Who is Magpie?

They had wanted to throw a feast for the new Luna the night before, but it had been a rather somber evening. Even tonight, though she hid it well, pain had been her plus one to dinner. Ezekiel could feel her twinge every time she moved and used the wrong foot to adjust herself in the seat. They decided to hold off until she could dance too, since she liked it so much before.

She was glad they were delaying it, if only to give her more time to talk them out of it. Even being more confident within the pack, she didn’t like the idea of intentional focus being on her, more like when she made a witty remark, or pinned someone to the mat in three moves. A feast for her because she didn’t die and slept with their Alpha seemed like a strange party for her.

When her and Ezekiel left the hall for their bedroom she didn’t bother with the crutches at all. Standing on her chair when they were ready to leave she simply leaned over and fell on him to wrap her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She nuzzled into the side of his neck, rubbing against her spot in the crook with her cheek. It sent warm sparks through his body that he fought to control in front of his grandmother..

He carried her to the bathroom and together they got ready for bed. While in the closet she stole one of his shirts to wear, negating the underwear since it wasn’t likely to last. This was the first day that she could consider almost back to normal, and, with the option, they took their time touching each other.

There was no time restraint, no where to be, and nothing waiting on them in those moments between the sheets. They had time to dwell on how their tongues danced together as they kissed, and watch for each other’s reactions to their different touches. Jessamine tried to calm her worries with Bronx’s words, vowing to get to know Ezekiel better, and she thought there was no better time.

Hours later they were both exhausted enough to fall asleep, and they did so wrapped tightly in each other. Jessamine let his content feelings rock her to sleep, and Ezekiel curled into the feelings of love he felt from her.

Their wolves didn’t show themselves again, and, despite the small amount of disappointment, they understood that it would happen when the moment was right. Jessamine could feel her wolf’s approval, feeling a small amount of relief that she hadn’t done something wrong, and it was just a test of patience.

Bronx had left the dining hall before Jessamine and Ezekiel, and though she expected it, her side felt colder when she woke up the next morning. They didn’t see him again until their meeting when he carried three mugs into the space, and she was only too happy when she smelled it first and found alcohol. She tried to be careful not to touch him when taking the mug, but his large hand wrapped around it and their fingers brushed regardless.

Jessamine ignored the worry that told her to apologize for touching him, but she couldn’t help feeling the loss of the relationship they had before. She touched Ezekiel in some way during the whole meeting, first her hands restlessly tangled with his while the video call was still loading, and then her ankle wrapped around his under the table as her hands tangled with each other. The next three hours her complexion grew increasingly paler as she worked backwards through every mission she had been sent on or overheard about.

It was slow going, and the questions were many, but without Wallace it was a lot less hostile.

By the end of it they had determined that most of what she had done they had no knowledge the Fae were even involved. It wasn’t something she found encouraging, and the guilt consumed her that she had hurt the people even more now that they accepted her as family.

By the final hour her gut wretched in her stomach like it wanted to empty itself into the nearest bin. She hadn’t imagined discussing it would have such an affect on her, underestimating just how much of her the tea had turned off. Even the counsel through the camera could see how much the discussion had taken from her, and when their lunch was brought in she couldn’t eat it.

The call ended while Bronx and Ezekiel were still eating but Jessamine excused herself and returned to their room.

“How could that have only been this last year?” Ezekiel demanded, feeling more frustration at all she’d been through alone.

“I’m surprised she lasted that long, after the first hour just listening I felt spent.” Bronx took another bite to fill his stomach despite not being hungry.

“So was she, she just masks very well. It’s her nervous hands that really give her away.” Ezekiel ate as well, more to keep up his strength than anything.

Bronx hit the table suddenly in frustration. “We were so close to her so many times. The fire in Lorell, the theft at Burnelli’s,… the Fucking marathon when all those cyclists fell and the town hall was broken into.” He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, feeling a headache starting. “And that’s just this last year, who knows how many other times she was right there.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, there’s no way you would have looked at her and thought she was in any trouble. You remember how she was when she came in. She wouldn’t even answer questions the first half of the day,” he reminded and Bronx wanted to argue but couldn’t bring himself to. “What is it brother? You’ve never been so docile as you have been around Jessamine, but now you’ll hardly even look at her.”

“Didn’t think I’d live to see the day you were encouraging me to look at your mate,” Bronx chuckled, but Ezekiel wasn’t so easily distracted when it was about Jessamine. With her perhaps, but never regarding her.

“It is because she is my mate that I ask. She told me what she said, and what you said, and I would be lying if I said I was surprised.” Bronx looked at him in clear disbelief but he went on. “I can feel her emotions remember? Besides that, I’m not blind, you two have had more chances to bond than I have had with her. I’d be more shocked if there were no feelings there.”

“It wasn’t my intention,” he sighed honestly. “I only wanted to make her happy.”

Ezekiel wrapped his arm around his brother’s neck. “I know, I don’t feel jealousy towards you like I would someone else in your shoes, but Jessamine is sad now. It feels like she’s lost a piece…”

“I’ll talk to her,” he interrupted, making a promise he wasn’t sure he’d keep. “Not today, I’m helping with training the new recruits outside.”

They didn’t say anything else on the topic of Jessamine. Ezekiel knew it was odd for him to volunteer to help with the young ones, he wasn’t good at pulling his punches. Bronx wasn’t stupid enough to believe his brother thought he was fine either, but he wouldn’t have told him what was really going on even if he had asked.

When Ezekiel returned to their bedroom, Jessamine was doing push-ups at the end of the bed. Her injured ankle was balanced over the good leg, and she was counting low under her breath. When she reached 30 she moved off her knuckles onto her finger prints and started from one with a narrower set to her arms.

She heard the door close behind Ezekiel, who had imagined he would enter to find her crying, but she didn’t stop. Jessamine was expecting him to argue with her about not resting, though when she looked up he was grinning at her and she could feel his pride. He waited until she hit thirty, counting along in his head, before he moved toward her.

“Come on,” he urged, helping her to stand. “You’ll get more from your work out in the gym.”

A sly and seductive smile crossed her face. “Really? You’re serious?”

He shrugged, passing her the crutches. “I can’t stop you, I might as well encourage you to do it correctly. Besides, I have a small gap in my schedule, we can spend an hour in the gym together, then you can join me in the office or do whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want?” She confirmed and he kissed the top of her head.

“Just please stay on the pack house grounds. There’s lots of space here to explore or get privacy. There are still people after you.”

They were greeted warmly by the others training, all of them were missing seeing Jessamine in the mornings. She didn’t realize how much she missed her routine until she found herself falling back into one. Starting her day with Ezekiel holding her tightly, moving into their meeting with the counsel, taking out her emotions in the gym, and learning what it took to be a leader with Ezekiel before dinner.

Each day she saw more of Ezekiel than she had before the full moon, but increasingly less of Bronx. He avoided running into her in the halls, and after a few days she followed suit. In front of the pack no one knew anything was amiss, except Ezekiel who could feel the growing lump in her chest.