Chapter 10

I was sofocused on helping Talia, I didn't clue in to what the other woman had said for a minute. Javi wasn't lying when he said the air vibrated when Aiden was angry. I felt it too, and it made Bear uncomfortable. I couldn't imagine how Talia felt around him. It sounded like she was choking before.

The newcomer I recognized from the day before. She was the one who brought Talia the protection charm. Her bright purple eyes were glowing as she glared at Aiden. Even after he diverted his attention to apologizing to Talia, she glared at his back.

Aiden's mate, Andrew, stepped closer, putting his hand on Aiden's back. The dominance in the air got a little lighter, and when Andrew laid his head on Aiden's shoulder, it disappeared completely.

"Good mate," I commented. I hadn't meant to say that out loud, but Andrew smiled brightly at the compliment and Aiden turned to give his full attention to his mate. Mama couldn't do that to Pa when he was mad, but they weren't really mates. They were friends who had a kid and got married because it was the right thing to do.

Watching Aiden and his mate made my chest ache. I wanted that. Blackridge was full of happy, mated couples. I hadn't ever seen that before I got here, and the ache in my chest wouldn't go away ever since Malcolm introduced me to the crew.

Talia's head lifted from where she was hiding it against Leo's shoulder. She looked over her shoulder at me, her eyebrows drawn together like she was worried.

"Are… Are you okay?" she whispered.

Forcing a smile, I nodded. "I'm good. What about you? You okay?"

She still looked worried, and she studied me closely, but I pushed away the ache and ignored it. I was here to help Talia. She didn't need to be worrying about me. She didn't answer my question, but I didn"t mind. I could tell how she was feeling just fine. She was still tense in my arms, but she wasn't shaking. She would be okay.

I decided Talia had done enough for the morning. She ate most of her donut and didn't run away when the dragon got loud. She was stronger than she realized. I tipped my head towards the hallway and the direction of her room. "You and Leo should get ready. Don't wanna be late for school."

She looked grateful and Leo didn't argue, scrambling off her lap and pulling her towards the doorway. They went back to their room while I cleaned up the mess we made.

"I'm sorry. I don't often react like that. I want Talia to feel safe here." Aiden was looking at me, his face remorseful. Runa was gone, and so was Christian. Jack was cleaning up like I was, and Andrew stood nearby, his worried gaze locked on his mate.

"You don't like the woman with the purple eyes, do ya?"

Aiden pressed his lips together tightly. "It's not that I don't like her. I don't trust her. She's powerful, and that makes her dangerous."

"Is she a dragon too?" Aiden's eyes glowed like hers did when he was angry before. If dragons were as territorial as other shifters, having another dragon on his land might make him growly.

Jack shook his head, depositing the dishes into the sink. "No. Runa's a witch. A healer, mostly, but she can do other spells, too. The crew is wary around her, but she's not so bad. She saved my life once."

First dragons, now witches. Maybe my fantasy audiobooks weren't as fanciful as I thought. I blinked a few times before shaking my head. I couldn't think too hard on it. I'd only confuse myself more.

"I'm learning a lot on this vacation," I muttered, mostly to myself. I spun to rinse off the dishes, setting them carefully into the dishwasher. I learned really young that I had to be gentle with dishware. I was too rough sometimes and broke stuff a lot. All the dishes at my apartment were plastic. It was just easier that way.

"Will she be okay?"

It took me a second to realize Aiden was talking to me. He looked worried, which was a good sign. If he wasn't a nice man, he wouldn't care how Talia felt. And if he wasn't going to be nice, I'd take her home with me. She deserved to be around nice people.

"Yeah. I'll take care of ‘er. You should hang out with the witch more. Can't learn to trust someone if you avoid each other." I closed the dishwasher a little roughly and winced as the dishes rattled inside. "Whoops. Sorry."

Jack snorted, and he didn"t look mad, and Andrew smiled at me. "It's fine, I'm sure. Besides, dishes can be replaced."

He might regret saying that later. I broke a lot of dishes. I was determined to be careful, though. I heard a noise in the hallway and I didn"t want Leo to be late for school, so I jerked my thumb over my shoulder.

"I'm gonna bring them to Blackridge. Anyone need a ride?"

"Oh, I could use one, actually," Jack said, raising one finger. "Christian and I share a car and he has errands to run in town today. I can just ride to work with Liv when we get to Blackridge."

"Which one's Liv?"

He grinned widely. "Oh, you'd know her if you met her. She's slow moving in the morning, so that's probably why you didn't meet her yesterday. I'll introduce you. Let me just tell Christian I'm leaving."

