Chapter 67
Emma
I hadn’t been back to Tingira in over a week, stepping into the Alpha cottage I was surprised by how much had changed in the time I’d been away. Hannah had begun painting the walls with beautiful, lilac feature walls in the living room and bedrooms. She had replaced all the broken furniture and even some of the stuff that wasn’t broken was now gone.
Kayla had asked Tom to bring some pieces of art, which he was happy to gift to Hannah. Together we picked a spot on the wall and Hannah used a pencil to make the spot, so she’d know exactly where to nail in the hook.
The redecorating wasn’t the only change to the cottage, there was no Jake here now. It was as if Hannah had erased him, which made me feel a little sorry for him because, even though I knew Jake had messed up really badly, he loved Hannah, more than anything.
Jake’s absence was becoming more evident as the minutes ticked by and I was starting to wonder if he was even coming to the meeting, even though Tom had said he would be there. I also knew that Jake had plans to step down as Alpha of the Tingira pack, maybe he’d already done that and Tom and I weren’t informed.
“Is Jake still coming?” I ask, tentatively, not wanting to upset Hannah but I feel that we deserve to know.
“He is,” Hannah says, her tone short and sharp. “He’s probably still licking his wounds after the fight we had on Wednesday night.”
“You two saw each other on Wednesday?” Tom asks, jumping onto the little snippet of information we’re given. Last time I spoke to Hannah she was saying she was cursing Jake's name and saying she’d never want to see him again.
“He showed up at Icebergs when I was there with Serena and Kayla. I wanted to make him jealous so I flirted with a group of men.” She admits, sheepishly. “I saw him sitting with Hazel and I got the wrong idea so I decided to confront him at the house.”
“Tell me he didn’t sleep with Hazel,” I beg her, hoping he didn’t just add more fuel to the raging blaze.
“He didn’t.” She confirms but I can tell that that’s not where this ends.
“What was the fight about?” Tom asks, taking a seat on the couch. I sit down beside him and he takes my hand in his own. There’s an uneasiness that settles in the room, whatever this fight was about, it could be the reason that Jake hasn’t shown up.
“I may have made Jake believe I...” Hannah begins to explain but is interrupted by a knock at the door.
Heavy silence fills the room and it becomes obvious that Hannah isn’t going to go answer the door so I take it upon myself to open it and let Jake in.
“Sorry I’m late, Louisa had a bit of a scare last night and was taken to the hospital,” Jake explains, looking very dishevelled with his scruffy beard growth and bloodshot eyes. “I was there all night and only just left.”
My heart sinks when I hear him say that Louisa had been admitted to the hospital. She had been stressed ever since she found out about the fracture between Hannah and Jake. She’d blamed herself, even though she couldn’t have controlled Jake.
“Is the baby ok?” I fret, putting a hand on Jake’s shoulder.
“She is but Louisa is now on strict bed rest until she gives birth,” Jake explains, sadly.
“I’m sure that Louisa would have appreciated having you there,” Hannah says, showing that she still cares for Jake and his sister. It’s a glimmer of hope that they might one day be able to put this behind them.
“She did,” Jake replies, not even looking in Hannah’s direction. Instead, he walks over to an empty armchair and slumps down into it, looking around the cottage.
Hannah sits down in the other armchair, furthest away from Jake and stares at the floor as she taps her foot impatiently. The tension between them is thick, consuming all the positivity that was present when Tom and I first arrived.
“What is that smell?” Jake remarks, screwing up his face in disgust. I had noticed the scent too, it was the same as the smell from when Kayla cleansed our room,
“Sage,” Hannah replies, bitterly. “It’s burnt to remove all negative vibes. I guess after you leave today I’ll have to go around the cottage again.”
“What possessed you to paint the wall that hideous colour?” Jake sneers, pointing to the freshly painted, lilac, feature wall. “And you got new furniture? Where’s all my stuff gone?
“It was either redecorate or burn the place to the ground,” Hannah informs him, raising her voice. “Your things are locked up in the storage shed, which you’d know if you bothered to check in on your pack.”
Tom and I exchange a look, one that tells me that he’s feeling just as awkward as I am right now. This is so uncomfortable.
“I didn’t want to just show up, unannounced,” Jake mutters back, taking a swipe at Hannah. “Unlike you.”
“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Tom says when he sees Hannah open her mouth to retort to Jake’s insult. “We’re here to discuss strategy for the full moon, to protect both packs and you two just want to bicker.”
I love the way Tom steps in and takes command, it’s very authoritative. Hannah and Jake refuse to even look in the direction of the other but both don’t appear too happy to have been chastised.
“Well, what is the plan for tonight?” Jake aggressively asks Hannah and I can tell that no matter what she comes up with, he’s going to find a flaw.
“My warriors will be patrolling the forest.” She answers smugly, emphasising my.
“Which would leave the border unprotected and at risk of invasion.” Jake angrily points out to her and she glares at him with fire in her eyes.
“The forest surrounds the border.” Hannah snaps back at him as if he didn’t already know this. “By placing the warriors in the forest, we have a greater chance of keeping the fight off pack grounds.”
I can understand Hannah’s strategy, she wants to keep the pack safe by eliminating the threat of danger before it gets to the border.