SWNOVELS Chapter 80: Where is she?
Kane woke the next morning, he wasn’t sure what time he managed to fall asleep at, but it was late or early morning depending on how you looked at it. He also wasn’t sure when she fell asleep or even if she fell asleep, she had tossed most of the night in the bed. Periodically she would get out and move around the room, she sketched for a bit then she would come back to bed and curl up on her side only to get out again. He thought several times about throwing the pillow to the other side of the room and just wrapping her in his embrace, but he didn’t. Something was different this morning, something was off, he still had the covers on and there was no weight on his chest. He sat up in the bed and he was alone. Where is she? A small knot of panic started to form when he didn’t see her anywhere in the room.
He was about to leave the bed and go looking for her when he heard the shower running in the bathroom and her cursing. She’s showering without us! Ky whimpered. He enjoyed their showers as well. She slept without us! He could feel Ky getting upset. His mate was upset and now he was upset. This is your fault! Fix this! He huffed in his head. What do you want me to do Ky? You shouldn’t have sent her to that bitches house! She was the only one that could have gone! You knew she didn’t want to go! We needed her to go! And now she’s mad at us! Fix this NOW! Ky thundered in his head, he wasn’t just upset he was angry. He was a little upset as well, he tossed and turned all night, and when he did sleep it was unsettled, and now he missed his shower with her this morning.
When Dax exited the bathroom, she was fully dressed and didn’t once look over at the bed. A very displeased growl released from him, she completely ignored him and just walked out of the room. This upset him even more, usually she called him on it, but nothing, not even a glance, a hitch in her breath, nothing, she showed absolutely no reaction. She is just being stubborn now! He thought. Two can play this game. I’ll make her crack first, she’ll apologize for being stubborn and that will be that. She’ll be sleeping in my arms tonight where she should be! That does not sound like a way to fix this! She won’t be able to hold out! That is a stupid plan and it will make this worse! She craves us as much as we crave her! It will make it much worse! It’ll be fine, mutt! It won’t be and when we wake up without her tomorrow morning I am licking the toilet! Ky huffed in his head. You will not lick the toilet! Then stop being an idiot and get a new plan! Kane ignored him, he didn’t need him yelling in his head pissing him off. This would work, this had to work, this might not work! Second guessing yourself already? Ky asked smugly. Fuck you, you mangy mongrel! Kane snapped at him. She has a doctor’s appointment today, he’d trap her in a room with him and he’d talk to her. That’s a better plan, make her talk to him. In a room with sharp pointy objects? Fuck off Ky! He got out of the bed and jumped in a quick shower cursing the whole time. He walked to the closet cursing, he got dressed still cursing. He’d get her in the medical ward, they would talk, make up, have breakfast, make up some more and then he would start his day.
Standing in the middle of the medical ward and he felt nothing, her scent was in the air, but he felt no pull in any direction. Where the fuck is she?
“Alpha! Is there something I can help you with?” The doctor asked, approaching him from behind.
“Where’s Luna?” Kane asked, turning to face the doctor.
“She was just here for her appointment, left maybe 10 minutes ago” he replied. Kane stared at the doctor, his jaw was clenched tight and he could feel his anger rising. She came without him! Got a plan c! Fuck you asshole! He couldn’t believe she came without him.
“She’s doing well, her external injuries are healing nicely, she should be able to have the stitches removed sooner than expected, a lot sooner. I am still concerned about her left eye and the frequency of the headaches she’s getting. I have urged her to take it easy and when she feels one hit do not do anything until it passes.” The doctor was saying
“Headaches?” Kane questioned his concern building. Headaches, she’s getting headaches! She never said anything to him about headaches.
“Yes, she said she had one all night last night and she couldn’t get any sleep because of it. It might be nothing, could be something, I want to keep it monitored for the next few visits here and if it’s not getting any better by Thursday I will order another scan for Friday.” The doctor answered, “She has taken substantial damage to the left side and it may be a contributing factor as to why she is getting them. You’ll have to keep a close eye on her as well, it’s a circle, she won’t be able to sleep if she gets one, but if she doesn’t sleep she’ll get them more.” He added, when he saw the look on Kane’s face.
“Thank you doctor,” Kane said. Why the fuck didn’t she tell me? Why the fuck didn’t she wake me up? Because she’s mad at you! I don’t care how fucking mad she is at me, she should have fucking woke me up! He was fuming now, his anger rolled off of him. When he finds her they are going to have a long conversation.
Moving back through the house, he couldn’t find her, he just missed her in the kitchen, when he was told that’s where she was when he went to the dining room. He searched the house, he went back to their room when he didn’t find her there, he went to his office, his fuse about ready to blow it’s like she was avoiding him. She was one step ahead at all times and knew when he was coming. FUCK! He was sitting at his desk when Johnny and Kenneth showed up.
“He’s not talking to you either?” Johnny was asking,
“No he just swears at me in Italian, he invented words to call me, I ask about the house, he says a grown ass man got set up on a playdate and I was a fucking idiot” Kenneth replied, apparently Marco was still pissed as well.
“Feisty pants looks lethal today” Damon exclaimed when he walked in the office.
“You’ve seen her? Where?” Kane asked sitting up looking at him,
“Did you lose her?” Johnny asked, a grin breaking out on his face,
“Where is she?” Kane asked with more force in his voice instead of answering Johnny’s question.
