She thought she was keeping her cool, but her hands were clutching her coffee cup so hard she thought she might break the ceramic. She briefly told him what had happened with Kara and the kids.
"It's not a big deal," she said. "I get why she was worried. I'd be worried if some random wolf were around my kids."
"You're not random," Nico told her. "She knows you have permission to be here. She knows you won't hurt anyone. That was uncalled for."
"Maybe." But it had reinforced something she had been thinking for the better part of the day.
"I need to go back to the coven house."
Nico jolted. "You're leaving?"
"No." She set her coffee cup down. "But I do need some clothes. And I think I need to talk to my sisters. Clearly, thissilence isn't working, and they're not going to come crawling back to me if I just say nothing. It hasn't magically worked itself out so far. And I know a thing or two about magic, so I need to go and actually have a conversation."
Nico set his own coffee cup down, his expression serious, but he nodded. "Alright, I'll go with you."
"I was thinking that maybe I could just borrow your truck." Bringing the werewolf with her seemed a little bit like adding kerosene to the fire.
"No." Nico was insistent. "I'll go with you. They need to see us together."
She was going to say something about not needing backup in her own home, but he had a point. Her covendidneed to see them together. They needed to get used to them, so they could accept the relationship and move on.
And a small part of her knew that they'd be less likely to get away with any funny business if she had a werewolf bodyguard with her.
The drive into the city was mostly quiet, the radio playing between them as she and Nico held hands and she directed him straight to the coven house.
"Maybe you should stay in the truck," she suggested after he put it in park. He just gave her a look.
Alright, they weren't doing that.
Elise got out and saw a large utility van across the street. She wondered if they were doing some sort of work on the house. Cars didn't usually park on the street in this neighborhood, so it was a bit weird, but she was probably looking for anything out of the ordinary to distract herself from the conversation she was about to have with her sisters. The guy sitting in the front seat of that van probably didn't appreciate being stared at.
She led Nico inside, holding his hand as they crossed over the threshold, though it wasn't necessary with her magic stillliving within him. Briana and Aya were in the kitchen, and when Briana saw who walked in behind Elise she said, "Holy fucking shit! What are you doing here?"
"Hi, guys," Elise said brightly.
"He can't be here," Briana said, but Aya kept quiet and gave Elise a soft smile. Maybe she would be able to heal that friendship if given enough time.
"Where have youbeen?" Briana asked.
"Staying with him," Elise replied. "I thought Aya made that clear."
"I thought Aya was out of her damn mind." That came from Serena, who had entered the kitchen with Delainey. They were both glaring at Nico and, by extension, Elise.
"You should be staying here," Delainey said, "in your room and not exiled in the middle of nowhere to slum it among the dogs."
"I'm not slumming in it," Elise said. "I don't know how much clearer I could make it that Nico and I are in a relationship." She held his hand up. "We're together. This thing is real. Get over it if you want me to come back."
"So are you just going to live with the wolves now if we don't?" Briana asked.
Of course she would figure out the kink in this plan, and Elise wasn't about to lie. There had been enough lies already, and she was almost certain that the only way through this was the truth. "No, but the alpha has allowed me to stay for a few more days."
"And what are you going to do after that?" Briana wasn't letting up.
"I don't know. Get an apartment or something, unless you guys can be cool. I'm not breaking up with Nico."
Serena scowled. "We're never going to be able to accept that. It's gross."
She expected more hate from Delainey, but Delainey had a contemplative look on her face. "Is it really worth all the trouble?" Delainey finally asked.
