“Yeah, soon after Tippy left.” In the kitchen, I sink onto a chair and watch as she pours the tea into two mugs.
“Checking in on you like a good brother should.”
She gives a grunt as she hands me a mug. “Being his usual annoying self, refusing to tell me much.”
She’s watching my face as if for a reaction. I just nod, uncertain what to say. “And then when Jax left, Sammy called me…”
“Yeah?” I brace for what I know is coming.
“She said she and Arlo are going to live with a wolf pack on level three.”
“Right.”
She glances at me “Youknew?”
“I knew it was on the cards.”
“But that really scares me. I mean, what if the wolves hurt Sammy and the youngling?”
I thin my lips. “They won’t.”
“How can you be so sure? Tippy said it was wolves who killed your dad, Otis.”
I stare at her, taken off balance.
“Is that true?” she presses.
“In an unfortunate accident, yes. But wolf packs are complicated. It’s difficult to explain…” My words trail off and her lips turn down. “You’re trying to fob me off too. That doesn’t work with me, Otis. I’m the kind of girl who likes to be in control.”
My mind inappropriately conjures up an image of Clem in her pink bikini and black, high-heeled, thigh-length boots, standing over me with a whip. I shut it down quick smart before the image reaches my dick.
She picks up her cup of tea and takes a sip. I do the same, and we drink in awkward silence for a moment before she bursts out, “I mean, I’m happy to help organize recipes for cakes and butter cookies and put all those weird equations into files, but I don’t like being kept in the dark.” Her lips quirk. “Didn’t mean to make a pun, but you know what I mean…”
I huff out a dry laugh. “Fair enough.” Of course she wants to know the full story, but some of it is highly sensitive information, especially about Jax. If he hasn’t chosen to tell her yet, it’s not my place to be the messenger. And yet, Clem has a right to know more— about Jax, and about the Labyrinth.
I try to find a compromise. “Look, I have to take the portal cape back to the Vault. Why don’t you come with me? If Silas is there, he can tell you some of the back story of the Labyrinth.”
“Who’s Silas?”
“He’s the curator of the Vault, and an archaeologist.”
Her frown is replaced by a smile. “I’d really like that. I’ll go and change into a skirt.”
“You look good as you are.”Way, way too good.
She shakes her head. “I always wore a skirt and blouse to work at DeVines. If I’m going somewhere important, I want to look professional.”
“Sure, if it makes you feel more comfortable, do it.”
She puts down her cup and jumps up from the table. “Back in a minute,” she says and skips out.
I get up, amble over to the sink and wash the cups, and in barely any time, she’s back.
“How do I look?”
I turn and gawk at her, dressed now in a pale pink blouse and black skirt that skims just above her knees.
She’s wearing high-heeled pumps that make her slender thighs even more shapely. Her pert little tits strain at the buttons of the blouse.
