The Sentinels

32: Mending Broken Bones

When Emmet and I returned to the group, Reece didn't spare me a single glance. His eyes were trained on Emmet, anger brewing behind his look as he barked, "Emmet. Where have you been?"

Emmet looked up drowsily, his eyes swollen. Worry crossed Reece's face then, but it disappeared as soon as he realized that he must have been crying.

Then I felt his concern and his compassion.

"Talking," Emmet answered briefly.

With a court nod, Reece turned back to speaking with his beta.

Quietly, Emmet and I joined Kendra, Cora, Jaxxon, Leana and Debrova standing in a circle. The conversation between them died down and all eyes snapped to me.

Before anyone could ask any questions, I searched for Kendra's pair of brown irises and nodded towards her once I found them.

Wordlessly, my Maecena and I broke off from the group and headed a few meters deeper into the forest. As soon as we were far enough for the pack not to hear, I took a deep breath and braced myself for a conversation long overdue.

"I owe you multiple apologies and explanations. I've been the world's worst Maecena there has ever been," I started, anxious to see her reaction. It seemed that now, the written pages were being wiped clean, and I owed my Maecana just as much of an apology as I did my brothers.

With a deep sigh she said, "Yep."

Unsure whether or not to explain or apologize, I weighed between the two and wondered what Kendra would want to hear the most. I went with the safer option...

"I'm really sorry I've been so absent and focused on myself. I've barely been there to even ask you how things are going with your promised. We haven't talked about how you're handling being away from your family and how you're doing amidst it all." I paused, reading the emotions she emanated. Calm. And even a little bit regretful, though I wasn't entirely sure if it was mine or hers.

"I've been so narcissistic. And I hate myself for it. I do not ask forgiveness, but I sincerely apologize for my absence, negligence and selfishness. There is no excuse, because no matter what is going on in my life, what's going on in yours is just as important. I'm sorry, Kendra."

With her eyes watering, Kendra said, "You don't need to apologize, Catherine. You have more shit to deal with than any of us do combined. I haven't taken your absence as an offense, but rather as space that I might have needed just as much as you did. It gave me time to figure out what to do with Dante without any influences from outside. I alone needed to come to terms with breaking the rules and being dishonest to my family. It was the right decision and I couldn't be happier with Dante than I am."

Kendra sighed, her mood flowing into a softer note of affection that lingered. "The beginning with Dante was rocky. I was so afraid you'd chew my head off that I barely engaged in any conversation with him. But he caught me during recess once and asked me to meet with him after classes. That's when you had your... rebellious day and left class before Markoff finished it. Two days after that, Dante and I spoke at great lengths, getting to know each other. The second time I saw him was with you, when we went down to their home. And when you were unconscious, Dante and I just kissed."

With my mouth open, I gasped. "Oh my. And how was it?"

Excitement took over my cautious mood and in that moment I knew, everything between Kendra and me was okay.

"It was pure gold, just like I imagined. It was... I can barely describe it!" Kendra giggled, a girly sound that came from the heart. Her cheeks turned red as her eyes sparkled with joy.

"It was like everything just made sense."

"It sounds truly amazing," I commented, my heart skipping a beat as I remembered Reagan sitting beside me on the hill, talking about his mother. His embrace. The warmth that his soul gave my chilling lake...

"And when our souls connected, nearly complete, something inside of me just clicked with him. Since then, I've been able to really feel his emotions like they were my own. I've recently been able to communicate with thoughts now, too, which is as exciting as it is strange. And something else changed, too..." She said and I instantly thought of the conversation I'd heard between the Thrakos men. Something that nagged on me, however, was that they'd started communicating through thoughts only recently after completing the third stage. Reagan and I hadn't kissed, yet we were already transferring thoughts...

"I can influence you with my words," she announced, confirming the fact that she'd gained a gift though I hadn't even begun to imagine what it could have been specifically.

"That makes sense," I breathed, astounded at how everything seemed to fall into place. I'd always thought that Kendra had a soothing way with her words and could make anyone feel a certain way by simply talking to them. I would have never guessed that that would be what would manifest into an actual gift that could be compared to mine. And I wondered how far it went.

"Try me! Can you literally tell me to walk away and I will?"

Kendra smiled widely. "I haven't really explored it, so actually I have no idea."

I clapped into my hands, my anticipation growing tenfold. "Try it on me!"

Kendra's eyes grew large with excitement and her smile even more so. "Okay, okay, so let's sit down for this, though. Last time I tried it with Dante, he didn't react as well to it once I really got into it."

I tilted my head and looked at her questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I asked him about his darkest fear and told him to let go of it," she explained.

I formed an 'oh' with my lips and nodded. "I mean that is kinda going quite deep."

Kendra sighed and nodded, her smile faltering. "Yes, I know. I probably should have thought first then tried to take away something as rooted as that."

A moment of silence passed. Then we both chuckled. "We're overachievers, it seems," I joked and earned a playful punch.

"Yeah, maybe."

We both looked at each other, a comfortable warmth surrounding us as I appreciated the light tone that replaced the previously heavy mood.

It made me feel so much gratitude for what I'd been blessed with. Not everyone could call themselves lucky enough to have a Maecena, especially not someone as understanding and level-headed as mine was. She was truly a gem, priceless in every way.

"So, show me what you got."