Chapter 647 Chapter 647
When he got back to the SUV, he shifted quickly. He’d checked the entire area, and the only scents he picked up on were wild critters. That made him feel a bit better. Pulling on his jeans, he took off his run pack and pulled out his phone. There were no messages. He’d expected some sort of reply to his check-in, but there was nothing. Setting the phone on the hood, he grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. Should he call and make sure everything was good? Shaking his head, he picked up the phone again. He could do nothing if things weren’t good on the other end, so best to just wait for a response.
He looked in the direction of the trail and where Journee was. She was fine with staying there. He grinned. Not many females would have been with no amenities at all. He wanted to ask her more about how she lived on the island, even once she was off of it, but his gut tensed every time he thought about it, and he wasn’t sure he could hear it. Blowing out a breath, he leaned down and pulled his boots on. He’d stowed his winter gear properly when they’d come to grab supplies. That was one good thing being here, he’d gotten a small break from snow and cold. He looked around again. He was out of reasons to procrastinate going back. Before he knew he planned to do it, he brought up Nan’s number and hit send.
“Is that you, Asher?”
He froze. “How did you know?”
She chuckled. “No number, and no one else calls me this late in the day.”
He cringed. He hadn’t even looked at the time. “Sorry, Nan. I lost track of time.”
“It’s fine.” He could hear running water from the tap. At least he’d called her before her bedtime tea. “How are you? How is Journee doing?”
“I’m good.” It wasn’t a lie. He was physically fit. His head was another matter altogether. “She’s doing great. She can shift again.” He grinned. “And she is so fast I had to work to keep up with her.”
“I suppose one learns speed when they’re running for survival and not fun.”
He sobered. “Yeah.” He stared off into the trees.
“She is okay otherwise? It must be a hard adjustment being back.”
“I took her shopping, got her new clothes and stuff.” That was his attempt to change the subject.
“She must enjoy wearing new things. Maeve said she was wearing rags.”
“Yeah. Her clothes had seen better days.” His chest was aching the way it did when he wasn’t being truthful with his Nan. For the last eighteen years of his life, she was truly the only one that mattered to him.
“What’s wrong, my boy? I can feel it all the way here.”
Asher shook his head, if psychic abilities were a real thing, he was sure she had them. “It’s complicated, Nan.”
“What is, dear?”
“Journee.” He hadn’t meant to just blurt out her name.
“Journee is complicated?” The whistle of the kettle stopped.
“Well, no, she’s not—things are—with her.” He closed his eyes. Never in his life had he come to the realization that talking wasn’t something he was good at.
“How so?” He heard the tink of the spoon in the cup as she stirred.
“She’s my mate.” He stood there with his mouth wide open and stared at the ground. That was not what he’d intended to say.
There was a long pause. “That’s wonderful. Oh, I could cry right now. I’m so happy for you.”
That was not the response he expected. “Don’t cry.”
She chuckled. “I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest.”
He frowned. “We haven’t—I explained—” He sucked in a breath and blew it out all at once and tried again. “Things are very complicated, Nan…”
“Asher?”
He stopped when she said his name in that tone. “Nan?”
“You’re running away from it, aren’t you? At least trying to.”
“I-no. It’s just us, we’re, um,” he couldn’t tell her what they were doing, not over the phone, “on a trip to do some things.”
“That part is good. That it’s just the two of you. Mates should have time alone in the beginning. So much is new and sometimes overwhelming.”
“It is?”
She chuckled again. “It is. Your grandfather tried for months to justify why our match wasn’t convenient.” She sounded amused. “He had plans to travel to other clans in faraway places,” she sighed, “so I went with him.”
“You did?” He didn’t know anything about this.
“I did. Once he realized that leaving me back home alone before we claimed each other wasn’t a good thing.” There was a short pause. “He tried to go, but three days later, he was back, and the rest is history, as they say.”
