"It's their grandchild. I didn't want to keep that secret from them."
I couldn't hear the rest of what he said, but a few moments later Marissa disconnected. Her mouth was a thin line of anger as she laid back on the couch and stared at the ceiling.
"I'm sorry," I said. It was weak, but it was the only thing I could offer.
"It was my fault. I try to see the best in people."
"I've been there before. Does Lucas know what he's going to do?"
She shook her head. "I need to get out of here soon, though. If anyone gets within a mile or two of this cabin, it's possible they'll pick up Clint's scent. It will be unfamiliar and probably elicit attention I don't want."
I nodded. "He'll figure something out." I grabbed my purse. "I have a few appointments. I need to leave, but I'll stop back by in a day or two. Text me what you need from the store."
Marissa nodded, but I wasn't convinced she'd heard me. I slipped outside the door, making sure it was locked behind me. I couldn't imagine being in her shoes right now, but especially not with an infant added into the mix.
I madeit home about twenty minutes later and kicked off my shoes with a groan. I had a little while before my appointment, so I collapsed on the couch and picked up the paperback I'd been trying to read for the last three weeks. It was about a monster invading the city but not because he was evil. He wanted friends. I had no idea why I was still reading it because it felt like a sappy soda commercial, the kind they do at Christmas time, but it was also kind of sweet. Even the monsters needed a friend sometimes. I needed to get into the right frame of mind to do another reading especially after Marissa's. I hated seeing that in her future, but at least it gave them a chance to find something else. I wasn't sure if she'd ever truly be safe. I definitely wasn't sure her child would be. After all, what was going to happen when it was time for him to go to school? Unless she figured out a way to hide his scent signature or somehow managed to convince the vamps and wolves he was not harmful to them, Marissa had a long road ahead of her.
My cell rang. I took it out of my pocket only to see it was Lucas. "Hey," I said.
"Hey back." His voice was warm and friendly. It was a new side of him that I was beginning to really enjoy. Once he felt like he could trust me, the gentleman I suspected had been inside of him all along had come out to play.
"I'm sorry about Marissa," I said.
He blew out a breath. "Thank you for offering her a reading. Without that, we would have walked right into a trap. I can't believe she told his parents." His voice vibrated with frustration.
"She needs help," I told him. "Being a single parent is a lonely thing. Being a single parent to a creature people want to kill has to be even worse."
Lucas let out a bark of laughter. "He seems way too cute to be dangerous."
"I agree. But not everyone does."
"Do you think he's suddenly going to grow Wolverine claws and start ripping through people?"
"Hmm. Too soon to tell. Right now his fingers are too tiny and adorable to speculate."
"What a mess. I wish we could just communicate about this."
"You can still try."
"No. Even bringing it up will result in suspicion. I don't want anyone digging into this."
"Maybe working from behind the scenes can help open up a dialogue again."
"The last hybrid child turned murderous in the first few weeks it was alive."
My thoughts snagged on something. "Do you think it was related to loupism?" This was something I'd read about very briefly in the newspaper a few years ago. But the local Alpha had done a good job controlling outbreaks of loupism and was very careful to enlist strict rules on werewolf creation.
There was a pause. "Maybe?" he wondered aloud. "The odds of loupism in made werewolves are a lot higher than those born, but it could have something to do with the viruses mingling."
"Clint is two weeks old. Do you remember how old the other hybrid was when he turned violent?"
"I don't, but it couldn't have been more than a month."
"So we still have some time."
"We do. Let's cross our fingers Clint turns out okay." Lucas started to speak again and paused.
"Yes?"
