The First Mate

Chapter 9: Game

I woke up sore.
Even Annie gave a small whimper when I stretched and sat up, finding myself alone.
There was a small note on the bedside table with a glass of water and painkillers.
Dane's handwriting scrawled across the paper.
Sorry to leave you alone this morning, Pack business.
Xav is downstairs, Lisa will there at 2.
Forever yours, Dane and Theo
I pushed against our bond with love as I popped the painkillers into my mouth, sipping the water and crawled slowly out of the bed.
The bedroom door opened, Xavier peaking his head in as I tried to climb into the bath.
He gave a chuckle as I turned to him with a sad pout, the ache in my muscles making it impossible to lift them that high.
He gave me one back in teasing. "Does Tiny need help?" He cooed at me, stepping into the room.
I nodded, raising my arms for him. "Everything hurts." I gave a pathetic whimper as he lifted me, catching the end of his pants to pull them off effortlessly and stepped into the bath with me.
He gave a soft chuckle, kissing my temple. "Annie can't heal sore muscles."
I grumbled, knowing he was right.
She could fix physical injuries and wounds.
Aching muscles from a solid work out of three mates.
Sadly, we had to deal with that one.
He let the water run at his feet until it was waist deep for me then sat down, placing me in his lap.
I hissed and groaned as I moved to sit up against him. "My back feels like a brick."
"Well, we'll just have to see if we can fix that." He kissed my cheek, his hands moving to my shoulders and starting to massage the tight muscles.
I sighed and melted into his strong touch.
"Oh, that feels so good." I breathed.
Xavier chuckled, his thumbs running down my spine then flaring out to my shoulder blades.
I have a gasped moan as he hit a knotted muscle.
"Poor baby," he teased, moving me gently to lean me against the side of the bath so my back was stretched out for him to massage. "Did we fuck you a little too hard?"
I bit my lip as he kneaded the muscles. "I can take it."
His hands slowed, his thumb caressing a deep blue X scar that crossed my hip.
I felt a pulse of anger and sadness through our bond. The desire to know.
"Ask." I folded my arms on the side of the bath, raising my ass to him a bit.
He gave a scoffed laugh, sadness tightening it before he sighed, his hands moving again.
"What did they use to make those scars?" I wanted to flinch at the growl, but I knew it wasn't anger at me.
"I'm not sure, it was a red metal and was the only thing that seemed to scar me."
"Silver doesn't effect you?"
I shook my head. "Silver just takes longer for Annie to heal, but the red metal." I shook my head again, this time trying to force the memory down. "I still sometimes feel the blade." My hand touched another X scar on my arm.
"What else do you know about you and Annie?"
"Wolfbane makes her tired, but she becomes enraged when she wakes up from it as it causes nightmares."
"What kind of nightmares?"
Annie answered. "Domination from an unwanted." I shuddered, drawing her back down like a hug, my voice settling again. "Jordon would bind the wolfsbane with his blood."
It was a foul act to do, forcing a partial bond to form between us like a mate bond, allowing him to speak to my mind, show me whatever he desired.
Annie tried to shield me from me, creating a wall between us.
But within a night of the dreams, I had broken through, no longer able to handle her screaming.
I felt Xavier's hands stop, claws digging into my hips.
I yelped in surprise, turning to look at him.
His hands raised, his eyes softening in guilt as he saw the punctures.
"Rosie, I'm sorry." He went to move away.
I grabbed his wrist, meeting his eyes.
"Don't." I turned, kneeling to press myself into his chest and hugged him, his arms wrapped around me, shielding me from the world. "It wasn't your fault."
"I can't erase what was done," he said against the top of my hair.
"No one can, Xavier." I looked up at him. "There are stains on my soul I can't wipe away," I touched his cheek when he lowered his head in sadness, his eyes settling on mine. "But your love fixes my shattered heart, and that overrides any staining my soul has."
He gave me a gentle smile, squeezing me to him and kissed me.
We stayed like that for a few moments, Xavier kissing me softly and holding me in his arms.
The tears on my heart, the fear of never being enough or too broken, sealing shut like they were never there.
He hands melted the tension and aches in my back before I made him leave, his hand becoming too enticing.
I dressed in jeans and a long sleeve turtle neck, slowly bouncing down the stairs to find Xavier waiting in the lounge with a small box.
I rose my brow at it as I took it and opened it.
My brows rose in surprise as he stood over me, smirking.
"Theo saw it, Dane bought it and I get to put it on you." He smiled proudly.
I blinked at the white gold necklace, the centre suspended with three different coloured roses.
Green, gold and blue.
I smiled up at him, pushing on my mind-link as I spoke. "I love it. When did you even have time?" I giggled as he slipped the thin metal from the box and I turned, raising my hair for him to put it on me.
"We don't actually sleep much, plus the shopping centres around Sparrows are all twenty four hour." He explained in a chuckle.
When I turned around, he was looking just above my head, I went to turn again for him to reach up and stroke Annie's ear.
I growled at her mentally. She stuck her tongue at me.
Xavier chuckled. "We may have to work on your control."
I pouted, letting him take my hand and pull me into the kitchen. "I told her to stop, she just gets so excited people want to see...us I guess." I sighed, sitting on one of the stools at the counter.
Xavier chuckled, grabbing a plate from the fridge and put it in front of me.
I thanked him and started to eat the turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich.
It was so good! I moaned quietly as I devoured it while Xavier talked.
"We don't want to discourage Annie from showing us when she's happy," he smiled at me, sitting next to me with his own sandwich. "But, I think it'll be easier to take you to human places if you can create that barrier again."
I giggled, nodding. "Don't want me to scare the bakers at Santa Feia, who are all humans expect your head baker."
He pointed at me, smiling. "Exactly." He nudged me then. "Look at you, learning about her mates lives so well."
We chuckled together and ate, I gave him a kiss as I took our plates and washed them while he got changed, he came back down to me rummaging in the fridge.
"What're you doing?" He chuckled as I pulled out the basket of fruit that took up a whole shelf, Xavier coming to take it from me when I struggled.
I smiled. "It's a soccer game, have to have fruit slices."
He laughed at me, watching me hunt around the kitchen for the cutting boards and knives.
He got out plastic containers and helped me slice about two hundred pieces of apples and oranges, teaching me basic knife skills and how to cut things safely.
He laughed at me when I loaded all of the containers into the back of the car. "We won't need all these for our team." I shrugged, taking the other two containers from him and stacked them.
"Then I'll offer them to the other team and the crowd."
He blinked at me, thinking then shrugged. "Fair enough."
Lisa came in through the side door of the garage, stuffing her keys into her pocket smiling. "Hey! Sorry I'm late!"
I looked at Xavier's watch. "You're an hour early, we were going to come get you."
She shrugged. "I thought Dane said twelve."
I giggled, shaking my head and hugged her. "You're staying tonight?"
She nodded, smiling. "I have my study books and clothes in the car." She tossed a thumb over her shoulder, telling me she'd parked around the side of the house.
Xavier helped me into the car, Lisa raising a brow as I have a small grumble of pain.
"Don't ask." I smiled at her. Her lip curled as Xavier chuckled, walking past her with a smug set to his shoulders.
"You deserve it." She narrowed her eyes at me, gross but jealous is what it screamed.
I laughed and took Xavier's hand as he got in and Lisa climbed into the back.
"I really do." I said.
Lisa made a noise of disgust, throwing her head back. "I don't want to hear it."
I turned in my seat as Xavier drove. "I hope you packed earplugs then."
Xavier burst out laughing, shaking the car while Lisa pulled a face and I winked at her.