“Me neither.” He grabbed my waist and pulled me into his strong, loving arms. His woodsy scent comforted me. He was my home. “But I don’t think they meant to hurt you.”
“Sometimes it doesn’t make a difference.” They must have thought I was weak if they weren’t willing to tell me their reason.
Rage’s fingertips caressed my cheek wiping away the tears that I shed. “I love you and I’m in your corner. Always.”
Even though I didn’t need his declaration, it soothed the pain ever so subtly. “I know, and I love you too.”
The front door opened, and Cole came barreling out. When his gaze landed on my face, he froze. “I’m going to kick their asses.”
I would have laughed if I had one ounce of doubt that he’d do it. “No, they aren’t worth it.”
“Like hell they aren’t.” This was the cold, calculative side of Cole that everyone feared. He pulled the keys from his back pocket. “Anyone that hurts my pack is worth it.”
Pack.
The word resonated deep inside me. Maybe that’s why I hadn’t felt like a rogue wolf. Between Rage and my friends, even though not an official pack, we did tend to work that way.
“It pains me to say this because that’s my natural inclination as well, but those are Raven’s parents.” Rage dropped his hand from my cheek and took my hand. “Even if she’s hurting now, doing something to them would hurt her worse.”
“Damnit.” Cole narrowed his eyes at Rage. “Why you gotta make sense? I just wanna kick their asses.”
Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded kicking their asses too, but it wouldn’t have accomplished anything. “I just want to know why.”
“Maybe when everything settles, they will tell you.” Rage squeezed my hand comfortably.
“Yeah, right.” Cole wrinkled his nose. “This is the kinda shit my parents do. When they’ve been lying for that long, there is a reason. Besides, they wouldn’t have kept their mouths shut for nineteen years just to have diarrhea of the mouth all of a sudden.”
“You’re so eloquent with words.” Cole was blunt, which was one reason so many people were afraid of him. He’d tell you what he thought even if you didn’t want to hear it. To me, that made him an invaluable friend.
“Why do you think I talk so much?” He patted himself on the chest and smiled.
“Because you like the sound of your voice.” Rage reached over and pushed him in the chest.
“I’ve gotten that same feedback from many people.” Cole’s cold demeanor disappeared as if he could sense that he was cheering me up. “I’ve been told many times that I had a voice made for radio.”
“For real?” Cole was many things, don’t get me wrong. I would have thought that people would say he should have been a model before telling him to be on the radio.
“That doesn’t even count.” Rage chuckled and shook his head. “A girl told you that your voice was nice. You’re the one who said that you had a radio voice.”
“But she didn’t contradict me.” He pointed his finger in Rage’s direction and lifted his chin. “And that meant she agreed.”
“Or that you were insane.” Rage reached his hand out and pushed Cole’s fingers down. “She might have been afraid you’d go psycho on her.”
“I only go crazy on those that deserve it.” Cole stepped back and lifted his hands. “Boom. You can’t deny that.”
“Not in a million years.” Even though I wasn’t my normal self, my near hysteria had calmed, thanks to my mate and close friend. I let go of Rage’s hand and made my way to Cole, wrapping him in a huge hug. “I love you.” His cotton candy scent filled my nose as I took in a deep breath.
“Oh, man.” He responded, pulling me in tight. “You’re going to make me cry. I love you too.” As he pulled back, he sniffed. “How does it feel to know that the first time your brand new fiancée said I love you, it was to me?”
“Really, Raven?” Rage winked at me even though his shoulders sagged. “Now I’m never going to hear the end of it.”
The front door opened, and Audrey stuck her head out. Worry lined her face. “Are you guys okay?”
The question was addressed to everyone but intended for me. “Yeah, we’re good.”
“Okay, we were all worried. Just wanted to check in.” Audrey smiled and rubbed her arms from the chill in the air. “Let me know if you need anything.” She turned around and shut the door.
“I’m not thrilled about going back in there.” Rage’s family had been nice and welcoming to me the whole time. I hated to be this way, but I didn’t want to go back inside to deal with the awkward looks. They had begun to feel like family, but we were all still getting comfortable with one another.
“Then let’s go get our things and head back to school.” Rage began making his way toward the door.
“No, I don’t want to cut time with your family short.” I shouldn’t have said anything.
“We’ve been here about a week, and we’ve spent Christmas morning with them. They’re fine.” He turned me around to face him and placed both hands on my arms. “You’re the most important person to me, so as long as I’m with you, I’m good.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead. “Let’s go tell them goodbye and pack up.”
“I’m down for that.” Cole saluted us and grinned. “I’m tired of behaving.”
“Now, that might make me want to stay.” Rage dropped his hands and rubbed his eyes. “I’m not sure if I can take Cole when we first get back. All his pent-up shenanigans.”
“Well, take this for consideration.” Cole threw his arm around Rage’s shoulders. “The longer we stay, the more I’ll have to get out of my system.”
“Dear God.” I couldn’t help but tease him. “Then let’s leave right this second.”
As we came down the stairs with our luggage, I couldn’t help feeling bad for us leaving earlier than planned. Rage had assured me it was okay, so I didn’t make a fuss about staying. Honestly, I wanted to get back to my dorm and have time to think.
“I hate that you guys are going, but we understand.” Audrey wrapped her arms around Rage and kissed his cheek. “You better call us when you get there.”
“Son, don’t you think you should go say goodbye to the pack?” Matthew patted him on the shoulder. “I can call everyone to gather so you can tell them goodbye.”
“No, we need to get going.” Rage stood tall as if he was going to have to stand his ground.
“This will be your pack someday.” Matthew’s tone took an edge.
Rage hadn’t left my side ever since the phone call. I was doing better until we got back to the room I was staying in and hysteria took over once more. He packed our stuff for me as I tried to pull myself together. “Go on.”
“It’s not necessary.” Rage stood his ground. “You know that I wasn’t sure if I would want to follow in your footsteps, and this trip made my final decision.”