Who is Magpie?
Chapter 54- Last Chance

She had her own shower, and decided to wear one of her new dresses to dinner. Drying out her hair as much as possible she quickly pinned the top layer of waves back behind her head with her four pins before Ezekiel returned.

She discovered it had been Bronx to knock earlier and felt a little bad. She hadn’t seen him since she put a knife through his plate. Although, she wouldn’t take it back, especially not in front of anyone, he didn’t know why his words had struck a nerve.

When they joined him at the head table he complimented her dress, and Jessamine was happy they were just able to move past it. Rumours would circle around the dining room all night in the Garden, and she was glad this wasn’t a trait the pack shared.

Bronx informed Ezekiel of a phone call he missed, a business that had a special package ready for him and decided he would venture to get it after he had eaten. Jessamine wasn’t thrilled that he was going and she would lose her evening time with him, but he assured her he would be back before she woke up.

As he stood to go he kissed her head. “Get some sleep?”

She knew what he was asking, but she wouldn’t make a promise she couldn’t keep. “I’ll consider it,” she muttered instead.

He smirked. “That’s all I can ask for. Alright, faster I go faster I’ll be back. I’ll see you in the morning if you’re asleep when I get back.”

She nodded, pulling him in for a kiss, and waving him off. If she thought she would feel uncomfortable being there without him she was wrong. Jessamine felt just as at home with all the wolven as she had any other time as of late.

She was eager to get to the training rooms after he left, aiming to get one more night in of trying to shift when he couldn’t sense her, but ran into Bronx along the way.

He silenced her terrible excuse and spoke softly. “I know what you’re trying to do, and I’m an utter moron. I should have thought twice before speaking before, but let me make it up to you.” He sounded sincere, which somehow made his offer sound like it would be dangerous or stupid.

She looked wearily. “In what way?”

“I’m going to help you,” Bronx replied confidently, “but you need to trust me.”

She had been trying alone for nearly a week. “Fine.”

He led her down a hall she hadn’t ventured since her first tour and Bronx halted in front of a door near the end.

“Trust me,” He said again. “And play along.”

She didn’t have time to ask because he opened the door and saw Delano, Kai, and Chey all sitting around a table.

“Bronx, about time we’ve been waiting… Luna?” Delano was the first to speak, and sort of bowed, like he was nervous.

“I bumped into her in the hall, she couldn’t sleep.” Bronx announced, bringing another chair to the table and offering it to her.

Kai moved to speak but Bronx silenced him with a hand. “Save your questions for the game. Alright, the aim here Jessamine is to get drunk, so we have combined black jack and truth or lie. Everyone, be nice, if you make this shit go dark I’ll be putting you on night shifts until Yule.” He eyed everyone but Jessamine carefully. “Dealer starts, tell a short story and we decide if it’s a truth or lie. You guess wrong you drink we check our cards, losers drink. Simple enough? Jessamine you start.” He handed her the deck. “Have you played black Jack before?”

She shuffled with more skill than she remembered having. “Only as a decoy.”

“Really?” Kai asked.

Jessamine smirked, dealing the cards. “I don’t know, make your guess.”

Bronx smiled, happy she was getting into it. She finished dealing and no one believed she could be a decoy.

“Drink up,” Jessamine replied as everyone played their hands. “I was often the distraction.”

They passed over this information flawlessly as everyone took their shots. Kai preferred beer and took a swig from his bottle before accepting the deck from Jessamine.

Kai boasted that he had never been a decoy, which Jessamine thought couldn’t possible be true, but soon learned the wolven operated much differently than the Fae, never needing people to put themselves at risk like that.

Through that round she learned the Chey’s first car had been wrapped around a pole in less than a week, Delano had started out as part of the kitchen staff and Bronx had designed the garden outside that Jessamine liked. Then it was her turn again.

She told them that she had a green thumb, and had collected plants in her bedroom. Bronx smiled knowingly at her, but the others thought it was odd to have a garden in your bedroom in the Garden, surrounded by garden. Then Kai bragged about having a perfect shooting score, later determined he had never not hit the centre mark because he had never fired a gun. Chey boasted that her first concert had been the Blues, which it was, Delano had never been camping, and Bronx used to go to a summer camp with humans during his summers of volunteer experience in high school. Then it was Jessamine’s turn again.

“I’ve met one of you before.” She said, taking care to not look at anyone as she dealt the cards.

“You’re kidding?” Kai asked and then remembered the game and picked up his cards.

“Well it wasn’t me.” Chey insisted. “I never met a female adversary, no offence.”

Jessamine giggled at the bulky blond woman. “Well of course not I…. Never mind.”

“No hints!” Bronx insisted.

“Though that’s not exactly helpful,” Kai muttered.

They finished dealing the cards, played their hands, and everyone was sure they had never met her before.

“It was Delano.” She concluded, passing the deck of cards along. “Drink.”

“Hold up, hold up,” Delano interrupted. “I call bologna, when did I meet you?”

Jessamine felt okay telling this story, since no one had gotten hurt and nothing was broken, and hoped it would be fine. “ I don’t remember the address, it was snowing, you were outside smoking. I ‘fell down’ a fire escape….”

“You were bleeding,” Delano remembered. “Your boyfriend…. Not your boyfriend.” He guessed, and she nodded affirmatively. “But you were bleeding, quite a bit. What happened?”

Bronx looked wearily at her, begging her to keep it light. “I stabbed myself.”