You Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 3)

Chapter 18: Gabe

I know I’m a little earlier than I agreed to come for Jeannie, but thankfully, she lives with my parents in the apartment I grew up in. I can just walk in and sit down to hang out until she's ready, and no one will question me about it.

“You look nice,” my mom compliments me when I join her and Matt in the living room.

They’re cuddling on the couch and watching some show together. Tyler is probably over at the community center with his art students, otherwise I know he’d be right there with them.

“Thanks. I do try occasionally.”

“I’m sure it helps that a certain someone who smells like freshly brewed tea lives here now,” my dad teases me.

Tyler must have told them what I said about her scent, but the only response I have for him is a roll of my eyes. We all know he’s not wrong, and I don’t feel like explaining that she doesn’t smell like tea. That’s just the only sense I could make of a scent that blends citrus and mint together like that.

“Hey mom, did you know that Jeannie is a mage?” I hear Stella call out from a little way down the hall that leads to Jeannie’s room.

I look up to see that Jeannie has frozen in place on her way into the living room. I don’t think she knew Stella was going to blab her business like that. My poor little mate. I probably should have warned her about trusting my unpredictable sister with her secrets.

And she always looks beautiful, but I can tell she put in a little extra effort for our date. Her eyes really stand out against the darkness of her makeup, and her hair falls in soft waves over her shoulder. I feel a little breathless just taking in the sight of her, and I think Simon takes advantage of that.

I’m already on my feet and on my way over to her before I know it, and I feel powerless to stop myself from embracing her. But to be fair to him, she needs the reassurance anyway judging from how she’s standing here looking so frightened.

“Uh, no I didn’t,” Mom responds at almost the same time that Matt says, “She is?”

He sounds absolutely shocked by that. You’d think after all these years of living with werewolves and being around other supernaturals like mages and vampires, he’d be less surprised by how common they are.

“She made this for me,” Stella says, and I turn to see that she’s holding a rose out to our mom.

“You showed her your new trick,” I say to Jeannie quietly, smiling proudly into her hair.

I’m impressed by how quickly she mastered something she only read about in an old, dusty book.  

She feels a little stiff in my arms, but I can’t tell whether she wants me to let her go or pull her closer. She’s leaning against me, and Simon is worried and whimpering because he can sense her fear about something.

“You knew?” Matt asks, and when I glance up at him, I notice that he’s talking to me.

He must have heard me talking to Jeannie, but of course he did. If you’re any louder than silent, he’ll hear you.

“Uh, yeah. Actually, it was Garrett who figured it out, but I was there,” I answer him. “And Clarice knows because we went to her to see if she could figure out which kind of mage Jeannie even is. She’s not a witch, but that’s all Garrett and I could determine on our own.”

“That’s probably something that you should have informed your Alpha about,” Mom complains, though I can tell she’s not upset.

“Do I have to leave?” Jeannie asks, and the break in her voice kind of wrecks me.

So that’s what she’s afraid of. Even after all the assurances from Garrett and I, she’s still worried that we’ll reject her just because she’s got magic running through her veins. I suppose she’s kind of been conditioned to think that though. From what she’s told us, even her own grandparents were a bit put off about her mage traits.

“No, Goddess no,” Mom tells her, seeming almost horrified that Jeannie would even think it. “Mages are welcome here. I just would have liked to know is all. And besides, I have some connections and pull around here that the rest of you don’t, so maybe I can even help with whatever it is you’re trying to figure out.”

“We’ve just been trying to find out what sort of mage she is and learn how she can control her abilities,” I explain, sensing that Jeannie isn’t all that comfortable talking about this with my parents.

I should say that Simon senses it, because sadly, I’m not connected to her like that yet.

With that in mind, I add, “But we can talk to you guys about it some more later because right now, Jeannie and I have a show to get to.”

Mom looks downright gleeful about that, and even Matt’s recovered from the shock of the news about Jeannie and is back to his normal smiling self. Stella is being Stella, of course, so she’s feigning disinterest in front of Mom and Dad, but I know she’s at least a little excited for us. She just came from Jeannie’s room, which means she was probably in there helping her get ready.

“Oh, well that sounds lovely,” Mom comments. She stands from the couch to come around and give us both a hug, even adding a cheek kiss for Jeannie. “Have fun, you two. And Jeannie, we’ll make sure that the chickens are looked after this evening, so don’t worry about that. Stay out as late as you want.”

“Thank you,” Jeannie tells her appreciatively. She might even sound a bit shocked and breathless, though I can’t be sure.

“Yeah, thanks,” I add, holding out my arm for Jeannie to take.

To my delight, she seems to be catching on to what I expect from her when I do that. She was a bit lost the first few times we went through this routine, but this time she weaves her arm through mine almost without thinking about it.

“Good night,” I nod at them, giving Jeannie a gentle tug to get us moving.

I realize after we leave the apartment and she takes my arm again that she still feels a bit shaky as we’re walking over to the stairs. But is it from nerves and anxiety about our date, or from continuing to worry that she won’t be welcome here long-term?

I can’t tell, Simon admits regretfully. I can sense her moods somewhat, but I can’t do whatever she does when she somehow reads my mind.

And that has me regretting not revealing that we’re mates to her yet, at least a little bit. One advantage of just biting the bullet and moving forward with it all would be marking her so that I’d be connected to her the way she is to Simon. But that’s assuming that she’ll turn out be as excited about having a mate as I think she will. There’s always a chance that simply liking the idea of it won’t translate into acceptance of the reality of it.

I’m still not convinced that it’s worth giving it away this soon even with that in mind, though, when I could just ask what’s on her mind.

