Sitting next to Nicole, for the first time ever I didn’t pay much attention to the instructor. Whispering, I asked questions freely, but failed to uncover anything more than what she’d already shared. She had been hit on quite a bit after the Halloween party, which she attributed to the costume. She planned to reuse since it had been such a hit. Since it wasn’t a bad costume, I didn’t dissuade her of the idea. Better to think it was the costume than a freak friend passing some kind of power to you.
I smiled and waved goodbye to her at the end of the class. People pushed past me en mass to leave. I watched them go dreading the walk back to the car. With my pull gone, thanks to Luke and two strangers, I could safely ask someone for a piggyback ride. I’d seen it happen before. Somehow, I just couldn’t picture explaining to Clay why I smelled like another guy.
Rachel and Clay-the-man stood in the kitchen together making an early dinner. I hesitated in the doorway, surprised since Rachel typically spent her free time with Peter or worked. And Clay tended to stay in his fur when she did stay home.
Rachel paused her one sided conversation to wink at me. I glanced at Clay and closed the door. He remained focused on the food in the pan he stirred.
I stepped further into the room and Rachel walked past me on her way to get silverware. “You didn’t tell me he could cook,” Rachel stage whispered.
Giving her a crooked smile, I made my way to a kitchen chair, exhausted. “He cooks, he cleans, he warms up my feet at night, and keeps the toilet seat down… so hands off. He’s mine.”
Rachel laughed and Clay turned to give me an undecipherable look. I had a feeling he liked the ‘mine’ part.
“How you feeling?” Rachel asked coming over to touch my forehead. “I asked Clay, but he didn’t say.” Rachel gave a pointed look at Clay who shrugged and went back to cooking at the stove.
“Not the best, but it’s getting better. I think it’s mental exhaustion, nothing contagious.”
“Mm,” she said in a noncommittal way and eyed me speculatively. “I still think you should go to the doctor. Could it be something you didn’t think of yet…?” She casually leaned close to me and whispered, “Pregnant?”
Clay dropped the spoon. It hit the stove and bounced back at him, which he caught tight after a close fumble. Both Rachel and I stared at his back, but with dignity, he stayed facing the stove and kept cooking.
I turned back to Rachel with a wide smile, “No. Now behave.”
We ate dinner companionably, after which they shoved me out of the kitchen with orders to rest while they cleaned up. I went to my room and changed into my lounge clothes while listening to Rachel tell Clay about a cute pair of shoes she’d found. It made me smile. She would never break him. He’d never talk.
Dinner had been delicious, but drained my reserves. I laid on top the comforter thinking I’d rest for a bit before tackling that day’s homework. I still needed to talk to Clay about what I’d seen in the woods.
Sunlight pierced my eyes, waking me. I no longer sprawled sideways on the bed on top the comforter, but rather tucked snugly underneath it. Clay sat up in the space next to me, pillows stacked behind him reading a book. His posture didn’t fool me. He really sat there to watch over me while I slept. I knew with an unexplainable certainty that he would never leave me again.
“Good morning,” I said pulling the covers up to my chin. Thanks to Rachel the heat miser, the room felt cool and I enjoyed lower rent.
Clay closed his book as soon as I woke and turned to examine me. “I wanted to talk to you, but keep falling asleep. If I do it again, wake me up.” I smiled at him when he pulled me close snuggle against him. It was much warmer that way.
“During the Introduction when I said my head hurt, I saw a man step away from the line. I know how your kind views Introductions. It didn’t seem right so I did a quick scan. Hurt like hell, but I saw that the guy leaving had the same color light as Elder Joshua and the wolf that’d attacked us. I thought maybe it could be the same guy… that he needed to leave because you’d recognize his scent… but then I saw three more, further away. Something’s going on, but I can’t figure out what.
“I know you didn’t stay with the pack full-time, but did you ever notice any of them acting different?”
He shook his head actually giving me a direct answer. It should have made me happy. Instead, I sighed. I still didn’t have a clue.
He gently stroked my hair as I thought it through. “If only I could trust Sam. If I could ask him questions about Elder Joshua without him repeating them, I might be able to figure this thing out.”
Maybe if I stopped thinking about it so much, the answer would just come to me.
Sam called my cell the following weekend. I’d expected his call much sooner. He surprised me further by asking if I’d come back to the compound over the long holiday break weekend. I hedged. Did he want me to return so he could arrange another Introduction?