Painfully Ordinary Special Edition (18 page)

Talon’s tone was
respectful. He was wrong.
He knew it and would take any
punishment Johr doled out.
“There’s no excuse for what happened. I
should never have let my guard down around her. My lack of discipline and
control was unforgivable.” He paused a moment before continuing, then finally
voiced what had been running through his head all night. “You are right about
another thing…I’m completely unworthy of being her guard.”

“Wheesht,
boy.
Dinna go about sharpening yer blade affore you fall upon it. Ye need to calm
yeeself affore you say somethin’ ye not be meaning. I suspect yer gel had just
as much ta do
wi
’ it as Talon. I ha known him for many
a century and his discipline and control
be
legendary.
I ha not known the like.” Breeg cautioned

Johr sounded shocked. “Are
you trying to say Caitlin instigated all of this? Even if she did, does it
somehow excuse his actions? He’s a senior-ranking member of the
Turvata
and the head of her security detail!”

“Dinna raise yer voice at
me, Johr. Best be remembering who ye are dealing
wi
’.”

Johr sounded contrite.
“Forgive my temper, old friend.”

Jace took a step forward.
“If I may?
Caitlin has been extremely agitated since early
yesterday.” Jace said diplomatically. “She would not be happy until Talon fully
disclosed the details surrounding a
Varyo
feeding. She had a very difficult time accepting the idea of a donor and kept
hounding Talon why she could not share this with him. I’m not suggesting this
as an excuse, but
merely a tool to help you better understand
the events leading up to this point. Considering their relationship, I cannot
imagine a better protector for her. If anything, he’ll be overprotective to the
extreme. I’ll vow to stay with him as part of the detail to ensure all is well.
To remove him now, will raise suspicions at the school. I’m sure this Ryan will
be reporting everything back to Egan.

“As things stand right
now, he’s unaware of our position within the
Turvata
. They know a wolf showed up in the clearing, but don’t know
it was
me
. They see Talon as the overprotective new
boyfriend…a nuisance and nothing more. There’s also the small issue of this
mild temper she has. What’s going to happen if you try to present her with a
new guard? She almost destroyed an entire room at Sanctuary when you introduced
her to
Breeg
.”

Talon grimaced at this
reminder, but was impressed at Jace’s diplomacy. He had never seen this side of
him.

“
Tha
pup has a good point. There
be
no telling what tha
little fire might do if provoked. I will also stay nearby if she should need
extra help. Ye can be sure of it.”

Johr grunted. He
had been painted
into a corner and he knew it.
“Fine.
I will leave her guard as it stands.”

Talon felt a small spark
of hope.

“However, there will be no
relationship with the girls aside from your duty to protect them.
Am I understood
? The penalty for breaking this agreement
will be swift and harsh.” Talon immediately regretted allowing himself to hope.
He should’ve let him finish first.

“Understood.”
Jace agreed. Talon was
speechless. How could Jace agree so easily?

“Oh, and
one more thing.”
Added Johr.
“You will NOT tell the girls
you’ve been forbidden to be in a relationship with them. I won’t have them defy
me at every turn because they think I’m trying to make things difficult. You
will begin distancing yourselves immediately. Is it clear?”

“Clear.”

Breeg cleared his throat.
“Johr, me friend.
Methinks this will backfire on
ye
. Mayhap it will backfire on us all.”

Chapter 14

Home

We walked into the den to
say our goodbyes to my extended family. Pops studied me with sad eyes.

“Goodbye Caiti-baby, I’m
sorry you have to go so soon. We will find a way to get you back for a longer
visit.”

The
Elders
rose as we went through and hugged each one of them. Scott
gave me a sympathetic look and a quick hug. I walked over to tell Todd goodbye.

He gave me an appreciative
glance. “Way to go, Caitlin. That was quite a show on the beach…”

I didn’t even give him a
chance to finish his sentence before I punched him in the face, knocking him
completely out. Bub and Ronnie laughed so hard they had to lean on each other
to keep from falling down. Unfortunately, it was the exact moment Johr and
Breeg chose to walk in, with Jace and Talon right behind them.

“Caitlin! What has gotten
into you?” demanded Johr.

Breeg stood behind him,
trying to stifle a chuckle. Jace and Talon appeared stunned.

I stared at Johr
defiantly. “Just doing something I should’ve done a long time ago. He needed to
be taught some manners,
that’s
all. I refuse to be
bullied anymore.”

Breeg chuckled aloud. “Never
say I dinna warn ye.” And he waddled out the front door to Johr’s car.

We grabbed Gail in a bear
hug. “I promise we will be back soon.” I assured her. “Thank you for
everything.”

Johr held the door open, motioning
for us to go through. I peeked at Talon out of the corner of my eye and walked
out the door. To my complete disappointment, it appeared that he was going to
follow Johr’s letter to the law. I wasn’t about to let that happen. Perhaps we
would get a chance to talk on the way back.

