Destined (War of the Covens 2)

“You’ve certainly grown up since …” Her voice trailed off at the delicate subject she had almost broached.

Jae grunted and brushed past her toward Lucien’s house. It was nearly five, and Ryder was supposed to be picking her up.

“Jaeden.”

She reluctantly turned around, waiting for the admonition that had yet to come from anyone in the pack, but she knew was bound to soon. Ella, however, strolled toward her, eyes warm with motherly affection. She brushed her hand down Jaeden’s face and smiled into her eyes. “I can only imagine how proud your mother is of you. I know because I am so proud of you. You’ve taken all the horrors you’ve been through and become fierce, strong, someone to be reckoned with. I think … that you are very brave.”

Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.

Jaeden laughed at herself, her throat closing with emotion as she turned away and forced her tears back. “I’m not brave. I’m scared all the freaking time.”

Silence fell between them.

Ella sighed. “When Lucien was a boy—after everything that happened with Rafe and Griffin—he was so confused and scared. He knew something was terribly wrong. For a while he used to check the house over before he went to bed. Every closet, every nook, every window, every door. And then he’d get angry because he thought he was being a coward. Albus took him aside one day and told him that courage was not the absence of fear, but the ability to walk into unknown territory despite it.”

“Didn’t Mandela say that?”

Ella pursed her lips at the interruption. “An abridged version, but that’s not the point. The point is Lucien checked over the house each night, prepared to take on whatever bad thing he thought was waiting for him, even though he was scared. That was what made him brave. And you’re the same, Jaeden. You of all people have every reason to curl up and hide under your bed … but you don’t. You get up and you ready yourself for whatever might come your way. As I said, you are very, very brave.”

“Or just crazy.”

Ella laughed and chucked her under the chin. “Or just crazy. Anyway, is that a car I hear?”

Jae heard the gravel spinning under a wheel from the front of the house and her pulse picked up speed. She grinned. “Ryder.”

Ella grinned back at her. “It’s a good match. And when you mate, we really will be family. Have you seen Irini and Aidan yet?”

Jae smiled. She’d caught up with Ryder’s brother and his mate the day before. The entire encounter had consisted of Aidan ribbing Ryder for falling prey to the mating when all along, he’d bragged about his bachelor lifestyle. The meeting with Yvana, however, hadn’t gone as smoothly.

Apparently the relationship between sons and mother was not nearly as good as everyone had believed. It seemed Ryder and Aidan had taken more of Lucien’s side over the whole Caia thing than anyone realized. Thus, the dinner Yvana hosted was stilted and cold. She was no longer the woman she’d once been, and what little remained of that woman had disappeared when Caia arrived, bringing with her the remembrance of what had happened to Yvana’s mate.

Throwing another quick thank-you Ella’s way, Jae jogged around the house to the driveway where Ryder was parked, listening to Nirvana. She shook her head, smiling. From Lynyrd Skynyrd to Nirvana, from Top Gun to The Godfather, he really was a mass of amusing contradictions. Unsurprisingly, when she jumped into the truck, Ryder pulled her over to the driver’s side for a long, breath-stealing kiss. She should be used to his casual public affection by now, but every time he touched her, she still had to remind herself that, yeah, he was really kissing her.

“How was practice?” He grinned as they drove away from the house.

“Good. My aim is getting better.”

“That’s great! Guess who I bumped into at the diner today?”

“Hmm … a member of Pack Errante?”

“Take the fun out of it, why don’t you.”

She smiled teasingly. “Sorry. Who did you bump into today?”

“I don’t want to tell you now.”

Feeling playful, as he always managed to make her feel, Jae reached over and slowly slid her hand up his thigh. “Please tell me.”

He jumped at her touch and was now throwing her a beseeching look. “I’ll tell you if you remove your hand from my person.”

Grinning devilishly, her hand moved closer to the spot that would make him sweat. Suddenly the truck swerved. “Jaeden!”

She laughed and pulled her hand back. “Sorry.”

He huffed, “Oh, I’m sure you are.”

“Goddess, Ryder, you should be trussed up in a white chemise and a padlock covering your virtue for all the fuss you’re making.”

He spluttered in indignation, which only made her laugh harder. “I’m trying to be honorable here. Having your hands roaming freely over my particulars sort of makes the task Herculean!”