Chapter 6 #2
Melody leaned against her desk. “If you’re here, that means he likes your work. Trust me. Tak is super picky about his house. He kind of gives everyone their own space or room to do with what they want, but he cares about the aesthetic of the place.”
“Like the gong by the front door?”
She played with a strip of fabric and laughed. “That’s a long story.”
Dappled sunlight created patterns on the wood floor from the side window, and I quietly envied the open space. I fantasized about having my sketches spread out in one uniform piece across the spacious floor.
“This is my dream studio,” I remarked while admiring a top with wide short sleeves and a V-neck. “These clothes are so me. I love them all.”
Melody pulled the blouse off the rack and held it up to me. “People always think green goes with redheads, but it’s all about the color shade complementing your skin tone. This looks about your size and matches your pants. Take it.”
“I couldn’t.”
“Oh, but you will,” she said with a chuckle. “These are samples. I’ve got two others since I’m testing out fabrics and patterns. Go on and change. Then I can give Lakota his shirt back before he has a conniption.”
I glanced down at the wolf printed on the front and smiled. “Your mate has a sense of humor.”
A Shifter wearing their animal on their clothing was a joke within the community.
Just outside the door, I recognized Councilwoman Eden’s voice straight away.
“We won’t have to worry about that idiot anymore,” she said. “There was enough evidence for a conviction. To protect the victim, we transported him to a jail in a different state. It’s a good thing Cici started that number.”
Melody’s eyes widened, and she bolted out the door, shutting it behind her. The conversation abruptly extinguished.
After stripping out of the T-shirt, I put on the pretty green blouse and admired my reflection in the standing mirror.
Because it was short, it showed off my midsection, making it the perfect summer blouse.
Not only was it simple but the wide sleeves and stitchwork dressed it up enough that I could wear it to parties.
At least I won’t look disheveled for my meeting. That was so nice of her. I wonder if these people realize they’re living in my dream home. They’re so lucky. I bet they know it, too, the way they’re always smiling and friendly.
When I opened the door and stepped out, Eden Thompson-Cross flashed a bright smile, but the unsettled look on Tak’s face had me wondering if I’d accidentally overheard a sensitive conversation.
“Councilwoman.” I nodded respectfully.
She held a dark-haired baby in her arms. “I’m not at work, so you can call me Eden. It’s good to see you again, Quinn. How’s life treating you?”
I handed Melody the folded T-shirt. “Great! I made a few sales at the general store, and I’m hoping to secure a new deal with Tak.”
“Is that right?” Her eyebrows rose as she briefly glanced at the alpha.
“Quinn’s a talented artist. I hope you’re thinking about dressing up one of these dull windows in the house.
Truth be told, I wouldn’t mind our bedroom window getting a treatment for privacy.
Lucian and I sleep on the first floor, so someone’s always walking by. ”
Don’t look eager. Don’t look eager.
“That would be amazing!”
Nope. That didn’t work.
Eden chuckled. “This is baby Jasper. Not mine,” she quickly added before looking at Tak.
“Hope’s still sleeping, so Auntie Eden will be taking care of her favorite little man while you two have your meeting.
Isn’t that right, Jazz?” When she kissed him all over his chubby cheeks, the baby smiled wide.
Eden burst out laughing. “He looks like his father. Look at that smile. Nothing but trouble. He’s going to be a real ladies’ man. ”
“Or a man’s man,” a guy remarked as he crossed the room.
“That’s Virgil,” Eden informed me. “Well, he’s gonna be something no matter whose man he is.” She briefly assessed me. “Is that one of Melody’s blouses? It looks like it was made for you.”
I gripped my side braid and tried not to grin like an idiot, but Eden was the kindest person I’d ever met.
She had gone out of her way in the past to find work for me, plus she had stunning eyes.
The luminous orange color was similar to mine, and perhaps that’s why I felt drawn to her.
When she walked into a room, she commanded respect with her sophisticated style and authority.
I wished I could be half the woman she was.
Tak leaned over and kissed the sole of the baby’s foot before speaking to him in a language I’d never heard.
Then Eden branched away and took Virgil’s hand. “Come with me.”
“What for?”
