SWNOVELS Chapter 154
Chapter 22
When Bronx comes back, he has Mrs. Miller in tow. I come out of the bedroom with a big smile when I hear her voice. She is one of my favorite people. Left to our own devices, she and I can experiment with new recipes and trade technique ideas all day long. Bronx is carrying the ingredients I asked for. She is carrying a pizza box. As soon as she sets it down, I throw myself into her arms.
"Oh, Luna, we have been so worried about you. I am glad to see you back at home safe and sound," she comforts me in a warm hug while she smoothes my hair.
"I'm glad to be back, Mrs. Miller," I grin, "I am going to come see you this week about ideas for sandwiches for the bakery."
"Of course Luna. You know where to find me," she squeezes me a little harder before she says goodbye and takes her leave.
Bronx takes our pizza to the living room so we can relax while we eat and talk. This is how he and I usually talk about pack or regent business when there are tough decisions involved. We have found it works better for us than being in one of our offices.
Once we settle in, I take a huge bite of the pizza. It is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. That may be my hungry stomach speaking on my behalf, but it really is delicious.
"So where do you want to start?" Bronx gives me the option to talk about what I want. He knows me better than to make me talk about what he wants to hear first. We will get to it, eventually. I don't even have to think about what I want to start with. It's been on my mind since I woke up from my nap.
"Can we start with James?" I request, wiping my mouth with a napkin.
"Of course, Baby. You want to go first, tell me what happened? Or do you want me to tell you what we know?"
"I can start," I give a quick nod before explaining that I didn't recognize his scent and that when I opened the bedroom door, I didn't recognize him. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, not his usual black suit. "So, you don't remember me telling you he would be out here?" Bronx looks confused. "I-I'm sorry, but I don't remember that at all," I frown, trying to recall any conversation about James being inside our apartment.
"Alright, well, how come you didn't just mind link Marco? Why act so aggressively? That's not like you, Kas. I think that is the part we are so concerned about. You weren't just trying to incapacitate an intruder to protect yourself. You tried to kill him," his tone is serious and firm, "Was Lex influencing you?"
"Excuse me?!" Lex growls, "You had better tell him it wasn't my idea, Kas."
"No. In fact, Elexis tried to stop me," I use her full name for emphasis, "There was just this part of me that felt more... I don't know...independent? No. Alone? That's not right either."
Bronx watches patiently as I try to find the right word.
"Primal. No. Feral. Yeah. It felt like there was a part of me that was feral. Like I needed to attack him," I look at him to see if he comprehends.
"Alright. Is there anything else I should know about that feeling?" His expression hints that he knows something I don't. I'm confused by the question, "I-I don't think so. I mean, I don't feel like that anymore now It's over now."
Bronx takes a bite of pizza and looks at me, clearly trying to figure out what to say. Finally, he cocks his head to the side, "Do you remember me bringing you back to the packhouse this morning from the woods?"
"I remember you carrying me and I remember telling you I'm still mad at you...which I am...but that is a conversation for another night," I hold my hands up, not wanting to start an argument. "Hmm...Kas, do you know anyone named Cora?"
"Not that I know of? Should I?"
"I don't know yet, Saint mentioned the name. How about a group called the Feral? Is that something you remember? Maybe it could be a group of wolves from Silver Moon? Or do you know if Silver Moon ever had witches on their territory?"
"I never saw any witches. I definitely don't remember any groups calling themselves the Feral. Why do I feel like we had this conversation?"
"Nah, don't worry about it," he brushes off my question, "But saying you felt feral and the fact that you wouldn't eat human food, then involuntarily shifted in the hospital wing so Lex could go eat raw food makes me more and more feel like this was a group of witches that enchanted you or something."
"I guess it could be? Maybe we could ask Delilah if she had ever heard of a group like that. Once James is out of the hospital wing, though. I'm sure I stressed her out enough," I sigh, then take another bite of pizza, trying to push my worry down. I need to think about Delilah later. We are still in business mode here," Okay, your turn."
Bronx puts his plate down and adjusts his position before he looks at me, "So, we had James and Marco come up here for guard duty since we didn't know if the people who took you would try to show up again. They weren't wearing their usual suits because they came within fifteen minutes of me mindlinking them. We all figured you would sleep most of the day. We positioned James inside, so if something happened that the hospital wing wouldn't be able to handle, he could call Delilah right away. I also didn't want you in here by yourself. I know I told you I was leaving, but I didn't know what your state of mind was going to be when you woke up. We definitely didn't think it would be murdery." 3
"BRONX!" I squawk.
"Sorry, that was uncalled for, but you get the idea," he's the one putting his hands up now, "Marco explained to Lenora that the maneuver was one they had taught you to use for extreme emergencies and had not really practiced it. So how did you know it would work?"
"I could see it in my mind. Exactly where I needed to put my feet. Exactly how much pressure I needed in my hands, how far I would need to lean back so he couldn't throw me off. It's like it all instinctually calculated itself in my mind. I just had to execute with precision," I shrug, "Looking back on it, I don't know why I didn't recognize his scent." 1
"So, Kas, you should know, you were able to mostly heal him, but he is definitely going to have scars left on his neck. I don't know what his mindset is right now. I just want you to be prepared that there could be a possibility he might not want to come back as your
guard."
"I-I, umm, okay," I swallow a hard lump forming in my throat. "It even freaked Marco out," Bronx continued," Lenora had to send him home with Musu."
"Okay," I fight back a feeling of panic, "Can we give them both some time off? Before they ask for it? Give them time to think about if they want to be my guards. I-I understand if they don't but I don't want them to decide right now. Maybe some time away could help."
"Calm down, Baby. We will figure it out, but yes, we will give both of them some time off," Bronx reaches out and takes my hand, "I have already talked to Tyree and Ashley is pulling a few guys from Milo's ops team to cover guard duty for you."
I clap my hands on my cheeks, "What have I done, Bronx?"
He doesn't answer. He just looks at me sympathetically. I shake my hands out and stand up.
"Just give me a minute," I request, "It's just...a lot."
"It's okay, Kas. Take your time."
I wander into the kitchen and lean my arms on the counter and rest my forehead on my arms. I take a few deep breaths but it can't stop the silent tears from rolling down my face. The only thing I can do is to pray to the Moon Goddess, to my mother that she won't take my guards away from me. I feel Bronx's hand rubbing my back. 1
"Are you alright, Baby?"
I shake my head. If I try to talk right now, it's going to give my emotions away. I don't want Bronx to worry about me even more. "Kas, I can feel how bad you're hurting. Come on, come here," he tugs on the back of my shirt, making me stand up.
I turn around and wrap my arms around him and let myself actually cry into his shirt. He smooths my hair and whispers that it's going to be alright. When I finally calm down, he leads me back to the sofa, so we can finish talking about pack business.
He tells me about the weird "coincidence" of seeing a video of the CEO of Santoro Industries being killed by one of my sisters and his wife calling to request a meeting with Bronx directly for MasonCo contract negotiations.
"One of my sisters did that? But she couldn't have attacked you. All the photos we have seen, she has silver hair and violet eyes like I do. I think you would have recalled that when you met me."
"Yeah, we are still trying to figure out how it all connects, but I wanted you to know. We have seen these women do some messed up things, but never as far as killing someone."
"You know what? I could go for that banana now. But only if it is covered in ice cream and chocolate syrup," I say blankly.
"Well, you have come to the right place. Peeling bananas and scooping ice cream is my specialty. You're on your own for the chocolate syrup though," Bronx looks at me and smiles at his attempt at a joke to lighten the mood, officially ending talk of business for the night.