Breeg was already at the
car by the time we got outside; he had the door of Johr’s SUV open for us.

“Really,
Johr?
You
seriously need to get a less conspicuous car. It’s embarrassing to have to ride
in this tank.” I said.

One side of his mouth turned
up in a half smile. “I simply can’t take any chances with such precious cargo.”

Thankfully, his anger
toward me seemed to have dissipated a lot.

I grimaced while Leah
giggled. Breeg motioned for us to get in the car. “Yer chariot awaits
ye
Little Fire.”

Leah pivoted back toward
the porch. “Are you two coming with us?”

I followed her gaze my
face flushed with anticipation but Talon and Jace seemed distinctly
uncomfortable.

Jace cleared his throat.
“Um, yeah.
Actually, we’re going to be following you in our
car.” Talon was staring at the ground and my smile quickly disappeared. I
couldn’t believe they were going along with Johr’s ridiculous order.

“I understand. Come on,
Leah. Let’s go home.” I headed back to the car. “I should have known better
than to let my guard down…again,” I mumbled staring at the ground kicking at
the rocks in my path.

Talon cringed and slowly
walked to his car.

As I approached Johr, I paused,
putting my finger in the center of his chest.

“I suspect you had
something to do with this. I certainly hope I was wrong.”

Thunder crashed in the
distance as the sky
was punctuated
with streaks of
lightning.

Leah gawked at Jace with
big eyes and flashed a quick glance at Talon. He appeared to be in pain. She
hurried to follow me into the car.

Johr backed out of the
driveway and headed down the street. I watched Gail and Sonny’s house slowly
disappear through the rear window.

“Cay, are you okay?” Leah
whispered.

“I will be fine—just like
always. We know Johr had everything to do with the change in them. Did you see him?
Talon couldn’t even look at me, and Jace was uncharacteristically quiet.”

“Yeah, I wondered about that.
Maybe since Johr really tore into them, they are just laying low?”

“Maybe.
We’ll have to see what
happens once we are at home. I have a really bad feeling about it, though.”

“At least we know they are
coming back with us. I mean, they are right behind us in their car.” She
gestured toward the back window. “Take a look.”

I twisted in my seat to
look out the back window. Sure enough, there was their black Challenger. Jace
gave me a small smile and waved. I gave him a little wave in return. Talon, who
was sitting in the driver’s seat, stared at me with sad eyes and briefly
touched his fingers to his lips. I immediately found my nose running. Leah
handed me a tissue from a pocket in the backseat.

“Don’t let Johr see you
crying,” she warned in a whisper. “I don’t think he should know we are
communicating with Jace and Talon. I’m getting a weird feeling.”

“See? I told you this was
stupid. I’ll play it cool for now, but I’m going to get some answers for us.”

We spent the rest of the
drive home in silence. I would occasionally steal glances out the back window. Each
time, Jace would gently shake his head, while Talon wore a pained expression.

They were clearly warning
me against trying to talk with them.

“Leah?” My voice was
barely a whisper.

“Yeah?”

“What do you think really happened
back there? Jace is shaking his head at me when I turn around. As if he is
trying to let me know I shouldn’t be looking at them or trying to communicate
with them.”

“I don’t really know, but
I feel it too. We knew Johr was going to be pissed when Beau talked him into
leaving us there. Even then, he allowed us to stay against his better judgment.
He didn’t want us out of his sight. Imagine his shock when he came to pick us
up and found…well…what he found.”

I found myself blushing
again. “Okay, I see your point. He probably took quite a blow to his ego. Seriously,
though, how far do you think he will be willing to take it?”

Leah shrugged. “Who knows?
He’s a very proud man. It may take him some time to get over it. I expect he’s
going to be pretty overbearing for a while. We’re going to have to suck it up
and do what he asks, for now. He’s bound to become even
more
heavy
handed if we give him grief.

“Are you suggesting we
fake it? You want us to pretend to be sweet, obedient
children?
Do you think
anyone
will believe it?”
I chuckled.

“What’s so funny back
there?” asked Johr.

Leah poked me in the leg. “Nothing
really” she replied.
“Just some guy in a car who passed us.
He looked like he was singing an opera.”

This might be easier than
I thought. We could manage it as long as we stayed together. Leah and I made a
pretty formidable
team. Anyone who didn’t believe it could
always ask Todd. I giggled again and Leah soon joined in. The landscape was
becoming very familiar, and we knew we were moments from home.

Breeg glanced at Johr
sideways and spoke in a low voice but loud enough we could hear him. I
suspected he did it intentionally and I was beginning to like him.

“Are ye sure this
be
what ye want? They be laughing now, but how long kin it
last? Tha gel has a fire in her. It is not going ta change. Ye must allow her
ta spread her wings, whilst keeping her safe at tha same time. Do ye think ye
can handle that?”

