Page 120 of Burn of Obsidian

Thea knew that despite everything, her father was going to pass surrounded by those he loved.

“Beef would be perfect,” Thea said, feeling her eyes prickle. “I’ll let Jax know.”

She heard the crash seconds before Thunder shot across the driveway, Lucifer chasing after him with a raised fist. Ruhne followed, leaving a trail of glitter.

“Thank fuck!” Lucy sighed, bending over at the waist as if he were exhausted. “It’s like looking after a furry toddler on steroids. I’m never having kids.”

Thunder nudged at her hand, one of his tails wrapping around her waist to pull her toward the large house. He turned to snap his teeth at Lucifer as they passed, followed by a growl.

“Yeah, fuck you, too!” Lucifer stormed off towards the treeline, mumbling under his breath.

“Thunder can’t even play fetch, by the way.” Ruhne said, landing on her shoulder. His wings squeaked, the cold affecting his ability to fly. “He’s useless.”

Thea laughed, allowing Thunder to escort her inside. “He’s not a dog.”

“You can say that again,” Ruhne muttered, taking to the air once he was inside the warmth. “I better go find Sam. He’s supposed to be taking me to the bar tonight.” He was gone before Thea could reply.

“Bye then,” she muttered, Thunder sniffing at her impatiently.

He’d developed some separation anxiety, and after two nights at her flat, where he’d broken the bed and somehow the shower, she’d resigned to moving into the house all the Guardians shared.

At least until Jax came back, and she could hold an actual conversation.

“Have you seen Reaper anywhere?” she asked, Thunder flattening his ears in response. Which was essentially his shrug.

She’d brought her cat, not wanting to leave him alone when she was spending the majority of her time there, or with her dad. He didn’t seem pleased to be moved, and wasn’t yet friends with Poe, Alice’s cat. But Poe was determined.

Finally releasing his tails, Thunder pulled the sheets back from Jax’s bed with his teeth, gesturing for her to climb on. With a sigh, she crawled across, Thunder cuddling up beside her seconds later.

“Dad was awake for a while today,” she began, updating him like she did after every visit. “He asked about you. Well, he asked about Jax.”

She stroked her fingers through his fur, the strands thick yet as soft as silk. She was still amazed that the wounds he’d suffered had healed, leaving no evidence behind. Unlike her, he hadn’t had to murder someone to heal.

“Mum made soup, you know, because she thinks Jax is sick. I guess you can eat it.”

Thunder wiggled his bum, which was off the bed because he was too big.

There was a strange contentment lying beside him, as if the world outside the room didn’t exist. If only it was that simple. Making herself more comfortable, her fingers began playing with the bands around her wrists. She still hadn’t figured out how to open them, and as a self-proclaimed expert at locks, it was really starting to piss her off.

“Your brothers are worried,” she whispered, giving up when yet again she hadn’t found a single seam. It had to have something. It couldn’t be a solid piece of metal.

She’d asked a few of his brothers, but they either didn’t know, or wasn’t willing to tell her. She thought maybe Titus knew something, because he and Rae found the entire situation suspiciously amusing. She’d even searched in his workshop, hoping to find some instructions or even a drawing. But other than finding some awesome looking weapons, and a few chains, there’d been nothing.

“They can’t feel Jax, but I know he’s still there, because I can feel him.” She wasn’t sure how to explain it, she just knew. “But I think he’s had enough rest now, I need him back.”

Thea hadn’t even realised she’d started to cry, not until Thunder licked the tears from her cheeks.

“So, you tell him, because I can’t,” she said when he pressed his cold nose against her, throat vibrating with a whine. “You tell him I need him, so he has to come back. For me.”

Chapter 46

Jax

There was no waking gradually.

He was asleep, his mind at total rest, and then he simply wasn’t.

Whenever he relented control to his beast, there was nothing. Not a single thought or sense of awareness. He’d always explained it was like a switch, one that turned him on and off. So, when it turned on again, everything came back in an overwhelming rush.

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