Marked

Chapter 35: Blood Moon Pack

Kane got us on a flight in the afternoon. Between the time change and the stop in some random city, we wouldn't be getting to Savannah until after midnight. I'd never been to Savannah. Going to Atlanta for that conference was the first time I'd even been that far South.

I packed my lightest clothes, a lot of tank-tops and shorts. I packed fast so I could spend more time saying goodbye and making sure no one was going to throw a fit about it. The time passed too fast and before I knew it, it was time to head to the Seattle airport.

Saying goodbye to Addie was the hardest. It was hard to leave her while she was pregnant but she assured me she'd be fine and she had been fine ever since Tatianna treated her. I wasn't surprised Xander wasn't at the pack-house when we loaded up the cars and drove off but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Part of me hoped he'd catch us before the car was off the territory, but as we drove through the forest and the trees started to thin as we drew closer to the highway, it was clear he wasn't going to catch us.

I sat in the backseat with Kane while Ben drove and Kaden sat in the passenger seat, the others were in the car behind us. Kane set his hand on my leg and squeezed gently, getting my attention.

"What's wrong?" He asked, rubbing circles into my leg. I shrugged and he frowned.

Kaden twisted in his seat to look back at me and smiled sadly. "You know how Xander is. He'll call you."

"Yeah," I nodded, looking out the window.

"He didn't say goodbye to you?" Kane asked.

"You were there when I said my goodbyes, did you see him?" I asked, looking over at Kane.

"No," he frowned. "I thought maybe you'd already said goodbye."

"No," I sighed. "Xander doesn't handle goodbyes well. He chooses to avoid them."

"I'm sorry," Kane said, tugging me towards him. "Come here," he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me against him. It was a sweet gesture and even Kaden looked surprised, turning in his seat and facing ahead, giving us some privacy.

"It's fine," I whispered, picking at my nails.

"Don't lie, Tess," he said, taking my hand and lacing our fingers together. "You can tell me about him. I'll keep the jealousy to a minimum."

"Good luck with that," I said, rolling my eyes.

"You know what would help?"

"What?" I asked, looking up at him.

"If you opened up to me like you do with him."

Damn. Well, shit. I guess he had a point.

"He's like a brother to me," I said, biting my lip. "I just... I don't want it to be weird between us. I don't want to lose him to get you. I wish the two of you could at least stand to be in a room together."

"It takes time, isn't that what you told me?" He said.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I guess."

I tried not to let it bother me. This trip was about me and Kane, about his pack, about getting familiar with everything and seeing if staying with him was something I felt good about. I couldn't let Xander distract me. I wouldn't.

We got to the airport and it wasn't until we were boarding the plane I found out Kane put the two of us in first class, leaving everyone else in coach. He said he wanted to make me comfortable but I knew better than that, he just wanted me to himself. Possessive punk. Kaden didn't care. He brought his video games and was planning to teach the boys and give us space anyway.