Page 43 of Cage Me

The last message was sent only ten minutes ago. Not that I don’t have a sense of urgency for this situation, but I know Natalia. She’s not going to leave the safety of her shop when she’s working on something so important, and I’m not in a hurry to find out if my mate is going to die today. Though, I don’t tell him that.

Still, I don’t want to cause Drake any more stress. I pick up my phone again to text her back, letting her know we’ll be there within the half hour and her reply is immediate.

Natalia: Hurry your furry ass up.

Fucking witch. While I intend to do as she’s demanding, there’s something else I need to do first and that’s check on my family before having a little chat with Kasha. I need to know if what we’ve learned changes her mind about protecting my family.

Getting up, I reach for his hand and offer him a grin. “Just a quick check in with the others and then we’ll head to Spells.”

As we dress, I realize nothing feels different between us. My head and heart know this man is my mate, but the pulling sensation, the desire to touch him… None of that is present.

“You’re still blocking me out,” I state, keeping my frustration from my voice. He frowns and reaches for me, but I step back. “Tell me why first.”

“I already did.” He sighs. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

My head shakes, and I can’t hold back the echoing growl coming from my chest. “And I made it clear that you didn’t give me a chance to show you I can handle whatever hurt you’re hiding.”

This time, when he comes for me, I don’t back away. Drake holds both of my hands and bends until we’re eye level. “Give me until after Natalia frees my wolf at least.”

He’s asking for a compromise, and I don’t want to yield, but he can’t keep the pain out of his eyes. I’m learning that when they’re all black, it doesn’t just mean he’s furious. My mate is also hurting.

Leaning forward, I kiss him, lingering for several extra seconds. “Okay.”

He seems surprised by my agreement but doesn’t comment. A loud thud echoes from outside the shed and then I hear Peter’s voice.

“Sorry, Pence,” he shouts, making me grin.

Drake follows me outside where we find Mom and Peter in the yard, playing catch with a lime-green ball that seems to have seen better days. Even still, they’re both grinning and seem to be having a blast. Not what I expect the day after that jackass died, but who am I to say how they should process murder?

Peter waves. “Want to play?”

I give him a big smile. “I’d love to, but I need to do something this morning. When I’m back, we’ll have some fun, okay?”

“Sure!” He goes back to tossing the ball in his hand until Mom nods, but before she does, her head cocks sideways. I wonder if she’s seeing something we need to know about. When she doesn’t say anything, I don’t overthink the situation and head inside, hoping Kasha is around so we can talk.

I’ve spent months telling her that the shed is enough for me and now, without notice, I’m going to ask her to keep the two people I love most in the world safe from a threat we know very little about.

Nothing to worry about at all.

Drake and I enter through the back door at the kitchen and she’s sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee, her face grim. “I was hoping you would come see me.”

Great. I was hoping my worry would be for nothing, but maybe not.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, not sitting, but standing tense behind one of the chairs with Drake beside me.

“We need to talk,” she starts, tracing circles around the rim of her steaming mug. “And you can’t be angry with what I say next.”

I harumph because my previous disappointment is suddenly being eclipsed by the way she’s starting this conversation. “What did you do?”

Kasha nods at the backyard. “I used magic on your mother and brother.”

The rumble in my chest is so loud that it echoes through the kitchen. “You did what?”

She stays seated, seeming unfazed by my wrath. “Based on what I learned last night, you have a lot going on, but your family needs you. Except you need to be there for them in other ways, at least for right now. So, I solved a problem for you. I made it so that they remember what happened, but they don’t have an emotional response to the…incident.”

My mouth opens, and I’m certain the fae-wolf is about to wish she never existed, except that’s not what happens.

Rationality kicks in just before I verbally rip into her. “Did something happen last night?”

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