Chasing Fate (Sentinel & Guide)

Chapter 63

[[[XL chapter as thanks for being soooooo patient. Unedited. Also think of Jack's room as a 1 br apartment. He has both a living room and a reading nook in the bedroom side]]

Jack entered the room to a large pile of fur bounding over to him, crying pitifully. Beau sniffed around his ankles, his tail wagging furiously before he peeked around Jack's legs to look for Faate. His wagging tail dropped a bit, but he was still happy enough to see the sentinel. 

It was still the middle of the night though, so after sniffing Jack once more, Beau went back to his spot on Fate's side of the bed. Jack looked around. It felt different without Fate. At a glance there weren't many changes. She was still nervous about staking her claim on the space, but after months she was there. 

An extra satin headscarf was slipping from where she'd placed it on the nightstand. Her hiking boots were still in the mud tray behind the front door, dry after their weekend trek into the woods near the manor. The chairs in his reading nook had a bit more fur than was average, the one on the left finally starting to look used now that he had company when he sat there reading his emails in the mornings. The tshirt quilt she'd had sent down from Bent Valley was still tossed over the high back of one. 

Jack found himself unable to bear looking at it. He placed his food on the coffee table beyond his fireplace wall. He'd eat, shower, and clear his mind before he opened the report. 

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Jakc had big plans to get to work directly after his shower, but he didn't remember sitting on the couch until Beau woke him up, whining to go out. It was midmorning. His exhaustion had caught up to him. The homemade soup was ice cold on the table next to the box, unopened. 

A knock on his door surprised him until Martha poked her head in. She had breakfast, another complex affair that probably took hours to make. Beau wriggled out through the door and made his way outside. 

Martha took one look at the untouched soup and report and nodded, "It will take you all day, maybe all night to read this. I'll let your father know and send him some relief." 

She saw Jack tighten up. He was fine with his father or Elliot watching over Fate, but none of the otehr sentinels in the inner clan were strong or experienced enough to put him at ease. 

"Don't worry. We'll have Wyatt, Sarah, Jules, and Chinedu do the day shifts. Full coverage. And your father will be back on duty when Elliot returns for his shift." 

There was no judgement in her voice. She seemed a little relieved even that he'd managed to sleep when she hadn't. Jack nodded. Those sentinels were all in some sort of security role for their day job. Even though they were unbonded they had the skills and experience to properly protect that location until he or his father could get back. 

Martha set down the breakfast. Quiche, coffee, sausages, bread, and melon pieces meticulously cut in spheres, served with mint. More nervous cooking. 

Jack sat forward to grab his mom's hand, "Get some rest too okay? Dad will yell at me if you are burnt out when he comes home." 

Martha only let out a broken chuckle at that. Standing still for too long had nearly brought her to tears again,"I will, and I'll keep Beau out of the way today so you can read it in peace. Dogs are ... sensitive to emotions too." 

Her eyes trailed nervously to the box before she steeled her resolve, picked up the cold soup and went for the door. Jack made the connection then. To him the box was a box. It was heat wrapped in plastic and perfectly sterile and neutral. But his mother was one of the most powerful guides in this entire continent. Just like Fate she could feel strong emotions if they were imbued in the things touched by other guides.