“I need you to fold my laundry.”
“Virgil Nightingale is nobody’s maid.”
“Good. Then you can change the poopy diaper, and I’ll fold laundry.”
When their voices trailed off, Tak jerked his head and signaled Melody to leave us.
Melody walked off with a jaunty bounce in her step. “If you need me, I’ll be brushing up on my target practice out back.” She raised her arms as if firing an arrow.
“I heard you assisted Salem on a job,” Tak said, his embarrassment thinly veiled. “I saw the blood.”
“He’s really talented, but I’m never ever doing that again.”
“Should I ask what happened?”
“Not unless you want nightmares. I guess we can get right down to work. So… where are the windows you’re thinking about replacing?”
He gestured to the expansive windows at the front, and when I measured them with my eyes, my heart quickened.
The room had great energy. Although I knew their house was newly built, the nostalgic feel in the room was undeniable, as if they had already built a lifetime of memories here. It was a happy space—a hopeful one. But the size of those windows was intimidating.
Tak flicked his gaze between me and the windows, and I could see his apprehension.
“We can discuss my qualifications, but I’ve been doing this for twenty years. I trained under a professional artist with three hundred years of experience. Everyone’s nervous at first, but you’re going to absolutely love the transformation.”
“Impress me.”
Once his wolf was a safe distance from the house, Salem disappeared into his thoughts while his animal sniffed the property and tried to make sense of what had happened to his human counterpart.
In stressful emergencies, Salem kept his cool for a reason: He wanted to make sure his wolf didn’t force his way out.
Sometimes his animal slept through the entire event.
The trust they had built was the only reason Salem could work in his profession.
One thing he learned early on was how easily offended people were when you asked them their Breed.
Vampires and Chitahs had common physical traits that were easily recognizable, but most people didn’t like invasive questions.
They thought a person asking might have nefarious intentions to identify their weaknesses, so it hadn’t occurred to him in the heat of the moment to ask Quinn if she was anything but a Shifter. Crossbreeds weren’t overly common.
Still, he couldn’t have done it without her. Now that it was over, it plagued his thoughts. He’d grown accustomed to blood and gore, and because his brain switched to rescue mode during a traumatic injury, it prevented him from thinking about anything other than saving the patient.
Witnessing a sword slice through a man was probably more than the average person could take. But a Sensor? Without gloves, she had felt everything.
His wolf snarled, sensing his rising anger.
Perhaps he should suggest that a Vampire scrub her memory of the event. Atticus might do it. Even if she erased the memory, Salem still owed her a favor, and that would never go away until he paid up.
Despite everything, he admired her bravery, especially given she could feel the Mage’s suffering until they walked him outside.
Thank the fates he’d given the man extra painkillers.
Salem had encountered many immortals who had rejected anesthesia or painkillers.
The older they got, the less they cared.
Pain was only temporary, and some of them later revealed that they sold those experiences to Sensors for a high price.
Many Sensors worked in sensory exchange, buying and selling emotions in what many considered an addictive recreational activity.
Salem couldn’t fathom who would want some of those painful experiences, but all kinds of people existed in this world. It was also possible the dealer they sold it to was keeping that for themselves to use in self-defense should the need ever arise.
Catcher’s wolf rested his head over Salem’s neck and growled.
Wolves were always asserting dominance to reinforce the social hierarchy.
Salem and Catcher were ranked close, but with Shifters, the only wolves that truly mattered were top and bottom.
Sometimes the omega was simply a weak wolf, but occasionally it meant the human side of them had done something to offend the Packmaster.
It didn’t always have a negative connotation.
If the pack saw them as the weakest, they were offered more protection.
Normally, Mercy might be the omega wolf since her animal was meek and shy, but because of her fierce personality in human form, that moved her up.
For the moment, it was Joy. She had a docile animal and was also a new mother.
Salem didn’t care either way, but he let his animal tussle with Catcher for a while until the two parted ways.
He thought about when Quinn lovingly stroked his face, so fearless and unabashedly affectionate. Approaching a Shifter in animal form without invitation was dangerous, but as a Sensor, she could undoubtedly know from first touch if a man or animal was any threat to her.