Asher turned around and squatted against the SUV. His grandfather had tried to leave Nan behind. Why would he do that? He scowled at the ground. That’s exactly what he was trying to do. “I tried to tell Journee that we shouldn’t rush this. She’s missed out on so much, Nan. Normal things in life.”
“So have you because you haven’t let yourself live since the day your folks were killed, Asher.”
He shook his head. “That’s…”
“The truth.” She stated bluntly.
“I just want her to live a little, do normal things, Nan. That’s not bad.”
“No, dear, it’s very sweet of you to think such a thing. What does she say?”
He searched his mind trying to recall her reply when they’d talked about it. “I think-I think she’s okay with it.”
“You think?” His Nan chuckled in his ear again. “I think you should talk to her some more about this until you’re sure what her response is.”
He stood up and paced a few feet away.
“You’re a very honorable man, grandson. You’ve always put what needs to be done before what you want. Don’t you think it’s time to put you first for a change?”
He spun on his heel and went back to where he started. “I’m helping find our people, Nan. That’s important.”
“It is. Your happiness and the rest of your life are also important, Asher. As we both know, longevity is always in the hands of fate. The both of you need a partner that understands the loss you’ve suffered, one that will understand the quiet spells and the moments the past is chasing you.”
Asher could barely suck air into his body right now. He’d never heard his Nan talk about that day or anything related to it, not in this way.
“Oh, I’m tired tonight. We spent the day going through the house.”
His eyebrows went up. He should have asked how she was. It couldn’t have been easy to go through her son—his father’s things. “I’ll let you get some rest. Don’t over do it, okay?”
“I still have some spunk left in me; don’t you worry about that.”
He could see her smile as she said it. “I know you do. I’m sure you could still outrun me if you wanted to.”
“Ha. My run days are more stroll now, my boy.”
He smiled at her tone. “Get some rest, Nan. I’ll check in when we get where we’re going in the next few days.” He hoped it was that soon.
“I look forward to meeting her, Asher. Your mate. I’m sure she’s beautiful inside and out.”
His heartbeat accelerated. “She’s amazing, Nan. Can shift standing up.” He knew that wasn’t what she was talking about, but he honestly couldn’t go any deeper right now, or he’d have a meltdown.
“That I need to see.” He heard her yawn.
“I better get back. Signal is sparse here, so I had to leave to use the phone.”
“You get going. I’ll talk to you soon.” She hung up.
Closing his eyes, he leaned down on the hood. That was not the call he’d intended. Grabbing his run pack, he put it over his head and then opened it and put the phone back inside. Taking a deep breath, he froze. He could smell smoke. Turning on his heel, he grabbed his jacket off the mirror and started to jog back along the path.
The smell of the fire caught his attention as soon as he cleared the trees. He looked around, hoping it didn’t attract others. He shook his head, he’d just done a long run of the surrounding area and other than wildlife, there was no one nearby enough to smell it. Pulling his shirt over his head, he paused when he caught the smell meat cooking. Where did she get the meat? They’d called Illias, checked in with Jesse and then carted supplies here. After that, she decided they needed to clean out the place, so the dust and smell was gone. Then he’d gone for a run. He pulled his phone out of his run pack and checked the time, he’d been gone only an hour—so where did she get the meat.
“Hi.” She stood up when he approached the fire. “Did you check the area?”
He nodded and then made a point of looking at the meat sitting on the rack over the fire.
“Oh. I went for a quick run and came across a few rabbits.” She shrugged. “The meat in those,” she frowned, “packages didn’t smell like meat.”
Asher chuckled. “Some of them are good, other ones, you just need to use your imagination.”
“I thought hot meat to go with them would be more satisfying.” She waved her hand over the fire. “I haven’t cooked a lot of meat though, so you may have to check I’m doing it right.”
His nose told him she wasn’t doing it wrong. “I’ll check it.” She’d gone for a run, alone, while he was out on his and yet he hadn’t caught her scent or seen her. Something told him she was better at staying hidden then anyone he knew.