Book Smart

Forty Nine

"So... Did they abandon you?" I thought the topic of conversation would bother my little love, but it doesn't seem to phase him as we make our way slowly into the kitchen, his cute request for one of his chocolate bars our only motivation for leaving the bedroom after tucking his medications into the bottom drawer of the nightstand to keep them safe and in a designated spot that we can both get to. Him if he needs them, and me so I can monitor how quickly he's taking them and keep track of when to call in the refills.

He has to practically balance on my feet as I shuffle us along, my hands unwilling to leave their cozy haven under his sweater, his soft belly calling to me as we slowly explore on our way there. He wants to look at every picture hung on the wall in the hallway, asking names and faces of the family members that had come around less and less as I got older, run off by the slow souring of my attitude from being forced into my position before I was ready for it... For being denied the same chance to roam before having to settle into the suffocating role that my father had been given before he had stepped up as alpha.

A sharp shake of his head is all I get at the moment as we finally make it to the kitchen after having stopped to let him see the other two bedrooms as we shuffled our way down the halls, my arms still clinging around his soft waist, my chin resting on top of his still slightly damp curls.

"I got Batmaned." The phrase is one that's been used since the comic debuted, the local slang spawning from a trepidacious time of wolf packs starting to fully integrate themselves closer to human society. Everyone was still trying to figure out what woods were safe to run in and what ones were frequented by hunters... A phrase I haven't heard in a very long while.

"It was ironic because my birthday party's theme was Spiderman."

The words take a moment to sink in and a lot of things start to make sense... Maybe Agatha's annoying overprotective streak stems from something deeper than just being a bitter old woman... Maybe that bitterness is spouting from only having her grandson left to lose, "It happened on your birthday?"

My slight lover gives me another nod as he opens up all of the cupboards looking for his treat, seemingly taking stock of everything he finds on the shelves as he explores. Even after he finds his treat he continues to poke around, content to learn the layout of this part of his new home.

...
Adrian
...

"That must've been hard losing them so young..." Silas's hands slide from my belly to my sides as he squeezes me tightly in an attempt to soothe an ache that really isn't an ache anymore, that lonely void filled by literary characters a long time ago, "I wasn't old enough to really remember them... So it wasn't that bad. I had my Grandparents...Grammy wasn't always such a handfull..."

I add the last part because I can feel the way his mind sours at the mention of my Grandparents, and it's true... She hadn't always behaved as badly as she did today. For a while, we were happy, the three of us... But when Grandpa passed away she started drinking a little bit more and filtering herself a little bit less...

I don't get too linger on his conflicting emotions, his lips finding one of my numerous marks as he buries his face in the crook of my neck as I start closing all the cabinets I had pulled open. He mouths the mark with a gentle fondness, quietly dismissing the topic as his hands slip away from my belly and out of my sweater to the box of candy bars in front of us, tearing it open for me and pulling out one of the bars before sticking it back into its designated spot.

...
Silas
...

My sweet boy twists until he's turned around to face me, leaning against the counter trapped between my arms. His countenance is that of a sinful angel as his lashes quiver, his hands coming to rest on my still bare chest. His bottom lip gets moistened by a pretty pink tongue before he has the courage to let his eyes pop up to mine just for a moment, the question on his lips dying as the sound of car doors slamming shut out front breaking the strange trance he seems to trap me in so easily with his shy beauty. My dread increases tenfold when I start to hear the slow creak and clack that are Casper's footfalls followed close behind by the heavy clomping that belongs to Liam as they let themselves inside. Slender arms wrap themselves around my waist as my angel tucks himself against me as we get joined in the kitchen, Casper leaning heavily on Liam as he gets shuffled into one of the chairs to rest before Liam deposits two very familiar looking reusable shopping bags on the counter, "Becky sent lunch for everyone, the guys are spraying themselves down outside so their scent's don't clog the house."

"What do you mean?"

...
Adrian
...

I ask the question while trying to keep my eyes off the man sitting so heavily in the very same chair I sat in yesterday across the room, his posture so very different than mine as his hand works itself up and down his thigh trying to rub a kink I can't see out of the shortened flesh, his cane leaning against the table. It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots that this was the man who had been in physical therapy. He looks so grim at the moment... Worn out in a way that I most likely will never understand, his prosthetic leg sticking out at an odd angle as he tries to get comfortable.

"We figured it'd be best to wash everyone down with gardenia oil to hide their scents. Silas tends to get a little twitchy when there are too many people milling about and I didn't want him to have to take off and leave you so soon after getting you home." Liam sighs as he wanders back over to the man in the chair, running his fingers so fondly through the man's grown out buzz cut before straightening the thin chain around his neck to sit correctly making the dog tags that had been tucked into the collar of his t-shirt pop out and jingle...

I let my eyes linger on the two of them for a moment before turning my eyes away as it clicks in my head...

That's his mate...