“Can you?” I crossed my arms, still fighting the urge to shift.
“She isn’t good enough for you. You deserve better, but you were too blind to see the truth that was right in front of you.”
“Oh, I deserve better, do I? And who would be a better option?” I pretended to mull it over. “It wouldn’t be you, would it?”
“You’d have to be blind to not realize we are meant for each other.” She licked her lips.
“You have to be blind to not realize I’m in love with someone else.” My dad’s warning ran through me, but she needed to hear this. She needed to get over any delusion that we’d be together. Even if I’d ever had interest, which I didn’t, she’d have killed it by sabotaging things with Casey. The act spoke volumes about the person, or rather witch, she was.
“I was only trying to protect you.”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?”
“No, of course not.” She stood up without bothering to adjust her skirt. I averted my eyes. I had no desire to look at her exposed skin.
“You didn’t do that for me. You did it for you.”
“Toby, I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry if I mistakenly led you on. I know what it’s like to want someone you can’t have, but that still doesn’t excuse what you did.”
“How can I fix things? How can I make this better?” She actually looked like she might cry.
“You’re going to help me without asking questions.” I needed to get some good out of the mess she’d created with my life. I couldn’t go back and change what happened with Casey in New Orleans, but I could make sure I kept her safe.
“I always help you.”
“This is different. This is going to involve breaking some rules.”
She smiled. “I like breaking rules.”
“I know. And if you want to date a Pteron so badly, why not try Tim? He has a thing for you.”
“Really?” Her excitement at the mention of my cousin’s name gave me the confirmation I needed. She wasn’t that into me. She just wanted to date someone in power. She wasn’t the first.
“Go home, Nelly. I’ll let you know when you’re needed.”
“Thank you. I won’t let you down.”
“You better not.” I turned and walked out of the office. I hoped I wasn’t making a mistake. I didn’t want to keep Nelly around, but I was going to need a witch. And finding a witch who would keep her mouth shut wasn’t easy to come by.
With Nelly on board, I needed to track down Eric.
***
I checked the number on the apartment before knocking. No one answered at first, so I pounded again.
“What the fuc—” Eric yanked open his door. “Oh. It’s you.”
“We need to talk.” I was all business even though I wanted to laugh at catching the bear drinking some tropical drink. He didn’t strike me as the type.
“And we need to do it now?”
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
“Only marginally.” He held open the door so I could enter. He checked the hallway before closing the door behind us then set his drink down on a side table.
“Afraid you’re being watched?” I glanced around the sparsely furnished apartment. Nothing in the place would let on that it was inhabited by a bear except for the Urusus symbol that hung over the mantle. The bears were a sentimental group.
“I know I’m being watched as are you.”
I shrugged. “Nothing we can do about that. Are you bugged here?”
“No.” He nodded yes. Nice one. Maybe Eric was sharper than I gave him credit for.
“Oh. Good. I really need to discuss the atlas deal with you.”
He pointed to his coffee maker and nodded again. I knew what he was getting at. “What’s there to discuss? We’re not doing it.”
Despite my frustration with having to regroup, there was something fun about a random code conversation. It made me feel like I was undercover. “That’s too bad. We’ll find someone else then.”
“I guess so.”
I headed to the door. “You’re going to regret this.”
“No, I don’t think I will.”
I left Eric’s apartment and walked around for a while. I figured I’d give him a chance to get there first. Eventually, I made my way to the back entrance of Coffee Heaven. I knocked twice, and he pulled open the door. We both checked the alley before I closed the door behind me.
He didn’t bother to turn on the lights as I followed him into the main café.
“At least you were smart enough to figure this out.” Eric didn’t waste any time before insulting me. I didn’t mind. Bears and Pterons weren’t supposed to like each other more than necessary.
“Impressive, huh?”
He pulled down two chairs. They slammed onto the tiled floor. So much for being incognito. “How did it go? How’s she doing? She hasn’t said a word to me.”
I was right about her only coming to me for advice. I liked it. “She’s okay. Just freaked out and confused.”
“What’s she going to do?” Eric paced the dark room nervously. Why’d he bother taking down the chairs if he wasn’t going to use one?
I took a seat. Maybe he’d calm down that way. His pacing was making me nervous. “I called Allie… we’re bringing the Laurents in.”
“Are you sure that’s the best idea?” Eric started sweating. Did he care enough about Casey to worry, or was he just worried about getting in trouble?
“We need to find answers. There’s nowhere else we’re going to get them.”
“That’s not true.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right. You could start giving us some.”
Eric looked away. “You could try the cousin.”
“Which? The one Casey lives with?” I hadn’t met the guy, but she told me he was doing research in Russia or something.
“Yeah. Rhett. I get the feeling he’s hiding something.”
Rhett wasn’t the only one hiding something. “Talk. What don’t I know?”
“It’s a good thing you’re sitting down for this.”
“What?”
“It’s crazy.” He finally sat down.
“Okay. What is it?” I shifted in my chair.
“Casey might not be pure Pteron.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean her mother, or at least the woman who raised her, who I’d assume is her birth mother…”
My blood froze. “What about her mother?”
