Costin agreed. Standing naked in the woods with his mate and his mother-in-law wasn’t his idea of a good time. Now, if Cindy wanted to leave them alone, well…. “Ouch.” He stepped back from Sally. “What was thatfor?”
“You know exactly what it was for, you pervert.”There was a smile hidden beneath her annoyance. She’d been listening in on his thoughts. He liked it when she did that. It was an intimacy that couldn’t be explained, and it was incrediblyspecial.
He followed her to the car. When she tried to climb into the front seat, he gently pulled her back, closed the front door, opened the rear door, and ushered her in. He climbed in beside her and leaned his head back against the seat. “Let’s hearit.”
The return drive was short, so Costin didn’t get the full story, but he’d gotten enough to read between the lines. His mate was a mixture of two supernatural beings. It was no wonder she was such a powerfulhealer.
They parked and went inside, agreeing to meet after Costin donned some clothes. Once he was dressed, they met in the living room where Cindy picked up where she’d left off. Chris joined them, and Costin had to admire the man’s ability to handle the abnormal events of his life. He was human, his wife a sprite, and his daughter was a mixture of two races. Chris just sat there glancing at Sally adoringly every so often and rubbing his wife’s back as shespoke.
“So that’s it.” Cindy folded her hands in her lap and watchedCostin.
“And now you need your luminous sprite cousins to take a look inside my mate?” he asked for clarification purposes. There was something Cindy wasn’t saying, and he wasn’t about to let another supernatural being near his mate unless he knew all theinformation.
“Yes.”
“Why couldn’t you do anything with your own magic? You said you’re a healer for yourspecies.”
“I’m not all-powerful, Costin. Whatever magic the Order performed on her didn’t leave her unscathed once it was removed. The way she remembered everything, being shocked back into reality, may have caused some damage. Her mind, in a way, was split in two when she saw you in that bar, and her memories came floodingback.”
He felt Sally tense next to him on the couch, and he pulled her tightly against him.“I’ve got you, beautiful. I won’t let those memories haveyou.”
She gripped his hand tightly and gave him a subtle nod. She’d heard him, but Costin could tell she was fighting back tears. Sweet, tender Sally didn’t want her parents to see her fallapart.
“I’m going to request an audience with the forest sprite queen tomorrow. I’ll make my request, and hopefully, she will be willing to allow the luminous sprites to help,” Cindy said. Then she turned to her husband, and a huge smile spread across her face. “We have agrandson!”
Chris returned the smile and chuckled. “So it seems we do. Congratulations,” he said turning to look at them. “Apparently, even in the midst of darkness and pain, joy still finds a way to make itself known. The joy of a child, there’s nothing likeit.”
After the intense conversation, they called Titus to see how he was doing and even let him speak to Sally’s parents. By the time they hung up, Cindy had decided he was no doubt the most brilliant, handsome, incredible child to ever grace the planet. Those were her exactwords.
“You only spoke to him for five minutes, Mom,” Sally pointedout.
Cindy shrugged. “He’s so amazing that, in just five minutes, I couldtell.”
“Can’t argue with her logic, beautiful,” Costin said. “She’s right, and you knowit.”
Sally nodded. “Too true. Hey, Mom, when you next see Jen, please point out to her thatourson is the most amazing child to ever grace theplanet.”
“Yes.” Costin laughed. “Pleasedo.”
The rest of the day was spent with Costin and Sally lounging on the couch watching movies. He was lying on his side with her in front of him. His arm was wrapped around her waist and held her tightly to his chest. Every now and then he would kiss her neck, ear, or shoulder, hoping she would feel his love through histouch.
“Am I smothering you?” he asked, unsure he would be able to stop himself even if she saidyes.
“No. I need you just as much if not more,” she said. “With every touch, you disprove what my mind is telling me. You aren’t going anywhere. You still want me. You still love me. If that’s what someone else would consider smothering, then by all means, smotheraway.”
He smiled at her words, and his wolf settled at the sincerity they heard in her voice. He tried to set aside his worry about the things Cindy had told them. He was sure she wasn’t telling them everything and, in his experience, people who didn’t tell the whole truth either had an agenda or knew the whole truth was too terrible to face, like D-day terrible. He had no plans of letting those sprites near his mate until he knew exactly what Cindy had found in Sally’smind.
* * *
Cindy was sittingat the kitchen table waiting. She’d prepared herself a cup of coffee despite the late hour. She had no doubt her daughter’s mate would be coming to ask the questions she’d seen in his eyes that morning when they’d spoken. She’d heard that the Canis lupus had a good intuition and could even smell the scent of emotions. He’d probably smelled the lies coming off her like week-old fish. She hadn’t decided what she was going to tell him. But when he strode confidently into the room, she knew he wouldn’t be leaving until she’d given him the wholetruth.
“Costin,” she said, giving him a smallnod.
He returned the action and smiled. “I see you were expectingme.”
“You’re protective of my daughter. That is a very good thing, but it can also beannoying.”
He shrugged his shoulders, the motion looking lazy and nonchalant. “Shewasyour daughter, but now she is my mate. Leave and cleave were somewhere in those human vows we said. It is my job to always look out for her best interests. I can’t do that if I don’t know the truth, the wholetruth.”
