asked.
“Well think about it,” I said with a sigh, “if a guy came in every single day and just sat in the corner and ate a sandwich or picked at some fried fish or something, how long would that last? Half an hour, tops? But I can sit over in that same corner all day, every day, and just drink beer. Nobody questions the drunk. Pretty soon, he's part of the furniture. The Wolf pack said and did things in front of me that they never would have if I hadn't established myself as a boozer beforehand.”
“So it was all an act?” She was beginning to believe me, but I could see that she was still suspicious.
“Yes. I don't even like the taste of the shit. And even though you don't know me, I'm sure you can see in my eyes and hear in my voice that I’m hardly about to get drunk on the job. I want vengeance on the Wolf pack, and I'm not going to get inebriated and slow my reflexes for even an instant. My magic is stronger than that cheap swill, and I remained ready to exact my revenge.”
She threw me another dark gaze, but I could see a smile pulling at the corners of her lips at the same time. “Well,” Zoe said at last, “I guess that makes you slightly less of an idiot then.”
“Yeah?” I asked, smiling back.
“Only slightly. Don’t go nuts…”
“Fair enough,” I told her.
Why couldn't she be the one? She was perfect. Everything I’d ever looked for was right here in front of me, and now that she was with me it was killing me to know that I couldn't have her.
“What are you going to do with your life after you kill the Wolves?” she asked.
“There are always more Wolves.”
“Sounds like a waste.”
I shrugged. “There aren’t many Bears left. It's my job to do what I can to keep my people alive.”
I could see that little wrinkle between her eyebrows that meant that she was thinking, and I waited for her to ask the question I'd been waiting for. She'd want to know about Werewolves and Bear Shifters. She'd want to know about the past, about the war.
I'd already decided I'd tell her anything she wanted to know. She deserved that much, at least. That much and more, to be honest. She hadn't done anything wrong, and I may as well have poured gasoline on the life that she’d just left behind and set it on fire myself. That was the sort of prospect that her future held, at least.
“Tell me something,” she said. “Are you in love with me?”
It was as if the world stopped. She was only a mortal, I was sure that. Even though I didn't know what a Vampire smelled like, I was certain that she wasn't one of those . She might not have been my destined Mate, but was there something special to her apart from that?
Was she just a woman? And if so, how did she know?
And, far more importantly, what should I say?
As always, I went with my instinct. I told her the truth. “I am,” I told her. “Madly.”
“Why?”
Wow . That was an even harder question to answer than the first, but I walked beside her as we pushed through the snow and I tried my best to do it. “I don't really know, I confided. I mean, why does anyone love anything? I see the way you are with people. Even those that don't deserve your grace and your kindness, they still get it. By rights, you could've kicked people out into the snow a dozen times, but you never did. When people were hungry and they couldn't pay, I watched you fudge the tab. I saw you even take money out of your own pocket when you had to, to cover Old Man Cole’s bill.”
“You saw that?”
“I did,” I told her with a nod.
“Poor old dude can't keep up with the prices,” she said with a giggle that made my heart light foe the first time in forever. “He’s still paying what he did in the sixties for a burger and I don't have the heart to break it to him that times have changed.”
“ That's why I love you. That right there. Of course you're beautiful, but beauty is cheap. You're more than that. On the inside, your soul, the thing that shines out
“Well think about it,” I said with a sigh, “if a guy came in every single day and just sat in the corner and ate a sandwich or picked at some fried fish or something, how long would that last? Half an hour, tops? But I can sit over in that same corner all day, every day, and just drink beer. Nobody questions the drunk. Pretty soon, he's part of the furniture. The Wolf pack said and did things in front of me that they never would have if I hadn't established myself as a boozer beforehand.”
“So it was all an act?” She was beginning to believe me, but I could see that she was still suspicious.
“Yes. I don't even like the taste of the shit. And even though you don't know me, I'm sure you can see in my eyes and hear in my voice that I’m hardly about to get drunk on the job. I want vengeance on the Wolf pack, and I'm not going to get inebriated and slow my reflexes for even an instant. My magic is stronger than that cheap swill, and I remained ready to exact my revenge.”
She threw me another dark gaze, but I could see a smile pulling at the corners of her lips at the same time. “Well,” Zoe said at last, “I guess that makes you slightly less of an idiot then.”
“Yeah?” I asked, smiling back.
“Only slightly. Don’t go nuts…”
“Fair enough,” I told her.
Why couldn't she be the one? She was perfect. Everything I’d ever looked for was right here in front of me, and now that she was with me it was killing me to know that I couldn't have her.
“What are you going to do with your life after you kill the Wolves?” she asked.
“There are always more Wolves.”
“Sounds like a waste.”
I shrugged. “There aren’t many Bears left. It's my job to do what I can to keep my people alive.”
I could see that little wrinkle between her eyebrows that meant that she was thinking, and I waited for her to ask the question I'd been waiting for. She'd want to know about Werewolves and Bear Shifters. She'd want to know about the past, about the war.
I'd already decided I'd tell her anything she wanted to know. She deserved that much, at least. That much and more, to be honest. She hadn't done anything wrong, and I may as well have poured gasoline on the life that she’d just left behind and set it on fire myself. That was the sort of prospect that her future held, at least.
“Tell me something,” she said. “Are you in love with me?”
It was as if the world stopped. She was only a mortal, I was sure that. Even though I didn't know what a Vampire smelled like, I was certain that she wasn't one of those . She might not have been my destined Mate, but was there something special to her apart from that?
Was she just a woman? And if so, how did she know?
And, far more importantly, what should I say?
As always, I went with my instinct. I told her the truth. “I am,” I told her. “Madly.”
“Why?”
Wow . That was an even harder question to answer than the first, but I walked beside her as we pushed through the snow and I tried my best to do it. “I don't really know, I confided. I mean, why does anyone love anything? I see the way you are with people. Even those that don't deserve your grace and your kindness, they still get it. By rights, you could've kicked people out into the snow a dozen times, but you never did. When people were hungry and they couldn't pay, I watched you fudge the tab. I saw you even take money out of your own pocket when you had to, to cover Old Man Cole’s bill.”
“You saw that?”
“I did,” I told her with a nod.
“Poor old dude can't keep up with the prices,” she said with a giggle that made my heart light foe the first time in forever. “He’s still paying what he did in the sixties for a burger and I don't have the heart to break it to him that times have changed.”
“ That's why I love you. That right there. Of course you're beautiful, but beauty is cheap. You're more than that. On the inside, your soul, the thing that shines out
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