“Training fields, she was talking to Marco and Carter when I left” Damon answered,
“Why the fuck is Marco talking to Carter? Why isn’t he mad at him?” Johnny said,
“Marco’s not talking to you?” Damon asked,
“No, I asked him what happened at the house and he said something in Italian that I didn’t understand but it didn’t sound good, he ain’t talking to Kenneth either” Johnny answered, Kenneth shook his head when Damon looked at him.
“How come he’s not mad at Carter?” Kenneth asked,
“Carter promised to teach him how to paralyze people” Damon replied, Johnny threw his hands in the air and sat in one of the chairs opposite the desk.
“So I take it you didn’t get any?” Damon asked Kane trying not to laugh,
“Fuck you Damon!” Kane replied, glaring at him.
“We need to know about the house” Kenneth changed the topic of conversation sitting in the other chair across from the desk.
“They said the house was freaky. It was like something out of a magazine, everything had its place and everything was in its place.” Damon said as he sat on the couch.
“Of course they spoke to you” Johnny huffed,
“Why wouldn’t they? They have every right to be angry, they got screwed. You don’t think they have a right to be pissed?” Damon asked, looking at them, when he received nothing but shrugs he continued.
“How would you like it if you got manipulated into a playdate with some douche who’s fucked half the town that some bitch tried to set you up with only to lash out at you because her husband sold the store instead of giving it to said douche? Then be essentially forced into going to a funeral of said husband who tried to kill you a few times and almost succeeded? And those are just the times we know about, how many times did he actually try? Three years, he had to have tried more times than three, at least that’s what feisty pants thinks.”
“Then there’s Marco who’s got a thing against tombstones and has no idea why. Not his fault he can’t remember that it’s a tombstone that crushed him and gave him a head trauma. He now has to stand in the middle of a cemetery surrounded by them and he didn’t get to learn how to paralyze people. In his fucked up little brain he’s getting punished and has know idea what he did wrong. No one felt their anger was valid, and just brushed it off. Again I ask you, they don’t have a reason to be pissed the fuck off? If it were me, I’d be fucking livid” Damon added as he continued looking at them all. Putting it in those terms they began to understand a little more why they were taking this so hard and they had to agree their anger was valid. No one other than Damon and Carter agreed with them that they had a reason to be pissed about everything.
“Ok yeah, thinking about it like that, they might have a reason to be pissed” Johnny said, Kenneth just nodded.
“So they decorated it like a magazine,” Kane interjected, forcing the conversation back to the house. Now he had to find her to tell he was sorry he didn’t take her anger seriously. Truthfully he might have, had she not been wearing bunny ears. Asshole! He really was.
“No, they said it was a magazine, like it was all for show. They were afraid to sit down, let alone touch anything. Apparently even the bitch herself was put together, not a hair out of place, and clothes neatly pressed. Feisty pants said maybe it hadn’t hit her yet, but she had all the arrangements made already and everyone was called. She offered to help, thinking maybe they could get a list of names we could go through. Then they noticed photos, said she’s hiding people in them, they were folded over or something. And Marco brought up George. I didn’t get the rest of what he said, just something about George” Damon went on reiterating what they told him.
“George was a friend of Marco’s. Stupid as a post, but a hell of a warrior. Died in a battle and Marco took it hard. But his mom used to fold people out of photos instead of cutting them out. She would say why spend more time and effort on people who weren’t deserving of it.” Kenneth explained,
“That boy’s past just gets more tragic,” Damon commented looking at him.
“You don’t know the half of it” Kenneth replied,
“Marco also said someone else was in the house but they don’t know who, never saw anyone, but they both agreed something felt off, dark about the house….Marco said una presenza oscura era in casa….no idea what the fuck that means.” Damon said,
“A dark presence was in the house” Kenneth translated
“Probably what’s his face, the son, Donny” Johnny replied,
“They are going to try and talk to Donny tomorrow about Kent, that’s if feisty pants can avoid hitting him on sight. And they said they were going to keep track of all the people they meet at the funeral, maybe someone is the connection to Carl” Damon again reiterated what was told to him.
“So they have a plan?” Kane commented,
“Of course they do. They’re pissed not stupid” Damon replied, then put his hands up at the glare Kane gave him.
“What are they doing now?” Kane asked, he hated this, hated getting third hand information. Hated the fact that his mate was going to great lengths to avoid him, he made her mad. No, you made her hella fucking angry! He did, he made her angry, by sending her to that house when he knew she didn’t want to go but doubly so when he brushed off her anger about what happened at the house. He did, he passed it off as her just being mad for no reason, but she has a reason, that family made her life hell and they still were.
“They are going over a list of people they think might be going to the funeral and feisty pants is telling Marco about them as best she can. They plan on talking to a lot of people, she might not have spoken to people but maybe someone there knows something or heard something, lots of people get loose lips at funerals. Lydia says she has a dress she can wear and Seraphine said she can alter it for her for Saturday.” Damon replied,
“What does Lydia say about this?” Johnny was curious,
“Says she has every right to be pissed off and it’s absolute bullshit that she got coerced into going to the funeral, especially after everything that family has done to her. Then she cracked a comment about how it should have been Mrs. Morganson found in a box buried deep in the ground. Then said maybe someone could push her into the grave and Marco could bury her, and that’s my mate and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t fucking proud.” Damon answered. Fucking great! Kane thought, everyone thought she had a valid reason to be mad, but him. Double fucking asshole! Alright Ky, I get it, I fucked up and I’m a big fucking asshole! First step admiting it, second step is to fucking fix this! He was gonna try!