Johr pulled into the
driveway and puffed up. “I know my duty and I’ll protect her at all costs. I
let her spread her wings, and look what happened!”

“If ye try
ta
hold ‘em down, they will be fighting ye every step o’
the way. Tha extent o’ her latent abilities is still unknown. Tha last time she
was crossed, they accidentally created a portal and ended up in tha middle o’
the Assembly. Where dinna ye think they will end up next time?”

Johr exhaled slowly. “I
can only do what I think is best. It seems we
are besieged
from all sides. I not only have to worry about the very real threat of the
Accendersi, but now I have a secondary concern about her relationship with her
guard. Breeg, who knows
what
would happen if she began
the transformation? Talon, of all people, knows the dangers. Why would he ever
allow it to happen?”

Breeg clicked his tongue. “Tsk,
tsk. I think yer gel had much ta do
wi
’ tha’. He would
have fought her wi’ his last breath.
Did ye no notice tha
bite mark jus under his ear?
How di ya think tha’ came ta be?” He raised
one eyebrow and waited for Johr’s reaction.

Johr appeared
like
he had the wind knocked out of him. “What did you say?”
His voice came out a whisper.

Oh
crap.
This was about to land in
my lap.

Breeg simply nodded “Yes,
ye heard me a’right.”

Johr was horror-struck.
“She wouldn’t! Surely she’s not that foolish!”

Breeg motioned toward the
car pulling up to the curb in front of the house. “Ye best
be
asking the source
hisself
.”

Leah and I jumped out of
the car and sprinted into the house toward the second story window in Brady’s
bedroom so we could see and hear what was about to unfold. I wasn’t about to
give Johr the chance to confront me just yet.

I breathed a sigh of
relief to see the Challenger pull up to the house. I had half-expected they
would simply disappear on the way back from Emory. Talon and Jace got out of
the car and slowly made their way up the driveway. Talon appeared leery.

Johr
was
still quite obviously shaken
. “Talon, we need to speak with you for a
moment.

Talon bowed.
“Yes, sir.
My time is yours.”

Talon looked exhausted. I
could see the dark smudges under his chocolate brown eyes from where I was
watching. I longed for the flashing blue from earlier. Jace stood slightly
behind Talon and kept his eyes focused on the ground. Would we ever be able to
catch a break?

Johr ran his hand through
his hair and cleared his throat. Talon faced him expectantly. They just stood
there staring at each other. My nerves were raw, and I was probably on the
verge of some sort of nervous breakdown.

Breeg waved his hands in
the air in frustration.
“Whesht man.
Talon, me boy.
Would ye mind showin’ us yer neck?”

Talon and Jace glanced at
each other with concern. Talon sighed deeply,
shrugged
and pulled his collar to the side.

“Oh
crap
!” I exclaimed.

I had forgotten about what
started the whole feeding episode. Johr was never going to let me out of his
sight again. I’d be lucky if he didn’t sleep at the foot of my bed and sit in
on all of my classes.

Leah gawked at me with
wide eyes.
“Oh,
Caiti!
You
didn’t?
What were you thinking? We’re really in
for it now.” She suddenly laughed. “Well, when you decide to do something, you
really go all out, don’t you? I can’t believe you
bit
him. No wonder he completely lost control with you. Are you
crazy?”

I gave her a cheeky smile.
“Well, let’s just say I got a little caught up in the moment. I’ll tell you
this…I don’t regret one second. It was the most incredible experience I have
ever had. Whew. But, you’re right. Johr is going to positively kill me.”

Johr sucked in his breath
when he saw the crescent shaped mark I had left just below Talon’s left ear. “Did
Caitlin do this?”

Talon was immediately on
the defensive. “It doesn’t matter. Even if she had, it would not excuse my
actions or my blatant disregard for her safety.”

Johr looked him in the
eye. “You still haven’t answered my question. Did she do this?”

Talon’s eyes flashed. “What
difference does it make? The result was still the same. It was my duty to
protect her and I failed.”

“I will ask you one last
time. Did she do this?” He asked through clenched teeth.

“Yes.”

“
Caitlin!”
Anger was rolling off him in waves.

I shook as the wind whipped
through the trees outside and the sky darkened. I could see light radiating
from Johr.

Oh man, was he pissed
.

I wasn’t sure which one of
us was causing the abrupt weather changes, though. I was hoping it was
him
, since I really didn’t need any more trouble. Suddenly
my mom appeared at my elbow.

“
Caiti,
is there something you want to tell me?” she asked.

“Not really. Though, I
think Johr is about to start screaming loud enough so the entire neighborhood
is going to hear, so I might as well tell you.” I took a deep breath. “Talon
and I had a small misunderstanding about
Varyo
feeding habits while we were in Emory. I couldn’t stand the thought of him
sharing the process with someone else. We ended up fighting about it and didn’t
talk for the better part of a day.”