“You’ve become rather intuitive, darlin’.” Pike says through our connection.
“Hmm, how do you mean?” I ask turning my attention to him.
“What you were thinking about Price. About a year ago he thought about joining the army instead of staying with our pack, but his loyalty to us won out. I’m thankful for that, I know he’ll be a valuable member, but you just met him. How can you know all this?” The question is asked more to himself than to me.
“Just like how I felt about Emily and Kit. I feel it in my gut.”
“Have you always been able to sense things about people or is this a new discovery?”
I think about the question for a few minutes as I play my past through my mind as if it’s on fast forward. There are numerous times in my life I’ve had the same gut instinct about someone or a situation, so no this isn’t new.
“I’ve always had this knack of reading people. It’s how I knew Bonnie would be my best friend and how I knew that Trace was no good. But the last one came a little too late for me to steer clear.” I pause then ask, “Is this another shifter thing?”
“No, darlin’, it’s not. I believe I should follow my gut, but it seems yours can do a lot more than mine. We should probably bring this up to the elders also when we meet with them.”
“If you think it could mean something.”
“It might, but don’t worry love we’ll figure this out together.” He reaches across the seat and rubs my knee to reassure me, but I’m to wound with this new discovery to let his touch comfort me the way it should.
Once we cross the Tennessee line we stop at a diner to have lunch. Pike and I finish before everyone else so we decide to wait on them outside. He leans against the car and I curl up to him with my back to his front and his arms wrapped around me. There’s a rain storm getting ready to come through and the wind is starting to pick up speed. I watch as a flyer is picked up and tossed around the parking lot then swept away. I hear the bell on the diner’s door ring and it pulls my attention from the flyer just as the others step out of the small building with Emily and Kit bringing up the rear. The gust causes Emily’s hair to fly back from her face and in that instant I see Kit take in a deep breath and I know.
“Tennessee, they’re mates,” I whisper so only he can hear me.
“We discussed this, darlin’, they could be but they’re still too young.” He’s watching the cars passing by, probably keeping an eye out for Trace, instead of looking at the event taking place at the front of the diner.
My eyes are still locked on Kit and Emily. He’s leaning into her neck taking a deeper whiff with her none the wiser. I can barely contain the giddiness in my voice when I say, “No, not might be, they are. Look!” I grip his chin turning his face in the right direction.
Kit turns Emily gently by the shoulders so she’s facing him. Her face is one of complete surprise and joy when he leans in and brushes his lips to hers. When she threads her fingers through his hair to deepen the kiss, I turn away to give them the privacy they deserve.
“H-how is this? It’s too soon, I need to stop this.” Pike moves to go over to them, but I grab his arm to catch his attention.
“No Tennessee, it’s their time. Don’t ruin it for them by acting like the over protective big brother.” I place my palm to his cheek because I know my touch calms him.
“But …” He starts to grumble.
“No buts. We were just talking about how they looked like mates and you we’re forcing them to spend time alone together, so you are not getting upset because their mating happened sooner than you wanted.” I pull away from his arms and I’m facing him with my hands on my hips.
“You’re right, darlin’, sorry it’s just hard to see this happen to my little sister so soon. I thought I’d have a few more years before I’d lose her to her mate.”
“Pike, you’re not losing Emily. She’ll always be your sister, just now she’s gonna be your mated sister and there’ll be a new family member.” I turn to look at Kit and Emily again. His hands are on her face looking deep into her eyes as if he stares long enough he’ll learn all her secrets. Emily’s hands are fisted into the sides of his t-shirt holding his body as close to hers as possible. They exude happiness so I say, “Tennessee, look at them. He’s going to take over being her protector. He’ll love her and provide for her. They’re going to balance each other the way they were made too. They’ve both waited for this since they were kids and now they get it.”
He looks at his sister and Kit then he looks back at me searching my face for something though I’m not sure what. When he pulls me back to his chest he asks, “How do you know all of this? Until the other day you didn’t even know about the mate bond.”
Looking up into his ocean colored eyes I begin, “I just feel it in my …”
“In your gut, I know,” he cuts me off with a chuckle.
“Alright, will someone tell me why we have a love fest going on instead of being back on the road? First you guys get all mushy in the car, now Emily and Kit have joined the sickeningly sweet couple club. Have you two seen how they’re staring at each other?” Bonnie asks pointing at the new mates who’ve finally realized they have an audience and break apart to walk over and join us, holding hands, of course.
“Alpha …” Kit begins.
Pike holds up his hand to stop his words, pulls the other man into a hug and says, “Congratulations. We’ll announce yours and Emily’s bond when we get back to the pack.”
“Thank you, but how did you know?” Kit pulls back from the hug.
