Chapter 669

I shrug, kind of finished with everything I wanted to say.

"You have a good heart, baby trouble," Cora says, smiling at me. "I think it's a great idea."

"And something we should have been doing all along," mom says, turning to frown at my aunt. "Honestly, why didn't Dominic and Roger think of this twenty years ago?"

"You know the answer to this, Ells," Cora says, utterly dry. "Because they are men. And Alphas. And their therapeutic solution is to just grit their teeth and go punch something."

Mom laughs, shaking her head but not denying it. "I'll talk to your dad about it tonight," mom says, nodding to me eagerly. "And get something set up." "Do you think you could make Jackson and Luca like...initial appointments?" I ask, sitting up, a little excited. "And then they can decide whether or not they want to keep going - obviously, I don't want to force them. And then...maybe not tell them that I suggested it?"

Both Cora and mom laugh at me but then assure me that it can be arranged.

Jackson walks me back to the room after my little conference, not pressing me for the details and instead talking with me excitedly about the magic we produced this afternoon and his own ideas for experimentation and military use - all of which spark a great deal of interest in me, giving me my own new ideas. We're still talking eagerly about it when we climb the final staircase to our floor, though our conversation falls short when we see Rafe standing outside the door, leaning casually against the wall and reading a book.

When he sees us, he snaps the book shut and waves a hand. "Come on, Jacks."

"Where are we going?" Jackson asks, escorting me forward with a hand on my back and looking at Rafe with interest. "Another talk with the Captain," Rafe says, shifting his eyes to me. "See what we can do about Blythe's bullshit claim."

"Cool," Jacks says, giving me a little nudge towards the door, which he looks at with worry. "Will she be..."

"She's got an assassin, a shadow mage, and an ambassador in there," Rafe says with a smirk, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the door. "She'll be fine."

I laugh at my brother but then the absence of a certain speciality on that list suddenly hits me, and my face falls.

"See you in a bit," Jacks murmurs, dipping down to give me a kiss on the cheek before starting to stride down the hall with my brother. "Don't forget to eat!"

I grin at that that as I call my goodbyes to them and press open the door, pleased to see three of my favorites gathered around the coffee table, digging into the huge plate of tacos on the table.

"They sent churros, too!" Jesse calls, waving me over. "Churros and fire magic. It is a great day."

I laugh, taking my seat next to Ben

on the couch and bumping my shoulder against his as I murmur my hello's to Tony as well, who has taken up residence in Rafe's hair.

But nobody really fails to notice the way I glance over at the door as I reach for my dinner, wondering where he is. "Um, Ari," Jesse says, his voice gentle.

I turn towards him, moving some tacos to a plate and pulling it onto my lap.

Jesse's mouth twists slightly to the side. "He sent a note."

I frown a little as I reach out a hand. Jesse puls a folded piece of paper from beneath his leg where he placed it for safe keeping and hands it over to me.

I take it with a sigh, unfold it, quickly reading through the words.

"What's it say?" Jesse asks, voice gentler than usual.

I flick my eyes up to him. "Oh, like you didn't read it."

"Ben wouldn't let me," he sighs, looking sad about it.

I glance at Ben, who nods deeply to me, making me smile.

But then I sigh and tuck the note under my own leg. "It says he's tired and won't be coming up tonight," I say, trying to keep the sadness and worry out of my voice. "That he didn't sleep a lot last night - which is true - and that he wants to be rested for the Games tomorrow." I shrug like it's easy, like it all makes sense.

Even if my wolf howls in my heart, knowing that it's so much more complicated than that.

I sigh, putting my plate of tacos back on the table, not hungry anymore.noveldrama