Page 35 of Claim Me
Chapter 24
Jade
Tracey’s parents were shocked and horrified. There hadn’t been issues with vampires for a long time. We reassured them that he had been taken care of, though we couldn’t explain how because we had no idea.
When Tracey mentioned Knox, Axel’s eyes got big. “He avenged you?”
Tracey nodded. I could have let her deal with all of this on her own but I didn’t think real friends did that sort of thing. I was going to defend her against Granny and everyone else if I had to. They would all get a piece of me. “Yes, he went super-soldier. Rafe went with him.”
“This can’t be traced back to this pack?”
“No, I am a better hunter than that and I know how to cover my scent,” Knox said from the doorway, his hair flopped over his shoulder. He held up a velvet pouch. “I don’t go anywhere without it. It masks my scent and makes me invisible.”
Axel placed his fist over his heart. “I owe you. Thank you for avenging my daughter.”
Knox’s eyes darkened. “I would do it again and again if I had to. I would fight wars for these two women.” He flashed a cocky grin. “Speaking of, Alpha business to attend to.”
Tracey watched him go with narrowed eyes. “He’s so strange.”
Vivian, Tracey’s mother, smirked. “I think you like him.”
“I think you would be insane to say such a thing,” Tracey frowned. She definitely didn’t like him but there was something else there. Something else that I desperately wanted to uncover but at the same time, I didn’t want to go near at all. I couldn’t afford to play whatever game they were tangled up in.
Axel frowned. “You would do best to stay away from him.”
Tracey’s eyes rolled to her father. “What do you mean by that?”
Axel straightened his shoulders under her stare. “Guardians aren’t bred for love and coddling. He was formed for the purpose to destroy anything and everything. His wolf was honed to be like a machine.”
Tracey sniffed. “And you think I want love?”
Vivian’s cheeks heated. “We don’t know what you want, you never talk to us.”
I pressed my back against the wall, wanting to disappear in it. This was a conversation I could do without. This was a conversation they needed to have alone, at another time, when I wasn’t around.
“We thought it would get better after Jade got back but you seem to be withdrawing altogether.” Axel’s shoulders fell with his exhale.
Tracey blinked like she couldn’t believe their words. “Do you honestly want to know what’s wrong with me?”
Vivian and Axel shared a look.
Tracey’s nostrils flared. “I am a wolf, first. I have been a wolf since I was a child. I was never enamored with anything that Lucas had going on in his magical world. I didn’t care about those things. All I cared about were my duties to the pack and the roles I had to fill. I knew it was dangerous to be as dominant as I am and I am one hundred percent okay with that. I love the danger. I like the thrill. I don’t mind being an outsider. Hell, I’m freakingmixed. I feel like an outsider everywhere I go.” She panted as her words flew out of her in a fit of rage. She threw her hands up. “Then one day I come home and my entire world is crumbling around me. I’m a witch and my brother is still alive when I spent five years mourning his loss. We have these little wise kids running around the property. We try to heal and things get worse. Ask me how I’m doing or why I’mwithdrawingafter all of this mess is over.” She looked her father in the eye, a challenge set in her rigid shoulders. “Don’t ever question my love life again.”
I blinked. “Love life? You have a love life?”
My question was enough to break the tension in the room. Axel chuckled as he ran his hand down the back of his neck and Vivian gave me an appreciative nod. They didn’t know how to respond to everything she had said and I had given them an out. I had hoped I had given myself an out too.
Tracey shook her head. Her honey-colored curls bounced around her face. “I don’t have one now but maybe the time will come and all of you will mind your business.”
I smacked my lips together. “You keep spouting your business in front of me and I’m not going to be able to get out of it so easily. Plus, I don’t think you really want me out of your business anyway.”
Moisture glistened in her eyes as she looked at her parents. “I need time to find out who I am again. Just when I thought I had figured it all out, everything changed again. I feel like I’m on a rollercoaster.”
Axel kissed the top of her head while he patted me on the shoulder. “It’s different when you put it all into perspective like that.”
Vivian wrung her hands in front of her. “I need to go make sure all of the homes- remaining homes- are prepared for what’s to come. Rafe and your father won’t give many details but we need to make sure they all have shelter to get into.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little late for that? Shouldn’t they have evacuated with the elders?” Tracey’s brows pulled together as her frown deepened.
