Peaches

XXIX

He pulls himself up and sits next to me. He grabs onto my chin and caresses my cheek. "You look beautiful," he says. I laugh sitting in a pool of my own sweat. "Sure," I reply sarcastically.
"You did great, I wasn't too harsh was I?" He asks a glimmer of regret and concern on his face.
"No no you were fine great even," I say reassuringly.
"Put your clothes on, we need to get you something to eat."
I nod and begin putting my clothes back on as he helps me find them. We get out and head back to the front seat as a car pulls into the lot. Adam looks at the car stoically but I can feel his concern.
We get back into the front and I roll down my window, letting the cool air soothe me. I watch as a man exits the jeep next to us with his dog, obviously going for a stroll in the woods. He makes eye contact with me and I look away immediately but obviously not quick enough as he walks over.

"Alpha Adam, I thought that was you. It's good to see you how have you been?" The stranger asks like it's a normal thing to come up to peoples windows. Adams looks to the man and scowls.
"Leave now," he commands. The man obeys and immediately turns, leaving an angry Adam and a confused me.
"What was that about?"
"Peaches the smell in here is strong he knew what we were doing yet he approached us anyway like a pervert."
"Maybe he's nose blind?" I say trying to calm him down.
"He works for my father and I'd rather not have him keeping tabs on us right now."
"Why not? I thought Alpha John was fine with us?"
"He's fine with us, he's not fine with you and Raphael. He blames you for breaking up Raphs engagement and he's not happy about it."

Adam pulls the car out of the parking lot as I sit and think. My whole life Adams family and mine have been joined as one. The thought that I may have broken that, is unsettling.

Adam drives in silence but I can see he is bothered. The way his hands grip the steering wheel and him not looking at me, even when we're stuck at traffic lights. When we finally make it to the Alpha's house, movers carrying boxes surround us and Adam kills his speed. He gets out of the car and makes his way round, opening my door for me although he still doesn't look at me. He grabs my hand and leads me inside. Without saying a word, he takes me upstairs into an empty, spare bedroom and bolts the door.

"Why won't you look at me?" I ask.
He sighs deeply. "Because if I look at you I won't be angry anymore. I need to sit with this while I figure out what to do." Although his voice was not raised or harsh, it was strained like he was holding himself back.
In that moment, he reminded me of Raphael. But Raph was better at hiding his anger.
Hesitantly, I reach out to him and place my hand on his arm. He fights against the urge to recoil but he doesn't and I see him relax.
"You don't need to be angry to know what to do. You can figure that out by being you."
He finally makes eye contact with me and his whole body unstiffens. He grabs me by the waist and pulls me into his embrace, laying his head on my shoulder.
"I'm sorry," he mutters as his grip on me tightens. "I can't lose you and you can't lose Raphael."
"You will never lose me." Those words are empty but he doesn't need to know that. Someone's trying to kill me and since I haven't been able to stop thinking about the one person he could lose me to. But he doesn't need to know that. I love him and I will say anything to make him feel better. 'I will never leave you by choice' are probably more truthful words but words that leave too many unspoken risks that cannot be spoken while Adams this fragile.
Lifting his head off of my shoulder, he takes another deep breathe. As his hand reaches for my cheek he says "I promised you food didn't I?"
I blush as Adam unbolts the door and leads me to the kitchen, weaving in and out of workers who are putting our home together for us.

He fixes a sandwich for both of us while I sit on a stool and opposite me, he leans against the kitchen island. I finish chewing this bite and ask "What do you need me to do tonight?"
"Hmmm..." he thinks for a moment. "In the future, I guess it would be your responsibility to plan these dinners but my mothers more than happy to take that off of your hands for now. All I really need is for you to be your charming self. Make sure everything runs smoothly, no fights break out because tensions are pretty high and no incidents."
"So my job is to basically kill drama?" I ask.
"When you put it like that you make it sound easy. These guests are going to want to rip each others throats out every second of the dinner. It's a miracle they haven't done it yet."
"So I'm playing werewolf babysitter?"
"Maybe. The main aim of this dinner is for Raph and I to get to know these people better so we can decide who should inherit their pack. So it wouldn't hurt if you got them drunk and comfortable so they spill their secrets," he says with a cheeky grin on his face.
"Shouldn't I know more about them, what they like, dislike or even just what happened?" I ask in disbelief about how menial my job is.
"Mum has got those bases covered, stocked the liquor cabinets with their favourite booze. They have no strange customs as far as I'm aware and honestly peaches, the less you know the better."
"What do you mean?" I ask beginning to get frustrated with being kept in the dark.
"You are... you tend to..."
"I tend to what?"
"You can be quite... a little judgemental at times. And we kinda need them to trust you so if we told you anything you'd end up having an opinion about it."
I stare at him with disbelief. How dare he say I'm judgemental. I am not judgmental, when have I ever been judgemental?
"Does my opinion not matter?" I ask. "I am a smart educated women who has a degree in having an opinion. If anything I should be making this decision not you! Is it because I'm a women because goddamnitt Adam I cannot spend the rest of my life planning parties and not having opinions."
"Peach I love you so much and I know you have the ability and intelligence to make decisions like this but Raphael and I have each other to defer to and after each other we have Jude and Anna. There's a hierarchy for a reason so we don't need you to make these decisions. Instead there's other things we need you for."
"Oh yeah like being the pretty girl the drunk idiots spill their secrets to. And being a glorified party planner is so rewarding."
He doesn't say anything but stares almost with pity. I feel wasted, like to do this for the rest of my life would be torture.
"The second I become Luna, we are hiring a party planner," I say.
"Deal," he says smiling like that solved all my problems.
"That doesn't solve everything Adam, I can't do this for the rest of my life I'll go insane. My job is basically being a mother and while that's enough for some people, I don't want that."
"Where is this coming from? I thought we were fine I thought you knew what this was?"
"I do, I did but being a Luna wasn't the plan I didn't want that I wanted you."
"That's the deal Reine that's the life you accepted when you accepted me."
"Would you have accepted me? If I was the Alpha and you were my Luno? Party planning and babysitting?"
"That's different, you don't have the Alpha genes Raph and I do?"
"Because I'm not an Alpha I can't want more for myself?"
"No but you're destined to do this job Reine. The goddess chose you. You're not an Alpha you're an Alpha's mate."
"So that's what I am now an extension of you and Raphael?"
"Yes, that's what you agreed to when you accepted us."
"Well, I haven't accepted you yet have I."

Shock and regret fills me after those words leave my mouth. Why did I say that? I would always accept him no matter what and if I have to party plan for the rest of my life I'd do that for him because I love him. He doesn't say a word. Fear and shock are written on his face.

Footsteps against the marble floor echo through the kitchen.
"What happened?" Raphael asks but neither of us turn to look at him.
"Reine was just telling me her plan to reject us," Adam says.
"That is not what I said Adam you know that," I retort but it comes across with anger. I guess I am angry. Angry that he doesn't understand me. I question whether he really loves me because how can he love me if he doesn't know me.

"I'm gonna go take a nap, I'll see you at dinner," I say quietly and walk out of the kitchen giving both of them the cold shoulder. As I retreat up the stairs, I hear raised voices echoing from the kitchen. I guess that's another thing to feel guilty about. I guess I came between them after all.