Chapter 9
***COOPER***
Cooper stood watching Stephanie’s taillights disappear into the distance, his lips still tingling from the kiss, not ready to go inside and have the magic of the moment destroyed by real life.
If there had ever been any doubts in his mind about what he felt for her, the kiss had driven them all away, leaving only the feeling deep inside his gut that everything he’d said that night was true.
He would have to give her time, let her get used to the idea of them together.
He didn’t blame her for being careful; the power of what was growing between them was frightening.
Equally frightening was the prospect of telling her the truth about what he was.
He had no idea how he was going to break that kind of news to her, and even worse, couldn’t predict how she would take it.
For a moment, he wondered if he was taking too big a risk telling her; it could backfire, she could expose him, she could think he was a monster.
It might be better to hide the truth from her, keep that side of himself a secret, but he knew that would never work.
She would find out and that would be even worse.
Letting out a long sigh, he realized that falling in love was harder than it looked and decided it might be time for some advice, but before he could go back inside, Ryan threw open the door, his face bright with excitement.
Sure, that something had gone wrong, he shook himself out of his thoughts and headed for the door, hoping it was nothing too serious.
“Cooper, you’d better get in here,” Ryan urged. “Stephane is going to be on the news; they just showed a teaser. Hurry up, we only have a minute or so before it’s on.”
He raced into the house after Ryan and found everyone sitting in a circle around the television in the den. “Did you tell everyone?” he asked, squishing in between Walker and Gabe on the couch. “You couldn’t have gotten them all together this fast.”
“We were in here talking about Julien’s theory,” Ryan said, sitting down on the floor.
“I told them that you think he might be right. I hope I didn’t overstep, but I told them about the weird feelings you get when you're there. We think you both might be right, the circumstances all fit together, but we need some proof, we’re just not sure what. ”
“So, you don’t think I’m crazy?” he asked. “I was beginning to think I was losing my mind.”
Before anyone could answer, the news came back on and they all fell silent.
“I’m Jeremy Gilbert and I’ve got an interesting story for you all tonight, a story about the paranormal, magic, and a full-blown cover-up going on over at the college,” the reporter said.
“I’m here with Maggie Dubbenhouer, who witnessed a conversation about the ruins recently discovered under the football stadium.
She’s agreed to be interviewed live here with us tonight. ”
A young woman walked into the frame and sat down in a chair next to the reporter. “Thank you for joining us, Maggie,” he said. “I understand you have some information about the cover-up at the college.”
“I have proof that the conversation I overheard is true,” Maggie said, holding up the book. “It’s all right in here in black and white. That cave and those ruins belonged to supernatural creatures and not just witches and vampires; shifters have used those caves too.”
“You can’t expect our audience to believe that, especially after the archeologist in charge gave her statement,” Jeremy Gilbert said, shaking his head, then Stephanie appeared on the screen denying the rumor.
“I have the proof right here. There are stories, lots of them. People have known for hundreds of years that paranormal creatures haunted these woods; it goes all the way back to the Native Americans,” Maggie said, holding up the book again.
“It’s time we faced facts. There are things on this planet that we don’t understand.
Maybe this discovery will change things.
All I know is I can’t wait to see them.”
“Well, there you have it, folks,” Jermey Gilbert said. “It’s up to you to decide: are there really ghosts and goblins running around in the woods behind the old stadium, or are these just stories written to entertain people?”
There was dead silence in the room for several minutes. “I’ve got to go call Stephanie,” he said. “She needs to know about this.”
“And I’m going to start doing some research,” Ryan said. “If there’s even the smallest chance those ruins are really a shifter sanctuary, we’d better figure it out before Stephanie does so we can stop her.”
He knew that Ryan was right, but it still bothered him, “This was her big chance,” he said. “I hate to spoil it for her.”
“Would you rather be exposed?” Malcolm asked. “Because that’s where this could be headed.”
“Stephanie would never do that,” he said. “I trust her.”
“But she’s not the only one involved,” Malcolm said, shaking his head. “She doesn’t have the final say on what gets released to the public. I don’t know what kind of proof they could find, but we’d better be prepared just in case.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach. “You can’t destroy the ruins, that would be such a waste, there has to be another way.”
“Nothing has been decided yet, and we wouldn’t do anything without talking to the elders' council first,” Jackson assured him. “Let’s not get upset over something that might never happen, but I do think you’d better keep a closer eye on Stephanie.”
