Chapter 80
I had the kids dressed in warm jackets, jeans and boots. They asked where we were going a thousand times over but I didn’t respond to them, it wasn’t my place to tell. Jaxon would say what he wanted to say to them. I gave them some snacks to eat while I got ready. Jaxon was just seated at the edge of the bed the entire time looking completely lost in thought.
“It’s going to be fine,” I assured him and he gave me a weak smile. I knew my words would do very little but I just thought that at the very least, he should have it.
Once I was done tying my hair into a ponytail, I held my hand out to Jaxon. He stared at it for a second then stood to his feet. “Can I have a second? Just get the kids in the car and I’ll be there.”
I understood what it was like to need a moment to yourself so I just nodded and went to do as he asked, I made sure to pack extra snacks and water for the trip because I had no idea how long it was going to take and I could not gauge their reaction to it. It was as if they knew it was a serious matter because they stopped asking and just stayed close to themselves.
I noticed that Kieran was holding Kiara’s hand and whispering to her. I couldn’t help the small smile that broke out on my face as I watched them. I didn’t know what they were talking about because he was talking in whispers but he spoke so gently and she looked so attentive to every word he was saying. I was so busy watching them that I didn’t even realize when Jaxon walked out of the house.
“Is everyone ready?” I nearly jumped when I heard him behind me. my heart was racing as I turned to him and I noticed something in his hands- my jacket. “You forgot this.”
I thanked him and we got into the car. At first, it was silent, no one said a word or asked any questions. Everyone had just subconsciously agreed that it was going to be a solemn trip but after about ten minutes of driving, Kiara broke the silence with a question.
“Where are we going daddy?”
I saw him tense at the question. Her question was innocent but it obviously shook him a little. He exhaled deeply to expel some of the tension from his shoulders before glancing at her briefly through the mirror.
“We’re going to my mother’s grave- your grandmother.”
“Is she like mummy’s grandma?” her voice had dropped to a whisper and for a second I was confused because she had never met my mother then I realized she was talking about Cressida.
“Cressida wasn’t your grandmother,” I decided to take hold of the conversation because I could tell it was taking a strain on Jaxon. “Your grandmother died long before you were born. Your dad will tell you all about her later, okay? Let’s just focus getting there first because it isn’t safe to talk while driving.”
She just took the explanation I gave her without any questions and went back to whispering with Kieran. Jaxon turned to m with a look that screamed gratitude and I just smiled at him. He reached out for my hand over the console and intertwined our fingers.
When Jaxou told me a cemetery, I was expecting a normal cemetery with headstones everywhere looking bland, I was not expecting a massive stone wall building. When he parked the car, I was wondering if he had driven us to the wrong place. I would have asked if I didn’t already know how stressed he was.
We all got our of the car and Kiara rushed over to Jaxon as if sensing how much he needed comfort. I made sure everyone was bundled up first before we made our way into the building. It turned out it was more of a pair of tombs dating back to the earliest lycan leaders. According to Jaxon’s commentary through our bond, none of their bodies were actually in the building. All lycan leaders had their bodies cremated and it was the ashes that remained in the tombs.
I thought it was weird but I made no comment on it. The inside looked a lot better than the outside with tiled walls and chandeliers but Jaxon was right, it was absolutely freezing inside and I was grateful that he remembered my jacket. There were guards everywhere and if they were surprised to see us, they didn’t show it Jaxon mostly ignored them and led us Towards a flight of stairs leading downwards.
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Chapter 80
We took the stairs to the floor directly below and I couldn’t help but wonder how low it actually went. Jaxon had not said a single word since we walked into the building and I began to wonder if maybe pushing him was a bad idea. I would have called off the entire thing if not that I realized Jaxon had stopped. He stood in front of a large marble headstone and above it on the wall was a life sized picture of a woman- his mother.
“She’s pretty,” Kiara whispered and I nodded- she truly was.
