Page 52 of Claim Me
Chapter 34
Rafe
Valentina watched me from across the room. Neither one of us broke eye contact. We simply stared at each other. I didn’t feel the urge to look away and based on how easily she was getting through this, she didn’t feel the need either. One corner of her lip curled up.
“You think you’re tough, don’t you?”
Both of my eyebrows shot up on my head. “Have you been watching old westerns with Granny?”
The small smirk that had been curling along her lips went flat. She crossed her arms over her chest and jutted her chin forward. “I don’t understand the pack rules around here. Why are you in charge? You don’t feel powerful.”
Carden took that moment to walk through the front door. He choked in response to her words. “He is very powerful, little witch. You would do better to respect your elders.”
She sneered. “He doesn’t look like an elder. My mother was well over one hundred years old.”
Carden whistled. “How do you think she stayed alive for so long?”
Valentina still didn’t take her eyes off of mine. She shrugged.
Carden shook his head. “She had the right mind to not piss off people more powerful than her.”
That did it. Her eyes blazed white and left mine completely. I blinked in surprise. She hopped up from her chair and charged the healer. “How dare you say that to me. You have no idea what I am capable of.”
“That may be so, but if you keep it up, the only places you’ll be going are to timeout.” Granny’s voice crackled through the room. “Stop disrespecting the Alpha. Stop disrespecting yourself. Never turn your magic against one of your family. You are a powerful young woman but you will not mistreat others.”
The glowing white in Valentina’s eyes dimmed until they were back to their normal blue shade. “I didn’t mean it.”
Granny shook her head once. “You need to go think about your actions. If it wasn’t for this Alpha, you would have been killed. The man who kidnapped you isn’t one to trifle with. Do you understand me?”
Valentina’s eyes shot to her feet. “Yes, Granny.”
“Go to your room,” Granny’s command blasted through my chest. I almost stood up and walked home. She turned to me with a sigh. “What can I do for you, my boy?”
“I want to have something made for Jade, though I’m not sure what. I feel like we are moving closer to a claiming or even a mating ceremony but so much has happened that I don’t know if it would be appropriate.”
“Have you spoken to Tracey about this? Or even Lucas?” Granny shuffled through the bottles on her shelf.
I shook my head. “No, I went to go speak to her but she threw something at me and screamed something about Knox.”
Granny’s chest deflated. “Tracey will have to change packs eventually.”
I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was true. I didn’t want to see her go but the animosity they held toward each other was simply too much especially with a war on our hands.
Granny picked up a bottle but concealed it in the center of her hands. “I will speak to Tracey and Lucas. I’ll see what they think. They know her almost better than anyone else.”