“I don’t want them going to the funeral alone or Mrs. Morganson just might end up in that grave” Kane said,
“Carter said, he would run this by you first but if you said it was ok he would go as well, just stay out of sight, but not hearing range. The cemetery is flanked by the woods on two sides and depending on where the plot was, is where he would be as well.” Damon replied,
“Kenneth will go as well. Carter can keep an eye on Dax and Marco. But we’ll need another set of eyes watching everyone else and in case someone unexpectedly decides to crash.” Kane stated,
“You think Magnus would show up?” Johnny asked,
“I don’t want to take any chances” Kane replied,
“And while they are doing that we are?” Johnny asked,
“Tammy Baker!” Kane replied,
“Oh fuck!” Johnny huffed,
“Who’s Tammy Baker?” Kenneth asked.
“A fling of Damon’s from when we were younger, I think his longest relationship if I might add. Anyway she stole something of his, or had something of his I don’t remember, but he wanted it back and she wouldn’t give it to him. So he and Kane broke into her house to get it and I was the look out. They’re taken forever in the house and I was getting bored standing around outside waiting for them so I went and sat in the car.” Johnny explained,
“She came home while you were sitting in the car didn’t she?” Kenneth asked laughing,
“Yeah!” Johnny nodded his head.
“I hid in the basement, but Kane got stuck hiding in her closet,” Damon added to the story. “So I get out of the basement and make it back to the car and I ask where’s Kane? Johnny looks at me what the fuck do you mean where’s Kane? He’s with you. Does he look like he’s with me? He’s still in the fucking house. We link him and ask where he is, he says he’s in her fucking closet watching her get undressed, cause what the fuck else is he supposed to do being stuck there. I think it was my jacket she stole, and I said while you’re in there look for it and we’ll get you outta there. He told us to take our time” Damon said, looking at Kane.
“I was a 15 year old kid, she was getting naked in front of me. What was I gonna do? Jump out the closet and say no please stop” Kane defended himself.
“At that age, can’t say I would of” Kenneth said,
“I hadn’t even seen her naked….yet” Damon added,
“Anyway Damon gets this idea to start throwing rocks at the house and fucking breaks one of the windows, she comes running outside in a bathrobe and Kane jumps out the bedroom window, with Damon’s jacket.” Johnny was saying,
“I hit the tree and broke every branch on the way down before the ground caught me” Kane interjected,
“Now Damon is stuck in the woods as she’s screaming at whoever it is and she calls Damon. Thank Goddess he never kept his ringer on or we’d have been screwed, but she tells him someone was throwing rocks at the house and broke a window and now she’s scared, he says where are you right now? She tells him she’s standing on the front lawn he tells her to get her stupid ass back in the house and he’ll be there soon. He comes outta the woods and takes the keys from me and says see you boys tomorrow. Kane looks at him ‘Damon you’re our ride.’ Damon looks at him and goes, three’s a crowd. We had to fucking walk home, chucked his fucking coat in the swamp. Joke was on us though, the asshole showed up the next day wearing his coat we threw someone else’s in the swamp” Johnny finished the story.
“You got laid?” Kenneth asked him laughing,
“Yeah! It was a good night for me” Damon replied with a shrug.
Kane sat in his chair, a question kept popping up in his mind. After learning more about Marco, and witnessing what he did the last two days, he needed the answer. He just wasn’t sure how to ask the question, direct was usually the best way but this might be a touchy topic for Kenneth.
“With everything still on hold, what do you want us to do?” Damon asked, breaking him from his thoughts.
“I don’t know! Take a break, until we can get new information, we can’t do anymore” Kane replied,
“Satan’s bride has a doctors appointment today, that’ll be fun too” Johnny announced,
“Have fun with that one. Lydia has one tomorrow” Damon said. They were all about to get up and leave, when Kane stopped Kenneth,
“Stay for a minute Kenneth, I want to talk to you about Marco” Kenneth nodded his head and he sat back down, he was wondering when this conversation would happen. Johnny and Damon shared a look, they wanted to know as well.
“You two can leave” Kane said looking at them,
“They should probably hear as well” Kenneth replied,
“Close the door” Damon nodded and closed the door before he went and sat back down on the couch, Johnny retook his seat in front of the desk.
“How stable is Marco?” His mate was in his protection for a few days and he didn’t need Marco forgetting what his job was.
“If you’re worried about him doing something to her, don’t be he won’t. She started off as his Luna and became his sister and like Damon, family means everything to him. That being said an awful lot has transpired in a short amount of time, that I would give him the next few days after their playdate to process it.” Kenneth replied,
“That’s not my worry. My worry is that she is under his protection for a few days and I don’t need him forgetting what his job is.” Kane responded. Kenneth looked at him, he could see Kane thinking. It was time they learned the story of Marco.
“He lost two years of his life trying to remember the first ten. He had to learn everything all over again. Imagine, having to relearn how to tie your shoes, read, write, work the zipper on a jacket, use a utensil. All the stupid little things we all take for granted or do everyday without a thought. Now imagine having a stranger teaching this stuff to you. A stranger who said he was your family, yet you don’t recognize their face, or scent or the sound of their voice. Marco would get angry, curse and break things. He would lash out, he didn’t understand what was happening to him, why other kids could do these things while he struggled. The hardest one was him relearning what he was, the first time he saw his father shift, he freaked out and ran into the woods and hid. I had to go get him. When I found him he just kep repeating mostro over and over. The second time, he locked his father out of the house yelling ‘Nessun mostro consentito!’ No monsters allowed!” Damon was fighting back his snickers. He knew it wasn’t funny, but he couldn’t help it and the look on Johnny and Kane’s faces told him they were having the same problem.
