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Great, I was going to have to drive home naked. At least my shoes had survived my shift, so I didn’t have to do it barefoot, too.
“Turn around,” I barked at Celia.
“No,” she argued, her eyes narrowing. Apparently she hadn’t yet figured out my predicament.
“Okay.” I shifted back and stood naked in front of her, watching as her eyes grew wide and her gaze traveled up my body. I turned around and slid my feet into my shoes, then walked back to the car and opened the back door for her. “Get in.”
She hopped into the backseat, and I closed the door behind her before getting into the front and sliding behind the wheel.
“That doesn’t look comfortable,” she teased as I started the engine and backed out of the lot.
“I’m just glad it’s not leather on a hundred-degree day,” I told her.
“You’re bleeding,” she whispered.
I glanced over my shoulder to see that she had shifted back as well and was leaning against the front seat, staring down at my chest.
“It’s nothing,” I promised her. “I’ll clean up at home.”
She climbed over the center console, her bare breast pressing against my arm as she opened the glovebox and pulled out a stack of napkins. Sparks ignited between us, and I jumped, making the car swerve as my gaze traveled over her body.
“Watch the road,” she said, her tone thick with humor as she moved back into the backseat, but her hand pressed the napkins to the wound on my chest. “God, why are you staticky?”
“I’ll explain it when we get home,” I promised her, my voice hoarse as emotion welled up inside of me.
Celia was my soul mate. I wasn’t sure why it was just happening now, but those blue sparks could only mean that she really was mine. We belonged together. And she was going to be mine forever.
“I ran away,” she whispered as she dabbed the napkins against my skin.
“What?” I glanced over at her, but she was staring at her hand that was still pressed over my wound.
“The night I got attacked,” she explained. “I ran away from home. Mom and I had a huge fight. I don’t even remember what it was about, but I know it was something stupid. We were both a mess, you know, with Dad dying and trying to figure out what our lives were going to be like.”
“Celia, you don’t have to do this now,” I said, reaching up to cover her hand and sighing as sparks ignited again.
“Yeah, I do,” she whispered. “I don’t want secrets between us. Is that weird?”
“Not at all,” I promised her.
“I didn’t even take anything with me,” she continued. “I don’t think I meant to run away forever. I just had to get away from her. From that house. From everything. So I left.
“There aren’t woods where I grew up like there are here, but there was a big park, and I headed there. I guess for lack of anywhere else to go, you know. I was just wandering through the trees, it was dark, and I heard a noise. And instead of turning around like any normal person would do, I walked toward it.”
She stopped and I didn’t press her to continue. She could tell me or not tell me, it was up to her. But I did squeeze her hand, trying to give her some semblance of support.
We were sitting there naked, bloody and exhausted. Both of us probably a little lost with everything we’d been through. And it wasn’t over yet. I still had to explain to her that she was my soul mate. Really, this was just the beginning of what might turn into a very long night.
“Then he stalked out in front of me. Just a huge, giant panther calmly walking toward me. And I froze. But he didn’t hesitate. He ran at me and bit me, and I didn’t even feel pain. I just felt…I don’t know…done, I guess. Over it. Over everything. If he’d have killed me I’m not sure it would have made a difference to me at the time.”
She sniffled softly and I glanced at her again, watching a tear slide down her cheek before turning back to the road.
“He promised he’d come back for me,” she said. “And then he just left me there, bleeding on the ground. I managed to stumble home, told my mom what had happened.” She let out a small laugh, but there was no humor behind it. “Of course, she thought I was crazy…until I shifted a week later.”
“My poor girl,” I whispered, raising her hand to press a soft kiss to it. “You’ve been through a lifetime of pain in a very short time.”
“I guess,” she agreed. “But that’s over now. I’m ready to move on. To actually live. And you helped me with that.” She pulled her hand away and settled back into her seat again. “I don’t know how I can ever repay what you’ve given me Trevor.”
I had a few ideas on that, but I’d wait to explain that when we got home. Hopefully she’d see that being soul mates was a good thing, and not just one more monster thing trying control her life.
