Chapter 447
95 – Ben
I know we didn’t get all of the information she wanted, but Elara has a lot to think about tonight. I ask Melanie to bring food to our room. We don’t need to be in company with anyone but each other tonight. I was hoping to get her some closure for her parents and at least the mystery of what the witches could want, but land just doesn’t seem like a good enough reason for all of this trouble. There are too many loose ends and I can’t decide if that is on purpose or if the Elders just didn’t read the fine print of whatever agreement they entered into.
We stop by Juliette’s room to check in on her before heading to our room for the night. She seems’ to be fast asleep, curled up on her bed. It looks like they are getting some food in her. There is color in her cheeks and the dark circles under her eyes are beginning to fade. We are going to have to take her out to the barrier soon to test Marietta’s theory and I don’t know how my friend is going to deal with that.
Jason is sitting on the couch, in his usual sentinel spot, reading a very old book. I catch his eye, but he shakes his head while glancing at her. It has to be about magic or witches or something to do with his mate. He’s never been one to study unless it is absolutely necessary. This must fall under that category. Copyright
L Writes and Ember Mantel Productions
2025 Miss
When we finally reach our room I can feel the drain on my body and mind, but as soon as I see the food laid out for us in the small kitchenette I know we won’t be interrupted for the rest of the night. I scoop Elara up in my arms, she doesn’t question the movement, and walk straight to the large tub in our bathroom.
Without putting her on the floor, I slowly strip her out of her clothes while the tub fills with hot water. The steam swirls around us and I have to check my thoughts. I didn’t intend to seduce her. She’s had an O emotional roller coaster today, like many of the days we’ve had together. I want to sit in the tub and help her relax and forget for a little while that our whole world is going up in a magical flame of situations we didn’t start, but have to finish and deal with.
I place her in the warm water and strip off my own clothes before settling in behind her. She leans back into me, like it’s something we do all the time. After being stuck in that magic blizzard and finally accepting that we are mates and I’m not just here to take over for her, she has done a one eighty. She holds my hand and stands at my side, brings me into big decisions for the pack. I do notice she’s a little shy with PDA though I’m not sure why. Iteno secret that she took whoever she wanted to her bed to satisfy needs, much to my wolf’s irritation. I can’t complain, I came with my own relationship baggage and I wasn’t exactly celibate before finding Elara either. She seems to not have cared that people knew she spent time with whoever she wanted, but what happened behind closed doors, stayed behind closed doors, with the exception of Jax and Dev who seem to know intimate details of her exploits.
I love that I get this vulnerable and soft side of her that is a rare thing for anyone else. I don’t force her to talk, letting her mull over her thoughts while I slowly wash her from head to foot. I know she’ll talk to me when she is ready for a sounding board and we can work this problem together.
She leans back against me and takes in a deep breath. “So…” she starts in a low sigh.
“So?” I question.
“We have a magically guarded piece of land that unknown witches want. A spell or something that caused my father to poison my mother, even though Drake said that wasn’t the plan. Then my father loses a fight in the aftermath of her death, which brings on the discovery of said land. A coven who needs protection, but seems to be helping us more than the other way around. Another witch who seems to have been in captivity, is afraid of us, but allowing us to care for her since she is mated to one of your best friends. A cave with magic in it that we haven’t been able to enter, a spell causing a mental takeover of the only Alpha in our bordering packs that is close to my age, and Elders who started it all, but
seem to not know what is really going on. Does that about sum up what we are dealing with right now?”