“His dad had told us repeatedly to stay away from the cemetery, but it was where the older kids went and we wanted to be cool as well. I was just about to turn 12 and Marco was 10. His older brother Niccola was with us, he was 15 at the time, he said we should go anyway and we listened. Niccola was jumping from the tombstones and he slipped and crashed into one. One of those tall obelisks and he broke it, he didn’t know Marco was on the other side and it pinned him underneath. It hit the front of his head and the back smacked off the ground and he was unconscious. Niccola freaked out and didn’t know what to do, I told him he had to get his dad. We couldn’t risk moving it, so he ran home. His dad was pissed, rightfully so, and when they got there Marco still wasn’t responsive, they got him to the medical ward, but he’d slipped into a coma.”
“Days went by and his dad never left his side, then weeks still no improvement, no change. About a month, month and half later, Marco finally woke up. Me, my dad, his dad and his brother were standing in the room while the doctor checked him over. He thought it would be best that people he knew were around him. He looked at me, he looked at my dad, then he looked at his dad and his brother. Then he turned back to me ‘Kenneth, chi sono loro e dov’è mia madre?....Kenneth, who are they, and where’s my mom?’ His mom left when he was three. She suffered postpartum depression when she had him and tried on several occasions to kill him. Marco’s dad couldn’t risk leaving her alone with Marco. So he told her to leave or he’d snap her neck, he had the bond broken and she left. Anyway he got it mixed up in his head, that it was his mom that stayed and his dad and brother left. So he had no idea who the two people in his room were.” Kenneth started explaining, no one said a word they all just sat and listened.
“That was the first time his dad had to explain it to him and watch him take it like a train wreck. ‘Come mai? Ho fatto qualcosa di male? Non ero abbastanza bravo?....Why? Did I do something wrong? Was I not good enough?’ Those questions hold permanent residence in my head. They brought him home, got him settled, and showed him pictures of his mom. He didn’t recognize her, said that wasn’t his mom and they were lying to him, that was the first time I got the knock on the door. ‘Kenneth ci sono degli estranei a casa mia e non so dove sia mia madre. Posso stare con te?....Kenneth there’s strangers in my home and I don’t know where my mom is. Can I stay with you?’ Every day for two years, up at 6 am knocking on my door at 6:30 ‘Kenneth there’s strangers in my home and I don’t know where my mom is. Can I stay with you?’ I would let him in and my dad would call his dad and he would come over and tell him again his mom left when he was three and we’d watch him take it like a train wreck and he’d ask ‘Why? Did I do something wrong? Was I not good enough?’ and his dad would reply that there is nothing wrong with you, there was something wrong with her and you’re more than good enough, you’re a good boy, and they would go home. Just to do it all over again the next day.”
“A week after he turned 12 our dads were talking and they thought it might be for the best that Marco come live with us. He didn’t feel safe in his home living with strangers and his dad wanted him to feel safe. So the day before we were to make this move Marco gets up at 6 am and walks into the kitchen, he gets a bowl, pours himself some cereal and sits at the breakfast bar and says ‘Hey papà’ and proceeds to eat his cereal. When we didn’t hear from Marco my dad called, and his dad said he was talking to his son. For the first time in two years he had a father son conversation with him, not a stranger son conversation. It was the happiest day of his life, he said it was like a fog lifted. It was also the last day. Alpha Luciano wanted to expand his territory and declared war on another pack. My dad couldn’t get to him in time and Marco’s dad was jumped and pinned down by six other wolves.” Kenneth bowed his head and took a deep breath before he continued.
“We were at the cemetery for the funeral and heading towards the grave and he was fine and then he brushed past a tombstone and he just lost it. He couldn’t understand it, couldn’t explain it but my dad had to literally carry him out of the cemetery. We sat in the back of the car, and he asked what was wrong with him, he didn’t know why he did that. That was the first time I told him about getting crushed by the tombstone, hitting his head and Niccola being the one that knocked it over on him. And he was quiet for a moment and he said ‘Ok, vorrei andare a seppellire mio padre adesso….Ok, I’d like to go bury my dad now.’ So we got out of the car and he made it past the first row of tombstones and that was it he couldn’t go further. I got him back to the car and he looked at me and asked again what was wrong with him, and again I told him about the tombstone. After the third time telling him about it I began to realize he’ll never remember it and he will always have this fear of them and never be able to understand why. We watched the funeral from the car.”
“About a week later at 6 am I got a knock on the door. ‘Kenneth there’s a stranger in my home and I don’t know where my mom is. Can I stay with you?’ I let him in and my dad called Niccola. He came over and he explained that their mom left and she wasn’t coming back. Then Niccola asked if he knew where dad was and Marco said yes we buried him. This happened for about two weeks and my dad could see Niccola starting to crack, he was 17, he lost his dad, he’s trying to take care of his brother who doesn’t recognize him. So they decided that Marco would live with us. He lived with us for three years, then one day he walks into the kitchen and asks where Niccola is, my dad said he’s at home. Marco just nodded his head and got himself some breakfast. Just before Marco turned 16 he moved back in with Niccola and I moved in with them. If we needed anything my dad was next door, but it gave us privacy and a little bit of freedom, we did some shit, don’t get me wrong we weren’t breaking into people’s houses, but we did our fair share.” Kenneth continued,
“George was a good friend of Marco’s like I said stupid as a post, but a good friend. He was one of the only ones, other than myself and my dad and his brother, that didn’t view Marco as damaged. To the rest of the pack he was Julio’s damaged boy. Fuck our Alpha at the time called him damaged to his face. ‘Kenneth take damaged here and go do this, Niccola take damaged and go get this’ It pissed Niccola off. Funny part is, put a computer in front of that boy and look at what he can do. About 80% of Luciano’s money came from Marco. Anyway Marco was 18 when Luciano wanted more land and he declared war on another pack, Marco told George to stay with him, but he was stupid and charged straight into the thick of it. Marco couldn’t even go to the funeral. A year later he lost Niccola after Luciano killed him. For 6 months he would say he’s going to see Niccola and then he’d walk away only to stop and remember that Niccola died and he was thrown in the river. Marco would end up there searching for him. I would find him and tell him Jackie and Luca were waiting for him at home.” Kenneth said finishing his history lesson on Marco,
“Holy fuck!” Johnny said sniffling, Kane saw Damon wipe a tear from his cheek over Kenneth’s shoulder.
