Jake grinned. “You’re both free to visit any time.”
“Annie, sweetie.” Valerie rubbed her back. Annie peered her way without loosening her grip on Jake. “It’s time to meet your uncle and aunt.”
She shook her head and buried her face in Jake’s chest.
“It will only take a minute, then we can go home.”
Reluctantly, Annie turned to Samson and Claudia.
“Hi, Annie,” Samson spoke. “I’m Samson, and this is Claudia. I’m your dad’s brother.”
“Hi,” she mumbled weakly, then turned to Jake again.
“I’m sorry. She’s a bit shy, and it’s been a long day.”
“We understand.” Claudia nodded. “Perhaps after a couple of visits, she’ll get to know us better.”
Samson reached for a bag and handed it to Jake. “Some photo albums. I found them in my brother’s house. I thought Annie would like to have them.”
“Thank you,” Jake said. “You have my number. We’ll keep in touch.”
He began walking away pulling her with him, but she hesitated. “I’m sorry for what I said.”
“You acted like any parent would. Apology accepted.”
Chapter 28
Jacob couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. He had Annie and Valerie, his child and his mate. His life complete.
He strode through the portal into his home cradling his child against his chest, his other arm firmly wrapped around his mate.
“Jacob.”
He turned and spotted his king and queen.
Jenna grinned. “Congrats, Jacob.”
Lucas leaned toward her and kissed her forehead, then met his stare. “I’d hoped they changed their mind about questioning Annie. I suppose it doesn’t make a difference now.”
He shrugged. “Thank you, and no, it doesn’t. I have Annie.”
Valerie reached for Annie, who’d fallen asleep and walked away.
Ashley and Clyde appeared a moment later. She rushed toward Jake and hugged him. The angel growled. Jake ignored Clyde and returned the hug.
Pulling away from the embrace, Ashley smiled. “I knew you wouldn’t lose her. Anyone can see how much you love her.”
“Thanks, Ash.”
He sensed Valerie as she reentered the room, but she didn’t approach them. She held still leaning against the wall near hallway leading to the bedrooms. He turned, beckoning her with his eyes to come, but she didn’t meet his gaze. She seemed lost in thought.
“Will you join us for dinner?”
Jenna’s question drew his gaze away from Valerie. “I thought we would go out for dinner tonight to celebrate.”
Jenna smiled. “We’ll leave you to it then.”
Nathan materialized in the living room. “Lucas, the warlocks are here.”
“Warlocks?”
“Two covens requested to join the Guardians,” Lucas explained. “I decided to meet with them before we introduce them to the rest. I met one coven yesterday. Today, I’m meeting the second.”
“Do you need me—”
Lucas held up his hand. “No, not today. Rest, enjoy your family. You deserve it.”
“All right, and thank you. I haven’t said it yet, and I have a feeling you had a lot to do with their ruling.”
Lucas shrugged. “A collaborative effort. I think the security cameras helped the most. They saw for themselves how you interact with Annie, and that was my mate’s idea.”
“I’m indebted to everyone.”
“Not indebted, Jake. We all care for you and Annie,” Ashley said.
Lucas, Jenna, and Nathan dematerialized.
Clyde, his hands lingering on his mate’s shoulders, walked the short distance toward him and paused. “You should tell her,” he advised, then they, too, disappeared.
Tell who, what? He couldn’t be referring to Valerie. Valerie…he hadn’t thanked her for all she’d done for him, for Annie. Val fought for them, both. His mate hadn’t been afraid of the repercussions, she disregarded her own safety, (which he didn’t like and would talk to her about), but he was thrilled for what it meant. She loved them both. His beautiful powerful witch…
Materializing in front of her, he wrapped his arms around her, pressed his lips against hers, and let himself enjoy the moment. “Thank you so much, sweetheart.”
She didn’t respond. Her body stiff, so unlike any other time he held her. He forced himself to draw away, and then he nudged her chin upward until her face met his. Still, she avoided his gaze.
“Val?”
“You don’t have to thank me for that, Jake. I love Annie. I would’ve done much more.”
He grinned. “Really? How much more?” he asked, playfully.
“Let’s just say if anyone had touched her beside you or me, they would’ve gotten a nasty surprise, ten times worse than that time you scared me out of sleep.”
