by Golden Angel
Pouring two glasses of water, Jesse stared at the liquid flowing into the glasses. The Bunson family had already been through so much, and as the oldest, Brady definitely felt responsible for his younger siblings. Which was probably why his obsession with bringing down The Company before moving on with his life didn't hurt as much as it could have. If there were a way to eradicate the Torch, that Jesse could actually help with, she wouldn't want to rest until she'd done so. After being helpless for so long, it only made sense that the possibility of action and victory would be irresistible.
Still... it wasn't action Jesse could take and so she needed to put Brady to the side, enjoy the memory of what they'd just done, and just keep on going with her life. The same way she had every time the scurry had lost another member. Time rolled on and Jesse and Daniel had rolled on with it. This would be more of the same. It made her chest clench but… it was too soon to be heartbroken, wasn’t it? They’d only known each other for a couple of months and they’d only been romantically involved for a couple of days.
Her squirrel chittered a little sadly, but was otherwise quiet.
"Jesse?" Brady's voice made her turn around, his tone tentative.
Pasting a smile on her face, she held out one of the glasses of water, like it was a shield, between the two of them. "Here you go."
"Thanks."
"So was it good to see Bethany and Bailey?" she asked, immediately going on the conversational offensive. Keeping things light. Friendly. Putting them back to where they had been and pretending she didn't know what every inch of his body felt like pressed up against hers.
"Yeah," Brady said slowly. Taking his cues from her, he stepped back, studying her almost warily as he leaned against the small kitchen table. "Bethany seems happy with Steele."
"That guy Bailey's dating seems nice," Jesse said, leaning back against the counter behind her, which put her as far away from Brady as possible in the small room.
Brady snorted. "Chuck? The badger? Yeah, nice but they aren't going to last."
"What makes you say that?" Jesse asked, getting into the conversation more now. She'd thought the redheaded soldier and lithe brunette made a cute couple.
"Apparently he's the third guy she's dated in the past month and a half," Brady said. He considered his words for a moment as he took a sip of water. "Well, third or second, depending on how you look at it. Bethany thought there was something happening between her and Kasim, one of Steele's enforcers, but Bailey insists they're nothing more than friends and since they're still acting the same, that might be true. But she was dating some guy named Tony before Chuck came along, and Bethany says she's not serious about Chuck either. She wants to find her true mate."
Jesse's eyebrows raised. "Does she know how rare that is?"
No one was even sure if everyone had a true mate, no matter what romance novels said. Since a shifter could mate for love, as long as their animal accepted their chosen person, it was possible everyone did have a true but just never found them because their true mate mated someone else first. Jesse had also read a theory that true mates were a biological anomaly - which made sense to her since true mates definitely had more to do with biology than compatibility - and therefore didn't happen for everyone.
She wasn't even sure she'd want to meet her true mate. The idea of meeting someone and mating them, without even really being able to get to know them, was more than a little daunting. It was good it had worked out well for Bethany and Steele. The only way to divert their inner animals from a true mating was if one or both of the true mates was already in love with someone else and their animal had accepted their choice - and even then they had to formalize the mating quickly, before their animal decided biology trumped emotions.
Brady was the only person Jesse had strong emotions for, and her squirrel had definitely accepted him, but since he was leaving, if she did meet her true mate, she would end up mating a total stranger. Which was a truly scary thought.
"I think she thinks it's romantic," Brady said with a shrug. "Kasim says he explained it to her, but she since she saw Bethany meet Steele and how well that all worked out... well, it's kind of colored her thinking. She's young though, she'll get past it eventually."
At least, Brady hoped she got past it, Jesse interpreted, the way she hoped Daniel got over his soldier obsession. She pursed her lips, but didn't negate what he said. She could understand. When she was a kit, she'd thought true mates was really romantic, until she'd started thinking about what it would really be like. What if she met her true mate and he was in love with someone else already? What if she fell in love with someone else and then met her true mate? What if her true mate had baloney breath? Granted, that last worry had come up because a boy who'd had a crush on her, Bobby Grinkle, had claimed she was going to be his true mate, and he'd had really bad baloney breath, but it had made her think twice about true mates.
So she smiled at Brady. "She might. I know I'm not interested in ever meeting my true mate, if I have one."
"Really?" Brady looked genuinely curious, and also more relaxed than when he'd first walked into the room. It felt like a regular friendship, as long as she didn't allow any memories of the past hour to pop into her head. "Why not?"
Explaining her reasons allowed the conversation to flow naturally until Brice came back with Daniel, which - of course - interrupted everything, but also allowed Jesse to relax even further with the added barrier of their siblings. She and Daniel accompanied the Bunson brothers back out to the front entrance, hugged each of them goodbye (well, she hugged them, Daniel gave them each a half-hug), and waved them on their way, leaving her standing beside Daniel and Brady's sisters.
As soon as the SUVs were out of sight, two pairs of blue eyes turned on her almost gleefully. Jesse took an involuntary step back, pure instinct when caught in two predators' sights. They surrounded her immediately, linking their arms through hers.
