Betrayal - The Matlock Pack: Book Two

Chapter 5 - Cody

Friday 15 January

~*Cody*~

“How’d the exams go? Can we drink to celebrate? Or do we need to drink to commiserate?”

I had been sitting on the couch in our apartment watching a movie while I waited for Nat to get back from her make-up exams. I had typed the questions into my phone before the movie started so I could be ready for her the very moment she walked through the front door.

She dumped her bag at her bedroom door and came back to sit on the couch next to me. She shuffled to the edge of her seat and leaned back, letting her head lie on the backrest. “I think I did okay. Thank Goddess, I didn’t have to do all my exams, because I would have ended up going crazy.”

I raised an eyebrow at her and started giggling.

She turned her head to me when she felt the cushions jiggling from my laughter. “Oh, shut up, you. You know what I meant.” Regardless of her words, she chuckled and returned her gaze to the ceiling. “Honestly, I’m just glad that it’s over. One less thing I need to worry about, you know?”

I patted her shoulder in sympathy. Nat certainly had had a rough time of it over the past few weeks. I honestly didn’t know how she kept going. What she’d been through was enough to send anyone spiralling into depression, yet here she was, still doggedly putting one foot in front of the other every day. She was made of stronger stuff than I thought even she knew.

“Drinks tonight at The Gap?”

“I don’t know, Cody. It’s been a long day.” Nat sighed. “And he might be there.”

“So what if he is? Him being a dickhead shouldn’t stop you from going out and enjoying yourself.”

She closed her eyes at my words. “You’re right. I just don’t know what I’ll do when I see him.” She turned her head to face me again. “He hurt me, Cody. More than Tatum and Zelda did. What they did was just physical. What he did… it cut deep.” She picked up one of the cushions on the sofa and held it in her lap for comfort.

“That’s because you loved him.” And probably still do, but I wasn’t going to say that to her. Nat didn’t need me to point out the obvious.

Her gaze went back to the ceiling again, a hint of tears in her eyes, but not enough to spill over. She inhaled a deep breath and held it for a second before letting it out slowly. “Okay. Drinks tonight at The Gap. Let’s do it.” Her voice was a little resigned, but there was a hint of a smile on her face.

