Chapter 93 93. Make Up
Tabitha’s POV
Luca drives in tight silence for maybe three minutes before he decides to break it.
“What the hell was that?” he asks, gripping the wheel and glancing at me through the rearview mirror.
“What the hell was what?” I say, raising a brow.
“You barging to the campsite uninvited and insisting you stay,” he barks back, shifting his eyes back on the road.
“What, I’m not even allowed to go camping now?” I reply defensively.
“You can, if you can plan it on your own,” Reed fires back beside me.
That one hits harder than I want it to. I bald my fist and clench my jaw.
“You’re saying you don’t want me around? What, do I ruin the mood for you?” Bitterness bleeds through my words before I can stop it.
“I’m saying, don’t you have other friends to go camping with instead of barging into ours?” Reed says.
Heat flashes through me and I glare at him. There you go! He’s saying he doesn’t want me to be around them! Ha! He didn’t deny that my presence would’ve ruined the mood for them.
Are they planning to do something nasty in the woods? What, grab some chic—maybe Elsie—and do something unthinkable inside the tent? Oh my god, were they even planning to share a tent?
My thoughts race in a direction I don’t want to go. And before I know it, the embarrassment and guilt that I am feeling explode into something more akin to anger and frustration.
“So, what if I want to join your camping? You left me no choice!” I snap.
“Left you with no choice?” Luca echoes incredulously.
I glare at him. “Yes! You have all been avoiding me since the Tropical Thunder circuit. How else am I supposed to talk to you unless I chase you down like some sick puppy?!” I bellow.
Reed lets out this bitter little sound. “Shouldn’t you be celebrating that you have finally got the free time that you want?” There’s that unapologetic derision in his tone again that only makes my blood boil even more.
I twist toward him. “Do I look like I’m in a celebratory mood?” I fume, my eyes sharp.
“You should be,” Jace says from my left. “We’re finally minding our own businesses. Isn’t that what you wanted? Isn’t that what you’ve been crying about since the day you came back to this island?”
I feel something inside me pull and sting. My eyes burn and I blink hard because I refuse to actually cry here, in this damn car, with all of them watching. Damn it!
“That is not what I want and you know that!” I croak. “I wanted to talk to you but you treat me like some irritating fly.”
Nobody speaks so I just keep going because if I stop now I will never say any of it again.
“You will not talk to me! You won’t even look me in the eyes. You act like I was a pest when I tried to visit you at the hospital twice,” I lament, unable to stop the words from coming out anymore.
Luca’s jaw flexes but I don’t let him talk.
“At first I thought you were just in a bad mood after the accident. Reed and Luca were hurt and I understand that you were recovering. But then I see that you had no problem talking to everyone but me. To other women nonetheless!” I roll my eyes and grit my teeth, fighting back the tears, “even letting them touch you. You might as well purr while talking to them,” I spit out the words like they disgust me.
I take a deep breath and shake my head. Some stupid rogue tears manage to sneak past my defenses and humiliate me, but I hastily wipe them away before the jerks can laugh at me for being such a silly crybaby.
“I just… I don’t understand.” My lips tremble but I continue. “You said before that you didn’t want to break the bond because you wanted me. You wanted me to be yours. Your mate. And just when I start to believe that, you go and pull the plug.”
Evren turns to me from the front seat, his expression characteristically serious but there’s a hint of something more in his eyes—a rare emotion I still can’t name. Luca tightens the grip on the steering wheel, so hard I worry he might break it. Jace and Reed quietly watch me, their eyes trailing every quiver of my lips.
“I hate it,” my voice finally breaks and I am too overwhelmed with emotions to feel embarrassed. “You are all jerks. I should have known better than to believe you. You are smooth talking liars. I just wish I could stop myself from wanting you.”
As if reaching his absolute limit, Luca punches the wheel. “Fuck!” he growls, and the Jeep swerves so fast I grab the handle and shut up.
I look forward and realize he is turning the car around. We are no longer heading toward the exit. He is driving back into the forest.
