ice cream is, she thought sadly.
Getting Reven back into the car proved to be yet another adventure and this time Jax actually felt bad about it. She cringed when his knees cracked into the dash before he could pull them to his chest.
Jax shot him an apologetic smile before easing the car back onto the road. She made a really quick trip through the town, enough to show Melina around the area before parking in front of Reven’s cabin.
“I’ll grab the ice cream; Melina can get Wolfen; you get your things, and we’ll be homebound for ice cream!” Jax said as she got out of the car and started inside.
The giggling from the car drew her attention. “Shit! I mean, shoot!” Jax said before opening the back door of the car and getting Bayla out of her car seat. How she could forget the baby; she'd never know; she thought as she shook her head and ignored Melina trying to help pull Reven out of his seat.
She felt no desire to witness his embarrassment over the situation. Which was odd because normally, she’d grab any chance she got to enjoy watching him making a spectacle of himself. Heading up to his porch, she leaned under the swing and grabbed Reven’s spare key and opened the door.
“How did you know where that was?” Reven asked as he and Melina came on the porch.
“The animals told me weeks ago.” Jax said by way of explanation before she walked inside and stopped short.
The vet tech had left the lights on before he’d left, not wanting to scare the girls with his presence. Jax set the baby down on the floor and just stared. The place was immaculate. There wasn’t a speck of dust or a knick knack out of place.
Moving farther in, Jax saw that the kitchen counters were completely bare of anything but a coffee pot, a clean dish towel hung off the oven door handle and the placemats and napkins on the table were all perfectly placed. It was like walking into a model home; Jax thought in astonishment.
Damn, she knew he was meticulous and anal about things, but wow. She felt embarrassed over what they were soon to find at her own place. She wasn’t nearly this anal, or a clean freak. Although not dirty, her place certainly looked more ‘lived in’ than his did.
Feeling pretty comfortable that the baby couldn’t get into trouble in the living room since there was nothing for her to touch, Jax headed into the kitchen to get the ice cream while Reven showed Melina the bathroom where Wolfen was starting to cry for attention.
Opening the freezer she was a little surprised at what she found. Other than the three half gallons of ice cream, he had every possible kind of crap food you could think of. If it was greasy, nasty and microwaveable then Reven had it.
Setting the ice cream on the counter, she started opening cabinets to look for a bag to put it in and wasn’t nearly as surprised to see the shelves packed with cans of different pastas, soups and chilis along with every kind of snack cake, cookie and cracker that you could imagine.
Still not finding a bag she rummaged through the other cabinets only to find the same thing, cans of food and snack cakes. There were dishes and silverware, but not a pot or pan in the place. Or a bag, she thought with a sigh.
Obviously, the man didn’t know how to cook at all, which explained why he always tried to go to dinner with someone; Jax thought, feeling suddenly ashamed for all the times she’d told him to fuck off when he tried to demand she eat with him.
“What?” Reven asked, coming into the kitchen behind Jax while the girls played with Wolfen on the living room floor.
Jax turned to give him a small smile. “Just looking for a bag to put the ice cream in.”
“Here.” Reven said reaching into the cabinet above the stove, that she couldn’t reach, and grabbing a bag.
Reven snapped the wrinkled plastic bag open and held it for Jax. She’d expected him to just hand it to her but recovered quickly and put the ice cream in, trying not to touch him as she did.
“Ok! I think we’re ready. You and Melina can take Wolfen in your car and follow me to my place?” Jax asked, stepping back from him and the odd effect he had on her energy.
“Can I please ride with Bayla?” Melina asked shyly, her words barely audible and her head down as if expecting to be yelled at. Or beaten. It sickened Reven and Jax to see her so scared for such a simple request.
“Of course, course you can honey! Can you please watch Wolfen for me though? I’m afraid he’ll get hurt if no one holds him in the car. He’s still not used to traveling.” Reven said with a gentle smile, kneeling down in front of the frightened child as she nodded her head.
He’d noticed since they had left the MedLab, that Melina wouldn’t allow herself to be separated from Bayla. So he really hadn’t been too surprised that she wanted to ride with her. It was obvious that she was still nervous and scared and wanted to be close enough to protect her sister.
“You guys ready then?” Jax asked cheerfully, trying to break up the tense moment.
Jax picked up the squirming baby as Reven held out a hand to Melina, who grabbed it while keeping Wolfen held tightly to her chest with the other.
Reven helped Jax get the girls into the car and was more than a little surprised when she waited in his driveway as he loaded some clothes, gear and puppy supplies the tech had left into his SUV. He couldn’t stop the smile when he realized he was going to Jax’s place!