“He knows what his job is. But he has bad days, he might forget why he’s supposed to be protecting her, not that he’s supposed to be protecting her. If he can’t remember why then he won’t let her do it period and there won’t be any arguing with him about it. I did once and I woke up locked in the trunk of the car, he didn’t let me out till we got back to pack grounds.” Kenneth stated,
“He locked you in the trunk of a car?” Damon asked, trying not to laugh,
“We were going to sign a peace treaty with the Blue Thunder Pack, and Marco forgot why we were going. He knew his job was to protect me and because he couldn’t remember why we were going into enemy territory he wouldn’t let me go. I tried to argue with him, and that was it, I was apparently being stubborn and wouldn’t listen to reason, and he said non carichi nelle linee nemiche….you don’t charge into enemy lines and he put me down. I woke up in the trunk and had to call him to let me out. He said no, not until we get back to our territory, I was being an idiot and he hung up the phone. When he did let me out, I had to explain to him why we were going there.” Kenneth explained,
“Is that why the treaty didn’t get signed, because Marco locked you in the trunk?” Kane was trying not to laugh, the Alpha of the Blue Thunder Pack didn’t take being stood up too kindly and he declared war, Kane, Johnny and a handful of other warriors showed up and put an end to it.
“Si!” Kenneth said, nodding, his own grin on his face.
“That boy’s got some stories, but you feel bad for laughing at them, if he wasn’t crushed by a tombstone, he wouldn’t be the way he is” Damon commented, “That being said I wanna see him put feisty pants in a trunk” Johnny cracked up laughing nodding in agreement.
“I don’t, I’d have to be the one to open it and she wouldn’t be too happy. Someone would get hit” Kane replied. She was already pissed at him.
“He only spoke Italian?” Kane asked,
“He had to relearn English and it’s his first language, but he forgot it and fell back on Italian. Alpha Luciano demanded he speak English and threatened to snap his neck if he didn’t. So he only ever spoke to his brother, me and my father” Kenneth explained. “Doctors told him with practice he’s supposed to get better, but he finds it easier to speak Italian. He understands English though, so talking to him is fine, but it ends up being a one-sided conversation if you don’t know Italian. He does get away with saying whatever he wants though” Kane couldn’t fight the grin on his face. He was pretty sure Marco had said a few things to him.
“So in between remembering who his brother was and his friend dying, there was a bitch in the bed, and the post-its on Jackie?” Johnny asked when he calmed down.
“There was also the house” Kenneth answered nodding his head,
“He’s got a house story?” Damon asked,
“Si! It was about a month after the bitch in the bed and Niccola wanted to go to a college party. I didn’t want to go, but Marco said he’d go with him. About 2 in the morning I got this phone call ‘Kenneth, sono a casa di qualche puttana, devi venire a prendermi….Kenneth I’m at some bitches house, you have to come get me’ I asked him where he was and he said he was in the closet. I said that’s great Marco, now I know your location in the house, where’s the house? He said he had no clue and he’s whispering. I asked him why he’s whispering and he said the bitch was looking for him. I asked him if he went home with a girl and he said he didn’t know. I asked him if he slept with her, the line went quiet for a moment and I thought we got disconnected. Then he comes back on the line ‘Questo spiegherebbe perché sono in mutande….this would explain why I’m in my underwear’” Johnny broke out laughing at that point.
“So he’s hiding in the closet in his underwear, from a girl he went home with and forgot he slept with while whispering to you on the phone because she’s looking for him?” Johnny choked out,
“Si! I asked him where Niccola was and he said he didn’t know. I said ok I have to call Niccola, he starts panicking ‘Non lasciarmi in questa casa, Kenneth, non lasciarmi con quella puttana….don’t leave me in this house, Kenneth, don’t leave me with that bitch’ I told him I was going to come and get him, but I needed to figure out where he was first, I needed to call Niccola. ‘Don’t leave me in this house, Kenneth’ I told him I was coming to get him right now and I hung up and called Niccola asking where Marco was, he didn’t know either, said some girl was all over him the last time he saw him. I told Niccola well he went home with said girl and he doesn’t know where he is and he’s starting to freak out. Niccola starts laughing that his brother slept with someone and doesn’t remember, but said he would find out and let me know. Joke was on Niccola, when he started asking about his brother, it turned out he made out with 12 other girls at the party including the girlfriend of a very pissed off sorority boy before he went home with one.” Damon broke out laughing at that point and Kane was trying to contain himself.
“Niccola called me and told me his brother was a player and didn’t even know it. He ended up at a sorority house Kappa, Zeta something or other, here’s the punch line. By the time I got to the house, he had slept with five other girls including having a threesome and was in the process of bedding the sixth. I walked into the house and heard her screaming ‘Fuck me Marco, fuck me harder’ I waited outside and let him finish. He fell out of her bedroom trying to put his briefs back on asking her why she was fucking loud?” Kenneth continued his story.
