Chapter 71

“Oh, go away Jesse,” I snarl, smacking at him in turn.

“Okay, we’ll do that,” Midnight says, reaching out for Jesse’s arm. “Let’s go, boy.”

Jesse skitters away from his mate with a gasp, staying out of her reach. “What!? No! We’re staying!”

“We have to go home!” Midnight sighs, reaching again.

“No, let’s stay here!” Jesse protests. “Let’s go to the Fancy House! Where there’s more cake! And a bed for me, so I don’t have to sleep on the floor!”

“Unfortunately, that’s going to be frowned upon,” Orion says, his voice dry like he doesn’t think it’s that unfortunate. I turn my head to smirk at him, wondering if Jesse’s words sank deeper into him than me. “Darkness likes Midnight right where she is so he can call on her. And my father doesn’t like her in the Palace for long. Darkness’s prying eyes and all.”

Midnight nods like this settles it and Jesse huffs a sigh.

I get to my feet, moving to my cousin’s side and holding his arm tight in my hands. “Do you really have to go?” I ask, looking between him and Midnight. Because even if Jesse is bothering and embarrassing me, I desperately, desperately want him to stay. He’s my cousin, basically my brother. I love him. Having even just this little bit of home…

God, but it’s done wonders for my spirits.

I feel a tingle on my shoulder and look over to see Anton there, looking sadly down at me, intuiting that it’s going to kill me to say goodbye.

“We have to go,” Midnight says, giving me a solid nod. “But we can come back.”

“Tomorrow?” I ask, desperate.

She turns her head, considering, looking at Jesse like it’s not a good idea.

“We’ll give you things!” I say on impulse, nodding my head, remembering what Jesse said about the sparseness of her Yurt. And then I feel incredibly selfish, suddenly, for only thinking to give her the things she needs once I want something in return.

Livid with myself for being inconsiderate – thinking my mother would be utterly ashamed of me, and fully in her right to be - I drop Jesse’s arm and turn immediately, heading for the hampers of snacks that I thought Laila was so ridiculous to include. “Here,” I say, all in a rush, kneeling down to begin to resort them, condensing everything that they hold into smaller packages. “Take all of this – there are cookies and snacks –“

And then I begin to conjure up new supplies, everything that I can think of. Blankets, and a pillow for Jesse – the firm kind he likes, to support his neck – and his favorite cookies. In an instant, the hampers are overflowing.

“That’s enough, June,” Orion says, his voice kind.

I look up at him with wide eyes, seeing a soft smile on his mouth. “It’s not that I don’t want them to have it – it’s just that she can only take what she touches. You’ll overload the girl.”

“No, she won’t, I am very powerful!” Midnight declares, striding over to me, her eyes shining. “Thank you! I love it!” She beams at me and I smile back, thinking that I may no longer be the rat in her mind anymore. Or if I am, maybe a very nice rat.

“If you come tomorrow,” I say, nodding to her, “I’ll give you more. You can spend the night thinking of whatever you want. And we’ll think on it too,” I say, looking quickly over at Anton, who nods in a silent agreement to help me brainstorm.

“Okay!” Midnight says, enthusiastic, beginning to lift the hampers into a new order so she can touch them all when she vanishes herself and Jesse away.

“This was very nice of you, June,” Jesse says, his voice thick as he holds a hand out for me.

I bypass the hand, jumping to my feet and into his arms, wrapping him in a tight hug. “I love you so much, Jess.”

“Don’t get all maudlin on me, Junepiper,” he murmurs into my hair, holding me close. “Don’t say goodbye to me like one of us is going to die. Because that’s not happening. Okay? I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I sniff hard against the tears in my eyes, nodding against Jesse’s chest, not wanting to let him go. “Come early, okay? Stay the whole day if you can.”

