Page 11 of Take Me
She shook out her curls. “No, this is just the main house. Behind the house is another dirt road that will bring you to the other homes here. This is just our common ground where we go to eat dinner, have game night, or just not feel so alone.”
Which sounded amazing for someone that was as lonely as I was. But all of it was foreign. What was it like to be loved by so many? To never have to worry about not having love from someone? One look at the white crest stamped onto the glass on the front door and I had a bad feeling about who owned the main house. I was rooted in my seat, even after Tracey shut the car off and got out.
Even though she closed her door, I could still hear her when she spoke. “I don’t think he’s here.”
And somehow, I knew that was a lie.
Chapter 16
Rafe Crimson
Tracey had warned me she was coming with Jade. Even though I had been prepared, nothing helped with the feelings that spiked in my chest as I watched her refuse to get out of Tracey’s car. She crossed her torn up arms over her chest and her bottom lip jutted out. I wasn’t even going to try to tell myself that it wasn’t adorable. But that was the last thing I needed to be thinking. They were here for a reason. Everything that should have happened last night, didn’t. That meant me and Tracey’s parents were on clean up duty.
Axel was going to be pissed. I hadn’t told him what I had done and when he found out, he wasn’t going to take too kindly to it. I had a feeling there would be a challenge over it. Which was fine, pack challenges happened all the time when the wolves got anxious or even angry with the dynamic that I enforced.
Jade finally shoved the car door open and walked up the front porch on shaking legs. I could hear the rapid pace of her heartbeat through the floor under my feet. It was time to face the music. Jade Rivers was about to get the surprise of a lifetime.
Chapter 17
Jade Rivers
Tracey’s father, Axel, didn’t look very pleased to meet me. His massive hand shook mine but the frown on his face never left. He was a handsome man and I could see where Tracey got some of her looks from. His big brown eyes looked like he would possibly be a softy if you caught him on the right day. Today was clearly not that day. After Tracey introduced me to him, her mother came down the stairs next. She was the opposite of Axel. She was soft and kind where Axel was brooding and unforgiving with his stance. Her skin was soft and translucent where Axel’s was dark and rich. They were the perfect yin and yang.
Instead of shaking my hand, Vivian hugged me. She smelled like flowers and mud. Which was odd.
Tracey took a deep breath and led me over to the massive wooden table beside the kitchen. It was breathtaking. The renovations the home had gone through had been recent. Walls had been knocked down and large wooden beams took up their placements on the ceiling. The table had enough seating for fifty people, at least. Did they have that many people living on this property?How strange.
Vivian opened her mouth to speak when I smelled it.Him.The heavenly smell that had taken over my bedroom like he had rolled across every inch of it that day he had returned my belongings. The scent still lingered even a week later. Pine needles, musk, and something spicier. Something hotter. My stomach clenched and I had to curl my hands into fists to get the hot feelings to go away. I hated this place already.
When Rafe entered the room, I jumped from my seat and lunged for him. No one saw it coming. Not even Rafe. My fist flew and knocked him right in the nose. Blood sprayed and I went in for another punch. This one was anticipated. He grabbed my fist in a tight hold and glared down into my eyes. I glared back. He wasn’t going to intimidate me. He was the one that had created this entire mess, I was sure of it. He didn’t wipe the blood flowing down his face as he stared into my eyes. I gritted my teeth as I swung my other hand. The sound of my slap rang through the room. He didn’t even blink. I continued to stare into his yellow eyes and growled.
There was a collected gasp behind me but it didn’t make me back down. No, it made me want to take him down even more.
“You need to stop this, Jade, you don’t know the war you are waging. This can get dangerous.” Tracey’s voice came out as a growl behind me and it snapped me out of it. I turned away from Rafe and frowned at the family staring at us. Their expressions were shell shocked. Something like victory rolled through me. I felt powerful.
“You’ve got guts, Jade,” Rafe said as he released my hand and slid into the chair at the head of the table. “I’ll give you that.”
“You won’t have any if you keep talking to me,” I sneered.
Axel looked between us and shook his head. “What is going on here?”
I smiled as I tattled on the stupid man staring at me. “Rafe drugged me last weekend and tried to continue to drug me after I woke up.”
Tracey made a face like she wanted to explain but she couldn’t. She just leaned back in her chair and Axel took the floor. “What the hell happened?”
Rafe looked between us all with a satisfied smirk on his face. I wanted to claw it off. “Jade likes bad boys, so I showed her just how bad I can be.”
Axel narrowed his eyes at both of us. I wasn’t going to deny the fact that I had liked bad boys, it would have been a lie and I didn’t like lies unless they were completely necessary. It wasn’t vital in this current situation.
A growl rumbled through the room and Axel slammed his hands down on the table. “So you thought it would be a good idea to turn her?”
“Turning her would mean that I would have had to claim her,” Rafe picked at his nails like this was the most boring thing he had ever had to do. “I didn’t claim her, in case you’re wondering.”
Turn? My brain went ninety to nothing with that term. What was happening? What did this mean?
“I can tell you didn’t claim her,” Axel pinched the bridge of his nose in agitation. “I just can’t understand why you would turn her, without the approval of the pack first.”
Rafe shrugged. “As Alpha, I wasn’t aware of the fact that I must pass everything by the pack. This doesn’t endanger the pack.”