“He slept his way through a sorority house in one night? Fuck, I haven’t even done that” Damon would be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed.
“He was still trying to figure out where the fuck he was when I got his attention. He was very excited to see me. We get outside and we’re walking back to the car. ‘Kenneth, chi sono tutte quelle puttane?....Kenneth, who are all those bitches?’ he asks, I tell him I don’t know. ‘Che cazzo ci faccio in questa casa?....What the fuck am I doing at this house?’ Getting laid 6 ways from Sunday. He looks back at the house then looks at me ‘Ho dormito con tutte quelle puttane?....I slept with all those bitches?’ I said yes you did, he just nodded then asked me if we can go to a diner for breakfast, because he’s really hungry. At this point I’m about ready to crack, I told him we couldn’t go to a diner and he asked me why. I told him he didn’t have any clothes on and they wouldn’t allow him in, wearing just his underwear. ‘Kenneth, dove sono i miei vestiti?....Kenneth, where’s my clothes?’ Probably in the room of one of those bitches I said. ‘Possiamo fare colazione comunque, ho davvero molto fame!...Can we get breakfast anyway, I’m really really hungry!’ I broke and just started laughing, said I’ll see what I can do and get in the car Marco,” Kenneth finished his story as the room erupted into laughter.
“How does Jackie deal with it?” Damon asked when the laughter died down, they were all curious about that.
“She calls him her object burying wacko. She considers herself really lucky that it only took three months for him to recognize her and not 5 years and she has the patience of a saint with him. He absolutely adores her, she’s his whole world, his home and no matter the day he’s having he always comes home,” Kenneth answered.
Kane sent them out of his office, telling Kenneth after their playdate tomorrow Marco was to take a few days off. After hearing a little more back story on Marco, he was feeling a little more comfortable letting him be in charge of her protection for the next few outings. Marco wouldn’t let anything happen to her, and if he couldn’t remember why they were supposed to be doing something then they weren’t doing it, though he was a little concerned that if she argued with him she’d end up in the trunk and he’d be the one who’d have to let her out. Part of him hoped he wouldn’t remember they had to go to lunch tomorrow with Donny. He didn’t want her to go to lunch with Donny, he’s never met him, but he didn’t like the things he’s heard.
Kane walked out of his office, he had to find her, she was angry and tired and getting headaches and they needed to have a talk. Her last known whereabouts were the training fields with Carter and Marco he would pick his search for her back up there. Or not! He thought as he saw Carter making his way into the kitchen looking freshly showered.
“Carter, where’s Dax?” Kane asked him,
“Her and Marco were heading to the library, I thought” Carter looked concerned that she might be missing.
“Thank you Carter!” He moved towards the library but when he entered he didn’t see them. He didn’t see anybody. FUCK! Where is she? He was starting to panic now, there were only so many places she could be. He checked the games room, and a few of the other rooms and still when he couldn’t find her a thought entered his mind. What if she left? What if she got in a vehicle and left? What if she had got a headache while driving and something happened? If the doctor told her not to do anything when she got one that means something bad could happen. How bad were these headaches? All these thoughts flooded through his mind as he made his way to the garage. A missing vehicle doesn’t mean she took off! Ky told him. Doesn’t mean she stayed either! Seeing Marco in the kitchen
“MARCO!” Kane yelled causing him to stop whatever he was doing, he stood there frozen.
“Sorry, where is she?” Kane asked, looking at him.
“Chi? (Who?)” Marco didn’t even raise his eyes to him, he just stood there staring straight ahead at the floor.
“Look at me Marco” hesitantly he lifted his head and stared at him with wide eyes,
“I do….some….some-thing?” He asked swallowing hard,
“No, where’s Dax?” Kane asked,
“Oh, eravamo in biblioteca e lei stava prendendo un mal di testa….head….hurt” Marco couldn’t get the word out, he knew what he wanted to say, but the word wasn’t coming to him.
“Head hurt? Headache? She got a headache?” Kane asked, when it registered what Marco was trying to tell him.
“Si! Suggerisco un pisolino, sembrava stanca. Aiuta Jackie (It helps Jackie)” Marco replied,
“Stanca….stanca….tired? She looked tired?”
“Si!”
“She’s in our room?” Kane asked,
“Si è diretta in quella direzione” Marco said.
“Thank you Marco!”
Kane ran out of the kitchen and took the stairs two at a time to get to their floor. She has to be there, please let her be there! The alternative was she was no longer on the property and that thought terrified him. She wouldn’t leave the property alone would she? Moving down the hall he walked into their room. She wasn’t in the bed though the covers were messed up, she wasn’t on the couch, but her pencils and sketch book were on the coffee table. He was about to check the bathroom when he felt a pull towards the closet. He stared at the door, taking a deep breath he pulled it open. Hit instantly with her scent he inhaled it deeply. She was curled up on the floor, her face had black smudges and smears all over it and she was asleep. He released his breath and sat on the floor in the closet gathering her in his arms and he held her close to him. Breathing in deep, he didn’t know what he would have done if he didn’t find her. Would have lost your fucking mind! Ky commented. Fuck you Ky! Though he knew he was right, he would have sent every member of his pack out to look for her and there would be no resting till she was found.
Dax mumbled something into his chest about being mad at him, but she snuggled in closer, laying her head over his heart, allowing it to beat her lullaby.
“I know baby! And I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. You had every right to be angry yesterday. You were manipulated and coerced into something you shouldn’t have to do. If you don’t want to go I won’t make you” Kane whispered into her head.