“It seems my Bloom can tell things about people. She had a feeling earlier you two would be mates and she saw when it happened.” Pike turns to his sister and grabs her into an even bigger hug than he gave Kit.
When he’s done I took my turn congratulating the new couple. As I release Emily she looks at Pike asking, “How can she? I’ve never heard of anything like that happening.”
“I think your brother is exaggerating. I just had a gut feeling you two were mates, he makes it sound way more mystical than it was.” I try to brush it off. I don’t want to deal with anymore than what is already on my plate.
“Your gut has been right on twice today, darlin’,” Pike says arching one eye brow in challenge.
“Twice?” Price asks joining the conversation after him and Bonnie also congratulate Emily and Kit.
“She was assessing your character in her thoughts and could tell you were a soldier at heart,” Pike explains.
“Very few people know I was considering that,” Price admits as he reassesses what he thinks of me.
“Ya’ll are wolf shifters. You’ve had to have seen some way crazy things in your lives that us normal humans probably don’t even know exists, so why are you staring at Blu like she’s something rare? No offense, Blu,” Bonnie asks when the other members of our group begin staring at me.
“None taken, Bon.”
“We’re not use to someone’s gut being so in tune. It’s not a normal thing among shifters,” Pike tries to explain.
“Okay, well I have to say this mating bond thingy seems to be rubbing off on everyone in this vicinity,” she waves her hands in big circles in our direction then turns to Price and narrows her eyes at him. “You keep your distance. I am not looking to be tied to one furry overprotective wolf, ever!”
“Umm, you do realize the mating bond isn’t some cold you can catch, right?” Price asks her back.
“Either way, soldier boy, I’m not taking my chances. Keep your distance.” She turns her attention to me, “And Bloom if you even get a tingle in your gut about me being mated to anyone, take some pepto and get rid of that tingle fast.”
“I can’t take pepto to get rid of a gut feeling, Bon.”
“Have you ever tried?” She asks with her hand on her hip as she watches me seriously.
“Well, no,” I admit.
“Then you can’t say it won’t work. Pepto helps with a lot of stomach issues, gut ins
tincts might be another to add to the list.”
Chapter 29 – Pike
~ 20 years in the making ~
Before we even pass into the Paxton borders I feel the pack members. They’re excited for their alpha to be home and I’m just as excited to be back with my mate in toe. Very few have been privilege to that little bit of information, though soon the whole pack will know I found her. I had Tucker call a pack meeting for tonight, but before I can announce it to everyone I have to tackle the biggest obstacle of letting my mate meet her brothers and confront her mother.
When I talked to Tucker about the pack meeting I told him to make sure the house is clear when we get home. I don’t want anyone asking questions about our newest house mates until I’m ready to answer those questions. So when we pull up to the house I’m not surprised to find the garage empty of all but a handful of cars.
I give the girls very little time to take in their new surroundings before I rush them to their new accommodations. I promise to give them both a tour of the place after the meeting is over, and they don’t seem to mind the delay. I’ve explained to both of them what the priorities of their first day here will be and they didn’t grumble too much.
“Are you guys like the Bill Gates of the shifter world? Only someone with that kind of green could afford a place like this,” Bonnie’s standing in the middle of her suite taking in the room in a slow circle.
“Let’s just say we’ve made some good investments. Every member of the pack gets an equal share of the pack holdings so no-one here wants for anything no matter what their rank may be.”
“What kind of investments?” She can be worse than a two year old who’s just learned the word why and I normally don’t mind but our day is packed and I don’t have time to break out the pack portfolio to satisfy her curiosity.
“Bonnie, I promise I’ll explain more to you about everything here, but right now I’d like to show my mate to our suite before she has to meet with Rose and her brothers.” I have my arm around Bloom when I explain this and I don’t miss her whole body flinching at her mother’s name. It’s eating at me that I can’t save her from the hurt this meeting is going to cause her.
“Oh Blu, I’m sorry. Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Bonnie comes back to us and takes both of Blooms hands into her own. As hard as this girl comes across it warms my heart knowing that when it comes to Bloom she shows her nothing but love and loyalty. Bonnie would make a wonderful pack member and I intend to formally extend an invitation for her to join, as soon as we get today’s business handled and all the drama I know is coming settled down.
“Thanks for the offer, Bon, but I need to try to do this alone.” Bloom smiles at her friend trying to reassure her even though I can feel through the bond that she isn’t as confident as she’s letting on.
“Not completely alone, I hope,” Bonnie says turning her gaze to glare at me.
“I don’t plan on leaving her side. No worries,” I promise.
“Still, if you need any back up just text me and I’ll be there in heartbeat, well as long as I don’t get lost in this place. Which there’s a good chance of that happening if I venture far from this room, so just take notes on who I need to smack down and I’ll get them later.”
