Chapter 247
Jacks just stands and looks back at Rafe, a little awkward, waiting for him to react to the secret he just told.
“That’s really cool,” Rafe whispers.
“So, you probably are fitter than me,” Jacks says with a shrug. “Just…not magically powered. Why the hell did we run so far today?”
“I don’t know,” Rafe says, sighing and turning away from Jackson a little, looking out over the distance. “I just…wanted to run. And then I was pissed at you for keeping up with me, so I tried to wear you out. Which…obviously backfired.”
Jacks smirks a little, standing close at Rafe’s side and likewise looking out over the countryside. The two are quiet for a minute before Jackson, uncharacteristically, breaks the silence. “Jesse said,” he murmurs, “that…when your friends are upset you just…be there for them. Just stay by their side, even if they don’t want to talk. That’s what I was trying to do. I’m sorry if it pissed you off even more – if I’d have known, I’d have let you beat me.”
Rafe sighs, glancing over at his friend, kind of cursing the fact that he’s such a great guy. Because it would be a hell of a lot easier to be pissed at him, and the rest of the world, if he wasn’t. And right now, Rafe’s feeling like he’s not yet finished being angry.
“How’d you know I was pissed?” he asks, crossing his arms and sighing, guessing that he probably has to give it up sometime.
“You’re all…quiet and moody,” Jackson sighs, still looking out over the landscape. “I mean, you’re sometimes quiet, but you’re never moody. You’re the most even-tempered guy I’ve ever met.”
“You’re more perceptive than I thought you were,” Rafe murmurs, turning to study Jacks a little.
Jackson doesn’t look back at him, not bothered by being studied by the crown prince. “I mean, I know you guys think I grew up in a box or something, Rafe, but I did have friends in the Community. Best friends. I know how to read emotions, especially in guys who usually tuck them away.”
Rafe smirks a little and shakes his head, sighing, surprised again by the group’s adopted Alpha foundling.
“Fine,” Rafe sighs, crossing his arms and looking away, not wanting to make eye contact while he talks about it. “It’s Daphne.”
Jackson hums noncommittally, not pushing, letting Rafe take control of the conversation.
“It’s just,” Rafe sighs, frustrated, running a hand through his damp hair, “last night when I went down to see her it was just…very obvious that we’re not on the page with our…relationship. Or whatever this is.”
Jackson makes a curious noise deep in his throat, encouraging Rafe to continue.
“And it’s not just about sex and physical stuff,” Rafe grumbles, casting his eyes out over the beautiful, austere winter landscape. “It’s the conversation too – I’m ready to go like…deeper, to really connect, but Daphne feels…resistant to that. Like she doesn’t want to go deeper with me…to let me in.” He sighs again, shaking his head, allowing himself to feel all of his frustration. “I just…really like her, Jacks. I’m ready to make her like, my girlfriend, be official – and I’ve never felt that way about anyone before. But Daphne is holding back – I can feel it. And my wolf knows it too.”
“Maybe it’s because she knows she’s not your mate,” Jacks says, shrugging a little.
Rafe snaps his head to frown at him. “How the hell do you know that?”
“Well, is she?” Jacks asks, turning his head and giving Rafe a frown in return.
“No,” Rafe bites out with a scowl, tightening his arms across his chest. “I mean, at least, my wolf says she’s not.”
“Your wolf would know,” Jackson says, nodding and looking back towards the country again. “You’ll know, when your mate comes. It’s instant. Undeniable.”
“Wait, how do you know I have a mate?” Rafe asks, sharp.
“Ariel told me,” Jackson replies, even, making Rafe blanche at the fact that she spilled a secret he so recently told her. “Ariel tells me everything.”
Rafe huffs a laugh, turning back to gaze over the hills as well. “Well, that’s annoying.”
“No it’s not, it’s…great,” Jacks says, fighting a smile as he thinks of her but wanting to stay serious for Rafe’s sake.
Rafe laughs a little, ruefully, and shakes his head. “Well at least she found someone who likes to listen to her talk. It’s her favorite hobby, inherited from our mom.”
Jacks nods, solid. “She’s really funny. And…surprising. I never know what she’s going to say next. It’s just…” he shrugs, at a loss for words. “Great.”
Rafe smiles a little, unable to help it, pleased that these two found each other. But he sighs again, still troubled.
“Do you want my perspective?” Jacks asks, turning to his friend.
Rafe sighs and turns as well, meeting Jackson’s eyes. “Lay it on me, kid.”
Jackson rolls his shoulders, loosening them after their long run. “If Daphne is the one who needs to take it slower, go by her schedule. There’s no point in dragging her up to your speed – let her set the pace. And if you tell her that that’s what you’re doing, she’ll probably be grateful that you care about what she wants and you two will be stronger for it.”
Rafe twists his mouth to the side, wishing it wasn’t such good advice. Wishing he’d thought of it himself. “Where did you learn so much about relationships?” he mutters, rueful.
“The internet,” Jacks says, so bland that Rafe bursts out laughing. “There is a lot about relationships on the internet – I did some research. And yeah, your sister,” Jacks continues, smiling again. “I spend a lot of time thinking about what will make her happy. She does the same. I think it…works.”
“Well, shit,” Rafe says, shaking his head at Jackson. “It sounds simple enough. I guess I can give it a try.”
Jackson shrugs like he hopes it helps but also like he doesn’t think he did much. Rafe just smiles, suddenly grateful to have Jacks in his life. Especially as…well, for some reason, it doesn’t seem like he can talk to Jesse about this.
“What happens,” Rafe says with a frown, the question forming on his tongue before he even realizes he’s going to ask it. “If she…never gets up to my speed?”
Jackson meets Rafe’s eyes then, a little sad. “I mean, then I think you have your answer.”
Rafe exhales, long and deep, hating the idea. He takes a moment, staring out at the newly-risen sun, wondering passively about what a future without Daphne would look like. Like…would she…find someone else, someone she likes more?
God, even the thought of it...
Rafe presses his eyes closed and presses the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, erasing the thought from his mind. It’s not his reality right now, after all. No point in dwelling on it.
“All right,” Rafe says, dropping his hand and shaking his head, turning back in the direction of the castle. “You want to head back?”
“Yup,” Jackson says, starting off at a jog that Rafe matches. “If we go fast, we can probably still beat Ariel and Jesse.”
Rafe laughs, starting to say that that’s not necessary, but then he tilts his head to the side, considering it. “Actually,” he says, picking up the pace a little and starting to really run, approaching a sprint. “Let’s try to do that. That will really piss her off.”
Jackson laughs and matches the prince’s pace. Together, they make record time back to the Castle.
“This sucks. This sucks!” I moan about thirty minutes later when Jesse and I arrive back at the Castle door to find Rafe and Jackson leaning against it, drinking casually from their water bottles, not even out of breath.
“What sucks?” Rafe asks, grinning at me, too innocent.
“You two!” I pant, pointing an angry finger at the hill over which they ran. “Went way over there! I should have got back here first! You’re just showing off, you jerks!”
“We would never do that to you, Ariel,” Jackson says, his voice guileless even as he grins at me. Jacks shakes his head at me like he can’t believe I would ever accuse him of such a thing, which is a step too far.
I narrow my eyes at my mate for a second, a snarl forming on my lips, and then I launch myself at him, my fingers curled like claws, a vehement attack. Jackson just bursts out laughing and snatches me out of the air by the waist, effectively countering my murder attempt in half a second before tossing me over his shoulder and stepping away with me to the side as I burst out laughing, smacking him hard with the palms of my hands.