“We need the information” she mumbled,
“But you don’t have to be the one that gets it, we’ll figure out another way” Kane replied,
“It’s ok! Carter said he wasn’t comfortable with me going anywhere without him and he’ll be across the street from the diner. If things get weird Marco will signal him and he’ll call Marco’s phone, we’ll say it’s his wife and there’s a problem with one of the kids. Marco’s my ride so we both have to leave.” She told him. He held her closer to him running his hands up and down her arms, then he moved to the base of her neck. Feeling her relax into him more.
“Why are we in the closet baby?” He asked,
“The world got too big! I got a headache while we were in the library, and I tried to have a nap, but I couldn’t so I started sketching, but then thoughts started popping into my head and my headache got worse, so I sat in the closet to make the world smaller.” She answered,
“Why didn’t you tell me about your headaches? Why didn’t you tell me they were bad? You should have woke me up” Kane asked, he turned her in his lap so she was straddling his waist and was looking at him.
“You didn’t sleep very well last night and when you finally did fall asleep I didn’t want to wake you up. You needed your sleep” she said looking at him.
“I didn’t sleep very well because you weren’t in my arms. You didn’t sleep at all, because you had a headache and if you woke me up I might have been able to help. I don’t care what it is, you wake me up is that understood? If it affects you then it affects me and I want to know, and you don’t see the doctor without me either.” She nodded her head,
“Why are you looking like an adorable dalmatian again?” Dax scrunched her face up at him and tried to wipe the smudges off only to make it worse. He started chuckling and grabbed a hold of her hand.
“You’re making it worse!” he said,
“I was working on some art for our room” she said, answering his dalmatian question.
“Do you still have a headache?” He asked, moving his hands back to the base of her head he started to message her neck. Nodding her head Dax leaned forward into him resting her forehead on his chest. She would moan lightly when he hit somewhere she liked. Messaging behind her ears had her purring.
’I’m upset with you as well!” Kane said as he continued to message her, enjoying the feeling of her against him.
“Why?” She asked looking up at him,
“You showered without me this morning” he answered, but when she saw a smile grace his lips she gave him a quizzical look.
“You now look like an adorable dalmatian, and I get to clean you up.” Before she could protest he pressed his lips to hers, cupping the back of her head, her mouth moved with his. Kissing her harder, his demand was high, his want was higher, but his need for her was the greatest of all. Kane made quick work of removing the sling from around her arm and the buttons on her shirt, he pulled it from her shoulders, kissing down her jaw, to her neck to her exposed shoulders. She pressed into him, moving her hips in a slow circle, when she rocked into him he released a low growl and his hands grasped her. Then she did it again, slow circles pressing into him, making sure he could feel her. His hands on her hips tensing, building him then she’d rock and he would release a growl. This was supposed to be him seducing her, him priming her, building her, but his little mouse turned the tables on him. If she didn’t stop he’d take her on the floor of their closet and he’d never get his shower with her.
“That’s cheating!” He growled out as she rocked into him again. She pressed her lips lightly to his, gently brushing them across his, she flicked his lip with the tip of her tongue.
“Playing the advantage. This is cheating” she released a low slow sensual growl, then let it build and grow louder, sending multiple shivers up his spine. The electrical currents he felt across his skin began to dance and sing with the sound she produced, his body vibrating with anticipation. This woke some part of him he didn’t even know existed and he crashed his mouth onto hers cutting the sound off. The shower could wait, he wanted her now, removing the rest of their clothes he took her on the floor of their closet.
“Where did you learn that?” He breathed out when he was able to.
“Damon gave me some books to read. There’s a whole section in one on growling and I’ve been practising.” She said with a smile on her lips.
“What else have you learned?” He kissed her neck, her little giggle told him she’s learned a few things and he’s going to have a lot of fun finding out what they are.
“Now I get my shower!” He scooped her into his arms and she wrapped her legs around him as he carried her into the bathroom.
Kane had laid in the bed with her after he thoroughly cleaned her in the shower. Telling her she wasn’t allowed to shower without him anymore, and she countered what if he’s not home to shower with. He caved and said that was fine, but if he’s home she only gets to shower with him, he likes his shower time with her. Dax would only admit it to herself that she likes shower time with him as well. And she only showered this morning without him to punish him for being a jerk and she hated every second of it, so she ultimately ended up punishing herself in the process. She was sound asleep in the bed when he left it and he looked at her sketchbook to see what she was doing. The art she was creating for them was amazing. She had sketches of wolves running, wolves fighting, a sketch of a human walking and as he went he shifted into a wolf, and so many more, but the one that really caught his eye was of a man and a woman standing underneath a tall oak tree in a small clearing with the woods surrounding them. His outstretched arm holding him up as he leans against the tree while his other hand caresses her cheek, he stares down at her while she looks up at him, her hands grip his shirt pulling him closer to her. It was the look on her face that really caught his eye, her beautiful full heart shaped mouth upturned as a gentle smile graced her delicate elvin face, her eyes danced and sparkled, knowing that he was meant for her and only her. If this picture made it into their room he would be happy. He looked at her laying in the bed sleeping peacefully, and an idea started to form in his mind. Not knowing when she’d wake up he had to move fast, he wanted to surprise her.
