The question that shot through the condo to his position near the kitchen earned a heavenward glance, clenched eyelids, and a shake of his head. Forget the damn air pump once and you never hear the end of it. “Yeah,” he called back to Jordan, unable to hide the amusement from his tone if he tried. Which he wasn’t. “There’s an air pump.”
As he opened up their current text conversation and attached the picture he’d just taken of them, Caden grumbled to himself, “You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you.” It was fine if she didn’t. He welcomed the teasing. It made them feel all the more like family.
When he’d amassed New Haven Pack all those decades ago, it’d been for one reason, and one reason alone. War. Once upon a time, he’d convinced himself otherwise. Way back when he would’ve sworn up and down that it was actually the prevention of war that made him go from pack to pack, challenging alpha after alpha, until all the scattered packs in Vermont marched under one banner: his. It was a lie that he’d needed at the time - to believe that he’d come back to Roseville with an alternative to the Accords, one that didn’t involve a blood pact that made the Wolfsbourne Crescents deferential to anyone’s laws but their own. It was the same belief that got his old man killed.
It didn’t take long for his gathered warriors to become more than that, more than cannon fodder or a show of force. In a matter of years they became his family. And, as their Alpha, their prosperity and longevity had to mean more to him than a pack he didn’t have a place in anymore. Cade gave himself over to them entirely, wholeheartedly, and forced himself to give up on a war no one wanted for the sake of leading a pack of his own making.
Jordan was just one of the many pups born to the New Haven wolves. She’d been surrounded by people who loved her and looked out for her, surrounded by warriors and fighters who would kill and die for her in a second because that was what it meant to be in a pack. Now all she had was him, and all he had was her. They were a family, and that meant teasing, bickering, and riding each other’s last nerve. After everything they’d been through, it was the first bit of normalcy they’d reclaimed. And one he’d be grateful for for the rest of his damn life.
With the text sent and his phone sheathed in his back pocket he walked the stretch of hallway to the room she’d claimed and leaned his shoulder on the doorjamb. His arms folded in front of his chest and a smirk twisted his lips affectionately, which stretched further when she aimed her own smile at him.
“I thought so too,” admitted Caden, glancing around her barren bedroom, imagining the possibilities of what she’d do with the space. Tone casual, though warm in its undertones, he continued, “Big enough for both of us to have our own space, with the kitchen between us so that you can’t forget that I also live here.” A teasing wink was shot her way.
Nodding toward one of her windows, the one to the side with the fire escape landing just outside of it, he revealed, “There’s roof access from that window, too. Just a section of roof, but it’s basically private.” He shrugged, motioning that he wasn’t making any particular point, or implying anything specific. It was just that he knew that sometimes having your own room wasn’t enough. And since they weren’t all that close to any forests for her to run through, sitting under the stars on a rooftop could be a possible alternative.
“Oh,” he said, suddenly reminded of another purchase he’d made in addition to the air mattresses. “I almost forgot.” Cade walked over to her closet and pulled the mattress’ box from the shelf he’d pushed it onto, before tossing Jordan the second box he’d stored there.
Once she’d caught it he watched her turn it over to inspect what it was, explaining, “It’s a Polaroid camera. I know photography’s not really your thing but,” his shoulders jerked. “I saw it and I thought of you.” He glanced down at the box, noting again the small camera printed on the front, it was black and vintage-looking. Very grungey, or whatever the fuck the kids were calling it these days.
The kiss to his cheek was welcomed by a broader smile. There was a fond warmth to his gaze as he stared down at Jordan, more appreciative of her in that moment than the little wolf could ever guess. He ironed out his expression when she asked if she’d picked the best room. The single shoulder that lifted didn’t offer any kind of reassurance, and the teasing was back in his eyes. She darted off and Caden followed slowly after her with a chuckle.
“No take backs,” he said when she circled the master bedroom. This time he entered fully into the room a few steps before settling in against one of the walls. Still smirking at Jordan, Cade’s silence was broken by a level, “I’m bringing Willow by later, either tonight or tomorrow, to ward the place. I’m also gonna install some home security and change the locks and shit. After that we can hit up a mattress store and start picking out some furniture.”
He was just reiterating the game plan he’d been forming in his head, but when it came to his relationship with Jordan, Cade liked to keep things open and honest. Communicating was how they kept each other safe. Honesty was the best policy, and he’d never lied to her before. He didn’t plan on starting now.