I jumped up and pumped the air with my fists before moon-walking my way to my bedroom. It’d been almost a month since we had gone to the town bar, and with the Warrior Training course starting on Monday, I didn’t know when Nat and I would be able to have a night out again.

~~~

Two hours later, Nat and I were walking through the front door of The Gap. I stood just inside the door with a broad grin, took a deep breath in to inhale the heady aroma of beer, chicken parmas, and chips, and spread my arms wide like I was returning home from the war. It felt good to be back.

The cosy atmosphere remained as it was the last time we had been here. Booths ran down one side of the room, with the bar opposite. At the far end of the room, they had set an open area up with café tables so people could eat, but I knew they would clear away the tables and chairs later to prepare for the music to start pumping and the dancing to begin. To the right of the entrance, the sports room curved around the bar, where large flat screen TVs hung from the walls, constantly streaming whatever sports were in season at the time. During the winter months, locals would gather round to watch Australian Rules Football as they played pool; now that we were firmly in the summer months, it was whatever cricket matches were currently being played.

“Are you going to move, Cody? I’m kind of stuck in the doorway here.”

Oops. I forgot Nat was behind me. I let my arms drop and took a step forward to let her in, scanning the room to see where we could sit. Once I found an empty booth near the back, I nudged her elbow and pointed to it.

“Okay.” Nat nodded absently. She was still looking around to see who was in the bar, no doubt searching for one face more than any other.

I noticed Tiergan and Raf in the sports section playing a game of pool. Tiergan’s eyes were on me, so I waved to them, but quickly turned back to head to our destination between the booths and the patrons seated at the bar. I still felt an incredible sense of attraction to Tiergan, but it was so overwhelming it scared me. I felt much more comfortable with Murph. Now, if only I could convince Murph to let me f**k him…

I sighed at the idle thought as we passed Kadin, Briar, and Rowan on our way. I begrudgingly nodded to them as I went past, not expecting a response at all. Just as I had expected, Briar and Rowan ignored me, however Kadin nodded back and offered a tiny wave. My head tilted in surprised acknowledgement, but I kept walking. Trying not to make it too obvious, I strained to hear what the trio were talking about, but all I could hear were Briar and Rowan’s muffled voices.

I frowned. True, I had helped Kadin focus after she had found Nat bruised and bloodied a couple of weeks ago, but after a lifetime of her treating me like I didn’t exist, it felt decidedly weird to be acknowledged, especially in a public setting. Kadin had always been the ringleader of the three and the most talkative, so to hear her two minions talking up a storm and nary a word from Kadin herself made me feel like I had entered a weird parallel universe—like I was living in the exact same world, but without the music of The Beatles.

Nat and I were just settling into the booth when Murph and Owen walked through the front door. Murph looked around, and when he noticed us, he nudged Owen and nodded our way. I was glad that Nat was in the bench seat opposite me and facing away from the door when I saw Owen frown and shake his head at Murph.

I held a menu up in front of me so I could watch the slight argument play out without Nat knowing what I was staring at. After a few heated moments, Owen walked away from Murph and headed for the sports area. Murph stood in the doorway with a slight frown on his face, before shaking his head slightly and heading over to our booth.

“Mind if I join you two?” Murph shuffled a little at the end of our booth, wringing his hands slightly as he waited for one of us to answer.

Dropping my menu now that the pretence was over, I glanced over the tabletop at Nat, who shrugged noncommittally, her focus still on the menu. I patted the seat next to me and Murph wasted no time sliding in beside me.

I grabbed my phone from my pocket and started typing away. Even though I could mind link Murph, it would mean that Nat would be out of the loop unless she touched both of us. I didn’t think Murph knew of Nat’s abilities yet. Plus, it would look decidedly odd if the three of us were sitting in the booth, all holding hands and none of us talking out loud.

No. It would be easier to talk via my phone, at least until I had learned some sign language that I could teach my friends. “How have you been, Murph? Did you get your first-round offer?” First round university offers had been released a couple of days ago, but I’d been so busy with Nahi and Nat, I hadn’t had a chance to find out who had been accepted and who hadn’t.

A broad grin appeared on his face. “I did. Judy and George were so thrilled, they threw me a small family party last night.”

I clapped my hands together in delight to show how happy I was for him.

“That’s great news, Murph,” Nat said, putting her menu down. “When do you start?”

He coughed. “Actually, I’ve deferred for the year.”

I stopped clapping at once and looked at him quizzically.

“Blair is being more obnoxious than normal, and Jody’s been struggling with him,” he explained nervously, tearing a napkin apart in front of him. “I offered to stay here and help her so we can get him through the next few months, to see if we can settle him down a bit before his wolf shows up.” He shrugged like it was nothing. “If I was studying, I’d be a couple of hours away. It’d take me too long to get back here if there was an emergency.”

