Women And the Demons Who Love Them

Love Thy Enemy: Cade-2

Modest Mouse- Float On

    Silence is key during breakfast at the Reign dining table. Silence has been the only thing we've had for a while. Since Cooke, actually. My dad had been angry about what happened but in the end, he was disappointed I didn't kill him. That's his go-to answer to almost everything. Kill it. 

    I love the man but he has a single-track mind. Most of his thoughts probably end violently. I don't blame him. He didn't have it good as a kid. He's never been very paternal but he does have his moments, considering. 

    "Are you prepared for today?" he asked. My mother paused surprised that he had asked. 

    "I am," I answered. He dismissed the entire thing with a simple nod. 

    My mom placed her hand over his giving it a light squeeze as if she were thanking him for trying. She's adorable. My parents had grown up together. She's just as insane as him if not more. The only difference is that she hides it excruciatingly well. For my sake and maybe the softer members of our pack.

    Where my father likes to think of the crazy s**t he will do to anyone who crosses him, my mother comes up with on instinct. It's like first nature to her. Strike now and ask questions later. Why did the psychopath gene skip me? Well, maybe I haven't activated it yet and I pray to the moon goddess I never will. Compassion isn't a crime even when this pack sees it as a weakness. 

    Don't get me wrong, I've slapped a few pack members up. I've tasted blood and ended lives protecting my home but it's not my go-to response. Two crazy unpredictable wolves are enough. Saving people doesn't always involve using our fists. Sometimes a smile or a compliment can go a long way. 

    "I'd like for you to present your blueprints to the council," that caught me off guard. I looked up at my dad to see him staring back at me. "You have a prototype ready do you not?"

    "I thought my blueprints were just a test," I set my fork down. He had told me that when he asked me to make them. I have more than a prototype ready. I have the real thing. I'm not about to admit to him that I'm going behind his back to make my own way in the world.

    "Flawless efforts get rewarded," my mom smiled at me encouragingly. He didn't say anything.

    "When is the meeting?" I asked him. 

    "Tonight at seven. Think you can manage?" 

    "Yes, sir," I responded to his liking. He placed my keys on the table and slid them over to me. I caught them before they hit my plate. 

    "I didn't take this because you did the wrong thing. I took the car from you because you made the wrong choice. I expect you to fix it. No one else is going to do it for you. Fail and you will be punished. Do you understand?" 

    "Yes, sir," I answered with a little less confidence. 

    "In your trunk. You will find the dates, times, and coordinates of his transfer schedules. If he makes it to Georgia you've lost your opening," with that said he stood up excusing himself. He kissed the top of my mother's head and patted mine. 

    "He means well," she said looking up at me. 

    She agrees with him full-heartedly. They argued when I told them. My mom was relieved nothing happened to me and while I'm sure my dad was as well, he asked the million-dollar question. Why didn't I kill him? No one would have known it was me and even if they had pointed the finger at me he would have made it all go away. No one would have ever found out why Mr. Cooke was found dead in the middle of his classroom. 

    "I'll make sure it gets done," I reassured her. She nodded. 

    "I know you will, killer. Believe me when I say you will feel better when it's done. He hurt you and those six other girls. Had you not stopped him, he would have done it to more," 

    I grabbed my keys and stood up. I went around to kiss her goodbye and walked out. If it wasn't for me, no one would have ever found out about those other girls. They would have had to live with what that man did to them quietly for the rest of their lives. Sure, I didn't know that was the case but it turned out to be and I'm not ashamed of the outcome. He will die but before he does that motherfucker is suffering his remaining days. It's giving him time to regret what he did to them. 

    I was greeted by the passing pack members as I walked back to my villa. At sixteen, I started fighting back. I had grown tired of my dad demeaning every single thing I tried to do because I didn't do them in the same exact manner he did. He didn't, still doesn't like the fact that I am not his six-four, two hundred and fifty-pound build. I have to adapt my limitations as a woman. Not that I have many. I have and can prove that I can do just as much if not more than he can. 

    We argued a lot. I needed jaw alignment surgery twice before I hit him back. He needed a few replacements in his front teeth. I can at least say that I have all my teeth where they need to be. We couldn't live together. It was a constant battle. 

    My villa used to be my grandmother's escape cottage. It had a good foundation but it needed a lot of work before I officially moved in. The packhouse and my mother are grateful for me moving away. Although she'd want me home, we both know breakfast and the occasional dinner with them is more than sufficient. 

     The Vaydor G35 under the charcoal gray tarp was a gift from Alpha Sebastian Espinoza. He had given it to me on my sixteenth birthday after I saved his mate in a raid. I had almost died along with her but the Reign in me is way too prideful to let myself die along with someone as weak as Luna Espinoza. I'd never say that to her or anyone else for that matter but it's the truth. 

    The matte black paint is unscratched. The chrome tires are better reflecting than any mirror in my house. The red leather interior completes the exquisite beauty that this little monster is. I call her the panther. She purrs and runs just like one. 

    A lot of the pack members turned to look at her as I made my way to the trunk. I grabbed the black file waiting for me inside and walked into the house to grab my bag for school. I have a week before he gets to Georgia. Which means I don't have to worry about this today.  I slid the file into my knife drawer in my kitchen. 

    The drive to school is shorter than it used to be. I don't have to leave the pack lands anymore. That's the silver lighting I guess. The school I'm going to now is called Lunar Academy. It's right smack in the middle of the pack lands. It's neutral territory which means anything can be lurking around every corner. Everything except humans. 

    I had wanted to go to Luna Academy when I was a kid but my dad didn't like that I had to interact with the other alpha pups of the surrounding packs. It would have been nice to grow up around my own kind but unlike the other pups, my father preferred I be isolated from the insecurities pack socialites can bring. 

    It's not new to me. Whether I pull up in this car or if I were to pull up in the bus. They stare. It never fails. I rather enjoy their reactions really. I get that from my mother who likes to test people's patience. My father is her favorite challenge. She's the only person who can get away with f*****g with him and man does she know how to push his buttons. She has this little giggle she lets out when she knows she's reached his limit. It's somewhere between pleased and scared out of her mind. 

    Here we are. Day one of what might be the rest of my hellish high school career. I could have been done already if it hadn't been for that poor excuse of a man. Yet another good reason for Cooke to die. 

Lunar Academy. Let's do this.