I had seen her before, in her nesting room but I barely had time to focus then because I was in so much pain. The picture looked like it was taken to highlight all her best features- her cheekbones, her smile, her wavy hair, the light in her eyes. She looked ethereal and I could tell that she was a kind person. I knew I had her to thank for the reason Jaxon was like that.
He was staring at his mother’s photo with an unreadable expression in his eyes and I saw him run his fingers over the marble stone with her name on it. He gestured for the rest of us to come closer and we did. His hand found mine immediately and from the way he grabbed onto it, I knew it was for strength and support. I didn’t say a word, just silently stood there and reminded him that I was still by his side.
It took him almost five minutes before he was able to say anything about her. He spoke more to the kids than to me because they didn’t seem to understand what was happening. The more be spoke about her, the more his shoulders slackened as if a burden was taken off them. I could tell it was relieving for him and I was happy for him. I wanted him to be able to walk around without that chip in his shoulder and I knew that after today, he probably would.
I don’t know how long we stayed there but by the time we left, I was starving. My stomach made the mistake of rumbling in the car because Jaxon laughed. It was the first genuine one he had given today and I loved it.
“I take it that we’re hungry,” he addressed the entire car and everyone nodded. “I can order a pizza, does that sound good to everyone!”
The kids cheered and Jaxon handed me the phone to handle the order since he was driving. The ride back was starkly different from the one going because there was so much chatter. I didn’t input much seeing as it was mostly Kiara and Jaxon who spoke but I enjoyed every second of it. Jaxon had his hand on my knee and everything felt so fulfilling. That was until I saw her.
“Slow down.” I hissed out to Jaxon and without asking any questions, he did as I asked..
I looked out the window again and sure enough, there she was-Violet. Once again, she had a mask covering her lower face but I could tell that it was her Jaxon followed my line of sight and when he saw her, he picked his phone and dialed Aidan. 1 could tell she was following us and trying to remain inconspicuous and she would have succeeded if her veil didn’t fall back causing me to see a glimpse of her hair.
“How long have you noticed her for?” he asked and I shrugged.
“I just saw her hair when I told you to slow down. She could have been following us from the beginning. How did sh get a car into the pack and how is she driving without plates. Shouldn’t she have been pulled over by now?”
“Aidan is on his way to deal with it. Do you want me to lose her? The asked and I nodded. He glanced at the kids through mirror. “Are you both using your seatbelts and are you sure they’re secure?”
Once they had nodded and he was sure he wouldn’t be hurting them, he slammed on the gas pedal. The car lurched forward with a force I did not know was possible. Violet tried to keep up with us but Jaxon expertly weaved through the other cars and he had the advantage of knowing the roads better than her. It was easy for him to lose her during one of the turns and he was able to keep driving at normal speed.
“Is everyone okay?” I turned back and they both nodded.
“Can we do it again?” it was Kiara who asked and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. Only she would make a potential life threatening situation sound fun. I just reached over and ruffled her hair.
When we got to the house, the pizza guy was already there and Jaxon went over to collect it while I helped the kids out. Kiara rushed in for pizza but Kieran stayed by my side. I noticed that while she was a raging fire, he was a calm stream just moving at his own pace.
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Chapter 80
We were almost at the door when he spoke. “Did that person want to hurt you?”
I was taken aback by his question. “What person?”
“The one in the car that you were driving from,” he explained. “Did she want to hurt you or Jaxon?”
“I don’t want you to worry about all of this. Today is a good day so let’s go inside, eat pizza and we can talk again tomorrow,
is that okay?”
He hesitated but nodded and let it go. Jaxon had opened the boxes and the smell of pizza wafted through the air. Kiara was hurrying back from the kitchen where she went to wash her hands and she grabbed a slice. Kieran rushed over to wash his hands and once they were busy with food, Jaxon made his way over to me.
“Did they find her?” I asked and he shook his head.
“She ditched the car. She’s in the wind again.”
SEND GIFT
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