Chapters twenty -five

"Are you really okay? You're rubbing your stomach. Does it hurt? Don't lie to me, May," Richard demands with a worried frown.

His body is tense because of the presence of a powerful Lycan in the house and the thought that he might not be able to protect us if it calls for him.

"Calm down, Richard. I'm fine and so is Sarah." I reply even as dread fills me after I belatedly remove my hand from my stomach.

"We don't know that," he hisses through clenched teeth, making me roll my eyes and look towards the kitchen.

I can't see them but I can clearly hear smooching sounds and only hope they go no further than that. Judging from my brother's twisted expression, he can hear it too.

Thankfully, they emerge from the kitchen in one piece except for swollen lips and poorly straightened clothes. "There's some lipstick here." I point to the corner of my lips and Sarah's cheeks explode with color as Xavier reaches up to clean his mouth.

There's some on his neck too but no one else seems to notice so I'll just let them be. We don't want Sarah combusting into an explosion of colors.

He has the decency to look embarrassed though something tells me he's faking it; I mean he can't be the king's aide and be innocent. He clears his throat, "Thank you."

I nod in acknowledgement while Richard scoffs and glares at him with the intensity of a thousand suns.

The air is tense as Sarah sets the rest of the food on the table and then we are all seated in a very uncomfortable silence. Sarah is shooting daggers at our brother with her eyes while Xavier calmly looks over the house.

We don't have much, just a few framed pictures and one or two hanging; the other decorations are just knick knacks from Sarah's curious childhood.

"Is that a clam?" Xavier asks, amusement in his tone. My eyes follow his and my lips widen in a soft smile. There's a small shelve to the back of the room, close to the door that leads to the basement which is also the laundry room.

It's filled with dried fossils that, for some reason, Sarah doesn't want gone even though she isn't as fascinated with them as she had been.

I look to her to answer but she's too busy piling his plate with everything on the table.

"Yes. Sarah was very adventurous when she was little. Always picking up anything shiny or remotely interesting."

"But that's a corpse." He says in incredulity and looks at Sarah who's face is now a constant peach.

"It was washed and dried so it's not unhygienic or anything of that sort." I reassure him, although I don't think he actually minds.

"That's enough, thank you." He pecks her cheek and places a loving hand on her waist as she takes a seat beside him.

A sharp pang hits my chest as I watch their display, green with envy and a load of sadness. I miss him. The way he touches me like I'm so precious and my name on his lips. The way his voice deepens when he calls me Kitten; a petname I had been adverse to but now crave.

"Shall we pray before the food gets cold?" Sarah asks, eyes still narrowed our overprotective brother.

"I'll start," I say and as I hoped they all turn towards me. "I am thankful for my family. My beautiful yet annoying sister and my wonderful yet incorrigible brother. I'm thankful for food and books and…" I look at the happy couple and smile, "...and love."

It is a ritual we have everytime we get the chance to eat together which isn't often considering mine and Richard's jobs. Our parents always made us say what we were grateful for when they were alive; we had cringed at the silliness of it at the time but now, we do it without fail.

"I'm thankful for my beautiful, smart, strong-headed sisters who should do well to listen to me for once in their lives," He growls and is met with glares from both of us. "I'm also grateful for the food," He mumbles.

"Well I'm thankful for my gorgeous sister who is the bestest friend I could ever ask for and I'm grateful for the food and Xavier." She turns her nose up at Richard who has a vein sticking out on his forehead.

"Let's eat and Richard, the man isn't harming us by sitting there and breathing so settle down. If not for their sake then for mine. Please." Without waiting for a reply, I start to pile food into my plate.

"Isn't that a bit much for someone who just ate a few minutes ago?" Sarah asks and I look up to find everyone staring at me.

"That's rude, foxy." Xavier taps her cheek with a finger causing her to stick out her bottom lip in a pout and he leans down.

I look away for the sake of my aching heart. I'm also a bit confused by my huge appetite but I've always been a lover of delicious meals so that's that.

"That's enough of that. What do you want with this family? Just because you're the king's right hand doesn't mean I won't whoop your add for messing with my sisters."

Trust my brother to get straight to the point; it's a family trait, though Sarah seems to be a bit lacking in that area.

I sigh and drop my fork, having already wolfed down five sandwiches. I was just about to dig into the spaghetti, I groan internally; the meatballs are so big and they look so juicy.

Xavier gently drops his fork like a well mannered individual unlike his lover who drops hers with a clang and proceeds to scowl at her brother like a harrased hedgehog.

He cleans his mouth with a napkin and breathes deeply. "Since we aren't beating around the bush anymore, I'm here to ask for your sister's hand. I want to court her," He says without missing a beat and a cool confidence that I'm sure would only irritate Richard.

"You seem so sure I'd let you have her?" He growls and Sarah lets out a squeak; a look of indignation overtakes her features.

"I am not some thing that you would give out whenever you want!" She yells and I frown at him. He really needs to choose his words carefully from here on.

"I didn't mean it like that and you know it," He snaps and narrows his eyes at Xavier's hand on my sister's waist, presumably to calm her. "How do I know you don't have ulterior motives?"

"You don't." Xavier replies coolly, causing I and my brother to frown in confusion and impatience. "But I can swear on my honor that I won't hurt her and I'll make sure she isn't unhappy in anyway."

My shoulder relaxes and I sigh in relief. He might be Lucius's trusted right hand but it doesn't stop me from worrying about my sister's safety.

Swearing on his honor is a big deal and means a lot coming from someone's like him but Richard doesn't seem to agree with me.

"I'm sorry but that's not enough for me."

"It's my life so I should decide if it's enough or not and I say it is!" Sarah looks like she's about to cry any second now. She's probably hurt that we aren't letting her get what she's been wanting for so long and I can relate to that pain.

I want to groan and give him a hard slap on his head but I understand his stance in this. We've seen Sarah cry cry one too many times over one asshole after another and it's tiring and frustrating to watch.

We both know how much she feels for Xavier, at least we know some of it so if anything happens this time, she might not be able to come back from it. Nothing would make me hesitate to end him; nothing at all.

"Let's all calm down…" I stand to my feet and walk towards Richard. A wave of weakness overwhelms me and my feet slip on thin air, causing me to stumble forward before catching myself on Richard's shoulders.

"Are you okay?" He asks and he stands to his feet and pulls me closer to him since seems like my legs have liquefied.

"I'm fine," I whisper tiredly and the last thing I see is Sarah's panicked expression running towards me.