“I will, but I know that she’d never give us away, she’s not that kind of person,” he said, pulling out his phone. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go call her and warn her about the story on the news.”
***Stephanie***
After a nearly sleepless night, Stephanie stumbled out of her hotel room just before dawn, made a quick stop in the lobby to fill up her biggest travel mug, then headed to the ruins.
She sipped the coffee as she drove through the deserted town, trying not to think about what she might find when she got to the college, but blocking that from her mind only made her think about Cooper and the kiss they’d shared.
She’d replayed it in her mind so many times that she remembered every second of the most amazing kiss she’d ever had, the only problem was it only made her want more, a very dangerous desire.
Cooper had awakened something inside her, made her yearn for things she never had before, and she knew that she’d have to tread very carefully with him until he was no longer her intern.
A thrill rushed through her when she thought about what might happen then, the possibilities making her feel warm all over, and she let out a long sigh, wishing she didn’t have to wait.
There was a small part of her that was afraid Cooper would lose interest if she kept pushing him away, and no amount of telling herself that if he did it would be for the best helped quiet that little voice.
Realizing what she was doing, she told herself to stop obsessing about Cooper.
He would either be there or he wouldn’t, and even if it was the best kiss she’d ever had, she wasn’t about to risk her professional reputation for anyone.
When she pulled into the stadium parking lot a few minutes later, she was relieved to see only a few cars, but knew that as soon as the sun came up, people would start showing up.
After grabbing her backpack, her purse, and the mug, she climbed out of the car and made the short walk to the site, keeping her eyes open for anyone lurking in the early morning shadows.
She made it to the gate without incident and was relieved to see a guard already on duty, bundled up against the early morning chill.
“Good morning, Dr. Warner, Kendra said you’d be here early,” he said. “I’m Frankie, I’ll be on the day shift during the week.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, shaking the man’s hand. “How did you know it was me?”
“Kendra gave me a bio on everyone who has clearance to be inside. I did my homework,” Frankie explained with a shrug of his shoulders. “I like to be prepared; it makes the job easier.”
“I appreciate your dedication. It could get a little crazy around here later, so don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it,” she said. “People can be aggressive when they get worked up over something like this.”
“We’ve already got a plan in place in case I get swamped,” he said.
“I learned that lesson the hard way on one of my first jobs, and never made that mistake again. We’ll be fine, I promise, but thanks for the warning.
Kendra is waiting for you in that blue tent over there.
Everyone has to get security badges; after this morning, no one gets in without one. ”
“I have to tell you, I feel much better after meeting you,” she said, smiling at him. “Now I guess I’d better go find my assistant and get my badge. I need to be a good example for everyone else after all.”
“Yes, ma'am,” Frankie said, smiling back at her. “I’ll see you later.”
When she walked into the tent, Kendra was sitting at a folding table, a laptop in front of her, holding a giant cup of coffee in one hand, texting on her phone with the other. “I can’t believe you beat me here,” she said, shaking her head. “Did you get any sleep last night?”
“A litle. I spent hours putting this all together and a couple more this morning getting everything ready for the security company,” Kendra said, shrugging her shoulders. “I’m going home after everyone gets their badges and taking a nap.”
She looked around the tent for the first time, surprised to see a camera set up with a white background behind it and a machine that would make the badges. “Where did you get all this?” she asked. “Don’t we usually pay the security company to do this?”
“I thought I could save some money doing it ourselves this time,” Kendra said, then a little blush appeared on her cheeks.
“I might have met someone who works in student administration, he might have been with me last night when you called, and he might have accidentally borrowed this stuff for us.”
“Wow, that’s a lot of mights,” she said, trying not to laugh. “Do you think I might be able to meet him sometime so I could say thank you?”
Kendra grinned at her. “I think that might be possible,” she said, making them both laugh. Then she became serious. “Okay, back to business, I just need to take your picture, I already have your badge put together and ready to go.”
Ten minutes later, she was the proud owner of a badge with a horrible picture of her. “Are you sure we can’t try it one more time?” she pleaded. “Look at me, I look awful.”
“You do not, I’d let you retake if you did,” Kendra said. “Now get out of here, go stand by the gate and send everyone my way when they get here. They’re all bound to be a little worked up by all this. I think seeing you will calm them down.”
“Yes, ma'am,” she said, giving her a salute, a smile on her face. “Is there anything else?”
“I’ll need a refill on my coffee,” Kendra said, grinning back at her, then added. “Hey, you asked.”
“I’ll send one of the interns,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I believe that falls under their job description.”