“No, but you know what I mean. The girlfriend. They’re living together, so it’s probably only a matter of time.”
“Does that…hurt you?”
I furrowed my brow, looking at him, then scoffed at his expressionless face. “Do you think it should? This stoic thing you’ve got going on is annoying. I can’t read you anymore.” I tapped into the magical link again, feeling more confusion. Laughter burbled out of me. “No, it doesn’t hurt me. Honestly, I don’t really care one way or the other. I want him to be happy, and I hope he wants me to be happy. He and I didn’t work out, and that’s okay. I sincerely hope she’s cool, because my son will be the one who suffers if not.”
Austin nodded. “It’s just that a lot of divorces end badly. There are hard feelings on one side or the other.”
“I mean, we’re not friends or anything. But I don’t see the point in being bitter. I wouldn’t change my past, and I’m happy where I’ve ended up. Mostly. Except for some…official house issues.” I pushed away thoughts of that damned office and what was expected of me. “It took some hard times and some heartbreak, but that’s life. The hard times make us appreciate the good times.”
His focus was intense, his eyes rooted to mine, his body frozen.
“What?” I asked, suddenly uncomfortable. “Have I turned into one of those annoying life is sublime people or something? Too chirpy?”
A small smile flirted with his lips, and for once, he didn’t dampen it. “I continually look up to you, Jacinta. It feels like I never really learned the rules of being an adult, and you’re teaching them to me, one by one.”
“Good Lord, Austin, you’re in trouble if you’re getting life tips from me.”
I gestured in the direction of Ivy House, silently asking if he would walk with me. For a moment, I thought he was going to say no—he glanced in the direction of the bar, indecision on his face—but finally he stepped forward.
“I’m a mess,” I said, falling in step with him. “You know I’m a mess. You’re the one that always builds me up when I’m wallowing.”
He shook his head, glancing to his left, where Jasper shadowed us on the other side of the street.
“You can smell him from way over there?” I asked.
“Just barely. I can…sense him. That gargoyle can inflict some serious damage. I don’t need to see or smell him to know he’s there.”
“Like a sixth sense? Women’s intuition type of thing?”
“Exactly, yes. All animals and people have the innate, primal ability to sense danger. It’s built into us. Women have to listen to it more than men because you are so often prey. Shifters are more in touch with their primal sides in general, so we pay attention to it. The best of us have cultivated the sense into a defensive measure.”
“I don’t need to ask if you rank yourself as one of the best.”
“No, you don’t. You already know that I am.”
I shook my head. He wasn’t putting on airs—he was stating a fact.
Something occurred to me. “Damn it. I bet Sasquatch smelled or felt me. That’s how he knew I was there.”
“No, he saw you. The whole street saw you.”
“No one on the other side of the street looked at me,” I argued. “Usually your people acknowledge my presence.”
“They knew you were playing the game, though I really can’t have people stabbing you in public, Jess. More magical people have moved into the area, but there are still a lot of Dicks and Janes. That’s not something they should see. Please remember that in future. But anyway, my people were giving you space. It’s not polite to point out someone’s failures.”
“Well.” I huffed. “Maybe they could have acknowledged me so I’d know my magic wasn’t working.”
“That’d be cheating.”
“You’re quickly becoming my least favorite person.”
He barked out a laugh before wrestling his features back into submission.
I smiled as I watched. “You’re going to have to beat up, like, five people after that outburst.”
His lips tweaked before settling. “Probably.”
I sighed, taking in the lovely late March day, the sun warm on my face and a cool, floral-scented breeze tickling my skin. “I’m out of my mind excited for my son to get here, but I’m trying to calm down. Just because of how it went with my parents, you know?”
“Are you going to tell him you’re magical?”
“Yes. As soon as I get up my nerve. I won’t be able to hide it, so I might as well… just hope he accepts it. I’m not allowing myself to worry that he’ll…” I shook my head, not even voicing the thought. “He’s always been a good kid and a mama’s boy. Let’s hope that’s enough to keep him from…” I shook my head again, fear worming through me before I could shove it away.
“It’ll go well.” Austin rubbed my back as we walked. “Your parents were a tough situation, and that ended up just fine, even if they did assume you were the head of a cult.”
I chuckled, comforted by the warmth seeping through his touch.
“When’s he supposed to get here?” Austin asked, his hand slipping down to the small of my back.
“Tomorrow. That’s why I canceled training. I’ll probably be sitting in the front room, pretending I’m not anxiously looking out the window every second.”
“Well…” Austin stopped near the No Outlet sign at the corner of my street. “If you need anything, call me.”
“Are we…” I pointed at him as he made to turn back. “Are we back to being friends, then?”
He didn’t smile at my teasing. “You’re one of the most important people in my life, Jess. We’ll always be friends. I’ll make sure nothing gets in the way of that.”
“You need to lighten up.”
“I’m the alpha. I don’t lighten up.” He winked at me, which I appreciated all the more because I knew it couldn’t be on the approved list of social interactions.
“Can I ask a favor?” he said.
“Sure.”
“I’ll need to run some training exercises with the new pack members, see what I’m working with, and I wondered if I could use the Ivy House woods. I can feel people on the grounds better now, and it would be helpful to—”
“Of course. Just make sure to enter the grounds before the others so she knows not to harm them. And don’t allow any stragglers. Ivy House is very moody lately, and she often acts before I can defuse the situation.”
“How do you defuse the situation?”
“By taking control of the arsenal. It’s like grabbing a plastic sword out of a child’s hand so the kid doesn’t thwap someone.”
“I didn’t know that was possible.”
“It is once the heir has enough power and control.”
Something glinted in his eyes, and I found myself tapping into our connection. His pride beamed through it, making my face heat. “Any idea how much power you have yet to…inherit?”
“I don’t know how much is eventually coming, no. Edgar thinks I’m over halfway there because we’ve made it through the first book.”