This continued until Titus heard the voices mere feet away. Still, the young hunter couldn’t see the owners of the voices, but he knew who they were—Uncle Decebel and Aunt Jen. They were just around the corner, arguing again. He covered his mouth with his hand to keep from giggling. They seemed to bicker a lot.
Titus had asked Rachel why this was so. Rachel had informed him that Aunt Jen thought it was her job to aggravate Uncle Decebel, which the boy found confusing. Titus asked if Aunt Jen got paid for her job. Uncle Gavril had muttered something that sounded like, “That’s one way to put it.” Aunt Rachel had swatted him with one of the small blankets she used to wrap baby Slate.
“I’m not sure I understand, Uncle Gavril,” Titus said. Gavril winked at him and told the boy he would understand one day. That was an answer Titus seemed to hear a lot. Raised voices pulled him from his thoughts as Aunt Jen’s voice became growly.
“We’ve already discussed this, Jennifer.” Decebel sounded grumpy, like Titus felt when he had to do chores.
“I want to discuss it more,” she told him. “If our alpha is willing to take his mate, then why won’t you take me?”
Decebel sighed. “Why do you have to make everything so difficult?”
“Everything?” Jen’s voice rose even higher.
Titus glanced over his shoulder at Uncle Gavril. He leaned toward Titus’s ear and whispered, “One day when you have a mate and her voice gets that high, know that it’s time to give in to whatever she wants.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little unfair?” Aunt Jen asked. “To say that I make literallyeverythingdifficult? Does that mean I make being a mom difficult? Am I difficult when I get ready for bed? How about when I walk? Do I exasperate you with my difficult walking, mate?”
“You’re exaggerating my words.” Uncle Decebel snarled. Nowhisvoice was getting louder.
“I am so close to exaggerating my claws across your chest,” she snapped back.
Uncle Decebel chuckled, but it didn’t sound like he found anything funny. “Like you did my clothes? Real mature, baby.”
“Oh, dear,” Gavril muttered. He gave a small jerk of his head to Titus. “I think it’s time we take our leave.”
“Gavril.” Jen barked. “Perhaps you aren’t the best teacher for Trent. I can smell his Lucky Charms’ breath from a mile away.”
“I don’t think she’s ever going to learn my name,” Titus whispered. “Do you think something is wrong with her memory?”
“My memory is fine, you tiny cretin.” She huffed.
“Let’s go, little man,” Uncle Gavril said. “Aunt Jen needs to cool off, and Uncle Decebel needs to think very hard about choosing his battles.”
“I heard that,” Decebel snapped.
Gavril grinned and took Titus’s hand. “I meant for you, too, Beta. Consider it a bit of free advice.”
Decebel tiltedhis head back and looked up at the tall ceiling. He was tired. He loved his female with everything inside of him, and perhaps that was why she frustrated him to the point of madness, but sometimes he just wanted things to be easy between them. Sometimes—
“Sometimes what, Dec?” Jen’s voice was quieter, but just as lethal. “What do you want?”
Underneath the anger, he heard the pain in her voice. Damn, he hated hurting his mate. “I want to have a meal with you and our daughter,” he told her. “I want to play with Thia, read her a story, and then put her to bed, knowing she is safe.” He dropped his head down so he could meet his female’s eyes. “Then I would like to spend some time with you, just talking, laughing, without us arguing. I’m tired, Jennifer.”
She bit her bottom lip, and he saw her eyes shimmer with the beginnings of what would become tears if she let them fall. But Decebel knew his mate—his strong, stubborn female—wouldn’t. She would draw blood from her lip before she let a single drop run down her beautiful face.
“I’m sorry I exhaust you.” She lifted her chin and dropped her hands to her sides, balling them into fists. “I’ll go get Thia. Can you find something to eat and bring it to our room?”
She was shutting down. Decebel could feel the icy anger flowing through their bond as it seeped into his bones and chilled his blood. “Jennifer,” he whispered as he reached for her. But she took a step back.
“You’re right. I’ve acted immaturely.” She glanced down and swallowed so hard he heard the sound in her throat. “It’s a wonderful part of my difficult personality that I can’t seem to shed. I’ll work harder to keep from bickering with you
“Mate.” He tried to keep the growl out of his voice. Jennifer didn’t respond. She rushed away from him, her back ramrod straight and her shoulders pulled back. Decebel didn’t know how to fix the situation. He thought by now she would understand how deeply his need to protect her and Thia ran. Sometimes it felt as if she purposefully ignored his feelings because she just wanted her own way. But he knew his mate was not a vindictive person. Even in her angriest state, she wouldn’t purposefully desire to hurt him in such a way. Decebel sent a prayer up to the Great Luna asking for wisdom and patience. He often forgot how much younger his feisty mate was compared to him. Perhaps he expected too much? He headed toward the kitchen to gather food for his family and took the time to gain control of his own temper. He couldn’t very well gripe at her about her attitude if he acted no better.
Jen hastily wipedthe moisture from her eyes as she marched to the room that Rachel and Gavril had essentially turned into a playroom/nursery for the children of their pack. Decebel felt exhausted by her. Okay, she could understand that. But what he didn’t understand was that she felt exhausted of herself as well. Did he think shewantedto feel so intense all the time? Did he really believe she lived to antagonize him?Okay,sometimes I do.But never in a cruel or disrespectful way. She liked to push his buttons and see him get riled up. She didn’t want to make him tired of her. And that was what she’d felt through their bond. He’d tried to keep it shut down, but powerful emotions were difficult to hide from a true mate. And it came through loud and clear that her mate, in that moment, wanted a break from her.
Jen covered her mouth as a hiccup of emotion broke through her clenched teeth. “No,” she gritted out, hating being emotional. Well, she hated feeling inadequate, sad, or helpless. Other emotions she could deal with. But this mix of anger, defiance, disgust with herself, and bitterness at her mate was a hurricane inside of her that threatened to explode outward and crash into everything and everyone around her. Why was she like this? “Why can’t you just stop?” Jen asked herself, her voice raspy with emotion. “Why can’t you be more like Sally, or Zara, or anybody but yourself?”
She reached the door and heard her daughter’s laughter. Thia was a happy toddler. She could be obstinate on occasion, but mostly the girl took life as it came and found everything around her amusing. Where the hell she got that trait from, Jen didn’t have a clue. The door opened before Jen could reach for the knob, and Rachel stood staring back at her with narrowed eyes. The healer stepped outside the room and pulled the door closed behind her. Jen took a step back and frowned. “Is everything okay?”
