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 hear it.”
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 powerful healer.
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 she spoke.
“So that’s it.” Cindy folded her hands in her lap and watched Costin.
“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 the information.
“Yes.”
“Why couldn’t you do anything with your own magic? You said you’re a healer for your species.”
“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 flooding back.”
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 have you.”
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 fall apart.
“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 a grandson!”
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 like it.”
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 exact words.
“You only spoke to him for five minutes, Mom,” Sally pointed out.
Cindy shrugged. “He’s so amazing that, in just five minutes, I could tell.”
“Can’t argue with her logic, beautiful,” Costin said. “She’s right, and you know it.”
Sally nodded. “Too true. Hey, Mom, when you next see Jen, please point out to her that our son is the most amazing child to ever grace the planet.”
“Yes.” Costin laughed. “Please do.”
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 his touch.
“Am I smothering you?” he asked, unsure he would be able to stop himself even if she said yes.
“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, smother away.”
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’s mind.
Cindy was sitting at 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 whole truth.
“Costin,” she said, giving him a small nod.
He returned the action and smiled. “I see you were expecting me.”
“You’re protective of my daughter. That is a very good thing, but it can also be annoying.”
He shrugged his shoulders, the motion looking lazy and nonchalant. “She was your 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 whole truth.”
After several minutes of silence, she asked him, “Do you feel the darkness in her
He nodded.
“I saw it. I heard it. It’s not simply her own conscience causing the pain, guilt, and anguish. The darkness growing in her is magic fed. The Order still has its claws in her.”
Costin growled. His eyes began to glow, and Cindy fought the urge to scoot away from the table. Never run from a predator, unless you felt like being prey. She held her ground.
“How do you know?” he finally asked.
“I recognized the essence of the magic.”
His head tilted in a very wolf-like gesture. “How could you even possibly know anything about the Order’s magic?”
Cindy refused to fidget under his scrutiny. She’d done nothing wrong. Her parents were the ones to blame for joining the Order. She’d simply been a helpless bystander as a child. “My parents were members of the Order,” she said simply.
“Were?”
“They’re dead now. But I grew up going to meetings. I’ve been around them before. That’s how I know. It’s not something I like to remember, and I never once desired to follow in my parents’ footsteps. As soon as I was old enough to go out on my own, I left.”
“Bet that didn’t go over very well,” he said.
“No, they weren’t happy. But I kept to myself for a long time in my own realm. Our queen wanted nothing to do with the Order, so I was sheltered there. I’ve remained off of their radar my whole life until recently. A while ago they called me and requested a meeting. I turned them down, of course. Nothing has happened yet, but I assume there will be some backlash for my refusal.”