She sighed, scrubbing her face with her hands. She wanted to believe. God, she wanted to believe so badly. But Beth… she’d never thought Beth would turn Rogue. She’d been so happy with her boyfriend, so in love.
Instinctively, Naomi’s thoughts turned to Liam. She was attracted to him. More than attracted… there was something about him that drew her, inexorably. She had to fight the yearning to crawl into his arms and never leave. She felt safe with him. Protected. She thought… maybe… that he liked her also. Of course, he was responsible for her, but it felt like it was more than that. As if there was some kind of connection between them.
An image of him rose before her in her mind’s eye. Taller than her, he had a lean, wiry build, with the ruddy skin sometimes found in those of Irish descent. His hair was brown, and would have been unremarkable save for the undertones of red giving it an unexpected richness. He kept it neatly trimmed, but a bit longer on top, his hair often falling down across his eyes. It was his eyes that made her melt. They were green-hazel, and shone with intelligence. Compassion. Kindness. And laugh lines had formed at the sides, making her want to sigh.
Inside, her cat rolled over, and purred.
Well! That was the first timethatever happened! She couldn’t ever remember her cat purring before. It was… nice, she decided, smiling as a surge of happiness poured into her.
Another image of Liam appeared, this time with her cat rolling around at his feet and stropping against his ankles. She frowned.
Are you the one making him show up in my head?
Her cat purred, and she couldn’t help but melt a little.
You like him?
More stropping.
I like him, too, she told her cat.But, we can’t like him too much. You know that, right?
The rounded ears lowered, swiveling back, and her cat yowled a protest and slunk away, disappearing from her mind. Naomi sighed. Terrific. Now her cat wasn’t speaking to her. Not that she blamed her. Liam would have been everything she wanted in a man, if she’d been able to have someone for her own. Handsome and intelligent, with a huge heart set on helping others.
But how could she be sure it was safe for him? How could she trust herself, trust that she didn’t have the killer instinct her mother and aunt and sisters all had? The arguments circled in her head, over and over, like a hamster on a wheel. The same arguments, the same concerns. It really came down to who to believe. Her mother, Beatrice, her sisters? Or Maroulla, Liam, Katerina, the entire shifter community here. It should have been a no-brainer. Of course, she trusted the shifter community here, certainly more than she ever trusted her own family.
But then there was Beth.
Naomi groaned, and rubbed at her temples where a headache was forming. She had to leave off thinking about this, or she would drive herself insane. Time was what would tell. And if they were wrong… she hoped they stopped her before she hurt anyone. They’d put her somewhere safe, in that Sanctuary. At least, she’d be with Beth again. It wouldn’t be quite like the zoo, at any rate. She shuddered. The past months of her self-incarceration stretched behind her like a dark shadow. She closed her eyes for a long moment. She hadn’t been brought up to know any religions but…Please, please,she begged of anyone who might be up there who might be listening.Please let that remain in the past, let it not become my future. Let me not turn Rogue.
Chapter12
Naomi tuggedon the belt looped through her jeans, tightening it a notch. She’d lost so much weight during her stay in the zoo, and the jeans bagged on her a little. She slipped on a t-shirt with the slogan, “I’m a Librarian, What’s Your Super Power?” then topped it with a flannel shirt which she left unbuttoned, rolling the sleeves up. It was still a bit early, not quite noon, and chilly. If it warmed up, she could take off the flannel shirt; if not, she was still good.
She turned to regard herself in the cheval mirror in one corner of the room. She didn’t look as bad as she had when she first arrived, she decided. Of course, it had only been five days, but the gaunt hollows under her cheeks were filling out, and the bruised look beneath her eyes had faded. She still looked like a hot mess, though.
Sighing, she sat on the bed, she pulled on a pair of thick socks, and slipped her feet into some sneakers, tying the laces snugly. She brushed her long hair, then tied it in a loose ponytail with an extra shoelace. She definitely needed to get some proper hair ties.
Leaning over, she lifted her purse from the floor, and peered inside. Lip balm, a comb, her room key, her phone, and… just in case… her Kindle. She closed the flap on the purse, slipping the strap over her shoulder, and rose from the bed. There! She was ready for a barbecue.
She left her room and made her way downstairs, to find herself in the midst of chaos. A veritable gaggle of children of all ages were milling about, jumping out of their skins with excitement. The women from Morocco attempted to keep the children under control, assisted by two young men, and a teenaged girl. Liam was there as well, and greeted her with hand waves, as trying to talk over the children’s shouts would be impossible.
“We’re all here,” Liam raised his voice over the hubbub. “Let’s head ‘em up and move ‘em out!”
Naomi giggled at the blank expressions on some of the faces.
“It’s a cultural thing. We’ll have a cowboy movie night,” Tamera promised Adina. “For now, we’ve got a picnic to get to.”
Naomi stayed on the last step of the staircase, out of the way as the children rushed down the hallway, shoving and jostling each other, followed by their mothers and older siblings. She stepped down, and followed in their wake along with Liam and Tamera.
“This will be fun,” she enthused. “I swear, I’m as excited as the children. I’ve never been to a barbecue before.”
Tamera, ahead of her, stopped in her tracks, turning to stare at her with dropped jaw.
“Never?”
Naomi pushed at her, turning Tamera in the right direction. “Nope, never. But I will today, if you’ll just keep walking!”
“Keep walking,” Tamera sing-songed, making Naomi giggle. They’d recently introduced the children to the movie An American Tale.