“I’ll make sure Tennessee plays secretary and keeps a meticulous list of everyone that needs beat down. Try not to get lost. I don’t want to have to send out the wolf search party to find ya.”
“I can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll try to be good and if I go anywhere I’ll leave a trail of bread crumbs like Hansel & Gretel.”
“Maybe leave a trail of non-edible items. It’ll be safer, because these shifters eat more like pigs than wolves and I don’t want them eating your way back to your room.”
“Thanks for the heads up, my friend. Now get your behind on the move I need to get settled in and so do you.” She pulls Bloom into her arms and whispers, “Good luck. Remember no matter how it goes I love you and have your back.”
“I know, Bon. I love you too,” Bloom whispers back then releases the hug, “Come on Tennessee, time for you to show me our room.”***
“What do you think of your new home, darlin’?” She walked around the suite taking it all in when we’d first got there, but that’s been 20 minutes ago and she’s yet to say a word whether she likes it or not.
“It’s beautiful, Tennessee.” She puts her hand out for me to take and I do so willingly. “There’s a lot I’m gonna have to take in today and I’d be lying if I said I’m not nervous. So I’m sorry if I’m not responding the way you hoped. I really do love this suite.”
I caress her face with my free hand. “It’s fine, darlin’. I know how nervous you are, but please remember I’ll be by your side all day. You’ll probably get sick of my presence and try to send me away.”
“When are they supposed to be here?”
“About an hour, would you like to take a bath before they arrive? It might help you relax.”
“That sounds like a good idea. I’m feeling rather icky from being in the car all day.” She leans in and kisses my cheek then heads towards the bathroom.
“I’ll let you know when they get here.” She stops at the door that leads to our bath and asks, “Will you have Rose come first. I want to talk with her alone before I meet my brothers.”
“Of course, darlin’.”
Forty-five minutes later she’s done with her bath and leaning against me on the couch. The knock on the door has her sitting straight up with her feet planted flat on the floor. I want to pull her back to my side because my body feels the loss of hers but I know now isn’t the time, so I run my hand down her bare arm to soothe her then get up to answer the door.
Rose is standing there with her mate Grady. I shouldn’t be surprised to see him by her side but since I sent out a cryptic request to meet with her before the pack meeting, it rubs my wolf wrong that he ignored the part of the message that said to come alone. I stomp down the urge to make him get to his knees and beg for forgiveness for ignoring my orders, this is going to be hard enough without me throwing my dominance on the older man, so I plaster a fake smile on my face and usher them into the living room.
I expect the shit to hit the fan as soon as they take in the sight of Bloom sitting on the couch, but Bloom isn’t even in the room. Trying to be gracious I say, “Have a seat, please. I’ll be right back.”
“Darlin’, where are you?”
“The kitchen, sorry my throat was dry so I came to get a glass of water. Also, I need a minute to collect myself, Tennessee. Maybe you can explain what this meeting is about without including the part that the daughter she abandoned is here and your mate.”
“Okay, sugar. Do you mind bringing out some drinks for us and our guests? You might not try to slap her right away if you have something in your hands when you join us.”
“Very funny, I don’t think I’ll attack her as soon as I see her. Though depending on her attitude it might happen, but I’ll bring the darn drinks.”
“And Bloom.”
“Yes Tennessee?”
“Don’t put poison in Rose’s drink.”
“Darn, I guess I better dump this glass down the drain. See ya in a few minutes.”
“Good idea. Love you, darlin’.”
“I love you too, Tennessee.” It warms my heart how freely she’s saying those words back to me since we uttered them that morning in the car, but right now I have other things to focus on so I pull out of our connection and sit down on the other couch that faces our guests.
“Alpha, why have you asked me here?” Rose is sitting next to her husband with her legs crossed and she’s fidgeting with the hem of her navy skirt. She looks so much like Bloom that it breaks my heart for my mate all over again. The only differences are that Rose’s hair is cut short in an A-line bob that falls just below her chin and her eyes are the color of emeralds. Rose looks older but not by much. Her skin is relatively wrinkle-free other than a few laugh l
ines around her eyes and mouth.
“I found my mate while I was away,” I announce the fake smile still plastered to my face.
“Oh, Ike congratulations,” she uses the shortened version of my name the way my mother use to do. The fist that has been gripping my heart since my parents’ deaths squeezes a little tighter. I take a deep breath to center my thoughts and then I continue.
“Thanks, but that’s not the only reason you’re here. She …” Bloom chooses that moment to walk in the room. She carries the tray holding a pitcher of lemonade and glasses of ice to the coffee table that sets between the two couches then sits beside me. Hers and Rose’s eyes are locked on each other as we all wait to see who will speak first.
Reviving Bloom (Bloom Daniels Series) Page 14