“W-What are you doing? Where are we going?” I ask as the car accelerates so fast I have to brace myself as he zooms into the woods. “I thought we were going home?!” I demand.
“Yes, sweetheart. You are coming home with us tonight,” Luca says. His veins rise along his forearms and his grip tightens.
He drives faster now. Earlier it was smooth but now he practically launches the Wrangler over every dip and root like it weighs nothing. My confusion grows until the trees clear and we roll up to a familiar cottage. My mouth parts in realization. This is the cottage that the brothers own. The last time I was here, I was attacked by a group of rogue wolves. And now I’m back again with a whole different problem.
“Why are we here?” I ask warily.
Luca opens his door and looks at me. “You want to talk? Then come out here and we will have a proper talk,” he declares.
All four of them step out. I hesitate but follow them inside.
The cottage smells like wood and something warm and comforting, exactly how I remember it. Luca takes my hand and guides me to the couch. Before I can protest he kneels in front of me. The sight knocks the air out of me.
“W-What—”
I choke on my words as he leans forward and licks the scrape on my knee.
“Luca!” I jerk in surprise and heat shoots through my chest. It was just a shallow scrape with a line of blood but his tongue moves over it with this slow care that makes my stomach twist.
Shit, he’s licking my wound. I almost forgot the neat little trick they taught about how werewolves heal each other by licking. Damn, did I not expect him to do that again. And right now!
“T-This is not necessary!” I scramble for words.
“It is, especially if you keep on getting cut every five minutes,” Reed says. He is watching us from the small loveseat right in front of the empty fireplace.
Reed opens the fridge and takes out two cans of beer. He tosses the other one to Evren who is just quietly observing everything as he leans against the wall.
“You know it’s a proven technique,” Luca says matter-of-factly before resuming to lick my knee.
I roll my eyes but I let Luca continue. His tongue drags over the scrape again and I feel the warm slide of it. I swallow hard because it feels strangely good, the same good feeling I felt when they first did this to me. I look down and the scrape is already fading. Honestly, I still cannot wrap my head around this mate healing saliva thing. It feels unreal to watch a cut vanish like that.
Luca wipes his mouth but stays on his knees in front of me.
“Now, talk,” he orders.
Great.
I cover my face with my hands and shake my head. “What else do you want me to say?” I ask. I think I’ve pretty much embarrassed myself to last for a lifetime earlier in the car.
“Exactly what you were saying back in the car,” Luca probes, lightly stroking my thighs as his demanding eyes bore into me.
I drop my hands and glare at him. “What, you want me to repeat everything that I said? The part where I was a desperate little bitch and sniffed you down to your little campsite like a rabid dog? Or maybe the part about how desperate I have been the past few days while you ignored me? Or… Or maybe the part where I realized that watching you all interact and entertain other women is the most aggravating form of torture I ever have to partake in! Is that what you want to hear? Huh?!”
Luca lowers his head and suddenly buries his face on my lap. His shoulders shake as he starts laughing. I flush red and push at his shoulder, but the laughter doesn’t stop. His shoulder quakes as his laugh grows louder.
“Yes, Tabi. That is exactly what we want to hear. Tell us more,” Luca says, still laughing.
Humiliation floods me so I push his head off my lap. I get up and bolt toward the door. Coming here was a mistake!
“Screw you, jerks! You just want to make fun of me, is that right? You want to see me miserable and desperate and just freaking defeated!” I holler as anger and pain flood my chest once again.
I march to the door but before I can touch the knob a hand plants beside it. Evren stands behind me. His body presses against my back and I feel his breath brush my nape.
“You can’t just leave like that,” he whispers near my ear. “Not after you have driven us crazy so far.”
I spin around and face him. His gaze is so intense it cuts straight through me, but I boldly meet his eyes and glare at him.
“I am the one driving you crazy? Ha! You were the ones who have been pretending I did not exist for the past few days? What is this? Some kind of twisted new game you invented to torture me?” I demand.
“Baby, the only one playing games here is you,” Jace says, rising from the couch and walking towards us.
“WHAT?” I say indignantly.