My heart melted for him. I placed my hands over my heart and made the best ‘aw’ face I could as I looked at Nat, then Murph.

“I still want to do some sort of studying, so I spoke to Takeshi yesterday to see if I could join the medic and bushfire training modules of the Warrior Training course.” Murph’s fingers fumbled with anxiety as his shredding of the napkin sped up. “He was happy to take me on,” he said as he raised his eyes nervously to Nat. “So, you’ll be seeing me in a couple of your classes.”

Nat grinned. “That’s brilliant news, Murph. It’ll be nice to see a friendly face in class, even if it’s only a couple of times a week.”

Murph let out the uneasy breath that he’d been holding in. “You guys are the first people I’ve told other than George and Jody. I’m still a tad nervous.”

Nat patted him on the hands once before pulling back when Murph jolted from the spark she gave him. “Sorry Murph. I seem to be carrying a lot of static electricity today,” she said before she chewed her bottom lip and looked guiltily at me.

I couldn’t help but laugh. I figured this was going to keep happening until Nat finished touching people she was with regularly.

Murph shook his hands. “Oh, it’s fine, Nat. Happens to me all the time.” He smiled warmly at her, immediately trying to put her at ease.

I winked at Nat and laughed harder when her face turned a pale pink from embarrassment. We both knew exactly where the current had come from, but we couldn’t tell Murph. If we did, the news would travel through the pack like wildfire, and no-one would go near her at all.

“You here on your own?” Nat asked, looking around the bar, before returning her gaze to Murph.

“Nah, I came with Owen,” he said, looking down at the mess of napkin debris sitting on the table in front of him. “You know what he’s like. He found a girl as soon as he walked in.” The corners of his lips turned up, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes like it usually did.

“Oh,” Nat said quietly. She picked up the menu again to hide what looked remarkably like disappointment.

Murph tilted his head as he watched her. “He hasn’t left his apartment since your coma, Nat,” he said sympathetically.

Even though she still faced the menu she held in her hands, she raised her eyes to stare at Murph as she ground her teeth. A slight tension fell at the table.

“If it’s any consolation, he’s not coping well.” Murph slid my menu over the table and picked it up.

Nat narrowed her eyes at him. “Good.” She let out an angry huff. “I shouldn't be the only one.”

My eyes went wide as I swung my attention from Nat to Murph, who gulped at Nat’s tone, even though he was still focused entirely on the menu. I grabbed my phone. Time to change the subject. “What’s everyone ordering? I feel like chicken tonight. Anyone else?” That ought to do it. It was either food or the weather. There was no way I was going to broach politics. That way lies madness.

“Yup, a parma for me sounds good,” Murph said far too eagerly, still refusing to look at Nat.

I waved my hand in front of Nat and pointed at her and mouthed ‘you?’ to ask if she wanted the same. She put her menu down and shrugged. “Yeah, may as well.” She gathered both menus and headed to the bar to order, leaving Murph sitting next to me with a bewildered look on his face.

I typed on my phone. “Maybe don’t bring Bells up.”

“You think?” He rolled his eyes at me. “She knows he’ll be in class on Monday, right?”

“I think she’s trying not to think about it.” I shrugged. With the amount of tension and anger that she was feeling, I was really glad I wouldn’t be around when they first saw each other on Monday morning.

“How’d your first week go with your special training?” Murph shifted in his seat slightly to face me, his arm draped over the seat-back. He knew I was being taught something, but didn’t know exactly what. I could tell that he was curious, but he didn’t press me for details, earning my respect yet again.

I waved my hand in a see-saw manner to mean ‘half-good, half-bad’.

He nodded in sympathy and understanding. “It’s only been a week. You said it’s a full year, yeah? Things’ll get easier.”

I nodded and gave him a thumbs up. He was right. It wasn’t only me and Nat who had first week jitters; I was convinced Nahi was also experiencing nerves being in an environment she wasn’t used to. It would take at least a couple more weeks for things to settle down for us all.

Nat slid into the seat opposite us, placing a jug of water and a tower of glasses on the table. “Everyone’s orders are in. If you want something stronger than water, you’ll have to order it yourself.” She poured each of us a glass of water, sliding them across the table when she was done. She toyed with her own glass as she leaned back. “It took them a while to take my order. I don’t think I’m as welcome here as I was this time last month.” A hint of a frown drifted across her features as she brought the glass to her lips and sipped. She pointedly looked at the patrons, who were sitting at the bar nursing their beers. Several of them were openly staring at Nat, although thankfully, not all had a look of distaste on their faces.

I looked around the rest of the bar with more interest. Now that I was paying more attention, I could see there were a lot of people in the vicinity who quickly looked away when I met their gaze. With each turn of a patron’s head, my eyes narrowed further.

“They’ll get over it eventually,” Murph said, trying to sound cavalier about it. “This is a small town. Anything that’s new or different will always attract attention here. At least until the next new or different thing pops up.”