"So, now that we have you to ourselves, tell us everything about yourself," Bethany said, practically purring. She and Bailey were practically dragging Jesse back through the door. Jesse glanced over her shoulder at her brother and Bethany's mate, her gaze pleading.
"Daniel...?"
"Oh, we've already interrogated him," Bailey said almost gleefully. "Steele's going to take him to meet some of the other teens here."
"Have fun, Jesse!" Daniel said, waving cheerfully as he watched from the plateau.
Traitor.
Chapter 9
Sitting next to him in the back of the SUV, Brice nudged Brady with his elbow.
"So, Jesse didn't look like she was that upset about you leaving," Brice teased. In the middle row, Brock's head turned slightly. Meredith and Ana, in the front seats, coughed back laughs. Since Joe managed to keep quiet and he was sitting directly in front of Brady, Brady didn't know if the man had a reaction or not. "Struck out, huh?"
"We're just being friends for now," Brady said, ignoring the tightness in his chest that was growing with every passing second as the car moved farther and farther away from Cryus Peak and Jesse. "That's not striking out."
"Did even ask her if that's what she wanted?" Ana asked from the front seat.
"None of your business."
"That's a no," Meredith said under her breath, but since the car was full of shifters they could all hear her clearly.
"Dumbass," Ana murmured back.
"I can hear you."
Ana looked over her shoulder at him, a small, sympathetic smile on her lips. "We know. I know you guys were all locked up for a really long time and missed out on some pretty important points of socialization, so I'm going to give you some advice - don't make decisions for your partner. It never ends well."
He crossed his arms over his chest. "It's really not any of your business."
"They're probably right though," Brice said. "Jesse is awesome. You should have locked that down while you had the chance."
"What would you know about it?" Brady asked, feeling belligerent, es
pecially since there was a big part of him that agreed with all of them. "I don't see you staying at the Peak."
Brice shrugged. "I don't have a Jesse. I don't want a Jesse yet. The ladies love me too much and I've still got the energy to love them right back; but you're old and whipped. You should have locked her down."
"Maybe you should all mind your own business," Brady grumbled, feeling even grumpier. And older. And more and more like he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life. But thinking about going back to Cryus Peak and being with Jesse sent guilt and anxiety surging up into his chest. Not because of her, but because he needed to finish things with The Company first.
How could he go back there and be happy with Jesse while his brothers were out searching for the people responsible for the worst years of their lives? How could he live with himself if something happened to Brock or Brice because he wasn't there? How could he get through each day knowing he wasn't part of the hunt, wasn't part of the take down?
How can you get through each day without seeing Jesse? a little voice inside his head asked.
You're not helping either, he silently told the little voice. He'd only been seeing Jesse every day for a little under two months total. This wasn't a huge change to his life.
"I like Jesse," Brock said suddenly, shocking everyone else into staring at him. Even Meredith lifted her eyes to the review mirror, surprise evident in them. "You should have locked her down."
The silence dragged for a moment and then Brice whooped. "See! Even Brock agrees enough to talk about it!" He triumphantly pumped his fist in the air. "I'm right! I'm right... you know it, I'm right," he sang to the tune of Michael Jackson's I'm Bad.
Ugh. Brady slouched back in his seat, a scowl on his face and his arms still crossed over his chest. They could not take down The Company soon enough. In his head, the ideal situation would be getting this all taken care of in the next month so he could get back to Cryus Peak and start courting Jesse. Yeah, courting was a weird word to use, but it fit... he wanted to romance her, make her fall in love with him, and then claim her. The sooner the better, not just because he and his beast were already missing her, but because he might actually kill his youngest brother if he kept this up.
******
"There's really nothing going on between Brady and me except friendship," Jesse insisted to Brady's stubbornly resistant sisters. It was the third or fourth time Jesse had said it, and, like before, they just ignored her.
After seeing the Bunson brothers and Meredith's team off, Bethany and Bailey had dragged Jesse back to Bethany's suite for ice cream and interrogation. They didn't even bother to try and be subtle about their questioning, they actually called it "ice cream and interrogation."
She was seated at the table with a giant hot fudge sundae in front of her - which was definitely the good part - and two disbelievers on either side. The sundae was definitely the carrot and she wasn't sure she wanted to know what the stick was.
"You know, that's an awfully high collar for such a warm day," Bethany said, changing tactics so fast it made Jesse's head spin. "I'm sure Bailey or I have something that would be more comfortable."
"Um, no thanks," Jesse said, her hand immediately going to cup her neck where Brady had left a second - a second! - mark. Part of her had been pissed when she'd seen how many marks he'd left, another part of her had felt smug satisfaction. She liked looking at them, even though it kind of hurt to know that he'd mark her up and then leave. At least this way she knew his beast felt much the same about her as her squirrel did about him.
She ignored the significant look the sisters exchanged.
"So now that you're not dying, what are your plans?" Bailey asked.
Seriously, the sisters' conversational style was enough to give someone whiplash. Jesse was convinced they were doing it on purpose; people tended to talk more when they were feeling off balance. Not that Bethany or Bailey seemed at all hostile.
Just incessantly curious, stubbornly persistent, and relentlessly determined to know everything about Jesse, her brother, and her relationship (or lack thereof) with Brady.