His smile widened. “My fiery witch is very powerful, huh?”
She shrugged. Her expression didn’t change nor had the tension in her body faded, and she had yet to meet his eyes.
He forced himself to release her and take a step away. “What’s wrong, Val?”
Finally, she met his gaze. “I want to join the Guardians.”
No. She wouldn’t put herself in danger knowing he needed her safe, knowing she and Annie meant everything in the world to him.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I want to join the Guardians.”
What could she be thinking inside that beautiful thick skull of hers? Was she purposefully trying to ruin the best day of his life?
Jaw hardening, his pulse spiked. Over his damned dead body would she put herself in danger! “No, you won’t.”
“There’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
“You have no idea what I’m capable of or how far I’d go to keep you safe.”
She didn’t flinch or cower away. Instead, she pursed her lips. “Funny, that sounded like a threat.”
“It is. Make no mistake about that. I have several ideas already. All I need is a pair of iron cuffs.”
Her eyes widened. Her mouth contorted in a lovely O, then all he could think about—her lips pressed against him.
“You wouldn’t dare. A man who loves a woman as much as you say you love me wouldn’t.”
He grabbed the crook of her arm and dragged her toward him until he felt the warmth of her against his chest. “That’s where you’re wrong, sweetheart. A man who loves a woman as much as I do would do the unthinkable to keep her safe.”
The air pulsed with magic around them. Jacob felt it, tasted it even smelled its power. He didn’t release his hold on her. He wouldn’t. She may be powerful, a royal, but he was a demon.
“I’m not defenseless, you know. I’d like to see you
try
to cuff me. I can have you on your ass in the blink of an eye.”
“I know very well just how powerful you are. It’s hard to forget, but it won’t stop me. Nothing will stop me from reaching you.”
Her anger heightened. He hadn’t meant to make her angrier, only meant to tell her why he couldn’t allow her to hunt. He loved her and couldn’t lose her.
“I’ll hunt on your behalf,” he said, hoping to appease her.
She freed herself from his grasp. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Why?”
“Because…If anything happens to you…You have Annie. What would she do without you?” She shook her head.
His eyes sparked, tinting crimson. “I can’t lose you.”
“Annie needs you.”
“Annie needs
you
. I need
you
.”
“You’re being unreasonable.”
“Am I or are you? You can’t seem to understand how much you mean to me. I tell you every hour of every day, but you don’t seem to
understand
. Now you want to put yourself in the line of fire. Why?”
She held still, didn’t offer an explanation.
Then it occurred to him. He’d won custody of Annie. She could now easily spend time with Annie without the entanglement of him. There was no longer a reason for her to stay. She’d given into his desires, made love to him, slept beside him, spent days on end with him for Annie, not him. Pity probably led her into caving. She didn’t love him at all.
How was it possible? He felt what she felt. She couldn’t have faked that. Or could she? She was a powerful witch. Could a simple spell make him think she cared?
It made sense, perfect sense. She’d been trying to find a way to tell him the truth. The reason she seemed lost in thought, why her body hadn’t melded against his when he held her last.
Fuck!
It wasn’t just being lied to and fooled, but that she’d been the one to do it, his mate. The pain of it tore into him with the force of copper bullets—his poison. He didn’t know how he stood there frozen, staring at her looking back at him, emotionless.
“That’s…” His words trailed off. He had no idea what to say, what to do. Out of options, he couldn’t make her love him any more than he could make her stay. She found an out. She was his fated—the woman he’d waited for, for centuries, and it meant he’d do anything to keep her happy, even if it meant watching her walk away. His double-edged sword. It wasn’t a secret immortal males would kill themselves before hurting their mates.
He took a step away from her. “I get it. You don’t have to say it. Do whatever makes you happy.”
Chapter 29
Those beautiful dark eyes held so much pain. Valerie felt it in the middle of her chest as if it were her own. She’d known he wouldn’t be happy hearing her decision. Val thought surely he would be infuriated, rant, and rave until he cooled, but she never expected this—defeat.
Jake cared for her deeply, loved her even, yet she wasn’t his, and she couldn’t forget that—ever.
