14Author Note: Hey, readers. Here is a companion story to Forever Waiting on Nothing at All. I've been itching to write from Cole's POV for some time now because he tends to be such a mysterious character, even when he's with Jade later on. So I decided to cave and write some of his story down just for fun.
You will either have to re-read the chapters that I pull from or stretch your memory back really far to figure out what's going on, but I'll give you some story pointers before diving in.
This particular section is after Jade has arrived at the Kefalas's house (Christopher and Irene's), so she has only been barely one day. They have taken her over to a Greek house party in Julia's (Cole's sister) honor.
(Corresponds to Ch 5 of Forever Waiting on Nothing at All)
Cole groaned as the first of the guests arrived at his family's house. He really had wanted to conveniently disappear for Julia's party, but his mother had practically begged him to make an appearance to reassure the pack that he wasn't completely loony.
Going to be hard to prove that, he thought sourly. He was definitely not the same person he was when he had lived here two years ago. There were times when his old self would flair up, but those moments were becoming fewer. He could feel himself closing off more and more from everyone that use to make him happy.
Even Julia, his sweet, little sister.
As people filed in, he could feel their gazes on him, wondering if he was sane enough to be in such a crowded setting. He forced the grimace from his face and adopted the neutral expression he used for missions.
It was going to be a long night.
His one solace was that she wouldn't be here. But even the mildest thought about her sent his body into quivers. He would probably have to avoid the Kefalas family if he wanted to maintain his cool façade. Chris wouldn't be unmanageable, but Irene looked much too like her daughter for his taste.
Once the bulk of the guests had arrived, Cole made his retreat to his father's office. He was perfectly okay with checking his email and hiding out until everything was over, but his room was unfortunately off-limits because he always let Julia and the other kids borrow it for their hangout room. Her room was too beautiful to risk some klutz damaging anything.
He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Being this close to where he first cracked was disconcerting at the very least. It had taken him months to get back to a stable mindset, but sometimes he could feel the numbness creeping into his head, signaling he was losing control.
He heard his sister's door open and close.
Sighing, Cole decided he should probably go socialize some more. Although, it was getting harder to fake college memories and friends when he had never set foot on a campus except during orientation when his parents went with him. The part that wasn't very hard was the actual lying part, which was second nature to him now. He had grown accustomed to pretending to be someone else on the job, and his moral compass had become increasingly skewed even in regards to family.
He took his time leaving the solitude of the office, but as he passed by his sister's door, he could tell someone was still in there. Despite knowing it would only be some wandering pack member, Cole was on alert. He had not been able to shake off his paranoia ever since he had turned rogue, and it always sat lurking behind his impartial persona.
As he reached for the door knob, preparing to glare at whoever was invading his sister's privacy, the door swung open of its own accord and a small someone ran straight into his chest.
His anger was alight instantly at the physical contact.
"Who are you," he barked a little more harshly than he intended.
"Jade. Who wants to know?" was the snippy reply. The girl backed farther away, eying him.
Pretty hair was his first observation. It was a light strawberry blonde that had a hint of wave to it. He felt the need to touch it but obviously squashed that impulse.
His eyes came to meet her ocean-blue ones, and he remembered that she was a complete stranger and had no business whatsoever here. "What are you doing in Julia's room?"
"None of business, Buddy."
Buddy?
His interest sharpened, and he resisted the urge to smirk at her when she gave him slightly pouty face.
"It is my business. Get out."
She gave him a go-to-hell look but brushed past him out the doorway. In her wake, Cole noticed she had a nice scent—fresh with a hint of floral. It was almost familiar to him. He watched her walk down the hall and bound down the stairs, hair bouncing with a life of its own.
Jade. He liked the name, and since she did not seem like a hostile element that was invading his territory, he let her scamper away.
He happened to glance down before shutting Julia's door to see a blinking phone. Rolling his eyes, he picked it up, intending to return it to the blue-eyed girl after the crowd had died down. For now, it was back to the office, ignoring his original plan to visit.
When he no longer heard the chatter of teenagers coming from his room, he took up his hermitage there, listening to his iPod in an attempt to relax.
However, there is no rest for the weary because his door was pushed aside, and he saw Jade standing there.
He barely had time to utter a "Seriously? What happened to knocking?" before she went off on him.
"Where's my phone?" At her tone, he became defensive. He wasn't a thief after all. It's not like he had a reason to steal it anyway.
"What makes you think I have your precious phone?"
"Where else would it be?"
"And you automatically assume I took it?"
"Who else would bother?"
"Oh, please. You're overreacting." He really just wanted her to go away so he could get some peace.
"I am not. Buddy, I'm talking to you." He could still hear her ranting at him, so he turned the wheel of his controls to increase his music volume.
"Go away, little girl."
He figured she would huff and puff and leave, but he was certainly wrong. A mere few seconds later, he felt his earbuds being yanked out. "I'll give them back when you give me my phone back" was her command.
A growl escaped him. No one bossed him around anymore, except for Jo. He didn't even let Lysias tell him what to do, despite his former Alpha's attempts at dominance. "I don't like you insulting my character, but whatever. Your phone is right over there. Now, get out before I throw you out."
"So you did take it," she squealed at him. His jaw clenched, and he gave her his most withering stare. However, while that look had brought lesser wolves to the ground in submission, this feisty female gave him a dismissive hair flip before strolling out with her prize phone.
He scoffed when he was finally alone. What a bizarre interaction.
His own cell phone vibrated in his pocket, and he answered the call from his mission partner, Michael.
"Hey, have they moved?" he asked immediately.
"No, and I still haven't figured out what they are doing in the area either. It's weird, even for bloodsuckers. But I would bet my life that they have connections to Chapman. They are way too suspicious. How's the party?"
"I'd rather be gathering intel with you, my friend, then waste another ounce of control being here."
"I understand," Michael said on the other end of the line, and his voice proved that he really did. "But you need to be there if they really are targeting your old pack. It is to our benefit that you can be so close."
"Yeah," Cole agreed, "but that doesn't mean that I'm enjoying it."
"Come on, man. Is it that bad?"
"I would happily spar with Sig rather than be here. I just don't want to push myself. I avoided Christopher and Irene all night. Actually, I avoided nearly everyone, except for this one pestering girl."
"A girl? Is she cute?"
Cole rolled his eyes. "Michael, you don't want a mate, remember?"
"That doesn't mean I can't admire."
"Michael," Cole said in a warning tone, "she is not a pack member, so I couldn't give you the hook up anyway."
"Well, if she's not part of the pack, who is she?"
Cole thought about it but could not come up with a good idea. "I don't know, but I'll find out tonight."
"Do you think she's important to the vampires in the area?"
"Doubt it. She's definitely not from around here. I heard a bit of an accent."
"If you say so."
"You running tomorrow morning with me?"
"Ah, gee, Cole. I think I am going to have to decline. I will be up late working through some stuff, so I doubt I could run," Michael said half-heartedly.
Cole hung up on him.