Chapter Nine

I joined the guys in the gym and we trained for the next two hours until Hannah pushed the door open and took Rev by his hand. I wondered sometimes if she had a crush on him and how Rev felt with all the attention that Hannah showered him with. For someone that didn’t talk he had forged quite a bond with her.

“Hannah, you do know that Rev’s actually our friend,” Jax said.

“Just until we get married,” she said and we all stood watching her with open mouths as she led Rev from the room.

“Did she just say she was going to marry Rev?” Preston asked.

“Poor Rev,” I said and we all laughed.

“Are we still heading in to Chicago tonight?” Preston asked me.

“Yeah, I need to meet with Jasper O’Connell,” I answered.

“Who’s he?” Jax asked.

“He’s the Sire of the Chicago lair, we’re negotiating the terms of our alliance tonight,” I said as I headed out of the room.

“What time do you want to leave?” Preston asked as he stood in the hallway.

“Seven,” I said and walked into my room.

I stood in the bathroom and took my clothes off. My ribs felt better and my lip had healed completely. I climbed into the shower and stood under the warm water. I closed my eyes as I thought about Rylee once again.

“This is a nightmare,” I said to Baz.

“Convince her otherwise,” he said.

“I think it’s too late for that,” I replied.

“No it’s not, I can feel the bond forging,” Baz said.

“Me too and once she realizes it she won’t be happy,” I said to him.

I pulled the bedroom door open just as Jax went to open it. We bumped into each other and I had to push Jax off of me.

“What the hell Jax,” I said to him as he straightened himself.

“It’s time,” he said and pushed his hair out of his face.

“Doesn’t excuse you not knocking,” I said to him.

“Afraid I’ll catch you in the act?” Jax asked me.

“What act?” I asked him.

“The act of you and your hand,” he said and laughed.

“When I’m that desperate Jax I’ll just let you bend over and close my eyes,” I said and he laughed louder.

“Yeah right,” he said as we went downstairs where Preston and Rev waited for us.

Chris was in the living room with Hannah where she pouted because Rev was leaving and I could hear Chris telling her she’d watch movies with her.

“Chris, don’t leave the house without Jay. We’re going to Chicago and it’s going to take a few hours,” I said to her.

“I’m not going out tonight, I promise,” she said as Hannah snuggled closer to her.

“Let’s go guys,” I said as Hannah blew Rev a kiss and he smiled at her.

We drove to Chicago and Jax fiddled with the radio until I hit him on the back of his head. Preston laughed and regaled us with stories about his spy inside Carson’s lair. Jax was also having his birthday soon but he didn’t seem as excited.

“Good evening, do you have a reservation?” the woman asked as she looked us over. We were tall but you could see we were still young even though we all wore suits tonight.

“Mr. O’Connell’s table,” I said to her as she looked us over again.

“Follow me,” she said and we followed her in single file towards a table in the back. Jasper stood up as he saw me and I recognized David Brandt that stood next to him.

“Lucas,” he said with a smile as we shook hands and sat down again.

“Thank you for meeting with me Jasper,” I said to him.

In our circles age didn’t set the rules when it came to respect, your position in your society and lair did. A man twenty years older than me would call me sir if he had a lower rank. As a potential future Sire I was on the same level as Jasper for now. If my ceremony failed then I would have to revert back to calling him sir.

“I see this last year’s been good to you,” he remarked.

“Training has its benefits,” I said with a smile.

“Let’s get some drinks first,” he said and nodded at a waiter. The restaurant belonged to Jasper and we’d have no trouble here tonight. Nothing was guaranteed outside of his borders though.

“Scotch,” I said and he ordered our drinks.

“Are there any changes to our current allegiance that you’d like to discuss?” Jasper asked me.

“Just one,” I said as the waiter put our drinks down on the table.

“I’ve heard some rumours,” Jasper said as he took a sip from his glass.

“What rumours?” I asked him.

“Rumour has it that you got yourself a grey dragon, equivalent to a violet one,” he said to me.

“I did,” I confirmed.

