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“Hey, I’m excited to get a break from warrior training. I’ll drag your tack around all day, any day.”
“Maybe I’ll join if you’re still around when I get done with my schoolwork. I want to see you working with Ursula.” Lana cleared her plate at the sink, excitedly grabbing her bag and looking hopefully at Bailey.
She stood, moving around the kitchen, throwing together a couple of breakfast tacos for Nas. “I’d love that. Only thing is…” She glanced over at Axel to gauge his reaction. “I didn’t actually tell Nassau I knew how to train. He thinks I’m a newbie, and Ursula just happened to take a shine to me.”
Zhair snickered, “You’re hustling him?”
“Not hustling. It’s not my fault he assumed things about me and didn’t ask. He thinks being silent and refusing to hold a conversation is a better way to understand people. I’m showing him he’s not always right.”
“So, you’re telling me I get a break from training, get to hang out with a beautiful woman, and I get to fuck with my cousin? And it’s not even my birthday?”
“Yeah, now I have more incentive to get my school stuff done quickly. I absolutely want to help fool Nas. Count me in.”
“You all enjoy your tricks. Just stay out of trouble. I don’t want to deal with any more issues, only a nice smooth week.”
“Yes, sir.”
Once Axel and Lana left, Zhair ran upstairs to change into jeans, and she was left helping Nubia clean the kitchen. Silently, she dried dishes alongside the Luna, her mind already on her day with Nassau. She shouldn’t be surprised he had felt the need to guard her. When Axel reminded him of what they had risked, the look in his eyes was more than self-defeating. It was fear.
Clearly, the connection between them was affecting him, pulling on him too. Even if he didn’t know they were mates, his instinct was to protect her. She had been overwhelmed by remorse all night, but this was on another level.Guilt plagued her as she methodically dried the pans, setting them down one by one as she thought through every scenario, played out every reaction he might have. What else could she do to fix this?
“I think that pan is as dry as it’s gonna get.” Nubia’s gentle hands took the pan from her, and she realized she’d been drying the same one over and over. “Bout rubbed a hole in it.”
“Oh, sorry. Just a little distracted.”
Nubia looked at her askance. “You okay? And I don’t mean, you’re going to be okay, but are you really? I can feel your struggle, baby.”
She shook her head, more for herself than Nubia. “A lot on my mind. Hard decisions all around. And usually, I have Ava to bounce ideas off, but I refuse to disturb her honeymoon.”
“I know it’s not the same, but I’ve been told I’m a good listener. Part of the job as Luna of this pack.”
Seeking any distraction, she grabbed another towel and began wiping down the table silently, unsure of what to say, hoping Nubia would get the hint.
“Talked to my sister this weekend. She seems to think Nas won’t wait for his fated mate, that he’s going to choose someone. Just an inkling she has about him.” She hesitated, but Bailey didn’t look up, only continued to rub at the imaginary dirt on the table. “None of us have ever seen him so…worked up over a woman. You understand that, right? He’s not like other—”
“I know.” Her voice was hoarse, so she cleared her throat. “I know. I…I just…I’ll be gone by Saturday. No matter what. I made that clear to him.”
The stomping and random singing of Zhair humming filled the silence as he came down the hall, and she lifted her eyes to meet Nubia’s soft, brown ones. They were filled with concern and empathy, and she swallowed hard.
“Bailey, don’t hurt my nephew.”
“I’m trying not to. I care about him. I do. It’s hard to find the path of least pain, but I will.”
Zhair strutted into the room right then, breaking the tension, and she practically ran towards the back door, holding it open for him. She didn’t dare meet Nubia’s eyes, or she might cry or just break down and tell her everything. She’d forgotten how in tune with feelings the Luna’s were.
“Got my shit-kickers on. Hadn’t worked the ranch since I was fourteen.” Zhair’s grin was contagious as he strolled through the kitchen.
“So, you’re telling me you’ve gone soft.”
“Soft? Never soft.” He followed her through the back door after kissing his mom on the cheek. “Maybe a little rusty though. I hated it. Did my assigned time and moved on. Much more interested in training and other things.”
“So, girls. Your excuses won’t matter when I’m kicking your ass mucking stalls.”
He climbed in next to her in the Jeep, his expression of dismay causing her to chuckle. “Wait, Nas has you mucking stalls? Thought we were training horses?”
“What kind of cowboys don’t muck their own stalls and do their own care on the horses?”
“The kind that talks his way out of everything.”
