Page 65 of Wonder
Reno didn’t let go of my hand until it was time to get in the car. When we were on the road headed for home, I sighed dramatically. “That was wonderful. I can’t wait to do something like it again.”
TEXARKANA, TEXAS – MARCH 22 OF THIS YEAR
I gritted my teeth as I opened my laptop. I’d lost the fucking trail. Again. I’d been so close in Arkansas, but now I was back to combing the campaign chat rooms for rumors of Wonders disappearing.
If I were theluchd-òl fola, I’d have headed to Louisiana. Plenty of places to hide there, and no one, civilian or Wonder, would blink at somebody who looked like a vampire. But my gut was telling me to check out Texas first.
The campaign chat rooms for Texas were all on Discord, thank fuck. Facebook was the worst. I missed the days of AOL. Those chat rooms had been so easy to hack into.
The Texas campaign’s main server was helpfully called Texas Adventurers. And, look there. Someone named Delphia Shaw had just posted that her son Greg, a District Monitor, was nesting and a Cassandra had been found. A Seer.
I sat up, adrenaline chasing away my frustration. Could one of the two be my mate?
A few minutes of detective work revealed Gregory Shaw lived in Bent Oak, which was a little bit west of Austin.
I was on my way five minutes later.
CHAPTER 18
RENO
As we wereon the way home, Cal texted that Jackson was awake, so we stopped to pick up four cheese pizzas. We could always order more if they needed them. Healing a severed neck had to take a lot of energy.
I’d left Simon in the car while I ran in to get the food. He was tired. I felt bad making him leave the house when he was recovering, but I could tell through the bond that he’d thoroughly enjoyed himself tonight. I’d have to make sure we got more social time now that the rogue vampires were dead. Maybe I should bring back the District picnics before the weather got too cold. We hadn’t had one since I’d been acting DM.
When I got back into the car, Simon was fast asleep. I felt a surge of affection, and he smiled, even though he was passed out. Fuck, how long would it take me to fall in love with him?
I couldn’t believe I’d known him less than a week. We’d barely had sex, and I’d been so stressed out about bonding at the time, I hadn’t paid proper attention to Simon. He deserved all the attention.
I was making plans for waking up early tomorrow and talking Simon into morning sex when I turned onto my street. My groan woke Simon up.
“Wha’s the matter?” He rubbed his face with both hands.
“Sorry to wake you, but we’re almost home. My aunt is here.” It was pretty late for her to visit, so I suspected she and her buddies had been out to dinner. Oh, shit. “Um, I told her we were bonded, so she’ll probably want to hug you.”
He froze, his fingers pressed into his cheekbones. “She will?”
“Guaranteed. Do you want me to head her off?” I pulled into the driveway next to Tia’s car.
He shook his head, smiling. “No, I don’t mind.”
I made a mental note to hug Simon daily going forward.
We got out of the car, and I grabbed the pizzas from the back seat. Cal had the door open before we even made it to the front porch.
He took the pizzas with a grin. “Y’all need to go see what’s happening in the guest bathroom. I already took some pictures, but you need to witness it for yourself before it’s over.”
I exchanged a bewildered glance with Simon, then I gestured for him to lead the way. Nicky waved from the kitchen table. Soledad was washing dishes, and she pointed us toward the guest bathroom. “Hurry. I’ll meet your young man after.”
Okay then. We were missing Jackson, Tia, and Rosita. Simon lengthened his stride, and I hurried to keep up. The bathroom door was closed, but we could hear splashing along with Tiaand Rosita fussing. Simon knocked softly and opened the door a crack. With a laugh he pushed it wider.
Jackson, their panther form barely fitting in the tub, gave us pathetic puppy dog eyes from under a mass of shampoo suds. Tia and Rosita were splattered with water and soap.
“Welcome!” Tia beamed at us. “Simon, I’m so happy you’re feeling better. I will give you a hug when I’m dry. We’re almost ready to rinse.”
I introduced Simon to Rosita, and after greeting her he edged into the room and leaned against the counter to stay out of the way. “Jackson, I’m sorry it never occurred to me that you’d need to bathe. I suppose I assumed you would just change form.”
I wasn’t sure where the dirt would go in that scenario, but Jackson nodded violently enough to dislodge some of the shampoo. Tia wasn’t buying it. “They were lying on that floor for over twenty-four hours, and they had dried... stuff in their fur. Of course they needed a bath.” Rosita took the showerhead sprayer out of its holder and flipped the handle to turn it on. Jackson hunched over and squeezed their eyes shut while they were rinsed.
