Page 135 of Claim Me
I step into my small office and take out my phone.
On a sudden impulse, I call my father.
We rarely speak on the phone, but… fine.
"Hello, Blue?" His low, resonant voice fills the line.
A brief silence. I need to tell him the bad news.
"It happened again. Another assassination attempt."
"Dear Fate, kid… are you alright?"
"Yes. My new bodyguard, Gabriel, handled it perfectly."
"The one who can see five seconds ahead?"
"Yes. It worked. But it also showed me that even that may not be enough. If someone is standing directly in front of you and firing, there’s only so much you can correct for. The distance is too short. Sooner or later they’ll get me. NFH."
"Those bastards? This morning I read they massacred an entire village in South America. Every omega and alpha there… I hope the military puts your invention to good use, otherwise they really are going to slaughter all of us. They're advancing north, gaining allies. I’m just grateful you’re safe. Did Detective Arnold…"
"Fa, there's this other thing I wanted to call you about. I may have… an option. Entering a relationship. I’m considering it," I blurt out suddenly, and silence falls over the line.
"I’m sorry?"
I sigh. Perhaps talking to him about this was a mistake.
"Never mind. It doesn’t matter."
"It clearly does, otherwise you would not have mentioned it."
"You know me too well, Fa."
"I just don’t want you ending up disappointed. That’s all. Most relationships demand sacrifice. They bring complications. It takes a great deal of work to make them function well."
"And what if he’s… the fated one?"
"Even then. The Bond is not built overnight. Your dad and I are High Mates, so the Pull between us was fairly strong. But love is still an investment. You have to be ready for it."
Silence settles again, and I feel chaos twisting through me.
"I’m tempted by it. Very tempted. As an… experiment."
A long pause.
"Be careful calling this an experiment, son. That word will give you the illusion that you can stop whenever you want."
I snort irritably.
"Because I can, Father."
"A scientist always believes he stands safely outside the process. You can experiment with chemicals, theories, machines. People are different. They change the experimenter too."
"I have to go."
"Wait."
"What, Fa? I need time to think…"
