Chapter 15 #2
He nodded, and I pulled free of his hold to get my reader from my bag.
“I took a picture of her because I wanted to make sure I really did see a knife on her leg. She heard the shutter snap from across the street. And look at this.” I zoomed in on her hands, tipped with dark nails. “I don’t think it’s nail polish. Urbat are supposed to have black nails, right?”
“Not in human form,” Sam said.
We both studied the picture for a moment, and I shook my head.
“I still think I’m right. If Len hadn’t come out when he did, I think goth girl would have made her move then.”
Sam didn’t say anything for a long time.
“I don’t like knowing you’re having another conversation with someone I can’t hear when I’m standing right in front of you,” I said.
“Sorry. I’m talking to my uncle Jim. He’s an Elder.
His mate is familiar with these serial killings and has been tracking them.
Dad reached out to them as soon as Mr. Clint’s body was found.
I reached out too when we—” He handed back the reader and caressed my cheek.
“They’re curious about the girl, but they know she’s not tied to what happened to Mr. Clint. ”
“How do they know?” I asked.
“The murders started when she would have still been in diapers. Maybe even before she was born. It’s not her.”
“What if she’s a copycat?” I asked.
He shook his head, but I saw a hint of doubt in his eyes and knew he was asking his Elder about it.
“How do you know about Urbat?” he asked instead.
I rolled my eyes. “I read, remember?”
He hugged me and kissed my temple. “One of the many things I love about you.”
Giving in, I hugged him in return. “Is it all true? The Urbat hunting werewolves? Stealing their females? Are you going to take me away to somewhere secluded someday to hide me from the world? From Mom?”
“Is that why you asked if it was safe to live here?”
I nodded.
“I’ll never make you choose between a life with me and a life with your mom, Clarity. Family is just as important to me.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Does that mean I’ll get to meet them soon?”
“Say the word, and my parents can be here in thirty minutes. The rest might take a little longer to get here. Most of them are still in Montana.”
“Not yet,” I said. “I still have more questions.”
“Like what?”
“Will you really be loyal to me for the rest of my life?”
“For the rest of mine,” he said.
“How long do I have to wait to be old enough in your eyes?” I asked.
“That’s a decision we should make with your mom. If we want to live next to her, I’d rather not do anything that has her yelling, ‘Stay away from my daughter,’ again.”
I snorted. It was funny now, but not at the time.
“You have a point,” I said, lifting my head to grin at him. “Would you like to come over for dinner?”
“Do you want to check with her first?”
“No. She’s the one who sent me over here.”
His brows rose.
“To talk. She knew I was avoiding you and said the bite isn’t a maybe. It’s a guarantee. Labeling me as a friend wasn’t giving me an option, but time to come to terms with being your mate.”
“Ah.”
My tummy gave a nervous flip.
“Why are you nervous?” I asked.
“She knew what I wanted from the start. She still knows. And she has the power to keep us apart.”
“I think she’s past that phase now. Mostly. Anything that’s lingering is because she’s afraid I’ll be hurt. Not by you, but the inherent danger that comes with being with you. I think she’ll feel better once the police find whoever killed Mr. Clint. Do they have any leads yet?”
“Let’s talk about that with your mom, too.”
As much as I wanted to keep snuggling and kissing him, he had me back in my jacket and on my own front step three minutes later.
I walked in, announcing, “I invited Sam over for dinner.”
“Thought you might,” Mom said from the kitchen. “Come help, and tell me you’re still bonded and not claimed.”
The sudden ball of fear and dismay in my chest had me reaching for Sam’s hand.
“Still just bonded,” I said, pulling him into the kitchen.
“Don’t sound so disappointed. You haven’t even graduated yet.” She looked at Sam. “You’re planning to wait until then, right? Preferably until she has a job, too? Employers aren’t supposed to discriminate against pregnant women, but they do.”
Sam’s discomfort bloomed in my chest even as he nodded.
“I promise to wait.” His expression softened when he glanced at me. “Have you given any thought to what you want to do after graduation?”
“Last year, Mr. Clint asked the town for funding for another library position. His mom has early dementia, and he was planning ahead for when he’d need to take care of her.”
Mom’s gaze turned sympathetic. “His poor mom.”
Feeling the mood dip, I smirked to lighten it. “Don’t worry. I’ll plan for you, too.”
She snorted and turned back to the stove. “The town council will probably want to fill the head librarian job first. Do you have a backup plan?”
“Not really,” I admitted.
“Maybe you could work with me,” Sam said.
“I don’t know anything about environmental analysis.”
“You know more than you think. Those videos you hate? I study how well people implement them and help write new ones when they don’t.”
“Ugh. I really hope the town council posts a librarian assistant position.”
“Does that mean you’ll stay here?” Mom asked. “In town, I mean?”
I glanced at Sam. He gave me a reassuring smile before moving to help Mom wash the lettuce.
“This is where Clarity wants to be,” he said.
“And what she wants, she gets?” Mom asked, handing him the colander.
He nodded. She looked relieved.
Once we were all sitting at the table, Sam said, “I apologize for breaking into your home that first night, Ms. Carstein. That wasn’t my intention.”
“Call me Elizabeth,” Mom said. “And I already guessed finding Clarity was an accident. Those two men at school were damage control, weren’t they? Making sure we didn’t make a big deal out of it?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. They wanted to make sure Clarity was okay. And—” He glanced at me. “My dad wanted to see my future mate.”
My mouth dropped open. “The English guy is your dad? That was your little brother?”