Chapter 16
Score one for the good guys! Cecilia grinned as both parents hugged their normal-looking child. It was a beautiful moment made even more striking because Cecilia couldn’t help but imagine holding her own child someday. One who had Hank’s quiet strength and Cecilia’s smart mouth. The kid didn’t even have to be magical. She just wanted the whole idea of it.
Up until now, kids had been a someday kind of thing. Sure she wanted a family that shared makeup tips and teased about mathlete boyfriends but it hadn’t been high on her priority list. Not until Hank had started talking about babies. Suddenly she was thinking about children in a very real, very present way. And with a man she hadn’t even known yesterday morning. Was it possible? Did she want it?
Yes, absolutely, but maybe just not this exact second.
In her confusion, she turned to Hank. She wanted to see what he thought of the beautiful scene still playing out in front of them. But when she saw his face, she immediately sobered. He was worried. She saw it in the narrowing of his brows and the tight cast to his shoulders.
“Hank?”
He looked at her, and his gaze immediately cleared. No worry. Just warm brown eyes and a mouth that—
“Why am I in the hospital?” Brittany asked, her words becoming sharper as her body continued to clear out the drugs.
Cecilia’s gaze jerked back to the family scene. Oh hell. Brittany had woken up enough to ask questions. And from there, it was a short step to remembering which could lead them right back to panic. Obviously, the parents knew that as well.
“Honey—” her father began, his voice tentative, but his daughter was there before him.
“My arms!” she cried as she lifted them and spread her fingers. “My hands! They were…” She frowned as she moved them every which way. “I thought…”
Her mother started speaking, low and urgent. “Brit, you need to listen to me, okay?”
“Keep her calm,” Hank instructed. “Show her what she looks like.”
“Everything’s fine,” her father said clearly.
“I’ve got a mirror in my purse,” Abby said as she rolled out of the bed and started rooting around in a large designer purse. It sat in the corner with her luggage, probably because she’d come right from the airport to here. “Here you go,” she said as she pulled out a compact and flicked it open.
Brittany grabbed it, using it in the way of most teenage girls, efficiently moving it around to look at her face, her hair, her entire body with narrow-eyed intensity. “My hair is awful.”
“But look at your complexion, Brit. It’s all peaches and cream.” Abby’s tone was warm, but Cecilia could hear the notes of strain underneath.
Her daughter used the mirror to inspect her face in minute detail. “It is nice,” she murmured. “What have they been feeding me in here? Look at that. I don’t even need a facial.”
Abby chuckled at that, but there was still that nervous tone, and this time, Brittany was awake enough to notice it. She took a deep breath, her gaze still in the mirror, and then she slowly set the compact down. She looked at her parents first, then at Cecilia, and finally at Hank. She took her time at it, and everyone waited until she seemed ready. Then she folded her hands in her lap and looked right at her father.
“Okay, Daddy. What’s going on?”
“It’s all good news, honey. You’ve had the Detroit Flu, but look at you now. You’re all better.” He made a gesture at the monitor. “No fever, great blood pressure, and…” He grinned at her. “Well, I don’t know what the other stuff means, but you’re fine now. Look, you’re great!”
Brittany relaxed at that, but her smile was still careful as she turned to her mother. “So why do you look so scared?”
Abby took a deep breath. “Well Brit, it’s because I have to tell you something. Something about Grandma Teak and, um, me. And now, about you.”
Brittany’s gaze went to Cecilia. “I remember you. Dr. Lu, right?”
“Yes—”
“But what about him?” Her gaze pinned Hank with a steady, no-nonsense glare. “Who are you?”
“Hank’s here to help explain things. After your mother does.”
Then everyone’s gaze went right back to Abby. She was clearly nervous, but in the end, she took a deep breath and spoke. “Well, honey, you know what werewolves are, right?”
Brittany snorted. “Sure.”
“What if…well, what if I told you that your grandmother is a shifter, too? But instead of being a werewolf, she changes into a bear?”