Holy shit! He thought with a nervous excitement he hadn’t felt since his youth. He’d never even gotten past the street before he was inevitably attacked by one of her ‘friends’. He had no idea what her place looked like, and he was dying to find out and learn more about his enigmatic mate.
He quashed any other thought before it could form in his mind, trying not to get his hopes up that it would be this easy to finally claim his mate. He had no doubts or delusions that she would make things easy on him, but he couldn’t suppress the niggling hope that maybe the girls would be the one thing that could bring them together.
He easily followed Jax’s more sedate driving to her place and parked his vehicle alongside hers in the driveway. He knew it was crazy, but there seemed to be something so intimate about the way that looked and the way he felt seeing them parked side by side. Like any other two-car family, he’d seen in town.
Reven shook off his thoughts and jumped out to help Jax get the girls to the front door before he ran out to grab his things. He was stunned when he realized he hadn’t been attacked! Not once! Not a bug, not a bat… nothing.
He felt like jumping with happiness that he’d finally gotten this close without injury but instead hurriedly grabbed his things before his luck turned. You never knew with Jax; he thought to himself. It wouldn’t be the first time she went from sweetheart to psycho bitch in less time.
He’d made it to the front porch when the smell hi
t him. He stopped in mid-step and took a deep breath. It was Jax’s own unique scent, and it wrapped around his body and mind as he memorized it.
“Hey, do you need help? We can’t keep the door open or Wolfen might escape.” Jax said as she peeked her head around the corner of the door and looked at Reven strangely.
Reven blushed a little and decided a half truth was better than nothing. “Sorry, I’ve been marveling that I haven’t been attacked and wondering if the next step would be my luck running out.” Reven said teasingly as he finished walking up the porch steps. He was surprised at the charming blush that stained her cheeks. Hmmm... Maybe they were making headway; Reven thought, daring to hope.
“Yeah, yeah, just get inside already, or you won’t get any ice cream.” Jax said with a grin as Reven moved past her and into her home.
When Reven continued to stand and stare just inside the doorway, Jax pushed him roughly in the back until he moved further in so she could shut the door and get around his bulk. She knew he was staring at her stuff and she didn’t care in the least what he thought of her place.
“You go ahead and admire the awesomeness that is my place, and I’ll grab the ice cream. Your room should be the guest room. The one without a crib in it.” Jax teased as she headed into the kitchen while the girls played with Wolfen on the living room floor.
Reven just stared in open mouthed wonder at what was Jax’s personal space. He wasn’t sure what surprised him more, the explosion of girly stuff, the hideous colors or the weapons interspersed among all the girly stuff and eye watering colors.
Watching Bayla crawl towards the entertainment center and what looked to be strange dolls with different brightly colored, fuzzy heads, he dropped his gear to the floor and ran to head the baby off.
He snatched the doll out of her hand just as the blade sprung from the doll's feet. Bayla looked up at him and giggled as he tried to grab the other dolls out of her reach.
He’d just gotten the other dolls in his arms when he sprinted across the floor to Melina, who was looking at an AR-15 that she’d pulled from under the couch. The ugly couch that was covered in circles of neon colors.
Reven turned back to the baby in time to slide across the wood floor, and grab the throwing knives she’d gotten from the drawer in the coffee table that rested on the purple fuzzy rug.
“Jax!” Reven yelled, trying to sound casual as he grabbed the knives and slammed the drawer shut with more force than he intended.
“What?” Jax asked from the kitchen doorway with a spoon of ice cream in her hand.
Reven gave her an incredulous look as he dropped the dolls, blades and rifle to grab the spear gun out of Melina’s hands before she pulled the trigger.
“Oh hell!” Jax said with panic. She ran into the kitchen to drop the spoon in the sink and grabbed one of her beach bags.
Reven turned to see Jax come in with a neon green bag that was twice as wide as she was. He stood in stunned amazement as she walked to the entertainment center and began throwing knives, throwing stars and blades, handguns and other weapons into the bag before going to the coffee table, under the coffee table, and the rest of the room until the bag was full and clinking as she walked down the hallway.
“Uh… Jax and I are kind of like policemen. We fight the bad guys who try to hurt innocent people. That’s why she has so many weapons… in her living room.” Reven said to the startled children.
“It’s just some stuff to make sure that everyone stays safe. I’ll teach you to use everyone one of those weapons so you can protect yourself. And Bayla.” Jax said to Melina as she tickled the baby under her chin.
