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I didn’t ask why. I’d assumed it wasn’t practical while he was cooking, and really, he doesn’t need it while he’s inside the house. I have wards set so spirits can’t enter.
I fall asleep again after dinner, when we move to the living room.
Adrian puts me to bed after a while, waking me when he lifts me up and shaking his head at every protestation that comes out of my mouth.
Carter comes with us and helps strip me out of the sexy outfit and get me into one of Adrian’s T-shirts. Adrian leaves after I’m under the covers, leaving me with a goodnight peck on the lips, and closing the door to envelope us in darkness. Carter curls up behind me in the bed. I feel his calming touch working on me when he slips a hand up the shirt and rests it on my stomach.
“I’m not tired,” I protest, even if I can’t keep my eyes open for one more second.
He snorts. “You’ve been passing out all over me tonight. I’m surprised you made it through dinner without faceplanting your desert.”
“Not my fault,” I tell him, letting out a dreamy sigh followed by a yawn.
“I don’t get compelled to use my touch for nothing, Rachel. You need it.”
“I’ve slept enough this week to last all year,” I murmur.
“It’s almost the end of the year,” he tells me.
“Well, then, my resolution is to sleep less next year.” Despite trying to stay awake, I’m snuggling up against him and I know I’ll be warm and relaxed enough to pass out again any minute.
“I’ll believe that when I see it,” he whispers.
“There are better things to be doing in a bed,” I whisper back.
“Only when you’re completely awake,” he counters.
Sighing, I stop trying to deny it.
I let sleep claim me.
Chapter Forty-Five
Silas
FiveDaysLater
The plan to forget about Paul’s parent’s visit changes when Rachel goes back to sleeping half the day away and spending the other half trying to convince us she’s fine, when, clearly, she’s not.
The guilt of keeping Paul’s death a secret is weighing on her conscience. Adrian agrees with me when I tell him we should call the Council of Witches. Report it like we should have at the time.
Pack law protects us, and we’ll protect Rachel.
“It’ll come out that we lied to his parents,” I remind him, knowing that won’t be easy on her either.
“I know,” Adrian admits. “But I think it’s the lesser of two evils here. Maybe it’ll make things harder to start with, but I think if we let the lie stand, it’ll be worse. She’s not coping with it. An Omega’s touch isn’t supposed to be used like this. It’s draining Carter as much as it’s draining her.”
It’s hurting Rachel and Carter, both, and anything that hurts any of us weakens our pack, so we need to do something about it.
“How do we do this?” I ask.
“We have to wait,” he says, with a sigh.
“You think Rachel won’t agree with the decision?”
“I think she will, when she’s ready. We need to give her the chance to get there on her own. We can’t rush her through this. She’s needs time to process it.”
I slump back in my chair. The thought of waiting around for longer drives me insane. It’s all we’ve been doing for days. Weeks, even. Waiting for Rachel to get home. Waiting for Sara to come back. Waiting for Rachel to recuperate, twice. I can’t stand how helpless all the waiting around is making me feel.