If only he could’ve seen her face right now, he would have seen the amusement that was covering it. Even when heartache was something they both held and emptiness would engulf her into the darkest hole, it didn’t mean she never smiled--or never let her humour come through. Jordan had a dry sense of humour and would find fun in the simplest of things, that was still there, it had never left, it just couldn’t always surface. It could with him though, it came easy because he had been there before, during and after. Everything else was gone and there was nothing at all left apart from Caden and the memories she had in her heart and head. She would panic sometimes, scared that the happy images in her head would blur and fall into a place she wouldn’t be able to retrieve them--terrified that the awful and traumatising ones would finally take over every piece of her. She couldn’t let that happen, she just couldn’t.
“You have no chance of me letting you...”--humour filled her tone now so even if he wasn’t aware before, he would definitely be sure she was teasing him now.
She knew why he had returned to Roseville, Caden had always been upfront about it. Jordan had always been honest with him too, but it didn’t mean she aired her thoughts though sometimes. She wasn’t very good when it came to herself and how she felt. The young wolf found it difficult to open up about certain things and she couldn’t put into words how isolating things were at the moment for her because she didn’t want it to sound like he wasn’t helping or as though she wasn’t being what was expected of her. He had history here, Caden wasn’t a newcomer and this pack must’ve been close to him back then--she knew how packs worked. She just wasn’t sure what the future held because regardless of their feelings about him at the moment, Jordan could sense there was some sort of care there--at least from Harlow anyway. Then again, she might have been picking up on something that wasn’t there--because the young wolf always questioned everything she did lately. Trouble was, she was the outsider in all of this, nobody else.
--this was why he was so important to her--why this apartment was so important. He was the constant she needed, the one who didn’t let her go too far, someone who took care of her like her family used to--he was her family and living here in this building was another piece towards the security she desperately needed. Which is why it didn’t matter about the down times when she felt bitterness seep in instead of grief, because when it came down to it, Jordan would do anything for him--anything at all.
“I can’t forget you live here too....”
A look of mirth appeared on her face as she shot a look at him.
She scrunched her nose up before nodding, still joking.
“You do...you really do.”
Jordan was only messing around and it came naturally for her around him. This was definitely one side she needed to show more but with others too.
“Really?...oh wow...I bet that the sky looks really cool at night from up there on the roof. You will know where to find me if I can’t sleep.”
What she should have said was ‘when’ she can't asleep because not a single night had passed when she could sleep more than a couple of hours or so at a time. In fact most times she woke sweating from the nightmares she had and was that claustrophobic she had to get outside into the open air. It wasn’t something she brought up though because, in a funny way, she didn’t have to acknowledge it the next day if she didn’t talk about it.
As she walked over to him, curiousity covered her face and she was almost immediately behind him when he turned, taking the box as he gave it to her.
“ A polaroid one?...but this....”--she fumbled and opened the box to get a better look. Photography wasn’t her thing when it came to professional no, but capturing brief seconds in time--well that had become something significant and of value to her. “..this is freakin’ awesome!....thank you....” She had loads of ideas for it, photographs she wanted to take, where to pin them in her room. Oh yes, the young wolf could see herself becoming a pain in the ass with it. She didn’t put it back in the box though, instead, Jordan carefully placed it in the front padded pocket of her rucksack, a smile still etched onto her lips.
His room though was defitely the master bedroom.
“Damn it...no takebacks....”
She grinned and pretended to be bothered by it, but really she was happy enough with her own room. It was plenty big enough after they’d spent so long in the truck and crappy motels.
“Umm...is Willow okay?..I mean...did she take thing’s okay...you being back an’ all?”
She didn’t want to pry, but was concerned and she hoped he would get a welcome of some sort. though she followed it up with a different subject they’d just been on about in case he didn’t want to say.
“I am gonna make us a coffee table...or something like that....”
She wasn’t quite sure what yet and usually she carved things on a smaller scale but it wasn’t because she wasn't capable doing something big, Jordan's attention span tended to not be so good after a certain length of time, but her attention was always captured with the details of smaller pieces of woodwork.
turnnoffyourmind
izzy806
origamiaround
dailybridgerton
germansingergirl
jbbartram-illu