Through the Shengari’ Jax told Reven, “I grabbed them out of the bathroom too so it’s safe for them to go in there. I’ll figure out where to put everything when they are asleep.”
In the bathroom? Seriously? Reven thought with confusion as he looked around at the color clashing nightmare that Jax called her furniture. It was so bright it almost hurt his eyes; he thought as he looked around the room.
The couch was covered in neon colored circles of green, blue, yellow and orange while a purple fuzzy rug covered most of the wood floor in the living room. There were huge multicolored pillows stacked in a corner by the couch, a bright pink scarf covering the shade of the animated bear lamp on the side table and a neon blue blob that Reven wasn’t sure what to do with, or if it was safe for the children.
He looked up as Jax came in with a tray that had four bowls on it with spoons sticking out. She smiled brightly at the kids. “Ice cream! Now it’s really cold guys, because it’s frozen. That’s why it’s called ice cream. It’s made out of frozen milk.”
Jax set the tray down on the coffee table and pulled the blue blob over to the table before launching herself into it. Reven had never seen a chair like it before and was a little fascinated by it, but decided to ask about it later.
Instead, he handed a bowl and spoon to Melina while Jax pulled two bowls toward herself as she grabbed Bayla and settled her into her lap.
Reven watched Melina move the spoon around her bowl as if afraid of the cold contents and grabbed his own bowl as a way to assure her it was safe. Looking down he saw that Jax had put a little bit of all three flavors into the bowl so the girls could try each one.
He couldn’t help but look nervously around the outlandish interior of Jax’s home, wondering where else the children might find weapons. If the cache she’d collected from the living room was any indication, he would bet that there were dozens more hidden around the rest of her home.
Reven looked down at the bright orange bowl in front of him and cringed at the thought of the other garish colors Jax had chosen to decorate her home with that he hadn’t seen yet. Everything about her home was at complete odds with the woman herself.
He’d never seen her wear anything but black. Ever. It was black tact pants or black jeans and the ever-present black tank top or T-shirt and jacket, depending on the weather. He’d never even considered that she might like colors at all by her clothing choices, but this… this explosion of hideous colors was not something he would have ever expected; he thought looking at the annoying bright purple rug he was sitting on with distaste.
Chapter Seven
Grai paced the patio area of the office building in Dillon, his thoughts in turmoil as he worried about his brother. Traze had somehow escaped David and the security detail he’d sent to retrieve him, and they hadn’t been able to determine where he’d gone.
He knew his brother would not go along with leaving Dillon for a while, especially not when Grai had intended to send him to Koda’s ship to ensure that he couldn’t interfere with Reven and Jax while they tried to forge a relationship and a family. However, he didn’t expect the boy to run. Not like this, he thought as he raked a frustrated hand through his dark hair.
He almost jumped out of his skin when Lara spoke from just behind him. “I could feel your frustration and confusion. What is it that bothers you so greatly my friend?” She asked gently.
Grai looked out over the mountains for a moment before answering. “I think all of it does. Why would Traze find his mate when she is so young? Why does Tristan even have one when he can’t communicate effectively enough with his parents much less a child who is not a conductor like him? I understand none of it.” Grai said with a weary sigh as he sat heavily in one of the chairs.
Lara just chuckled at him for a second before pulling up a chair beside his. “It seems pretty overwhelming for one day doesn’t it?” She said with a grin before continuing.
“Traze will be found, so ease your mind on that. As far as his mate being young, you should be more concerned about her being laustio, a hunter. Not that she’d hurt him, but she’ll probably kick his ass pretty often.” Lara said with a grin that widened when she saw Grai crack a smile too.
“Even in his excited, confused and man-child state, Traze doesn’t have the capability to harm the girl. You know that from your own experience with Tricia,
don’t you?” Lara hedged, knowing he’d never admit to the unreasonable paranoia he’d originally had over his own mate when he first found her.
“He will be fine when he begins to understand the enormity of the gift he has been given. And the responsibility. You fear needlessly for him. You raised him to be a good man and although not yet a man; he will surpass your expectations if given the chance. Remember that.” Lara said, placing a comforting hand on his arm and sending him calming energy.
The energy and words were helping Grai, but not nearly enough for his peace of mind. “And what of Tristan? What of my son? What chance does he have at a remotely normal life with that little girl? How can he protect her, provide for her or even interact with her as a mate should? What kind of life has been forced on that girl?” Grai said, his voice and heart breaking for his son and the little girl destined to be alone even if she became his mate.
Lara sighed. “You incorrectly assume that his condition is permanent. Does he not make major strides every day, now that he has his Sibiox companion? Does he not even speak now, if rarely?”
