Her Pact

Part 26

Chapter 26

Zeke knew that Charlie had questions, questions he wasn’t ready to answer.  To be honest, he had questions of his own.  Charlie’s mother had talked about her all those years ago.  She had even attempted to convince Zeke to return to their home for a short period of time, but Zeke wouldn’t do it.  His life was always moving; he didn’t want to stop. 

“You’re not going to blind fold him?” Ryder asked.

Zeke wanted to growl at the shifter, but knew he was asking out of simple curiosity.  Ryder didn’t know that Zeke already figured out where exactly they were going. 

“He probably knows more than you do, son.”  Charlie’s mom paused, a smile crossing her face.  “And that was not a shot at your intelligence.”

Ryder, sitting in the passenger’s seat, turned towards his mother with a frown.  “I’ll never be able to live my past down, will I?”

She reached out, patting him on the top of the head before returning her hands to the wheel.  “Nope.”

Zeke smiled at the exchange.  He liked seeing parents with their children.  It was refreshing, seeing how happy others were when they were with their family.  “Give me your phone.”

“What?” Charlie asked from beside him.

Zeke held his hand out.  “Your phone.”

Something large and pink plopped down in his hand.  He stared at it for a moment before shrugging.  Hitting a button on the top, he unlocked it.  He typed the number in, knowing it by heart.  It took three rings before a voice answered on the other end.  “Hello?”

Zeke chuckled at the tiredness in the voice.  “Did I wake you up, Sebastian?”

“Dammit.  You don’t know how annoying you are sometimes.”

“He’s not annoying,” Ally said on the other side of the phone.  “He’s just,” she paused, “protective.”

Sebastian sighed.  “What’s annoying is that the man calls at the only time you and I—”

Zeke could hear Ally slap him before snagging the phone.  He could almost see the glare on her face as she huddled over the phone.  “Hello.”

“Hey, Ally-Cat.”

“You shouldn’t have done that, Zeke.”

He growled low in his throat, causing her to sigh.  “You are the one plotting behind my back.”

“All fair in love in war.  Plus, now maybe you’ll know how it feels.”  She let out another sigh followed by a yawn.  “Your mother’s worried about you.”

“She’s there, isn’t she?”

Ally laughed, making him smile in return.  “Not in the room.  God, no; Seb would kill her, but she’s watching the triplets.”

“Just her?”

She laughed again.  “No.  Adam, Barron, Drew, Tony, and Ned are all in there with them.  I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more shifters standing guard outside.”

He closed his eyes, feeling relief that Ally was doing so much to keep her children safe, but also hating that she was so unprotected.  He wanted Ned to watch over her at all times, knew that the man would put her first before the rest.  When it came down to it though, they would all do what Ally said.  It was simple, the woman had gained all of their respect, and they would do anything for her, just as she would do anything for them.  “I’m coming home.”

“No,” she snapped.  A small growl made it to his ears, and he knew her eyes would be glowing green.  Her awful, spotted hair would be standing on end, and her claws would be extended.  “Give it two days, Zeke.  After two days, I don’t care if you come back.  You need those two days.”

“You’ve been talking to my mom.”

“She’s a very wise woman,” she replied, her voice calmer than it had been.  “I’ll make you a deal.  If you stay there for two days, during those two days, I’ll have Adam and Ned with me at all times except when I’m sleeping.”

“Outside your door,” he said, shifting in his seat as he realized the others in the van were staring at him.  “I want at least one of them posted outside of your door.  They can take shifts.  Where do the babies sleep?”

“The same place they did before,” she mumbled, “with us, or in a crib together.  You know they don’t like being apart.”

He nodded.  “Good.  Keep them together as much as you can, have two guards that we trust with you at all times, keep one outside your room while you’re sleeping, and I’ll stay here for two days.”

“Deal, but Zeke?”

Hearing the laughter in her voice, he couldn’t hold back a smile.  “Yeah?”

“I’ve been doing everything that you said.  You forget, I’m the one with the fortuneteller in my house.  Have fun!”

The line disconnected, leaving him glaring at the phone.  She always had to have the last laugh.  Then again, it wasn’t very often that she could keep her thoughts from him.

“She’ll be safe,” Charlie mumbled, grabbing for her phone.

He handed it to her with a nod.  “I just needed to make sure.”

“I know,” she whispered.  She shifted closer to him before laying her head on her shoulder. “She’s right, you know.  You are very,” she paused, “protective.”

Peyton chuckled next to Charlie, making Zeke roll his eyes.  A sigh from the driver’s seat brought his attention to Charlie’s mom. 

“You’re going to be such a great dad,” Charlie’s mom whispered in his mind.  She sent him images of little children running around, children with his eyes and Charlie’s hair.

Coughing, he sat up straight with a little push in Charlie’s direction.  She shifted away from him, a confused expression on her face.  “What was that about?”

“You don’t want to know,” he mumbled, turning to look out the window.  “You really don’t want to know.”  Shaking his head, he looked towards Ryder.  “How far is Klamath National Forest from here?”

Ryder sighed, slumping down in his seat.  “We’ll be there in ten minutes.  Prepare yourself though; they’re waiting for you.”

“I know,” Zeke said with a small smile.  “We have a little bit of unfinished business.”