A few hours later he was standing in the room looking at his work, it took a bit longer than he thought it would. Fuck, did they have a lot of shit stored in the attic, but he had gotten a good portion of it cleared out. He found a few desks not being used, a few lamps for temporary lighting until he got better lighting up there. A few shelving units that he put her sketchbooks, jars, paints and brushes on. He set up her easel and fought with himself over looking at the piece he had commissioned. He didn’t look, but fuck was he tempted, he wanted that to be his surprise. He hoped she’d like it, he still kept some of her art supplies downstairs, so she can sketch wherever she wants, whenever she wants, but he wanted this to be her main studio in the house. Some place for her to go, some place she doesn’t have to wear pants if she doesn’t want to. He would get better seating for her as well, maybe a nice couch and a rug. His excitement building at what she might think of this, he went to go get her. He wouldn’t normally wake her up but he wanted her to see.
He walked into the room and a smile crossed his face at what he saw, she was looking for something. Cursing to herself or at herself he wasn’t too sure.
“What are you doing?” He asked as he saw her crawling around on the floor looking under the couch.
“I lost some of my pencils” she said still with her head down and butt in the air as she looked under the couch.
“Not that I am not enjoying the view of your sexy little ass in the air, but I need you to come with me” she sat up straight and looked over her shoulder at him.
“Why are you dirty? And I don’t mean your mind, I mean your clothes” She asked, arching her eyebrow.
“I don’t have a dirty mind!” he countered,
“Really, no images came to mind when you walked in and my sexy little ass was in the air.” she shot back, with a smirk. His eyes shot open and his mouth dropped, but not even he could deny a few things came to mind when he walked in and saw that.
“Uh huh!” was all she said and went back to looking for her pencils.
“I’ll help you find your pencils in a minute, I need you to come with me now.” he gathered her in his arms and carried her out the door.
“Kane, put me down! I’m not wearing pants!” She gasped at the suddenness of being picked up and carted out the door. Instead of going towards the stairs they went left down the hallway and came to a different door.
“You don’t need pants! Close your eyes!” He said,
“Where are we going that I don’t need pants?” She asked looking up at him,
“Close your eyes” he repeated,
“Why?” She asked,
“Just close your eyes, please” Dax looked up at him, biting her bottom lip but did as she was told. She could feel his excitement building, but she didn’t understand why.
“No peeking!” He ordered,
“Ok!” She said.
Kane held her closer to him as he opened the door to the attic and carried her up the stairs, the closer he got to the top the more excited he became. He placed her gently on the ground still telling her to keep her eyes closed. She was starting to feel restless, her curiosity at his excitement was getting the better of her, she wanted to open her eyes.
Dax was standing somewhere unfamiliar in her panties, and normally she wasn’t allowed out of their room without pants on. Granted she has forgotten a few times, but she’s been good lately.
“Can I open my eyes now?” She asked,
“It’s a little rough still, and more work needs to be done, but yeah, open your eyes baby” he said. Dax opened her eyes and blinked a few times, she took in her surroundings. The open space of the attic was huge. It spanned the whole house. She looked everywhere, she saw the desks, the shelves, her sketchbooks. She saw her paint, her brushes. The easel and the canvas she was working on.
“It’s a little dusty and ok needs a lot more work but….” he stopped talking when he saw the huge smile on her face, she was so excited she was practically jumping up and down as she looked around the space. She threw herself into his arms.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you” she peppered kisses all over his face, thanking him over and over again. He didn’t even have to ask if she liked it; he got his answer right there in the attic.
“Maybe we should get a bed up here” he breathed out. She giggled as she lay cuddled in his arms on the desk.
“Lucky me, you’re all dirty again” he growled in her ear, she shivered against him and his hands started to roam over her body.
“Guess you better clean me up!” She replied, smiling looking up at him.
“Guess I better” he claimed her lips once again, gathering her in his arms he moved them quickly back to their room.
The rest of the day was spent either in their bed or on the couch, though Dax was terrible at movies he found she would sit through nature shows, and they were watching one on piranhas.
“What a way to go?” Kane commented when the show ended, he might have to use that in 1000 ways to die next time he played.
“I’m hungry!” She announced, causing him to laugh. She looked at him confused, by what was so funny.
“Only you could watch a school of piranhas rip the flesh off something and declare you’re hungry” he pulled her into his arms kissing her. Though he had to admit he was hungry as well, they worked up an appetite. Quickly getting dressed they headed down to the kitchen to get supper.
Back in their room after supper, he put on a movie, she tried not to talk through it and succeeded for the most part, she was busy sitting on the floor in front of him sketching in her book. While he laid out on the couch watching her focus on what she was doing. He liked watching her draw, she made the cutest little faces, but he could see she was starting to get tired.
“Are you starting to get tired, baby?” He asked, running his hand up her back.
“A little bit,” she replied, rubbing her eyes.
“Why don’t we head to bed?” He asked, helping her up from the ground. She nodded and went to get ready, while he turned everything off. Crawling into bed beside her after he finished in the bathroom, he wrapped his arms around her and cuddled her close to him.
Dax tried to sleep. She really did, she was tired but she was too excited to sleep. He made her the start of an art studio upstairs and she was dying to use it. He said it was someplace she could go and not have to wear pants, if she didn’t want to, and she didn’t want to, she didn’t want to wear pants in her art studio. She shifted again beside him, maybe she could wiggle out of his grasp and go upstairs for a bit, just a little bit. Not long, 20 minutes, half hour, an hour at the most. It was only ten thirty, she’d be back down at midnight the latest.
“Don’t be up there long” he mumbled, kissing her head and letting her go. A big grin spread across her face and she was about to get out of the bed, before she threw her arm around him one more time and gave him a kiss before she scrambled out of the bed, listening to his deep chuckle as she left the bedroom with her sketchbook and pencils.