"I haven't really had time to make any," Jesse said, before taking another big mouthful of vanilla ice cream, nuts, hot fudge, and whipped cream. She knew she was drawing out the interrogation by taking big bites, but it also gave her time to think. Plus, it was freaking delicious. "Find a job, I guess. Take care of Daniel. Do you guys have a school?"
"It's more like tutoring sessions since we've moved here, but yes," Bethany said. "What kind of job?"
Jesse swallowed her ice cream, thinking. Heck, if they were going to badger her with questions, maybe they could make themselves useful at the same time. "I'm not sure. I got my degree in English and then I did some teaching of the kits in our scurry before everyone started getting sick. Does your pack need more tutors?"
"Not really," Bailey said, sounding apologetic. She looked thoughtful though. "I'm sure we can find something. If nothing else, I need help organizing Steele's paperwork and writing new reports, and Bethany is totally useless in that area."
"Too much sitting still," Bethany said with a wave of her hand. "I prefer being active."
"So what do you do?" Jesse asked, turning the questioning around on Bethany.
Bailey snickered. "She's learning how to be the pack's Alpha female, so she has to do everything."
"Ugh, I wish that was an exaggeration," Bethany said, digging into her own sundae with a bit of ferocity. Suddenly she brightened, turning back to Jesse with an expression of glee. "Hey, I have an idea! You can be my assistant! You can come around with me, meet everyone, and keep me organized, like Bailey does for Steele, and that will let you see all things we have going on. I mean, granted, people had to leave their stores and stuff behind on pack land, but everyone's still doing something, and we're not going to be here forever."
"That... sounds okay," Jesse said a little hesitantly. It was obvious that she wasn't going to be able to get away from the sisters completely - they weren't about to let her - and seeing more about how a pack worked sounded like a good idea. Even if there were any scurries left, they might not be very welcoming to her and Daniel.
Aunt Penny came to mind with a pang... even faced with death, her aunt couldn't handle the idea of being anything different from the squirrel she'd always been. While Jesse hoped there would be other scurries with young squirrels who were more open-minded, she wasn't sure she'd want to join up with them either... a whole new world had opened up to her and she wanted to explore. It wasn't just about Brady.
"Everyone's going to love you," Bailey enthused, clearly pleased with Jesse's acceptance of the situation. Bethany just grinned triumphantly.
At least it looked like life was going to be interesting.
******
Three weeks.
It had been three weeks since Brady had seen Jesse face to face. They'd talked on the phone almost every other day, but it hadn't escaped his notice that he was always the one to call her. She'd occasionally text him first, with something funny one of his sisters had said or someone about Daniel, but mostly he texted her. While she texted back, she just didn't initiate many text conversations.
Which, perversely, made him want to talk to her all the more.
She was careful about keeping things friendly, no matter how he flirted on the phone with her. Knowing the marks he'd left on her would have faded by now, his beast was antsier than ever, especially when he wasn't on the phone with her. When he wasn't the one talking to her, he kept wondering who she was talking to... if they were male... if they were flirting with her... and then Brock or Brice would elbow him in the side and he'd realize he'd been growling again. But that didn't stop him from texting and calling her every time he got the chance. He texted her every time he saw or thought of something that reminded him of her - which happened several times a day.
Brady couldn't even blame his distraction on boredom. Four days after leaving Jesse, he'd been sent out on a mission with M
eredith's team. The Company was leading them on a merry chase. While he didn't know who all of Eli's contacts were, they'd discovered another lab. Unfortunately, this one had been emptied out of all occupants, obviously not long before they'd arrived on site. Still, they hadn't managed to erase all the evidence before fleeing.
Two teams, including the Bunson brothers, had spent three days at the site, searching through the rooms, gathering up everything they could. After that, Eli had kept them hopping, sending them to site after site. They didn't find another lab, but they were slowly taking down The Company's locations, one by one. Sometimes they managed to take prisoners, but too many times it was obvious The Company had somehow known they were coming ahead of time and had abandoned ship before they got there.
Still, it was satisfying work. Just... not as satisfying as Brady had thought it would be. He was doing the right thing, progress was happening, and yet he spent most of his time wishing he'd stayed in Cryus Peak with Jesse. Far too much of his free time was spent trying not to be totally pathetic, and distracting himself from calling her. He'd train, he'd hang out with his brothers, make friends with the other Lakewood soldiers, and call his sisters.
The last option was the last resort, since Bethany and Bailey teased him mercilessly about Jesse while refusing to update him on how she was doing. Brats.
Now he was sitting in the sitting room of the suite he and his brothers shared, reading the last Harry Potter book, pretending he wasn't crying over Dobby's death, and trying to decide whether or not the seriously upsetting demise of the house elf was a good enough excuse to text Jesse again. Not that he'd admit how upset he was to anyone else. Brady coughed and wiped at his eyes again.
He probably should be reading this in his room, since he and his brothers shared the sitting room, kitchen, and bathroom, but the armchairs in the sitting room were way more comfortable than laying on his bed and reading. Plus, when he was in bed, he really had trouble keeping his mind off of Jesse, and he'd already taken matters into his own hand twice this morning.