A tingle on my arm lets me know that Anton’s there, and quietly Jesse passes me off into his insubstantial arms. Jesse gives us a bit of a strange look as he does, a little frown on his mouth. But it’s so fleeting that once he turns away to stand by Midnight’s side, I wonder if I imagined it. Good-hearted farewells sing out around the group with everyone saying how nice it was to meet each other and that they hope to see each other soon. Only Midnight is a bit lost, hiding behind Jesse and not saying much. Anton holds out a hand towards her, venturing a polite goodbye, but she just ducks her head and refuses to look at him.

“Okay,” Jesse says, putting a hand on Midnight’s shoulder, noticing her discomfort. “Nice to meet you, Laila and Orion. And I love you, June and Tony. I’ll see you tom-“

But Midnight doesn’t let him finish, looking excitedly around at all of her presents and vanishing them away, eager to get them home.

I laugh a little as they go, shaking my head. “She’s so weird.” I murmur.

“She’s cool, though,” Anton murmurs. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with them but…she is cool.”

“All right,” Orion says with a bit of a sigh. “You three ready to go back?”

Laila, Anton, and I all sigh and nod. Because it certainly has been a long night, and I really would like to go lay in my bed and sort things through with Anton.

I turn my head to grin at Anton as Laila and I reach out to take Orion’s hands. “Ready to go, Tony?”

“Oh, I sure am, Junepiper,” he replies, giving me a wicked grin.

I burst into laughter as Orion vanishes us away.

I snap my fingers to change my clothing into a very comfortable pair of pajamas as I come out of the bathroom that night, ready for bed. Not the donut ones this time, but a soft pair of silky pants and a matching top with a little bow just at the dip of the neckline.

My little wolf nudges me, smug. Why are you trying to look all cute before you go to bed, Juniper?

But I just scowl and swat her away, not bothering to think on it. It’s nice to look your best at all times, after all, even if you’re just going to sleep.

Anton groans and tosses himself onto the bed, also clearly spent. “I think I ate too much.”

I laugh and cross to my side of the bed, mentally ordering the lights in the room to dim. “You didn’t eat at all, Anton. Poor thing. You missed out, it was all delicious.”

“I know, but Midnight ate my portion,” Anton says with a happy sigh, leaning back against the pillows, letting his eyes fall shut. “And then some. Which was good to see – she’s…she’s just very thin, isn’t she?”

“Yeah,” I say, slipping down between the blankets. “I’m glad she’s got Jesse to take care of her now, and that we can give her some of the things she needs. I just…can’t believe Jesse has a mate.”

Anton smirks, turning towards me. “Didn’t think he was the type?”

“Well, it was never confirmed,” I say, folding my hands beneath my cheek and looking at my ghost with interest. “And honestly…” I grimace a little, “I thought he was…kind of gone on Daphne.”

Anton laughs a little, likewise snuggling down into the bed so that we’re face to face. “You’re very perceptive, June. I think that was happening. Daphne and Jess were just…keeping it very quiet.”

“Really?” I ask, eyes wide. And then I roll over onto my back and pump a fist into the air. “Yes! I knew it! I’m always right!”

Anton laughs and I turn my head to grin back at him, letting my hands flop idly on my stomach. “Which is why it’s such a surprise,” he says, slow and soft, not unkind, “when you fell for Blythe.”

My good mood wipes from me and I shut my eyes, my lips turning to a frown. “I don’t want to talk about Blythe.”

“Yes,” Anton murmurs. “I notice you didn’t press Orion for a date and time to go and talk to him.”

I just shake my head. “I just…I mean, Jesse hates him too?” I open my eyes, staring at the ceiling. “Am I really that dumb?”

“No,” he replies. “Just…maybe a bit eager to believe someone when they tell you that they love you.”

I rankle a bit like this, hating that he could be right. Mostly because I like to think of myself as an island, not needing anyone or anything. Just…completely self-sufficient.

Like Anton seems to be.

I turn to him then, my frown deepening. “And what about you?” I ask, my voice hardly more than a whisper. “Haven’t you ever been quite willing to fall for someone? Have you ever been in love?”

Anton looks at me very seriously, his mouth set in an unyielding line.