“So you’re saying they’re not someone to be afraid of.”
“Not unless you’re a psychotic killer.” He winked, and she had to laugh.
“So you can understand that Maroulla is coming down because shewantsto meet you. Not to drill you, or interrogate or judge you.”
She nodded, taking a thoughtful sip of her margarita. “As a friend, you’re saying.”
“At the very least, to lend you support,” he agreed. “As Warden for the Northeastern USA Council, she isyourWarden. You can go to her with any trouble or problem, any question, Shifter related or not.. She’s there for you.”
She couldn’t help a snort of laughter. “Kind of like a den mother.”
His brows rose in surprise as he considered the comparison. “Actually, yeah, that’s not that far off. When Fran, one of my sisters, wanted to work in genetics…”
“Genetics?” Naomi blurted out. “Really?”
“Mmhmm. Anyway, she already had her B.S. in Biology. When she decided she wanted to go into genetics, Maroulla went to the Grand Council, which is international, with representatives from all the shifter Councils around the world…”
“Like a shifter United Nations?” Naomi broke in, giggling.
Liam chuckles. “Yes, exactly. They helped Fran to get into the Masters program for genetics at Harvard. Now Fran is working in our lab in Switzerland, studying shifter genetics.”
Naomi blinked. “Wow.”
“We’re not all over-achievers. My second oldest sister is happy to be a stay-at-home mom, raising five kids. Not that that’s not a kind of over-achievement itself,” he added. “Five kids is one helluva handful. I was the fifth kid in my family, I should know.”
“I never was able to even dream of having children,” Naomi said wistfully. “Coming from my family… that kind of normal was out of the question. You know: Husband, children, picket fence. That kind of thing. The most I ever dared to hope, was tonotturn Rogue.”
“Understandable,” he reassured her. “But now you can start thinking ahead, explore your options.”
“I don’t know how you can all be so sure I won’t turn Rogue,” she objected. “If I don’t know, how can any of you?”
“Katerina and Jacinth both were face-to-face with Beatrice.” He rested his elbows on the table, steepling his fingers beneath his chin. “Katerina said she could sense the Rogue in her, even when they were both in human form. Jacinth had met Beatrice long before anyone was aware Beatrice was a Rogue, in fact, I’m told Jacinth at that point hadn’t even known there was such a thing. I’ts not like we advertise it,” he said, grimacing. “She said that Beatrice feltoffto her… a kind of darkness she sensed. At the time, Jacinth chalked it up to jealousy, as Douglas had taken Beatrice on a date once. But she says that, in retrospect, it was the darkness of spirit characterizing the Rogues that she was feeling.”
Naomi could feel the color drain from her face. “Adate? With Beatrice? How did he escape? He’s lucky to be alive!”
Liam chuckled. “Apparently, the date didn’t go so well, and she didn’t manage to hook her claws into him… figuratively speaking. Jacinth put a jinx on their evening.”
“No!” Naomi stared at him, then burst into laughter. “Ohmigosh, how marvelous! Tell me!”
“I would if I could,” he assured her. “I don’t know the details. We should ask her some time.”
“We totally should.” Naomi drained her margarita, and put the glass down with a snap, grinning at him. “I want another one.”
“Oh, Lord, I’ve created a monster,” Liam groaned, but he waved over their waiter. “Two more margaritas, please.”
Naomi leaned forward, her arms folded on the table. “Okay. I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“When I was a teenager, I was addicted to romance novels that had shapeshifters. Paranormal romances, they’re called.” She giggled as Liam made a face. “The thing is, in a lot of those stories, the hero and heroine were fated to fall in love. Fated mates. Do we have anything like that?”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Nope. Sorry, nothing like that. We meet and fall in love, just like humans. On the bright side, however,” he continued, his expression earnest. “We have few separations between Chosen couples. Whether it’s a higher communication factor, or whether we’re simply better at falling for the right person, whatever. There are actually groups of shifter psychologists studying that.”
Naomi blinked at him. “Really? You mean, officially, like the geneticists studying shifter genes?”
“Yup. We’re all about finding out everything there is to know about shifters. Plus, we have shifters in almost every branch of society you can think of. Lawyers, cops, doctors…”
“Veterinarians,” Naomi put in, grinning at him.
