Jasper steps all the way into the room, face a tight mask of anger, but I’m confident it’s not at me.
“Come home, or you’ll find out just how dangerous I can be, Loretta.”
I move closer to Jasper, grip his hand, and use that one powerful little word like it’s some kind of spell. “No.”
Chapter Seven: Jasper
I’m so proud of Loretta. My mate. I probably shouldn’t have kept poking my head in, but she isn’t mad at me. She’s been holding my hand or staying next to me, painfully close to me, for the whole day.
And what a day.
The phone call ended after her final decision, one that I was so afraid she wouldn’t make. But Loretta said no and hung up, then asked if I would lead the way to the police station.
At the police station, Ardy Walsh took one look at me with the baby carrier over my arm, one look at Loretta next to me, and his face showed me that he knew everything.
That’s the trouble with living in a community of magical types. On the other hand, my Pooka police officer pal moved with supernatural speed to take Loretta’s story, and he even called in his brother-in-law, the lawyer and warlock, Alban Wymark, to come over and start prepping her divorce papers at the same time.
He gave the three of us the same look Ardy had, and you could see it written on his face. “Family.”
Yeah. This is my family, and someone got to it first and beat it up.
It was all I could do not to snarl, but I kept a calm, steady mask on all day. Loretta was numb. Overwhelmed.
My little mate needed a rock to lean on and someone to keep the baby busy.
I was so honored she trusted me with Ari. There was an awful moment when Ardy cleared his throat and said he would need her to put on a disposable gown or wrap in a sheet so he could get photos of the bruises. The police department, which has four officers, doesn’t have any females on staff, but with another quick phone call, Rhea Finklestein, freelance photographer and wife of our local mechanic, raced over and did her best to put Loretta at ease and get the pictures we needed while Alban, Ardy, and I waited outside, whispering and pacing.
“That’s your future in there, huh?” Ardy whispered.
“Shh. Yes.”
Alban nodded. “I like her.”
“Me, too,” Ardy agreed.
“It won’t happen for years, probably. But good things come to those who wait.”
I got lots of back thumping in solidarity, and we all cooed over the baby.
Then Rhea popped out, and a relieved-looking Loretta followed her. “Loretta’s good to go. Ardy, come on, and we’ll transfer the photos to wherever they’re supposed to go.”
Rhea gave Loretta her number before she left the station. She fawned over the baby, too. (They’re trying to adopt.)
Loretta smiled for the first time in hours. She’s so brave. And I think she made her first friend in Pine Ridge. Well, her second. I’m her friend. I can wait as long as it takes to be anything more.
“I NEED TO TAKE ANOTHERshower. I feel icky,” Loretta mutters when we get back to the house at the end of the day.
“I’ll keep Ari entertained.” It’s a no-brainer. This little girl knows it. Maybe I’m fooling myself, but she snuggles up on me, and she smiles and gurgles. I changed three diapers today, and we now have our own song, The Poopy Soupy Spider, that isaccompanied by truly gross sound effects that make her giggle hysterically.
“You’re so good with her. Even Matt isn’t—never mind. You’re amazing. I cannot thank you enough. I don’t know if you’re really a guardian angel, sent down to save damsels in distress from real-life monsters, but I think you’re miraculous.” Loretta gives me a weary smile, and my heart dances.
It also trips and falls.
Real monsters.
Like werewolves? I’m supposed to keep her out of danger, and in four days, I’ll be a killer in a padded room. Contrary to mythology, we’re not mindless beasts, but we’re not ourselves. There are a few other werewolves in Pine Ridge, and I know at least one of them, Leo Roscommon, is sentient and able to communicate somewhat in his form. Only with his mate, who is a witch.
I don’t know what will happen with Loretta and me. I think the best course of action is not to let her find out for several years at least. And that’s making me wince like I have kidney stones.