Nat let out a disgruntled humph and took another sip of water. Her shoulders tensed slightly from being the centre of attention, and she let her eyes focus on the table between us.

I placed a supportive hand on hers. “It’ll be fine, Nat. They’ll get used to it.”

Nat didn’t look up, but nodded at my words.

I sighed and pulled my hand back. Pointing to myself, then making a drinking motion, I got Murph to let me out to grab a drink. I used my phone to order what I wanted and leaned my back against the bar-top while I waited, looking around the room once again.

Kadin, Rowan, and Briar were still sitting in their booth; Rowan and Briar talking animatedly while Kadin looked bored. She was resting her head against the window next to her, nodding occasionally to something one of her friends said, but was clearly not wanting to be there.

I turned to my right to look back towards where Nat and Murph were sitting. Murph was trying to talk to Nat, but Nat looked dejected, her shoulders hunched up around her ears and her arms folded on the table in front of her.

Sighing, I let my attention drift further to my right, to where the tables were still set up. Most of them held families, some of whom had pushed the tables together to accommodate their larger groups. Further back, well in the darkened recesses of the bar, sat a trio, finishing up their meals.

Mac was chatting away animatedly with his two colleagues, who were fairly obviously a couple. Mac was leaning against the corner of the room, his finished plate pushed to the side of the table. His colleagues were seated opposite him, still working their way through their orders.

I had gone to school with Mac after he and his dad moved to Matlock a couple of years ago. He’d been quiet at first, but everyone in class quickly warmed to him because of his easy-going manner. None of us had ever been able to figure out why he and his dad had moved here, as he had always skilfully changed the subject whenever someone asked. Eventually, we all gave up asking, as it didn’t seem all that important, especially when everyone started buckling down to focus on their studies.

His visit to Nahi’s apartment on Monday was the first time I had seen him since our last day of school. His dad ran a highly successful carpentry business in Matlock that catered not just to Matlock locals, but to the surrounding areas as well, humans and werewolves alike. It didn’t surprise me at all to see Mac start an apprenticeship to follow in his father’s footsteps.

His two friends, however, I’d never seen before and were presumably new to Matlock or just visiting. The female that was seated directly opposite Mac had pale porcelain skin and straight raven hair that fell to her collarbone. She was slim, but not so slim that she was waifish, and was dressed in a tight, white, off-the-shoulder top and well-fitted dark blue jeans. Her face was a narrow, oval shape and her cheeks were flushed like she had just walked in from the cold, even though it was quite warm inside the bar and out.

I assumed that the male who sat next to her was her boyfriend as his left arm rested on the back of her chair, his fingers idly playing with the ends of her hair as he finished his meal. His dark blonde hair was shaggy and in dire need of a trim, but the out-of-control style suited his boyish face. He reminded me very much of Tom Holland, but that could have been because I had a soft spot for Spider-Man. He wore a black leather jacket over a dark grey shirt and faded black jeans.

Mac caught my eye and waved, making his friends turn to look my way. Both appeared friendly enough, with smiles lingering on their faces from whatever Mac had said before he waved. My drink finally arrived just as I waved back with a grin of my own.

When I returned to Murph and Nat, I nudged Murph closer to the window so I could sit on the edge of the bench seat. I grabbed my phone out and started typing. “How are your calming techniques going, Nat?”

She raised an eyebrow at me but held off on answering when our meals were dropped off at the edge of our booth. All three plates were identical and were delivered so quickly because they were the house special. The aroma had us all hovering our noses over our plates, inhaling the delicious scents of a pub-style chicken parma.

“Why do you ask, Cody?” Nat finally asked after swallowing her first mouthful.

I typed away on my phone while I stuffed another heaped forkful into my mouth. “Your favourite tradie is here tonight.” Chewing steadily, I wiggled my eyebrows at her. I rather enjoyed being able to ‘talk’ with my mouth full.

Her eyes narrowed, even as a slow blush appeared on her cheeks. “Cody…”

I laughed, while Murph turned to face me, his own fork hovering halfway between the plate and his mouth. “Tradie?” He popped the food into his mouth and waited patiently for me to respond as he chewed.

“She’s just kidding, Murph,” Nat said before growling in warning when she saw me typing on my phone. “I swear to Goddess, Cody, if you tell—”

I swung my phone away from Nat’s outstretched hands when she leaned over the table in an attempt to take it from me. “Nat crush Mac lust.”

“Oh, for f**k’s sake, Cody,” Nat groaned. I laughed even harder when she threw her hands up in the air in defeat, then picked up a chip and threw it at me.

Murph laughed at my antics. “No need to be embarrassed, Nat.” He popped a chip into his mouth. “Mac’s a good bloke.”

Nat raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, that’s what I thought about Bells, and look how that turned out.”