by Angel Nyx
When it came time for her to open her gifts he waited, almost impatiently, for her to get to the small box that Echo had shown him.
“This one is from Nikolai.”
He watched as Lily handed the box to Casey and kept his eyes on her face while she opened it.
“It’s…beautiful.” There was a hint of awe in Casey’s voice.
“What is it, Mama?” No one could mistake the curiosity in Jacob’s voice.
Nikolai watched as Casey lifted the item from the box to show her son and those closest to her. From where he stood, he could just make out the details of the bracelet. It was a thin band of silver made to look like a tree branch and in the center was a small, purple flower. He glanced at Sasha and Echo and inclined his head to acknowledge the fact he owed them. Big time.
“Thank you for the bracelet, Nikolai. It really is beautiful.”
He was pulled from his thoughts by Casey’s voice. He hadn’t even realized she’d finished opening her gifts and was standing beside him. “I am glad you like it.”
“To be honest, I’m surprised you’re even here, much less that you got me a gift. I didn’t expect either of those things.”
“I am aware. You are justified in thinking that way,” he admitted. “You should enjoy the rest of your party. We can talk another time.” He saw the hurt that flickered in her eyes and it made his own heart hurt to see it. “Tonight is for celebrating. That is all I mean,” he soothed.
“Of course. Thank you again.”
He watched her go before he quietly slipped away from the party to go for a run. He needed time to think – time to clear his head – before he could sit down with Casey and talk about the connection between them.
Chapter Five
Casey
Seeing Nikolai at the party had been difficult. Every time their eyes had met, she’d thought he was going to come to her, talk to her, but it never happened. When she finally approached him, after opening all her gifts, he’d politely brushed her off. Sure, he said it was because the night was for celebrating her birthday, but it still felt like he’d brushed her off. The man was so damn confusing, and yet, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Sitting on the swing in the backyard, the next day, Casey fingered the bracelet on her wrist. She was even more confused than she’d been before the party. He’d kept his distance from her the entire night and yet he’d given her such a beautiful present. Or had he? With that question on her mind, she headed inside to try and find the answer. “Hey, Lily. This bracelet. Was it really from Nikolai or did you just say it was?”
“The card said it was,so I assume it came from him. Why?”
“It’s nothing. I’m just a little…puzzled since he didn’t even wish me a happy birthday. I think I’m going to go for a walk. Would you mind keeping an eye on Jacob?”
“Of course I don’t mind. Enjoy your walk.”
“Thanks, Lily.” She made a pit stop in her room to grab her camera and headed out of the house into the heat of the day. She loved taking candid photos of people just going about their day.
Hours later, Casey was sitting at the dining room table with photos spread out over its surface. She was putting her portfolio together. She’d come to a decision while on her walk. She wanted to embrace her passion for photography the way she did when she was younger. She knew she was good at it but there was only one way for others to know it as well – let others see her work. During the party, Saturday, she and Mia, who was Emelise’s cousin and a member of the Pard, had talked about the gallery where Mia has held art shows since high school. Going through all of her photos, she knew what she wanted to do with them. She just needed the space and the gallery could provide that.
“Hey, Casey. What’s all this?”
She looked up from the table to find Lily watching her. “I’m working on my portfolio. I was talking with Mia Saturday, about the gallery where she does her art shows, and it got me thinking. This is what I really love doing and I’m good at it. Why not let others see it?”
“That’s a great idea, Casey. You’re right, you are good.”
Casey watched as Lily sat down across from her. Something was obviously on her friend’s mind.
“How are you doing? Really?”
“I’m fine, Lily.”
“Uh huh. Why am I having a hard time believing that?”
Casey gave her a tight smile. “Because you worry about your friends. I’m fine.”
“Okay. I’ll let you get back to what you were doing.”
“Lily? Thank you for worrying about me. You’re a good friend.” When Lily came to her and hugged her, Casey had to bite back the sob that threatened. She didn’t want Lily to know she wasn’t really okay. If she was completely honest, she was a bit of an emotional wreck but she’d been through worse. If she could survive being raped and dealing with the backlash from her accusation against Garret, that none of her peers believed, she could survive this.
As the days passed, she spent more and more time on her portfolio and less time doing other things. She rarely left the house and when she wasn’t either spending time with Jacob or going through all the photos she had, she was in her bedroom with the door closed. She knew she was shutting people out. It wasn’t healthy. All she had to do was reach out and Lily would be there to help her, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. She was getting depressed but she didn’t have the strength or the energy to change it.
Lily
Lily and Emelise were seated at what had become their usual table at Little Eden Cafe. It had opened up not long after Eme opened Scarlet Flux and it was one of their favorite places to get together.
“What’s wrong with Casey?”
Lily sighed. “It’s a bit of a long story. As crazy as it sounds, it seems she and Nikolai are mates.”
