Carson's Conquest

6. Adde

Aria insisted that I sit in the front seat on our drive over to the “house.” It turns out she and Xavier spent half their time in the house across the street from the bungalow. Carson pulled into the driveway and we got out of the car.

“Is this just a weird coincidence?” I asked, suddenly suspicious that maybe Carson had set all of this up to keep tabs on me.

Aria laughed, “Not at all. The pack has owned this house for a long time. The back of the property pushes up against pack lands. Xavier purchased the house across the street and started renovating it before I moved here. I ended up renting the bungalow for a hot minute before we moved in together. Sometimes we still stay here when I’m working at the hospital because it’s more convenient.”

“Yeah, this town actually has some decent tourist traffic during the summer and fall. The pack owns a couple of short and long-term vacation rental properties around the town,” Carson added.

“Ah, that makes sense.” I looked across the street and saw the cutest little place. Aria headed inside as Carson and I walked over to the bungalow. As we walked, our hands kept brushing, and I discovered I liked it. For some reason, having Carson in my personal space bubble felt nice. This was confusing to me. I didn’t know much about the famous werewolf “mate bond,” but I wondered if this was part of it. Regardless, I had an appointment with my therapist the next day, and I wanted to talk over my confusing feelings. Finally, I couldn’t take it, and I just grabbed his hand. I had always heard there would be tingles, but I didn’t feel any. However, the warmth from Carson’s touch soothed my soul, and that had to count for something. I knew I shouldn’t give in, but what was a little handholding among friends?

Carson looked down at our connected hands and then at me, I shrugged my shoulders, not sure what to say. He grinned and interlocked our fingers. We paused at the door for Carson to unlock it, he held it open for me to walk in first. I gasped in surprise when I walked in. The bungalow was lovely. Light streamed in through the floor to ceiling windows across the back wall. There was an open concept living/kitchen/dining, and two bedrooms down a small hallway. There was an incredible deck off the kitchen and the view! Gorgeous didn’t do it justice. The whole place was in done in tasteful shades of white and natural woods.

“Carson, this place is amazing! I’ve never lived in such a perfect place! Are you sure I can rent it?”

“Yep! Xavier already signed off on it. All you have to do is sign the lease.”

“Can we look around outside?”

“Sure. Follow me.” He grabbed my hand again, but paused, and looked a little embarrassed. “I know I promised ‘no touching,’ but is it ok if I hold your hand?”

Blurting out, “I would love that” surprised even me.

Carson grinned, interlocked our fingers again and raised my hand to his lips, never breaking eye contact, and gently kissed each knuckle. I felt warm to my toes. I swear, with that simple gesture, a flicker of a flame burst from the smoldering embers in my soul.

We toured the outside and I found the perfect place to plant a small garden for a few specific herbs I would need for my magical reawakening. By the time we were done, the sun was starting to set, so we sat on the back porch and watched it. Carson held my hand the entire time, and I felt a bit like a junior high girl with how giddy that made me. We chatted and laughed for a few hours, talking with him was so natural and easy, he made me feel good about myself—like I wasn’t damaged and didn’t have a past.

After it was dark, Carson took me back to my hotel and walked me up to my room. We stood outside the door and grinned at each other like fools. “I actually had a really nice time today. Thank you for showing me around and helping me find a house.”

“I actually had a really nice time as well,” he replied with a wink.

Impulsively, I leaned forward and gave him a hug. He wrapped his arms around me tightly and buried his face in my neck. I’m not sure what came over me, but the hug was comforting, and if I’m being totally honest, probably a little bit more. I pulled away after a moment, “So, goodnight.” I grabbed my key and quickly opened my door and shut it before Carson had a chance to say anything more. It was probably a chicken move, but I was a little overwhelmed.

I sank to the floor and rested my head against the door, confusing feelings coursing through me. I heard his voice through the door, “Goodnight, Adde.” I couldn’t reply. My heart was fluttering in my chest and the emotions I was feeling were new and scary. My only significant relationship was with my nameless ex, and that ended … badly. I wasn’t even sure if I knew how to be in a healthy relationship. I guess somewhere deep inside I had decided to not actively reject Carson, but I was going to have to move slowly.

The next day, during my weekly therapy session, I went over the vague details with my therapist. A big part of my healing was learning to keep small promises to myself and proving, slowly, that I was worth the investment. Surprisingly, she encouraged me to explore my feelings about Carson as she thought it would be part of moving past my ex. We talked for a long time about taking back control, so I decided my next step would be to learn some self-defense moves. It was a double bonus, I would ask Carson to teach me so I could further explore my feelings while taking back my power. I felt much better after my session. Much of my therapy had been heavy and hard work, so it was nice to feel like I was making tangible progress and getting back to a version of myself. I wasn’t ready to ask Carson yet, but at least I had a plan, and that pretty remarkable.

The next thing I needed to do was start to balance my magic. It was an arduous process and I was dreading it. Reviving and balancing one’s magic was a delicate balance of inner healing, peace, passion, desire, and potions—culminating in a potion with a rare and hard to find ingredient. While I came here to find peace, I’m not sure I planned to fully restore my magic because the process was so complicated and arduous, but then I met Carson. He was stroking the flames of my supernatural gift and sometime soon I would have to face the primary reason of my trauma—the loss of my gift.