Chapter 50
ISABELLA
It's been two days since Asher left and even though he calls me every day, I miss him terribly. I'm working relentlessly on my story but I'm not sure I'm going in the right direction. Jax and Knox reassure me as much as they can that my illustrations are cool and the story is good, but I'm not convinced.
I watch Alex, reading what I've done so far, but he doesn't let on.
"You should show this to some brats to make sure. I mean, it's a story for them, right?"
"Maybe you're right. I should call Maggie and see if I can check out the orphans."
"Good idea and I'll go with you I can't wait to see what a pack of werewolves might look like."
Oh, yes, I forgot. A little backtracking is in order. Well, right after I told Alex about my desire to settle down with my mates, Chase confessed everything to him. From what he told me he heard everything about our phone conversation, even though he was in the next room, and figured it was the right time. And I suppose you're dying to know how he reacted? Well, my best friend didn't freak out at all; on the contrary, he was overexcited.
It makes me happy, don't get me wrong, but at the same time it kind of freaks me out that he didn't freak out at all. In fact, he was determined to be marked on the spot. Chase told him to wait a bit with his parents because he wouldn't be able to tell them he was with a werewolf, but Alex hadn't even thought of that. Of course, in confessing his secret, he also confessed ours. He apologized to me the very next day, telling me he totally understood that my relationship was progressing faster than normal.
"Go on, call your mother-in-law and see how soon we can get there." He says, clapping his hands.
I pull out my phone to call Maggie and she picks up on the second ring.
"Hello Zaza! How are you?"
"Hi Maggie. I'm very well, thank you. How are you?"
"It can only be fine when you're enjoying a hot tub naked."
"Oh wow ok." I hadn't expected so many details. "Uh... well, I'm calling to ask if you thought I could show my work to the kids in the pack..."
"Come over tomorrow, I'll set it up." I hear movement in the phone. "Well I'll leave you to it, I'm going out to dry off in the sun."
"OKAY Maggie." I tell her embarrassed. "See you tomorrow then."
"See you tomorrow. Come for lunch... with Alex." She tells me before hanging up.
"Well?" Alex asks me.
"Tomorrow for lunch." I reply, sparing him the details of the conversation.
"Cool." He replies with a mega smile.
JAX
"I can't believe this story hasn't been settled yet." I tell my older brother before taking a sip of my drink.
"Believe me, I can't believe it either." He sighs. "That bitch is literally playing with my nerves and her idiot mate is letting her."
"What did they ask you in the end? A substantial sum of money, the neighboring pack, a place on the royal council and..."
"And for me to mate with a werewolf."
"Do you want me to tell you what I think?" I say to him before finishing my tumbler. "Tell them to go fuck themselves. They don't want to support us? Too bad for them. You've got enough support to go all the way. It's giving them importance to give them so much time. Just go home."
There's a pause long enough for me to wonder if he's still there. "You're right. I'll tell them I won't give in to any of their requests. I'm going to ask to take off in an hour."
"Perfect! Then I'll see you later bro."
I'm about to pour myself another drink when I hear the front door and grumble.
"Isa? Babe, is that you?"
She enters the kitchen barefoot and hugs me.
"Kids are cruel." She says against my chest.
"Do you want to tell me about it?" I ask her.
"Knox isn't here?" She asks, pulling her head back to look at me. She wants to talk to him but not me?
"He's in a meeting with some Japanese clients. He shouldn't be home too late. You can talk to him about it..."
"Oh no. It's just that I like it when he threatens all the people who hurt me." She tells me with a smirk before quickly adding. "I mean, I know he won't hurt children, and I wouldn't want him to hurt them..."
"I know. I get it." I smile at her. It's true that he's a bit overproductive with her and wants to pull out a shovel at the slightest opportunity.
"I want ice cream." She says, pouting.
"Just before..." I stop dead in my tracks when I see the dark look she's giving me. "It's true we're adults. We can eat ice cream whenever we want."
As I take a tub of ice cream out of the freezer and she takes two spoons out of the drawer before moving to the sofa. When I sit down next to her, she takes the tub from my hand, opens it and takes a bite, then a second.
"They laughed. I started reading what I'd written and showing them my illustrations and they laughed, but not because the story was funny. They laughed because it was ridiculous. One kid asked me if when I was a kid and there were dinosaurs, did kids do stuff like that?" She tells me in a high-pitched voice. I want to laugh but I stop myself, because I can see it really touched her. "There are lots of words they didn't understand." She sighs. "Damn it, Jax, do you think I did something wrong? Maybe I got carried away and I'm not good at this at all. Maybe I should be doing illustrations on stories by authors who actually know what they're doing."
"Or maybe you should just listen to what they've told you and apply their advice." I tell her and she looks at me, frowning. It doesn't look like that's what she wanted to hear.
"That's exactly what Alex, your mom and Mikaela said." She wallows on the couch after setting the tub of ice cream on the living room table. "You're right. I do feel stupid. Shit, it was too soon."
"No it was perfect timing. At least you know which direction you need to go."
"Thanks, Jax." She says before giving me a hug on the side. "I love you so much."
"You love me? Oh my goddess I've been waiting so long for you to tell me. I love you Isabella." I tell her before pulling her onto my lap. "Am I the first one you've told?" I can't help asking her.
"We're adults. Do we really need to rank?"
I frown. That means she's already told one of my brothers.