Avenger(21)

“What are you smiling about?” Caeden asked.

“I didn’t realize I was.”

“Well, you are,” he chuckled, still waiting for an answer.

I thought for a moment before answering. “I guess…I’m just happy. Despite everything we’ve been through and everything we have yet to face, I am happy, and that’s what matters.”

He braced his hands on the counter and tilted his head, a slow smile lighting his face. “You’re happy…it’s good to hear that…” He paused, as if unsure if he should continue. “I’ve never doubted you loved me, Soph, but I have questioned your happiness. You’ve been through a lot, and all of it has been because of me. So many things could have been avoided if we weren’t mates.”

“Don’t think for one second that I regret my fate.” I stood and made my way to him. He opened his arms and I wrapped mine around him. I inhaled his woodsy scent, letting his warmth wash over me. “You and me, we’re meant to be, and those hardships we’ve faced, they’re merely bumps in the road. Together, we’re unstoppable.”

His lips brushed over my hair. “Unstoppable,” he whispered.

We stood like that for several more minutes until he finally let me go.

“Well,” he put his hands on his hips, “I guess I better see if I can find pumpkins since someone waited till the last minute to have the brilliant idea of carving them.”

I laughed, my eyes darting down to the floor as I lifted my shoulders in a small shrug. “It didn’t occur to me before.”

“I’ll be back soon,” he stepped forward and took my chin between his fingers, placing a chaste kiss on my lips.

As he started out of the kitchen, I called after him, “Don’t forget to get one for Nolan.”

He chuckled in reply. “You got it.”

Since I didn’t feel like going back upstairs and lying in bed for hours, I decided to spend some time in the family room. I’d still be off my feet and bored out of my mind, but at least I’d have something different to look at.

I had just sat down and draped a blanket around my shoulders when Archie and Murphy joined me. Each dog took a spot beside me. They rarely left my side these days, even Murphy. I scratched the top of Archie’s head and he leaned into my touch. I did the same for Archie before putting a movie on. There was never anything good to watch on TV. It was all either reruns or crazy people fighting over some random piece of crap. If I had to watch ladies fight over a something ridiculous one more time…

“Watcha doin’?” I looked up to see Nolan standing in the doorway. I swear he appeared out of nowhere all the time. It was like his super power or something.

“Watching a movie.” I gave him a “duh” look. I mean, really, wasn’t it obvious what I was doing? Why did I need to spell it out?

“Mind if I join you?”

“Uh…”

He must have taken that as a yes, because he said, “I’m going to pop some popcorn and be right back. Don’t start it yet.”

“You don’t even know what I’m watching,” I mumbled under my breath. I was suddenly mad that I’d picked Lord of the Rings to watch and not some flowery girl movie that would’ve been sure to scare Nolan away. But it was too late now to change it, because he’d hear me get up and know what I was doing. And while I was wary of Nolan, he wasn’t a bad guy…at least as far as I knew.

He came in with a big bowl of popcorn and sat down so Archie was between us. “You can start it now,” he mumbled as he shoved a handful of butter drenched popcorn in his mouth. “Want some?” He held the giant bowl out to me. He must have popped three bags of popcorn because I knew there was no way one bag produced that much.

“Uh, sure,” I reached out and grabbed a handful.

It felt weird to be sitting here eating popcorn and watching Lord of the Rings with Nolan of all people. I didn’t know him…and I guess that was my fault. I talked to him, sure, but not very much. And I’d been fine with him before Caeden said he thought there was a mole. But now, I wasn’t sure if he was trustworthy. I was being unfair to him. I knew that. If there was a mole, which we didn’t really know, it could be anyone. Besides, Caeden seemed convinced that the mole was a member of the elders.

I decided to relax and enjoy the movie despite Nolan’s presence. Until the guy gave me a reason not to trust him, I should be more accommodating, and he’d always been nice to me.

We were halfway through the second movie when Caeden finally arrived home.

“Cay-berry! Does it really take that long to get pumpkins?” Nolan called out, throwing his arms in the air enthusiastically. I was about to ask Nolan how he knew about the pumpkins when I realized he’s a shifter so of course he heard. With the loss of my abilities, I had forgotten that everyone else still had theirs.