Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
ZANDER
“You look like you could use either a double shot espresso or a stiff drink.”
I looked toward the doorway, where Garrick was leaning against the frame. “Coffee rots your gut.”
I didn’t know what else to say. I couldn’t deny that the idea of either caffeine or alcohol appealed to me more than it usually would.
It was the end of a long Monday and the station had almost completely emptied except for the night shift.
I hadn’t closed the curtains yet so the darkness outside was intruding on the otherwise well-lit office space.
Garrick sauntered into the room, frowning. “Seriously, you look rough. What’s going on?”
I picked my hat up and flicked an invisible speck of dirt off it. “Same old.”
He crossed his arms. “Come on, Z. Drop the act.”
I sighed. Damn, he was too good at playing Alpha-with-a-capital-A. No wonder he was destined to take over leadership of the clan from Dad even though I was the oldest child.
“It’s wearing on me to be away from Reid,” I admitted, running my hands through my hair. “My bear wants to be with him constantly, but Reid is still cautious around me. Even if he did want to bond, he only just lost his mate, so the timing for anything to happen between us isn’t right.”
Garrick came farther into the office and sat opposite me. “Is it the emotional distance that’s the problem or would just closing the physical distance help?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Perhaps you should spend a little more time with him then. Just enough to ease your bear.”
I rested against the back of the chair. “I’ve already been hanging around a lot. I don’t want to overwhelm him.”
“Maybe not.” He cocked his head. “But you want him to know that you’re there for him. You want him to know that he can come to you.”
I stared at him, realizing he had a point. “I’ll head over there now, just for a little while.”
“Good.” Garrick looked pleased. “If you want to go straight there, I can bring over a change of clothes for you since you won’t want to stay in uniform.”
“I’d hate to put you out.” It didn’t feel right to have the future Clan Alpha running around after me.
Garrick rolled his eyes. “You’re not. You’re my brother. It’s what family does.”
Something warmed inside me. “Thanks, G.”
“No problem.” He stood and clapped his hands together. “Get up. Off with you. That cute little omega is waiting.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “He’s mine.”
“All yours,” Garrick agreed with a chuckle.
“As long as you know that.”
I snatched up my hat, my bag, and grabbed my keys from on top of the desk. Garrick and I wandered out together and I bid farewell to the deputy on duty as we passed reception.
Outside, Garrick strode to his vehicle and I went to mine. I drove onto the main street and was about to turn toward the cul-de-sac where my family lived when a bauble in the jewelry store window caught my eye.
I slammed on the brakes and pulled into the empty parking spot outside the store. The jeweler was taking in the sign and he glanced over as I threw the door open and rushed out.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, looking around nervously as though expecting robbers to materialize from behind the nearest street lamp.
“I need to buy that,” I said, pointing at the thing that had caught my eye.
From a distance, I hadn’t been able to tell exactly what it was, but I’d had the powerful urge to give it to Reid.
Up close, I could see that it was a black pendant necklace.
Some kind of stone with a tapered crystal-cut end, bound in gold hung from the waxed cord.
The jeweler raised an eyebrow. “Jewelry emergency?”
“Something like that.” I couldn’t take my eyes away from the pendant, strangely certain that it belonged to Reid. It needed to be with Reid.
“All right. You’re lucky you caught me. I was just about to leave.”
I hesitated. “I can come back in the morning if now is inconvenient.”
Not that I wanted to wait. My instincts were going haywire.
He shook his head. “It’s no problem. Come in and let’s get it packaged up for you.”
I followed him inside and he put the pendant into a black velvet bag and handed it to me. I paid what seemed an exorbitant fee for what was essentially a black rock and didn’t second-guess the decision for a moment, because I had no doubt at all that for some reason, Reid needed to have this.
Once I’d paid and the sudden, insistent brain fog had dissipated, I decided my subconscious might be onto something with this whole gift-buying thing.
I dropped by the minimart before it closed and picked up a few things I’d seen Milo use since he’d become pregnant.
A special set of bath salts that promoted relaxation.
Body oil designed to soothe Reid’s skin as his belly grew.
A soft, cozy blanket. A range of snacks because I wasn’t sure what he liked best.
That done, I took my new purchases to my parents’ place. I knocked on the door as I entered and called out to let them know I was coming in. I went through to the living room and laid out the items on the coffee table so Reid could see what they were, then searched until I found him in the kitchen.
“Hey,” I greeted.
His eyes widened and he murmured a soft, “Hello.”
“How are you feeling?”
He waved his hand from side to side. “Better than yesterday. I’ve only been sick once, so that counts for something, right?”
“Have you asked Dr. Black for nausea medication?”
“Melinda has.” He looked down almost shyly. “And Milo has made a few suggestions for meals that might not make me throw up.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Thank the Gods my family had taken him under their wings. “I have something for you.”
He tilted his head curiously. “What?”
“Nothing bad.” I tried to subtly breathe him in, my bear overjoyed to be near him once again. I wanted to roll in his bed until I was coated with his signature ozone-and-concrete-during-summer-rain scent, but I refused to do anything that might scare him off. “Come and see.”
Tentatively, he followed me to the living room.
I gestured at the offerings on the table. “These are for you.”
He studied them for a long moment, his gaze flicking from one item to the next. He lingered on the pendant, which I’d pulled from the velvet bag and laid on top of it.
Slowly, his eyes met mine. “These are gifts? I don’t have to offer anything in return?”
My heart clenched and my stomach dropped.
“Nothing,” I whispered hoarsely, hating that it ever crossed his mind that I might want some kind of quid pro quo.
“You have no obligation to me if you accept any of this. I just wanted to do something nice for you.” And, for some reason, my instincts had screamed that he needed that pendant.
He picked up the pendant and smoothed the pad of his thumb along one side of it. “This is obsidian. Do you know what it does?”
“No,” I admitted. I knew that some crystals possessed properties that made them useful for certain spells but, having no magic myself, I’d never bothered to learn. “What does it do?”
Reid stared at the pendant, mesmerized, but he didn’t reply. After several seconds ticked by, he reluctantly put it down again.
“The things are here if you want them,” I told him, disappointed he hadn’t been more enthusiastic about the gift.
One step at a time, I reminded myself.
Reid hadn’t been able to trust anyone for a long time. He couldn’t change that just because I wanted him to.