“Holy shit. Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack. Just wait, it gets better. When Nikolai met her and felt his tiger’s reaction, he refused the connection and turned his back on her. It hurt her, Eme. She’s pretending like she’s fine, and I know she’s doing it for Jacob’s benefit, but there’s this…emptiness in her eyes when she thinks no one is looking. When he showed up at the party and even gave her a gift, I thought he’d finally accepted it and was going to try to make it up to her, but he hasn’t said a fucking thing to Casey. He didn’t even wish her a happy birthday. Now he’s off on another stupid job. Declan said he volunteered when it came up and it pisses me off. He’s going on about his business as if he doesn’t have a care in the world and Casey cries herself to sleep every night. She thinks I don’t know it, but I hear her.”
“Oh my gods! Why in the hell did Declan let him take the job? He should have forced Nikolai to stay here and work through his shit. What an ass! Nikolai, not Declan.”
“I knew who you meant. I asked him that, in not so many words, and he pretty much said that the only way for Nikolai to come to terms with it was in his own time. Meanwhile, every day Casey becomes more withdrawn. I’m afraid she’s going to decide to leave in order to run from the pain.”
“Maybe she should.”
Lily stared at her. “What the fuck, Eme?”
“Just hear me out, Lil. I don’t mean she should leave forever. I just mean take a vacation, or something. We could help her get it all set up, and when he finally pulls his head out of his ass, he can work to prove it before we tell him where she is.”
Lily thought about it for a moment before she grinned. “You know, Eme, that just might work. I’ll see what Casey thinks about it tonight, after work. We’d just have to figure out where she could go.”
“Figure out where who could go?”
Lily grinned even more when Malcolm finally joined them. “Hey there. We’re talking about Casey and Nikolai’s total asshole-ish treatment of her. I told Eme I was worried Casey might decide to leave, in order to run from the way she’s hurting over him denying their mate connection. Eme made a suggestion that actually has a lot of
merit. Maybe we could find somewhere for Casey to stay for a bit, away from here, and when Nikolai stops being an idiot, we can make him work for the details on her whereabouts.”
“Well, if she’s up for it, I have somewhere she could go,” Malcolm suggested.
Lily sat up straighter in her seat. “Oh, do tell.”
“You both know that because of my sexual proclivities I’ve been shunned from my Pride, and any other lion Pride in the country. I have a younger sister who recently got in touch with me out of the blue. She’s living in Beaumont, Texas. If you take the I-10 it’s about a four-hour drive. She left the Pride, which isn’t easy for a female to do, and wants me to come visit.”
“Holy shit, Mal. I didn’t know you had a sister. Why didn’t I know that?” Lily watched as Emelise pouted at Mal and had to resist the urge to laugh at her.
“Sorry, Eme. When I left the Pride, I had to leave my family behind. My folks—that wasn’t a big loss since they don’t approve of my ‘choices’,” Malcolm replied, using his fingers to indicate quotations around the word choices. “But losing contact with my sister was rough. She was the only one who didn’t care about me being gay. It was easier to just not talk about it.”
“Damn, the Pride is really harsh, isn’t it?” Lily reached across the table and gave his hand a squeeze.
“You don’t know the half of it, Lily.”
“I’m glad she left it and reached out to you.” She gave his hand another squeeze and let go. “I’ll talk to Casey and see what she thinks. She might not be comfortable if she thinks she’s uprooting Jacob again.”
“Tell her it’s a vacation. Since she’s homeschooling him for the rest of this school year, she can do that from anywhere.”
“True. I’ll make the suggestion to her.” They turned their conversation to other things, mostly the club and how well it was doing, before finally parting ways to head off to their own homes.
Lily plopped down into the chair, across from where Casey sat at the table with her laptop. “Hey, Casey, how are you doing?”
“Fine. Why?”
Lily rolled her eyes. “Fine, my ass. We both know this thing with Nikolai has you hurting. I wanted to make a suggestion. Hear me out before you say anything, okay?” She waited for Casey to nod before she continued. “I was talking with Eme and Malcolm, and the idea of you going away for a little bit, just to shake Nikolai up, was suggested. Mal has a sister living in Beaumont, Texas. It’s about four hours from here. What would you say to taking Jacob on a holiday to Texas? With Malcolm for company? His sister wants him to visit; she hasn’t seen him since he left their Pride, and he’s thinking of going.”
Casey chewed on her bottom lip. “I don’t know, Lily. I don’t want Jacob to feel unsettled by packing up and leaving. Besides, I’m putting the final touches together on my portfolio so I can hopefully have my own showing at the gallery soon.”
“I know but it’s not like you’re leaving forever. It’s just for a little while. You can tell Jacob you’re going on a vacation. There are fun things in and around Beaumont that you can do with him while you’re there. Maybe it’ll be the wake-up call Nikolai needs to get his head out of his ass.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
Lily watched as Casey typed something up on her laptop. “Oh, there are a lot of museums in Beaumont. Jacob is fascinated with fire trucks and there is a museum dedicated to that very thing. Maybe it would be fun to get away for a few days.”
“That’s the spirit.” Lily grinned. “So, are you going to do it?”
“You know what? I am. If he doesn’t…want me, fine.”
