“We can, and we always will, from now on til forever,” Naomi vowed. “How are you settling in?”
“So-so. I mean, I like it, the apartment is really comfortable, and I’m so glad to be back in my human form, and even more glad to be away from Mom and the others. It’s just… well… it’s so strange to sleep in a bed again. I don’t know how to describe it.”
“No, I get it,” Naomi reassured her. “I spent almost a year in that zoo, so I do really get it. But also, those first few days after they got me out? I did almost nothing but sleep, I mean, I’d be awake for a little bit, and I’d eat something, and then I’d zonk out for hours at a time.”
“Oh! Yes, that’s what I’m doing, too.” Beth sighed in relief. “It’s good to know this isn’t completely abnormal. But then, after sleeping most of yesterday and today, here I am, laying wide awake in bed.”
“We need to get you some bath stuffs,” Naomi decided. “I’ve already thought of it, and I’ll get together like, a care package, and get that in the mail to you. A nice, long soak in a bath with bubbles, or bath oils, and bath salts and scrubs, followed up with some body lotions, you’ll feel like a new you.”
“That sounds lovely!”
“So, um.” Naomi rolled over onto her side, holding her phone so she could see her sister. “I have something to tell you.”
“Oh? What? Do tell?” Beth said eagerly, her eyes shining as she looked back. “Ohmigosh, I love being able to see you again!”
“I do, too. I’ve missed you dreadfully.”
“I know, it’s been awful. But what’ve you got to tell me? Spill!”
“Well…” Naomi gnawed at her bottom lip, worrying it with her teeth. “Um. Today we were out looking at a property Liam wants to buy. It’s this great property, a whole acre, all enclosed by a high stone wall, and lots of big trees, with a big two-story house with five bedrooms, and a carriage house.”
“That sounds marvelous!” Beth’s face lit up. “How fun! But, why does he need such a big place? Has he got a family?”
“No, he’s single. That’s the thing. After he made the offer on the place, and the realtor was off talking to the sellers, he… well… he, um, he kissed me.”
Beth squealed. “He did? Like, a real, lay-it-on-me kiss with tongue and all?”
Naomi’s cheeks flamed, and buried her face in her pillow. “Yes,” she mumbled. “What you said.”
“Get your face out of there,” Beth commanded. “Come on, talk to me! Then what happened?”
“Nothing, ‘cause Miranda—that’s the realtor—came back into the room. Thing is, Beth… he said he wants to marry me. The whole deal. Marriage. Children. Living together in that house, growing old together.”
“Oh.” Beth’s voice was suddenly subdued. “Yeah.”
“Yeah,” Naomi echoed.
After a long silence, Beth ventured, “Maybe it’d be okay? You were always stronger than me.”
Naomi sat up, scowling. “Don’t say that! You’re more gentle than me, but that doesn’t mean you’re weak.”
“What did your cat do, when he kissed you?”
Naomi rolled her eyes. “About what you’d expect.”
Beth giggled. “Okay, so she likes him.”
“Your cat liked Neil,” Naomi pointed out. “Everyone, and I mean absolutely everyone here, all the other shifters, and Angus and Renee, the innkeepers here, who I still have to tell you about, but anyway, everyone says I’m not going to turn Rogue. We’re talking about people that Beatriceattacked, Beth! And they are so, so sure. They tell me to have faith in them. To believe. And I want to believe, but then I remember what happened to you.”
“The thing is,well… the reason why I went into that zoo in the first place?” She took a deep breath. “I went on a dinner date, when I was in New York. City, I mean. Last year. After, the guy tried to, you know, force himself on me. And my cat went wild. She was furious, wanting out, to claw him, to do real damage. And that’s when I thought I was starting to turn Rogue, too. So I dumped everything in my car and put it in storage, and snuck into the leopard enclosure in the zoo. But a week or so ago, I told Renee, one of the innkeepers, what happened, and she pointed out that my cat wasn’t going Rogue, she wasprotectingme from someone who was trying to rape me. Which totally makes sense.”
Beth turned pale. “Oh, my God,” she breathed. “How awful for you, Naomi!”
“Yes, but here’s the thing. Ever since Renee said that, I’ve been thinking, and thinking.” She bit her lip again. “The thing is, you say you can’t remember anything from that night except going to sleep, and waking up to find Neil dead. What if, I don’t know, what if something happened. Like, maybe he had PTSD or something and had a panic attack and attacked you in the night. Maybe she didn’tattackhim, maybe sheprotectedyou, but it was so traumatizing that your mind blocked it out?”
Beth’s face went blank, and for a minute it looked like she almost forgot to breathe.
“That’s pretty far out there,” Beth finally managed to say.
