“She wasn’t up to anything nefarious. She was with Jace,” I said soothingly. “I heard you pacing all night. Why don’t we pretend like this is the evening and have a couple of drinks, then try to have a nap?”
“We?” Owen repeated, snorting. “What are you, two?”
“You’re in rare form today, aren’t you?” I grumbled.
Renz took the garbage bags from Jace. “You deal with this. He’s been sulking all morning.”
“I’m not sulking!”
Jace pinched the bridge of his nose. “Renz, please take her clothes to her room.”
Clothes? I did a double-take. Why had they brought her clothes here in garbage bags?
“Owen, let’s you and I go to the office so we can discuss this without—” he jerked his head toward Jasmine. He fished his keys out of his pocket and pushed them into Jasmine’s hand. “So you can bring the rest of your things here.”
At this, Owen scowled. “Don’t get too used to expecting things from us.”
Jasmine sighed. “All I want is to be left alone.”
Well, that wasn’t going to happen. Not when she lived with us. I supposed if she became nocturnal and never left her room while we were up, it might be possible to avoid us. Seemed like a pretty lonely way to live in a marriage, though.
Owen got my attention. “Killian, I have something important for you to look into later when you have time.”
I nodded, then watched them go before turning to Jasmine. She looked drained, her face paler than usual, and her shoulders slumped forward. Her hand clutched the keys so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
She didn’t seem to remember I was there, watching the door through which they left.
It had always been inevitable that one day the four of us would have to take a mate. It was true that it was usually up to the alphas to decide who they were going to marry, but the Goddess said this was her blessing to us. Right now, everyone was acting as though it were a curse. If we didn’t shape up, maybe the Goddess would curse us for it.
If she hadn’t given us this directive, chances were we’d all end up fighting over who to marry. And surely we could temper the more manipulative aspects of Jasmine’s omega personality, right?
She turned suddenly and headed for the door. I followed after her, eyeing those keys in her hand. “You’re not planning on taking off, are you?”
Jasmine came to a stop again. “Taking off? To where?”
I shrugged. “Somewhere else. Where you don’t have Owen sticking his finger in your face and accusing you of drugging priestesses.”
“I’m not sure that running away would help with the ‘she’s evil’ accusations,” Jasmine replied dryly. “No, I was going to go back to my place and bring the rest of my things back.”
“I’ll come help.”
Jasmine winced and shook her head. “No, no. It’s fine. Owen said he had something for you to do, and besides, I can fit more in the car if the front seat is clear. I don’t have that much, so it will be nice to try to bring it all at once.”
She lifted her black eyes to my face for the first time. Her expression was wary, but also…embarrassed? Come to think of it, when I glanced at her after Jace revealed her clothes were in garbage bags, she had flushed. My first thought was that she was trying to dissuade me because she really was running away. But what if it was actually that she was embarrassed by her living conditions?
“Come to think of it…” I scratched my chin, one of my earrings touching my neck. “You didn’t put up any sort of fuss when we decided to move you in with us.”
Her cheeks turned red. “Yeah, well. We’re getting married.”
“And this place is much nicer than where you’re living right now?” I deduced.
Her lips pressed together.
“Ah, I’m right.” I couldn’t help but grin as her expression grew more pissed off. It made her prettier, somehow. Well, far prettier than when she was nervous and withdrawn, at least. Come to think of it, if this was going to work, we needed her to be more open and forthright with us.
Perhaps I should start seducing her. We talked about sex when her heat came last night, and it would be so much morepleasurable when the time came if I already knew what made her toes curl and her eyes roll into the back of her head. I gave her my most charming smile.
“It will go faster if you have help. You don’t have to do this on your own anymore, after all, right? That’s what a marriage is supposed to be. I’m perfectly willing to help you out with anyneeds.” It was probably a little too thick on the end there.
