131 | WHAT'S 'NORMAL' ANYWAY?

A week after I took out the nest, everything still feels weird. Class has slowed to a crawl, despite the upcoming finals, and no one - myself included - is bothering to care about them. Blue’s been unusually clingy, hovering over me during the time we’re together and reluctantly leaving my side when he as to attend Pack business. I guess he’s as on-edge as I am about the Revenant.

Yes, I took out a couple Revenants, congrats to me. BUT, and here’s the mind-fuck, what if they were set up to take the fall? Fang had thought is was off before we even burst into the nest. He thought it was too easy, even if there had only been four in the nest. The Revenants were weak, their auras less than even the Revenant I had faced alone in Kiwina. It was too perfect. Too coincidental.

The hairs on my skin flare up under my hoodie as I glare out across the soccer field. The odd feeling of being watched making my brain snap back on line and tune into the moment as I visually scan the trees around the clearing. Nothing. Paranoia creeps along my spine and I have to fight the visceral shudder threatening to make itself known. My friends are chatting away on the bleachers beside me, oblivious to my tense mood.

I feel a warm hand on my knee from the step below me and glance down meet Blue’s worried gaze. I force a reassuring smile, even if he knows my real mood, it’s more an expression for Yuri and Darine than Blue. His return smile is warm and soothing, but it’s fake too. He’s just as terrified as I am that we’ll be attacked at any moment. I think my emotions are starting to infect him somehow.

The rougher edges of my fear are soothed with his lingering touch, but even my mate can’t make the monsters go away.
Things have been hectic lately. The upcoming full moon has my Wolven in a funk, though I think it has more to do with the loose Revenant than the actual prospect of shifting. I make a mental note to see them this month. Or as soon as the Revenant situation is resolved. But Revenant or not, life continues. It’s something I have to remind myself of more and more the longer this all drags out.

The apocalypse won’t stop itself.

I have my meeting with Dr. Chambers in a few weeks. He’s more than a little pissed that his people were caught in the crossfire of the Revenant issue, but his reluctant acceptance to meet is encouraging. It means that, even after everything that’s happened and what the topic of our meeting will be, he’s still making time for me. I don’t know if it’s out of respect for the relationship he and Hale have, or because he knows me, but I choose to believe it’s because he knows there needs to be a change. I just hope the Kraken doesn’t try to kill me when we finally do sit and chat.

Anyway, that’s the least of my worries. First and foremost is the Revenant. Mina and Ry are giving me updates nightly now, but not much has changed. They did manage to recruit a few more Guardians, they’ve told me, but training is going slower.

Information from the West, however, has been pouring in like water from a dam that’s about to burst. Craven is still coming and going from the known supernatural hubs on that side of the States, which makes me even more nervous, but he’s been insisting things are better now that he’s got a *draki* in his corner. I don’t know if the dragon-shifter is helping my cousin out of a sense of friendship or as a way to inadvertently get on Cole’s good side. Whatever the Leviathan-Class supernatural’s thought process is, I’m glad for his help in keeping my reformed cousin alive. The issue from the South, the problem with Magic in Texas, seems to have been resolved if the reports I’ve gotten are accurate. So that’s something.

Nikki hasn’t been by to reprimand or warn me, again something I consider a minor win, but the inkling feeling that a storm’s brewing on the horizon keeps me up at night. That and the return of my nightmares. I’ve lost track of the times I’ve had to be shaken awake by Blue and coaxed back to sleep over the last week. I’m getting sleep, but it’s not great or really all that restful. I’ve been mostly subsisting off extra food and blood for energy.

Blue keeps me busy, helping me train during the times in between school and sleep. I’ve gotten a little better at controlling time without yanking on the chords or freaking out and reflexively activating my ability to slow time. When he’s not able to be around, things get harder. I don’t leave the house much anymore, not if I don’t have to. School is a must if I want to graduate, and with the finish line of that milestone in sight, I need to keep at it. It’s just another month-and-a-half before graduation.

Hale’s more antsy than I am, but my father’s been pissed at me for going after the nest in Colton, and hasn’t been by to do more than give report every other day. As far as I know, he’s been splitting his time between his Coven and the Court. It can’t be easy, especially not with an entire Coven for him to run *and* the training for new Guardians. I know he’s going to burn himself out, and if he’s not careful - he may just get himself killed. But it’s impossible to relay my concerns to a few-century’s-old vampire when he seems to not give a shit as to his own *undeath*.

I let out a huff and lean back in my chair as Blue finally crosses back into my small territory. I sense him the moment he crosses through the invisible area marked as mine. I can sense him most of the time because of our bond, but it’s more intense when he’s here in my land. The back door opens and he comes in.

His wild hair is getting to the slightly-too-long faze where it’s decided to look more like Einstein’s - but inky instead of white. The shadows they cast on his face make his angled jaw and slightly crooked nose stand out more - not to mention the marks of sleepless nights that are smudged under his eyes. But the irises of his eyes are endless pools of monochromatic brilliance that burn into me with an indescribable intensity that shoots shocks of desire through me.

If I hadn’t seen that exact look from him every day for the last year, I’d be a puddle on the ground - or at the very least, a swooning mess. But, though I’m not entirely immune, I manage not to spontaneously combust when his lips twist into a smirk. The room seems to warm a few more degrees with the addition of that look and I have to fight the urge to fan myself as heat rises in my face. I’m still not used to the lack of mental division between us and forget that he knows exactly what I’m thinking and feeling at any given moment.

I feel a quizzical expression form on my face as he sets a large set of paper bags on the counter. The movement of the bags stirs up a delicious aroma and my stomach groan it’s approval as I begin to salivate.

“You brought dinner,” I state stupidly, utterly floored by the ‘normality’ of this gesture. Blue’s smirk goes from sexy to dazzling in the span of a second, his silvery-grey irises literally sparkling.

“Figured we could have date two,” He tells me with a wink as he begins pulling out various foil-covered trays from the bags and lining the up on the counter in front of me. It’s enough to feed a whole family of humans but perfect portions for two Alpha Wolven.

“Date? Now?” I sputter, my eyes blinking rapidly as my brain seems to short-circuit.

“Shit’s not going to stop hitting the fan, Red. I’m not going to let bad situations ruin the life we’re working for.” Blue replies with a shrug as he passes me a roll of utensils. I stare at him as he goes to the fridge and plucks a blood bag from the refrigerator and pitcher of tea. It’s all so surreal that I half-expect to wake up in bed any moment. “This is real, Red,” Blue chuckles as he sets the pitcher between the trays and the blood bag on top of the hot tray in front of me. His warm hand covers mine on the counter and he gives me a light squeeze.

I stare at him, letting the pressure from his touch remind me that, though this is coming at me from left field, it is in fact one-hundred percent real.

It’s real. And it’s…so mundane…so normal. My vision clouds with a sudden cascade of heat and tears. It’s exactly the kind of thing I’ve wanted for so long.

Blue comes around the counter and wraps me into a hug as pieces of my heart, still worn and aching from Mom’s death, seem to melt back into place in my chest. My heart still hurts, and I know it’ll never really stop hurting - like an old injury - but I feel like each beat is slightly stronger, more self-assured. I squeeze Blue to me, sending him my silent thanks before pulling away and wiping my eyes as I grin up at him.

The tender expression on his face, more than the emotions I feel pressing through our shared connection, gives me hope. Hope that things can be the way I’ve always wanted, even if it’s not perfect. Things can still be good. Even if it’s not what the average supernatural would consider ‘normal’.