Chapter 98 - Their Cursed

Remi

I couldn’t hold out any longer. Even if they hurt me, I needed them and wanted them. They both held me for a long time, planting soft kisses on top of my head and caresses over my skin. I willed myself to believe their promises. They clearly had no intention of going anywhere today, but what about tomorrow? We sat on the couch, cuddled up together for a long time before I decided I wanted to take a shower. When I started to move, they were both alert immediately.

“What’s wrong?” Cullen asked.

“I want to go shower,” I said softly. He looked relieved. They both loosened their hold on me and helped me stand from the couch.

“Do you want us to come with you?” Calder asked. I bit my lip and thought for a minute. Part of me wanted to say yes immediately, while another part of me was still hesitant to let them close. I looked at both of them; their eyes were pleading. Maybe they needed me as much as I needed them. They did mention something about not feeling anything until last night. It still didn’t make any sense, but maybe now they were struggling too. I nodded my head slowly, and they both smiled softly. They stood up and followed me into the bathroom.

When we were all inside the shower together, Cullen grabbed the shampoo and washed my hair thoroughly while Calder hugged me close. They switched places afterward, and Calder conditioned my hair. Then, they let me return the favor. They both made appreciative noises as I dragged my fingers across their scalps, letting my fingers play in their soft hair. They were sweet and attentive, letting me touch them however I wanted and pull them under the water whenever I wanted. Calli was relaxed and happy in my head. I guessed that she felt like she was able to reconnect with Maximus and Magnus.

When we were all done, I was surprised to find out it was dinner time. I didn’t realize just how much of the day had passed. The twins got dressed while I was brushing and putting my hair back in the bathroom.

“Are you hungry, baby?” Calder asked me when I came out of the closet. I didn’t want to put pajamas on, so I opted for leggings and a sweater.

“Yea,” I said. I didn’t touch any food at dinner yesterday, and we hadn’t eaten anything all day. Then it hit me that we would have to go downstairs and face everyone after what happened yesterday. Gentry, Pip, and Carson were very aware of the fallout, the former two helping me plan everything and the latter coming to yell at them last night. “No,” I changed my mind quickly. I wasn’t ready to face everyone with the embarrassment of everything.

Cullen came over to me and settled his hands on my waist. “We can stay up here. We don’t have to go downstairs with everyone else if you don’t want to,” he assured me gently. I wrapped my arms around his middle and rested my head on his chest. I needed to be touching them. It was like my body was trying to make up for all the lost time with them.

“Okay. Then yea,” I whispered. We stood there for a minute, and I just breathed in his scent. Now that I shifted, I realized he didn’t just smell like chocolate chip cookies; he smelled like my favorite oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies.

“What would you like to do?” Cullen asked into my hair. I shrugged. I didn’t want to do anything other than be with them.

“Why don’t we all watch a movie?” he suggested.

“Okay,” I acquiesced. I probably wouldn’t pay very much attention to it. Cullen leaned back, making me have to loosen my grip on him. Before I could protest, he bent down slightly and picked me up. It caught me off guard, and I moved my arms around his neck to hold on instinctively. I looked at him to see him smiling as he wrapped his arms around me tightly. I wrapped my legs around him, and his smile grew. I felt a beautiful flutter in my chest seeing him smile at me again.

He didn’t break eye contact with me as he moved us over to the couch and sat down right next to Calder. “Dinner will be brought up soon,” Calder said. I unwrapped my arms and legs from around Cullen, positioning myself more comfortably over him. I laid my head on his shoulder as he lightly ran his fingers up and down my back. I sighed in content and let myself melt into his touch. I heard the TV turn on, but I just settled into Cullen, enjoying his scent.

It wasn’t much longer before someone was knocking on the door, and Calder answered it to bring in our dinner. I extricated myself from Cullen’s lap to sit on the couch properly. I was startled to see that there were three large plates of left-overs from the meal I prepared yesterday being set down on the table. I looked up at Calder, trying to figure out what was going on.

He had a sheepish look on his face. “We didn’t get to celebrate with you yesterday. So we thought maybe we could make up for that a little bit tonight. You made all of this, and we didn’t get to try anything. Is that okay?”

I looked between Cullen and him. They both looked nervous, waiting for my answer. For a moment, I thought I should be mad. They should have listened to Gentry and came yesterday. But I didn’t want to be angry with them. I just wanted them to consider their choices and how they affect me. They were trying, though. I knew they realized just how terribly they messed up, and they were genuinely apologetic about it. Finally, I nodded my head, and their shoulders slumped in relief.

Calder

Remi was clingy, which I guess was to be expected after feeling so lonely for so long. We ate the leftovers of the Thanksgiving dinner she made, which were incredible. Slowly she was coming back out of her shell, and my sweet mate was returning. When we were done eating, she crawled over top of me and straddled my lap. She just laid against me and sighed contentedly. I was happy to be her pillow and would never take it for granted again.