“Are you nervous about tonight?” I ask her softly, watching our feet move in sync down the stairs.

It makes me feel strange. Pleasant, but lost in some strange zone of surreal rightness that makes me feel a little floaty. Is this a bonding thing, I hope?

“Why? What’s happening tonight?” she asks, seeming a bit jumpy as though I’ve caught her red-handed or something. I have to fight the urge to laugh because it’s adorable.

“So, that’s a yes then. Relax, Jeannie. It’s just you and me spending some time together, same as we’ve been doing all week.”

She looks up at me uncertainly, pausing at the top of the last flight of stairs.

“So, it’s not a date then?”

I can’t tell whether she sounds disappointed or relieved. Possibly both.

“Oh, it’s definitely a date,” I chuckle softly to mask my own nerves, not to mention the fear that she’s about to tell me that a date is exactly what she doesn’t want. “But if you’re nervous, then look at it as us hanging out just like we’ve been doing, except in nicer pants.”

I gesture to my own dark slacks, which I’ve been told by a few other women make me look especially nice. “Yummy” was the term one of them used. I put them on in hopes that Jeannie might agree, though as Garrett keeps reminding me, she’s not like any of the other women I’ve known. She might even hate them, but I’ll take that as long as I can get her to laugh or at least c***k a smile at my expense.

Her pants, on the other hand, look incredible on her, hugging her in all the right places. I haven’t seen her wear something like that yet, so this is the first I’m getting to see her figure revealed. And it’s a nice one. It’s going to take a lot of willpower to keep myself from getting caught checking her out.

She gives me a crooked, amused smile, exhaling a quick laugh through her nose and shaking her head at me. Her expression turns serious a moment later, perhaps even a little bit troubled, and it looks like she might be about to say something else until she gives another soft shake of her head and turns to continue down the stairs instead.

“Are you uncomfortable with it being a date?” I ask, following a couple steps behind her now. That magical feeling of synchronicity is gone now, replaced with an unsettled pit of worry.

“I’d rather it not be, but I won’t insist on it. I’ll just enjoy your company, as you said,” she tells me, pausing again to turn and gesture at me. “And your pants. They are nice ones.”

That brings a grin to my face, though she’s already in motion and a couple steps ahead of me again so she probably doesn’t see it. I think that was her version of telling me I look yummy in these.

“Call it what you want,” I concede, jogging a few steps to catch up with her.

I want to be the one to open the door for her. I don’t know why, but it’s important to me.

Having this be our first date was also kind of important to me, but not if she’s not ready for that yet. I should have considered that she might not even realize what it was I was asking for when she agreed, so that’s on me. I’m disappointed, but at least she didn’t tell me she doesn’t even want to go anymore. I still get to show her a part of me that I don’t show anyone else, and that’s the truly important part of this night.

My car is parked right out front instead of in the garage, so I have to act quickly and grab her arm before she starts heading off in the wrong direction.

“You know, I haven’t even gone through this door before,” she laughs as she waits for me to open it so she can step through. “Your dad pointed it out when I first got here and he was giving me the tour, but I always go out the side or back.”

“My mom likes to call this the ‘company door’ for that reason,” I smile back at her. “Although now that I don’t live here anymore, I find myself using it all the time. My house is that way.”

I point forward and slightly to the right, showing her the path that leads home.

And that’s when I notice that there’s someone leaning against my car, watching us walk across the porch. I recognize her, but I’m having difficulty placing her. I’m fairly certain we’ve fooled around though, which makes her someone from the long list of people I really didn’t want to run into on my way to take my mate out for a special night.

“I saw your car parked out here, so I figured you’d be back for it soon and wanted to say hi,” she tells me as we approach. “Thought you might want some company for the night, but I guess you already found some.”

It’s obvious that she’s not a fan of Jeannie just from the way she’s looking her over, not to mention the way her tone was dripping with disdain just then. I really hope that the green jealousy monster isn’t about to rear its ugly head and cause a confrontation or something. I don’t really know how to navigate this situation without just blurting out that Jeannie is my mate, which I’ll do if I have to.

“Hi, I’m Jeannie,” she surprises me by stepping forward to introduce herself, confidently holding out her hand to the nameless woman. “His company for tonight and all the nights after this. Nice to meet you.”

It actually takes me a few seconds to process what she just said. It doesn’t even make sense, unless … is Jeannie being territorial right now?

She’s pissed, Simon informs me. I couldn’t say for sure about what, though.

“Nora,” the stunned woman responds, taking Jeannie’s hand uncertainly.

I don’t think she expected Jeannie’s reaction any more than I did. She doesn’t seem any friendlier than she did a moment ago, but at least Jeannie seems to have interrupted whatever snotty comments she was about to make.

Nora looks to me as if waiting for confirmation, and I finally step forward and put my arm around Jeannie. She’s tense and doesn’t relax into my touch this time, but I make an effort not to flinch or give away that anything is amiss. Not with Nora right there.

“We have plans and need to get going, but I do hope you have a nice night, Nora,” I force out as politely as I can manage. “I heard there’s karaoke going on in town tonight if you’re looking for something to do.”

She gives me an incredulous look, her surprise seeming to settle into an angry glare, but she steps back and lets me open the door for Jeannie. With one last dismissive nod her way, I jog around to my side and hurry to get in, waiting to exhale until I see Nora turn and walk away.

“Well, that was unexpected,” I chuckle nervously, struggling to get my keys in the ignition and get the car started.

“Not really,” Jeannie mutters.

Her head is turned away from me, her arms crossed as she looks out the window instead of at me. Glares out the window is more accurate.

But what does she even mean by that? She’s obviously angry with me, but about what?