I waved him off and headed to Talia's apartment. The door was open, which was kind. When I stepped inside, still really happy I didn"t need to duck, Talia was helping Leo pack his backpack.

"Jack's hitchin' a ride with us. That okay?"

Talia nodded slowly. "Yes… He gave us a ride yesterday."

Oh good. I realized I offered without checking with her first, and that wasn't very nice. I was glad it wasn't a problem. I shoved my hands into my pockets, rocking on my heels.

"Ready to go?"

Talia nodded, but Leo was scowling, practically stomping out the door. I frowned at Talia.

"Why's he got a bee in his bonnet?"

"He… doesn't like school much. He keeps asking me to teach him myself, but…" She looked embarrassed, her eyes on her feet. "Females didn't get a good education in the pride. I can't keep up with him. He needs a good teacher."

I nodded solemnly. "Yeah, cubs need a good teacher. And Carmen seemed nice. Might be that he needs a break. Carmen said the girls are gonna come by tonight so you can get to know ‘em better. Think maybe I could take Leo with me? Malcolm and Javi invited me fishin'. He might have fun."

She nibbled on her lip thoughtfully. I felt my breath get caught in my chest and my eyes were stuck on her mouth until I almost walked into a door. I jerked away, my cheeks burning, and mumbled out a sorry, only to get more embarrassed because I was apologizing to a door. I really was dumb.

A tinkling noise caught my attention. No. Not tinkling. Laughter. Talia was laughing. I whipped my head around, gaping at her. She had a hand over her mouth, her head ducked, but I recognized that sound. Me being a dope made her laugh. Elation filled my chest, and I smiled brightly at her.

"You got a pretty laugh."

She blushed, sobering a little, and I wanted to smack myself for pointing it out and making her stop. She obviously didn't do it often. Even Leo looked surprised, staring wide eyed at his mama through the open window of my truck. I opened her door for her, offering her a hand to help her climb in. My truck was lifted to fit me better, and Talia was smaller than me by a lot.

Jack jogged out to meet us after kissing his mate goodbye at the door. He climbed into the back with Leo and gave me directions through the forest so I wouldn't get lost. Between directions, he chatted a lot. He liked to talk. I liked it too, so it was a fun drive. I was smiling when we pulled through the trees into the trailer park. Talia stiffened, her eyes scanning the communal space in the middle, but it was empty. I reached for her hand, stroking my thumb over her knuckles.

"It's okay. You're safe with me."

She didn't smile, but she nodded. At least she believed now that I'd keep her safe. It was polite to open doors for women, so I told her to stay put so I could jog around the truck and help her down. Mama taught me that and she'd be cross with me if I didn't do it.

Uh oh. Mama.

"Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" Jack asked.

A small whimper worked its way up my throat. "I, uh… I promised my mama I'd call her every night. I sort of forgot." I swallowed hard. "She's gonna be so mad," I whispered.

Leo crossed his arms with a frown. "You forgot about your mom?"

The way he said it made me wince. It wasn't like I forgot I had a mama. I was distracted with the audiobooks and the drive, and then with Talia and making her feel better. I wasn't even sure I charged my phone last night. I kind of passed out the minute I got to my hotel room.

Talia's fingers brushed mine, the first touch she initiated on her own. I sucked in a breath, turning to face her.

"You–" She swallowed, summoning the nerve to talk. "You should call her. If it was me, I'd be worried."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Come on. I'll bring you inside first." Anything to drag out the time before I had to face the music. She was gonna yell at me for sure. I hated making Mama unhappy.

My phone was dead in the cupholder of my truck. After making sure Talia was settled inside, I sat in my truck and let it charge a little before powering it back on. Dozens of missed messages came through and I whimpered again when I saw they were all from my mama. I didn't even have time to call her back before my phone started ringing again. I answered, slowly putting the phone to my ear.

"Hey, Mama…"

"Titus Ashton Bailey! You scared the heck out of me! You promised!"

I winced, holding the phone a little away from my ear to protect my hearing. Shifters had sensitive ears.

"I know, Mama. I can explain."

"It better be good, because I had half a mind to drive out there to find you!"

I knew she was mad at me, but part of me was happy that she was comfortable speaking her mind. She was a lot like Talia once. Too terrified to look me in the eye, even though I was her own son. She would've never taken me to task before. I hoped Talia could one day be as comfortable with me. She deserved to have her voice heard.

"I, uh… I met someone who needs my help. I might be stickin' around a while."