Page 102 of Chasing The Alpha's Son
I shoot her an eye-rolling glare. “It was more like we just, I dunno, finally understood each other—something just clicked. It was nice.”
Katie pouts and grins like I’ve just said the most adorable thing. But I can’t take it so I laugh and flop about.
“Staaaahhhp!”
“No, it’s sweet.” She swats to get me to stop rolling. “I’m really happy for you.”
“I mean”—I lift a brow—“it doesn’t mean I never want more to happen, of course.”
We both giggle, and I realize this is just the distraction I needed, a little bit of normalcy.
“You also haven’t asked me anything about how I’m like, spiritually connected to all of wolfkind,” I say.
“Okay,” she says, taking another cookie from the plate sitting on the mattress between us. “What’s that like?”
“It sort of keeps changing. Agatha said it was hurting because my body was overstimulated, but now that I’m all numbed up, it’s more like when you’re in bed on a Saturday and your mom keeps yelling at you to get up, so you throw the covers over your head and then you can only sort of hear her. You know she’s still calling but it doesn’t feel as urgent.”
“And do you, like, know what I’m thinking?” She looks hesitant, like she isn’t sure she wants the answer, like suddenly she’s tempering her thoughts.
“No,” I say. “I don’t think it’s quite like that. I’m not Professor X all of a sudden. It’s more like voices. Like if you were saying something loudly I could maybe overhear it, or if you were trying to tell me something I could probably hear that, but it’s almost more like a sensory thing—like there’s a presence and I can tell what emotion it’s feeling. At least, that’s sort of what it felt like with everyone downstairs, and with the people in the cabin. I even had a vision.”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t know if Jasper was thinking it, but I saw…” I stop myself, unsure if this is my story to tell.
“What?”
“I saw something personal.”
She sits back, scrunching her mouth up like she’s a little disappointed.
“But it made me realize something about Jasper I’d never known before.”
She sits forward again. “Almost like your power or gift or whatever was letting you in on something that would help you.”
“I dunno, maybe. I don’t know if it’s as intentional as that but…sure.”
“Wow.” She polishes off her second gingerbread wolf. “So my best friend is like a superhero.”
“Ha! Not even.” I grab a pillow and whack her with it softly.
“I’m just happy you can still be around me.”
For a moment I sit and watch my friend as she fiddles with a folded-over triangle of quilt. She looks older, more mature than the Katie I used to lie with on her pink fluffy rug and listen to music. She seems calmer, more content.
“You’re really glad Todd and Simon sorted that shit out, aren’t you?” I ask, catching Katie off guard.
For a moment she lowers her eyes and studies me as if I’ve just read her mind. Then she relaxes and rolls onto her back.
“You were more worried about it than you let on,” I continue.
“I just knew I wasn’t going to be able to make a choice,” she says. “Like I would have been denying myself if I had. But that things could only end one way—with a fight or like this. And I’m so lucky that my mates cared enough to want to figure things out.”
“I’m glad you’re happy.”
Katie doesn’t look at me when she says, “Thanks.” She just stares at the ceiling, and I worry I overstepped. “Don’t get too perceptive on me now, okay?” she says.
“I don’t think you have to worry too much,” I say. “I’m just as oblivious as always.”