Lily heard the way Casey’s voice cracked and it made her want to smack Nikolai upside the head. Or throat-punch him. “Don’t give up on finding happiness, Casey. Tell you what. I’m going to give you my bank card for your trip. No, don’t even try to argue with me. With Declan’s security company doing so well, it’s not going to hurt me any, and I want you to try to have fun on this vacation.”
“Are you sure, Lily?”
“I’m sure.”
Casey chewed on her lip again before she sighed. “Fine, I’ll take your card, but I’m going to pay you back whatever I spend.”
“If you want to pay me back, don’t do it with money. Do it by enjoying yourself and taking photos. I know how much your photography means to you, and I know you haven’t gotten to indulge in it nearly enough.”
“Well I’ve gotten some pretty good shots of New Orleans lately, but you’re right. Until recently, I hadn’t gotten to do it as much as I’d like. Okay. I think I can handle that.”
“It’s settled then.” Lily grinned at her. “I’ll let Malcolm know it’s a go.” She got up and went to where Casey was sitting before she leaned down and hugged her. “Don’t let that bullheaded tiger make you doubt yourself. Things will work out, you’ll see.” With that she left Casey to her work and went to call Malcolm.
Chapter Six
Casey
Casey packed a bag for her and Jacob, taking enough clothes for several days, along with two cameras and Jacob’s art supplies. She’d told him they were going on vacation and they would be back in a few days. She wasn’t sure if a few days was long enough for it to matter to Nikolai, but she was willing to do something other than sit around feeling sorry for herself. She’d done that for months back in Montana; she wasn’t going down that depressing path again.
“We’ll call when we get to Beaumont,” Malcolm told Lily before he took Casey’s bags and loaded them into the trunk of his car. “Don’t worry, Lily, darling, I’ll take good care of them.”
Casey rolled her eyes. “I’m not a child. We’ll be fine, Lily. You don’t need to be so worried.”
“Hey, you’re family, so you’re just going to have to suck it up. I’m going to worry until I know you guys made it to Beaumont safe and sound.”
Casey went to where Lily stood on the porch and hugged her. “I know. Thank you, for talking me into doing this. If he comes asking about me…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make him work for it. It’s the least I can do after what he did to you.”
Casey smiled a little at that. “Yeah. Okay, we’re out of here. Come on, kiddo,” she said to her son. He’d been sitting on the porch steps waiting for Casey to be ready to leave.
“Bye, Aunt Lily,” Jacob said as he hopped up and trotted down the steps and over to Malcolm’s car.
“I love that he calls me that.”
“I know. I see it in your eyes every time he says it,” Casey replied. She gave Lily one last hug and went to join Malcolm and Jacob at the car.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” Malcolm said before he waved at Lily and slid in behind the wheel.
With a last wave, Casey made sure Jacob was buckled in, then got into the passenger side, closed the door, and they were on their way.
They were half an hour from Beaumont when Casey turned in her seat to look over at Malcolm. “So what’s your sister like and does she know Jacob and I are coming?”
“She’s feisty, but that’s pretty common among lions. Of course she does, darling. I told her I was bringing a Pack mate and her son with me so they could have a well-deserved vacation. She’s intrigued by the fact our Pack has so many different types of shifters in it.”
“Well, we are definitely unique in that way. I was really surprised when Lily first told me about the different species of shifters that made up the Ghostpoint Pack.”
“Unique. We are definitely unique.”
Casey studied him. “You’re worried about something. I can see it in the way you keep clenching your jaw. What’s wrong, Mal?”
“Rory said she left the Pride but I can’t help wondering how she managed that and if this isn’t some sort of intervention to try and ‘fix’ me. It’s hard enough for a male to leave the Pride, but a female? Darn near unheard of.”
Casey suspected he cleaned his language up because of Jacob being in the backseat. “Do you really think
your sister would do that to you?”
“No, but what if I’m wrong?”
“Mal, they can’t force you to do something you don’t want to do. It’s illegal, for one thing. For another, the Pack wouldn’t let it happen. Declan would go to war with your old Pride if they did something to you. He’s loyal to his Pack.” She watched as the tension slowly faded and Malcolm began to relax a bit.
“You’re right. I’m just worried about nothing.” He glanced over at her before returning his attention to the road. “How are you doing?”
Casey shrugged. “I’ll survive. I’ve been through worse.”
“You’re a fighter, that’s for sure. He’s an idiot for acting the way he did.”
That made her snort in derision. “Yeah, well, he’s not the only one. What is it with some men being such jerks about relationships?”
“Oh, honey, if I had the answer to that question I’d be rich. If you ever figure it out, be sure to share it with me,” Malcolm countered.
Casey laughed. “Yeah, somehow I don’t see that happening any time soon.”
“Oh, I got you to laugh. My job here is done.”
When Malcolm winked at her she laughed again. “Thank you for suggesting this little trip, Malcolm. Maybe I really did need to just get away from the stress for a few days.”
“You don’t need to thank me, babe, I’m glad you’re along for the ride. And you know how much I like the squirt. He’s such a sweet kid.” He glanced in the rearview mirror to see Jacob had fallen asleep. “Speaking of the squirt, he’s zonked out back there.”