She meant to wait to tell him she’d been thinking of joining the Guardian League. She’d thought about it often since they rescued her. After learning her coven, too, had been fighting Malums, she thought about it more, thought it would be the perfect way to honor them. She owed the Guardians her life, and they were the reason she’d met Jake and Annie, the reason she’d fallen in love for the first time in her life. More than that, she wanted to protect them, Annie and Jake. She wanted to protect others, too. Even saving one person could mean one less child orphaned. Never one to make a rash decision, she gave herself time to think it through. She had time, and she made her decision.
His gaze moved away from her, and then he turned away as if he couldn’t stand to look at her.
“Jake?”
“You should go talk to Lucas. The sooner the better, no?”
She wanted to ask what was going on in that head of his, but he dismissed her.
“I suppose,” she whispered under her breath.
She walked away and into the elevator. Her stomach churned. The thought something worse than her decision bothered him made her nauseous. She realized it too late. The elevator door closed in front of her.
Maybe he just needed some time. She’d give him space, talk to Lucas, then she’d talk to Jake about whatever bothered him.
Sighing heavily, the door opened into Lucas and Jenna’s apartment. She heard voices at the back of the apartment and strode that way. The closer she drew the more familiar the voices became. Peering through the door leading into a large conference room, she stilled.
“Valerie?” Lucas’s voice boomed.
She flushed. “I’m sorry—”
“Val?”
Oh, God, she knew that voice. The next instant, Glen’s arms encased her.
“It’s good to see you.”
When he pulled away, she managed, “Hi.”
Lucas stood and neared, expressionless. “I assume you’re acquainted.”
“Y-yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt—”
“That’s all right. We were done. Did you want to speak in private?”
“I suppose it doesn’t make a difference. I want to join the Guardians.”
He hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am, very sure.”
Lucas spared a glance at Glen, who stood fairly close to her. “You’ll have to train first, then we’ll take it from there. You can train with Jacob.”
“Wait, but…I use magic.”
“You need to learn how to defend yourself hand to hand, learn how to use weapons even if you never use them. It’s for your safety.”
She nodded. “I’ll talk to Jake about training me then.”
The warlocks, several of whom she recognized, walked out of the room. Lucas, Jenna, and Benjamin followed behind.
Glen lingered beside her. “How have you been?”
“Great.” They walked side by side into the living area where the others assembled. “How about you?”
“Good. Did your—”
“Yeah, my parents came by.”
“I hope you don’t mind. I saw your mom from a distance and thought it was you, I shouted your name. She told me she was your mom, then started crying. She still thought you were dead. I tried calling to tell you. I asked Lucas, but he told me you were out of town.”
“I arrived early this morning. They came.”
“So everything’s okay?”
“Yeah, they explained things to me. Why they gave me up, and I feel…” Too focused on Annie and Jake, she didn’t know how she felt, still. She shrugged. “I don’t know yet. Although it is nice to know I have family—that I’m not alone.”
“Alone?” His eyes widened. “Val, you’re surrounded by people who care about you. Maybe you don’t know them as well, but I know they care. Nathan…” His gaze darted toward him. “He hasn’t taken his eyes off you. I’m convinced he has a thing for you,” he whispered. “For that matter neither has the demon king. I’d think more of it if it weren’t for the fact he’s mated.” He chuckled. “A protective bunch. I’m glad.”
If only he knew.
They watched for Jake’s sake. Nathan, especially, who knew she and Glen had a past.
****
What the fuck had he done? Jacob couldn’t stay away from her. As much as it hurt thinking she didn’t love him, as much as it hurt to admit it, as much as he needed to do everything in his power to keep her happy, he couldn’t stay away. He couldn’t let her walk away. To keep her happy, he’d attempt to give her as much space as she needed, but stay away completely? No fucking way. It had been merely a half hour and already he felt sick to his stomach, fighting the urge and trembling with the need to chase after her.
He needed to see her, talk to her. Hell, maybe he’d jumped to conclusions. Deep down, he felt like he knew her; knew her well enough to know she was a good person, she wouldn’t use her magic to fool him. He wanted to believe she loved him. If she didn’t, he wanted to hear her say it, so there’d be no doubts, but he wouldn’t know until he spoke to her.