“She’s a—”
“Wait.” I strained to hear. I knew there was someone or something outside. I was out of my seat in seconds. It was half a second later that I made contact with a body coming out of the back room.
“Casey?!” I gasped as I realized I was currently digging my hands into Casey’s bare arms. I released her.
She glared at me. “And here I thought I could trust you.”
“You can trust me.”
“I can trust you to hold secret meetings about me… or wait, was it another Pteron you were talking about?”
Eric shook his head. “Calm down, Bates. We’re just trying to help you.”
“Help me? Helping me involves keeping me in the loop.”
“What are you doing here, anyway?” Eric tried to deflect the questions from us.
“I forgot my phone here after work. I came back for it.”
“Why didn’t you just call, I’d have—” He smiled. “Wait. You couldn’t call without your phone.”
“Exactly. Now answer me. Why were you guys talking about me behind my back? Eric, I expect this from you, but Toby? I trusted you.”
I took her hands, glad when she didn’t pull away. “And you can trust me.” She needed to believe me. I wasn’t losing her again. “I didn’t want to worry you if I didn’t have to.” I knew that wasn’t a good enough excuse, but it was the truth.
“What were you going to say Eric? What is my mother? I can’t wait to hear this.”
“Are you sure you want
to know?”
“Is she a dragon? Maybe a sorceress?”
“She’s a bear.”
“A bear?” Casey choked and stumbled slightly. I caught her, glad when she didn’t immediately pull away.
“Fuck.” The curse slipped out. A bear? Things were complicated enough when I thought her mom was human. But being half bear took complicated to a whole new level. And if the mom was a bear, did that mean Rhett was too? Suddenly, questioning the cousin moved up on my to-do list.
“Exactly.” Eric leaned back in his chair.
“Is she really my mom?” Casey leaned into me slightly. “Like, by blood?”
Eric shrugged. “From what I know, but I can’t be positive.”
“And Vera?”
Eric sighed. “I don’t have any more answers. All I know is your mom is a bear and she wanted my uncle and me to look out for you when you moved into the city.”
“That explains the job.”
“Yeah…”
“I don’t even know what to think.” Casey wrung her hands.
“Want me to walk you home?” I wanted more info from Eric, but more than that, I wanted to take care of Casey. Finding out she was a Pteron was one thing, discovering she was likely part bear was just icing on the cake.
She nodded and headed toward the door. “And I thought meeting my new grandmother was weird.”
“You met Georgina?” I’d met the former queen when Allie was on death’s door earlier that year. To call her intimidating was an understatement. At the same time, she also struck me as someone incredibly protective of her family. I only hoped she viewed Casey as family and not an unpleasant mistake.
“Good night, Eric,” Casey whispered as I led her outside. “I won’t be at work for the next few days.”
“Why not?”
“I’m doing a shopping day with Georgina and then we’re going to New Orleans.” She stepped through the doorway and headed out into the night.
I followed and caught her hand. “You okay?”
“As okay as I can be.”
“When do you leave for New Orleans? And a shopping day? When did you meet Georgina? What else is going on?”
She laughed. “Where do I start? That’s a lot of questions.”
“Start anywhere.”
“Georgina and Allie showed up at my apartment. We went shopping once already, but evidently that isn’t enough. I barely convinced Georgina to let me go to work this afternoon. She had someone tail me. I’m sure he’s out here somewhere. We go down to New Orleans late tomorrow. She wants to show me “my city” and some other things.”
“Fun.” I smiled. I couldn’t picture Casey shopping with Georgina and Allie, but I’m sure it would be quite the experience. I didn’t mention that even before Georgina arrived she had someone tailing her. “Oh. Well, if you want to come back and hang out at my place…”
She didn’t hesitate with her answer. “No, thanks.”
“Fair enough, but call me if you need anything.” There were so many things I wanted to say, but I sensed she didn’t want to talk. I could give her the silence she wanted. I’d give her more than that. I’d get her answers.
Chapter Six
Jared
My life was starting to feel like a series of fuck ups, and I could blame it all on letting my emotions get the best of me. It was humiliating. I trained my whole life to have the ability to close off my feelings, yet I’d let them throw me off not just once, but twice. The first time with Bryant at Angola prison was bad enough, but Casey? Did I really have to go and have crazy sex with a Pteron? The worst part was that I enjoyed it—a lot, and some part of me wanted it to happen again even though I knew it couldn’t. I couldn’t want it. I couldn’t want her.
I ran another few miles. I’d already lifted, and was nearly out of ideas of how to get rid of the stress. I needed to get my head straight and get back in the game. If I didn’t, my job was gone. I wasn’t going to let Levi down again.
“Trying to win a race?” Owen caught up with me. I’d been so wrapped up in my pity party I hadn’t noticed his approach. I really was losing it.
“No, I’m trying to get away from your mother.”
“Real original.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not feeling particularly creative at the moment.” I slowed down slightly.
“Get off it, man. So you slept with a Pteron. It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal? And I didn’t just sleep with her. I lost count of how many times we went.”