Remi’s weight started to get heavy against me, and I figured she was falling asleep. As gently as I could, I lifted her up and repositioned us so that I was lying on my side along the couch with her on her side facing me. I rested her head on my arm and was able to prop my own up over her. Her legs curled up and tangled into mine. I brought my fingers under the hem of her sweater and lightly stroked her soft skin along the top of her pants.

“Maybe we should go somewhere, take her away for a couple of days,” Cullen linked me. His idea had merit. It felt like we were slowly fixing the cracks we caused in our bond all day. We could feel her clearly, and it still bugged me that we never noticed before. If we took her away and spent a few days just the three of us, it might help to make up for everything. I can’t erase what we did, but I could be better in the future.

“We should ask her, though,” I said, a little doubt creeping in that she might not want to go.

“Let’s wake her up and ask her now,” he suggested impatiently. I shot him a dirty look from where I was lying with Remi.

“No,” I told him. He just frowned and turned his attention back to the TV. I continued to trace my fingertips along her skin back and forth. We weren’t in any rush; we could ask her whenever she woke up. I leaned my head down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. Mergers, acquisitions, and everything else could wait. Remi needed our time, and we weren’t going to rush it.

-

I discreetly slipped the small box into my bag and zipped it quickly. I turned around to find Remi on the couch, pulling on her shoes. “Ready, baby?” I asked. She smiled as she jumped up and nodded. She looked adorable today. We told her to dress comfortably because we wanted to leave our destination as a surprise. When she woke up yesterday morning, we asked her if she would like to take a short vacation with us, and she agreed quickly. We spent most of the day locked up in our room again, but then she felt cooped up, so we took her out to the woods to shift and run for a while. Our wolves had all been happy with that decision.

Cullen joined us, his face lighting up when Remi was in his sight once again. We both held our hands out, and she walked right over and placed hers in them. Cullen and I both grabbed our bags in our free hands as we headed out to the car. I told my parents and Gentry about our plans yesterday after we solidified them. Remi finally wanted to join everyone at breakfast this morning, so we did, and everyone fussed over her while glaring at us. It irritated me, but I couldn’t deny that we deserved some of their ire.

Pip was at the front door when we got downstairs. She was standing there with watery eyes. We both let go of Remi so she could say goodbye to her best friend. They hugged each other tightly before Pip held Remi at arm’s length.

“You promise that you’re okay?” Pip asked her.

“Yea. I’m okay,” she told her. Remi’s head turned, and she looked at us over her shoulder. “I feel like this will be good for us.” She had a small smile on her lips. I wanted to kiss those lips and make that smile flourish. We held ourselves back from our desires, letting Remi decide precisely when she wanted us.

Pip looked at us over Remi’s shoulder and narrowed her eyes. “I will end you if you hurt my girl again,” she threatened over link.

Remi laughed. That sound was the best sound I didn’t know I missed. She finally laughed at breakfast this morning, and more weight just lifted from my shoulders at the sound. “You don’t have to threaten them, Pip,” Remi told her.

“You better check in every day, so I know you’re okay,” she scolded. Remi giggled again but nodded her head.

“When we come back, you should bring Ryker over,” Remi suggested.

“Deal,” Pip said. She gave Remi one more big hug before stepping aside so we could have her again. We came over and grabbed her hands again; we went outside to the waiting car. There were two warriors ready to go. I immediately felt her confusion.

“We are leaving the pack territory, baby. We know we can keep you safe, but it's just an additional precaution,” I told her.

“Oh, alright,” she said. I could feel her marginal disappointment and made a note to make sure that we never saw them during our trip.

We loaded into the back of the car, Remi sitting in between us. Once the warriors were in the front seat, we headed away from the packhouse. “So, are you going to tell me yet?” she asked hopefully. Cullen gave her a slight smirk and shook his head. She pursed her lips, her nose scrunching up at the same time. He leaned forward and kissed her nose, melting her pout away from her face.

-

The drive was long but pleasant. We were both bewildered when Remi asked us how the pack mergers were going. We thought she would be resentful of the things we had prioritized over her, not curious. We told her about everything that was going on, promising to bring her with us the next time we visited a pack. She asked us questions about the problems we were working to solve, and we asked her opinion on things. The conversation was easy and natural. It felt like Alphas talking with their Luna. After a while, it shifted effortlessly to all the things she was learning about the Supernatural Realm. There were a few races that she knew far more about than us, which was a welcome surprise. My mother was right; she had put a lot of effort into learning about our Realm. We never thought she wasn’t a worthy Luna for a minute, but it would be hard to deny that she was now.

The sun was setting when we finally reached our destination. We pointed out the window for Remi to look. She unbuckled herself and climbed into my lap for a better view. Her eyes went wide in astonishment as she saw where we were. “What is this place?” she asked breathlessly at the magical landscape around us leading up to the small cabin we would be staying in for a couple of days.

“Welcome to Fae territory, baby,” I whispered.