"A few years ago I found myself in a bad situation," I continued. "It wasn't my first bad situation, and if my luck holds the same, it won't be my last, but it was the one that changed my life. I was rescued by the most amazing family, a pack of sorts. They took me in and made me one of their own. Jacob and his family are some of the most important supes in my world. As many of you know, Grace, another jeweled princess, is also part of this family, and I hope that one day Jacob and I can have the same dual bond between worlds, families, and responsibilities. I guess," I shrugged, even though my heart was pounding rapidly in my chest, "that's the moment all of my dreams would come true."
Applause rang out, but I was almost past being able to hear or acknowledge that, with my own senses going haywire. I hadn't planned on publicly "claiming" Jacob, and now I wasn’t sure how he was going to react.
Shit, shit, shit!
I really needed to write speeches down, and stick to the script, because when I went with my gut on confessions, it never ended well. Truth be told, nothing had ever moved at a slow pace for Jacob and me, and apparently I was very much to blame for this new leap forward. But this past month I’d missed him with an intensity I hadn’t expected, and in growing up and releasing my darkness, I could acknowledge that I wanted this bond.
I rubbed a hand over my chest as fey continued to clap around us. My emotions were raw, as if I’d just carved a direct path into my chest, leaving my heart and soul exposed, feelings spilling out everywhere.
I couldn’t even look at Jacob for fear of what I might see.
A hand roughly latched around my forearm as I stepped down; it wasn't painfully tight, but enough to jolt me from my panicked thoughts. My mom's face swam into view as she pulled me closer, like she was going to hug me.
Instead her angry whisper landed in my ear. "Justice," she snapped. "What the hell was that?"
Uh oh, looked like Mom and I were about to have our first real fight. A fight I'd somewhat known was coming from the first time she looked at Jacob. Maybe, justmaybe, that was a little bit of why I'd been so honest in my speech.
Best to break it to them all loudly and with witnesses.
Reminding them of Grace and Tyson was an added bonus. If they could make it work, then so could I.
"Can I speak with you in private?" she muttered between clenched teeth. She was attempting to smile, attempting and failing. People had crowded even closer to us, and I understood her want for privacy, but in truth, I really didn't feel like hashing out my personal business right now.
My parents had come a long way with me, and I both cared for and respected them, but they had no say in my personal life. That wasn’t how this would work, and the sooner they realized, the better.
"I'd rather not fight about it now," I said.
Her grip tightened, and this time it was hurting a little. I wasn’t sure she even realized she was doing it though, consumed with whatever had taken hold of her.
"Let her go," Jacob said, his voice a low rumble from behind me.
My mom's head snapped up so she was glaring at him instead of me.
"You're hurting her, Deloria," Jacob repeated slowly, and I could feel the heat from him as he stepped closer. "So remove your hand. Now."
The warning in his tone couldn't have been more obvious, but he was holding it together. Only I could tell that his power was swirling like a fucking rocket about to explode.
"This has nothing to do with you," she hissed at Jacob. "And you will address me as Queen Deloria."
He crossed his arms, and with a shake of his head said: "You're not my queen. As a visiting dignitary, I’ll show you respect as a foreign ruler of state, but I’ll remind you to not forget who you’re speaking with as well."
She spluttered, staring at him like he was a ghost, but she did release me, and before I could react, Jacob pulled me behind him, a barrier between my mom and me. "Do not ruin this moment for her," I heard him murmur, that musical voice sliding down my spine and settling in with the butterflies twirling about my stomach.
No one had ever defended me before. Not like this.
Fuck… this was an addictive sort of feeling. I liked to fight my own battles, don't get me wrong, but it was different when you had a wingman in your corner too.
I wasn’t fighting alone.
"We will speak as soon as this is over," she warned both of us, before spinning on her heel and storming off. Peering around Jacob's broad shoulders, I noticed that my father was still there, and he didn't appear to be as upset as my mother. His look was more contemplative.
"Your speech was beautiful," he said, before he turned to walk away. Looking back once to say, "Enjoy your night. I'll speak with your mother."
My jaw might have dropped a little at the complete turnabout there. I blinked at Jacob as he shifted to face me. "Did you see that?" I asked. "It was my mom that lost her shit and my father that stayed calm. I've never seen a father do that before. Usually they're punching walls … or me."
I wasn’t so shocked that I missed the way his jaw tightened at that, his face somber as he absorbed my words. "Not all fathers hit," he finally said. "Mine never hit us, and considering he was raising four powerful boys, that speaks a lot of how strong he could be in non-violent ways."
"He raised some great men," I said honestly. "Whatever he did, it was perfect."