Owen laughed. I wanted to smack him. “She hadn’t transformed yet, had she?”
I sped up my pace. “No. Not if she’s telling the truth.”
“Then get over it. She wasn’t even a real Pteron yet.”
“Yes, she was. You’re born a Pteron. You don’t have to shift to become one.”
“I give up, man. Just let it go. Or don’t. If you like the girl—”
I stopped short. “What? Are you suggesting I knowingly hook up with a Pteron?”
“It’s not like you want to mate with her. And even if you did… it’s been known to happen.”
“Shut up. Just shut up. It’s never happening again.” My body rebelled at my words. It begged to be touched by her again, to explore her—no. I couldn’t go there.
“Fine. Are you going to do the research Levi asked you to do?”
“Find her mom? Yeah, of course I will. It’s my job.” Owen may have been my friend, but I wasn’t letting him see any weakness. He was more loyal to Levi than he’d ever be to me.
Chapter Seven
Casey
“When would I ever wear that?” I held up the flimsy blue fabric Allie handed me. I hated looking a gift horse in the mouth, but I wasn’t the kind of girl who needed lots of clothes—especially not lingerie. I was a cotton panties and bras kind of girl…usually.
“Hailey said you’d need lots of tight cami’s and stuff.”
“I’m sure I can find something better. This isn’t my kind of place.” I knew she was right though. I’d been all about flying with Toby until I realized I had nothing to wear. We had to go by my place just to find a tank top. I needed to start traveling prepared. It was tricky to find tops that provided enough coverage yet still left room for wings. Guys had it easy. They just went shirtless.
Allie laughed. “Not into shopping for lingerie?”
“No. Not exactly.” Especially not with my new grandma. I spared Allie from listening to me expand on my dislike. Allie had been nothing but friendly and helpful. She didn’t deserve to listen to my complaints.
Georgina finally left us alone. She’d been nice to me, but talk about overbearing. She’d already purchased a new wardrobe for me in less than two hours. We’d moved on to underwear and bras when she decided to take a call. I was glad. If she tried to make me buy thongs, I probably would have passed out. I also realized she was probably trying to keep me busy. I don’t know what kind of research she was doing, but I could tell she was the kind of woman who made sure to get her facts right.
“I never thought much about lingerie, but now I do.” She looked away with a tiny smile.
I nodded. “Yeah… Levi.”
“Oh. Sorry. I guess he’s your brother so….”
“That still seems weird. None of this really makes sense.”
“Maybe not, but it is cool.” She started sorting through some red panties. The girl was into red.
“Cool?”
“Yeah. You’re a Pteron. You’re strong, fast, and can fly. That’s incredible.” She didn’t need to lower her voice. Georgina had gotten the boutique to close to the public, the same thing she’d done with every other store we’d gone to. The only employee working had gone into the back of the store.
I smiled. “When you put it that way…”
“What other way is there to put it? I mean, why focus on the bad?”
“Have you always been this optimistic about things?”
She laughed. “Not exactly. I guess Levi
’s rubbing off on me.”
“Are you excited to get married?”
She hesitated for a moment. “Yes and no.”
“Oh?”
“Okay, let’s rephrase that. I’m excited to be married, but not about the wedding. Does that make sense?”
“You don’t want all the hoopla and planning.”
“Exactly. My mom and Levi’s mom are doing most of it, but it just seems like such overkill since Levi and I are already bound.”
“Do your parents know?” I still wasn’t sure of the rules about sharing Pteron secrets. I also tried to ignore the pit in my stomach created by the mention of Levi’s mom. My existence couldn’t have come as a nice surprise to her. If it was even a surprise at all. Did she know about me? Did Robert?
Allie knew exactly what I meant. “No. I get the feeling that my mom knows something is different about the Laurents, but my dad hasn’t noticed. He’s just glad I’m marrying into a ‘good’ family.”
“‘Good’ as in money?”
“Yeah. His business has been in much better shape lately.”
“I see. It’s cool that you don’t view it that way.”
“Money is great and all, but it can’t buy you happiness.”
“It can buy you a lot.” I glanced at the shopping bags lining the wall of the boutique.
“Sorry. I guess that probably came out wrong.”
“No. I get it. I’m used to having wealthy friends.”
“Well, now you can count yourself as one of them.”
“Not really. I mean, Georgina’s spoiling me, but it doesn’t mean I have money or anything. I can’t even pay tuition.”
“Yes, it does.” Allie walked over to the counter with a pile of red. “Trust me. You’ll be well taken care of. The Laurents know how to treat family.”
The financial aspect of my new identity wasn’t one I’d thought about yet. Still, as good as having some resources sounded, I knew nothing came without strings. They were going to want something from me in return. I was still wondering what the clothes would really cost me.
“You need to pick something out. Georgina is going to flip if you don’t have at least one bag from each store.”
“Oh.” I hastily picked up a few camis with matching panties. Even if they were ridiculously over priced, at least they looked cute and fairly comfortable.
Search (The Empire Chronicles #2) Page 4