[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Another ability she was cursed to hide. Those
damn animals just wouldn t stay away and she
could so easily reach out and see what they were
after. Her father said it came from her mother s
side of the family. A side she knew even less about
than her father s.
141
Courtney Breazile
Thoughts of her mother left her strangely
empty, as they always did. It was as if there was a
big emotional vacuum where thoughts of her
mother were held. It was a cold place, a place Ever
often went to when she needed the extra strength
to get through a situation without emotional
involvement. It came in quite handy when she was
dealing with customers who wanted to haggle.
She never went to that place when dealing with
Suzie though. She gave her whole self, well as
much as possible, to Suzie.  I ran into someone
today who knew my father, Ever confessed
quietly.
 What!
 Yeah, this guy came into the shop after you
left, said he knew my father years ago. Wants to
meet up with me for lunch tomorrow and talk
about him, reminisce I guess.
Suzie planted a kiss on the top of her head, then
went back in the kitchen, banging around as she
drained pasta.  Wow! That is weird. Your dad has
been dead for what? Six years? And this guy just
shows up out of nowhere. What do you think
that s all about?
 I don t know, but I intend to find out. I won t
miss an opportunity to find out more about my
father and I feel safe enough. He s going to meet
me at the shop.
 How did he even find you to begin with?
142
Mating Call
 I don t know. Ever did know, the man was a
warlock, just as her father had been. She had
known it the moment the man entered the shop
immortals couldn t fool each other about what
they were, a good thing usually. Tracking her
would have been easy for him if he knew to look
in Reno. Her scent and magical trails would be all
over the city like residue, another witch or
warlock would pick up on it easy enough.
Wraith was his name and he was not only
going to tell her about her father, he had promised
to pick up her teaching where her father had left
off, if she wanted, and she did. Ever wouldn t turn
down an opportunity to learn more about her
abilities, not in a million years. Of course, she
didn t completely trust the guy, not yet. She
would see a little more of what he was about
before committing to anything.
 Dinner is served, Suzie proclaimed and with
a flourish as she set the pot of pasta on their small
table.  Hot and meaty, just the way you like it.
 Thank you, it smells delicious. Ever stood to
help Suzie finish setting the table. She laid out the
plates and napkins, all perfectly matched and
perfectly square on the table. She had always been
a bit of a neat freak, liked things to be just so.
Luckily Suzie had never seemed to mind, not like
her father had.
She never was able to figure out why her need
143
Courtney Breazile
for perfection bothered him so, and he never
outwardly mentioned it. It was just in the way he
watched her when she arranged things to be
perfectly straight and in even rows, how she threw
out extras rather than have a mismatched pair. He
watched with a hooded expression, but made no
comment. Every once in a while she would catch
him in the act of deliberate mess making, then she
would draw on every bit of strength to not fix
what he had done, as if it were his way of testing
her. Seeing how deep her insanity ran.
He loved her, she knew that. But he was gone
and had left her to fend for herself in a world full
of humans, so perhaps trusting another immortal,
trusting Wraith, wasn t a bad idea. Her father had
instructed her to trust none of them, that the
immortals were eager to use and abuse each other.
She didn t doubt it, never had, but what other
option did she have but to use one of her own to
gain as well? She needed to learn and she needed
to learn now.
As she ate, she pondered the possibility that
Wraith was what her father had been talking
about when he said to wait in Reno. Perhaps
Wraith was the one who was meant to find her.
She had always secretly harbored the hope that it
would be her mother, an Animal Elf that would
find her. Of course, she knew that was a stupid
childhood dream. Her mother had left them, left
144
Mating Call
because Ever was born of another species, and so
why would she come back now?
 Well there is the Ever I have grown to know
and love, Suzie commented, mimicking Ever s
scowl on her own face.
 Oh sorry, just thinking, you know how that
always brings me down.
 Oh yes, a terrible thing, thinking. Well since
you devoured your dinner while you were
brooding, how about some desert? I picked up
some peach pie today and whip cream if you
would rather have desert in the bedroom.
Ever s mind switched gears quickly and
thoughts of taking Suzie to bed made her
fingertips tingle as they always seemed to when
she was aroused.  I like the sound of that. Let s
just clean this mess up first so we don t wake up
to the smell of leftovers in the morning.
 And you wouldn t be my Ever if you didn t
think about that first. Suzie dropped a quick kiss
on Ever s mouth, then started clearing the table.
Ever picked up her plate and as she turned
from the table, her entire being was assaulted by
an undeniable knowledge. There was a werewolf
out there and it was looking for her.
This was not good. Werewolves were extremely
dangerous creatures. Is it a full moon? She rushed [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]