“Your father would be proud,” he said and I smiled slightly.

“So back to the alliance agreement,” I said.

“There is one problem Lucas,” he said as he looked me in the eye, “our alliance agreement was with Joseph and your father.”

“I’m aware of that but since my ceremony has justified me taking over as Sire we should negotiate added terms,” I said to him.

“I understand your thought process but you haven’t taken over yet but as soon as you do I will sit down with you and we can re-negotiate,” he said.

“What about your alliance with Joseph McIntyre?” I asked him.

“He controls the lower side of Aurora is it not?” Jasper asked.

“He does but in every negotiation a side must be chosen,” I said to him.

“You’re a smart kid, I’ll give you that but I really think you should wait until you’ve been officially announced as the new Sire before asking other Sires to pick sides. Joseph McIntyre isn’t some low level Sire that doesn’t know what he’s doing,” he said.

“At least you didn’t straight out say no,” I said to him and he laughed.

“I must apologize and take my leave, but please do enjoy dinner on the house,” he said as we all stood up with him and shook hands again.

“We’ll meet again soon,” I said to him.

After ten minutes we took our leave and drove back to Aurora. I sat in the back with Rev and called Jay. Everything was fine according to him. Chris and Hannah were watching movies in the living room and Hannah was already asleep.

We bought pizza and went home. Rev sat down on the couch opposite Chris and Hannah’s eyes popped open. She saw Rev, smiled and then went over to him and lay down with her head on his lap. He adjusted his seating so she could be comfortable and we all just watched him with amused looks on our faces.

“The future Mrs. Rev,” Preston said and Rev just grunted as he ate.

“How did the meeting go?” Chris asked.

“Good, considering everything,” I said to her and she nodded.

“I’m glad,” she said and switched the movie from The Little Mermaid to some action filled scene that I wasn’t paying attention to.

On Sunday morning I called Rylee but she declined my calls, all ten of them and I started feeling like a stalker. I would have to be patient, she would know soon enough what was going on and even if she hated me, Baz wouldn’t let anyone else touch her.

I didn’t want her to hate me because I already loved her, I just didn’t realize it but it hit me like a freight train the moment I remembered forging that bond with her a year ago. I didn’t want her to reject me either, apparently it hurt like a bitch, physically.

I spent another few hours in the gym while everyone watched movies and stayed in their pajamas. Martha made Sunday lunch which was usually a roast with vegetables, baked potatoes and dessert. We ate more than the average teenager our age because we trained a lot.

Chris had gone shopping for me because most of my shirts didn’t fit anymore. Since I merged with Baz I’d bulked out more and since my birthday I ate double of what I used to. I took a hot shower before lunch and we ate in front of the television.

Hannah sat in between Rev’s legs as he braided her hair and I had to stifle a laugh. Nobody would ever believe that Rev, the guy that most people feared, would be sitting in his pajamas and braiding a ten year old’s hair with Barbie nail polish on his nails.

“Rev, can I buy you a pink leather jacket for your birthday?” Jax asked him.

“Fuck off,” Rev said and we all laughed.

“Language,” Preston said and looked at him.

“It’s okay Jax deserved that,” Hannah said and I shook my head.

“Gee thanks Hannah,” Jax said and Rev almost smiled.

“I wonder what Hannah’s going to do when Rev gets a girlfriend,” Preston said and Hannah stood up straight.

“What?” she asked him standing with her hands on her hips.

“I just mean… he doesn’t have a girlfriend,” Preston recovered quickly.

“Good,” Hannah said and sat down again.

“Lucas, are you going to kill Rev when he bonds with Hannah when she turns seventeen?” Jax asked me.

“Shit don’t even joke about that, but Rev will know when he turns seventeen,” I said and looked at Hannah.

“I already know,” she said and leaned back against Rev.

“You’re too young to know,” Preston said to her.

“I pity your bond half Pres, you’ve shagged half of Aurora,” Hannah said.

“Where the hell did you hear that?” I asked her shocked at her choice of words.

“People talk,” she said and Rev laughed out loud.