Page 9 of Deceived

“Was that an Arctic fox?” I ask.

Felix was already following my gaze so he knows what I’m referencing. “Yes. We have all kinds of cold weather shifters here, including arctic foxes.”

We reach the cabin and Felix doesn’t knock before pushing inside.

Heat blankets me, taking the edge off the cold. I’m able to take off my top layer.

A small woman with dark curly hair like Felix, an apron around her waist, and the biggest smile I’ve seen runs over immediately. She wraps her arms around Felix, only coming up to his chest, hugging him tight.

A second later and she’s wrapped around me as well. I must be a good five inches taller than her, but her strong aura more than makes up for it. Her presence surrounds me with warmth and love.

“You must be Felix’s Anna! I am so happy to have you here!” Her motherly voice says.

“Mom, what did I say about that?” Felix says sternly but with a smile on his face.

“Yes, yes, you haven’t made anything official I know. I am just so excited you finally brought her here!”

So Felix has been talking to his mom about me? I can feel a crack forming in the walls around my heart. It’s obvious I mean something to Felix, even if we’ve only known each other a short time. He told his family about me and brought me here to meet them. Even with everything we have going on.

“Anna, this is my mom, Lottie. Mom, this is Anna, my mate,” he says proudly.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I say, trying my best to look sweet.

“You too. Now come in, come in. I just finished making some soup for lunch.”

I glance at the clock to see it’s only nine in the morning here.

“Yes, it’s early here but I know it’s lunch where you came from so that’s what we will go by,” she says, seeing where my glance went.

“That’s sweet of you,” I say.

The soup smells delicious. I can tell it’s made with a variety of herbs and spices, but even my supernatural nose couldn’t pick them all out.

Felix pulls out a chair at the table, gesturing for me to sit before settling down next to me.

Lottie serves us both huge helpings of her soup, then some for herself.

The first bite is a delicious explosion of flavors across my tongue. It helps shake off the last of the lingering cold until I’m warm and cozy.

“This is incredible!”

Her smile is proud as I take another bite, both of them digging in as well.

“So, Anna, tell me about yourself,” Lottie says.

I freeze with a spoonful on the way to my lips. I should have known a question like that was coming, but I didn’t think about what I was going to say.

Does she know I’m a vampire? What if she thinks I’m a shifter and hates me when I reveal the truth?

“Uh, there isn’t much to tell. I grew up in the United States with my mom and dad.”

Her face is sympathetic, like she can tell I’m nervous. Of course she can! She’s a shifter with a powerful sense of smell. I’m sure she can sniff it out with that shifter nose of hers. That comes with a sense of relief too, she already knows I’m a vampire. There’s no way she didn’t know from the first second we met.

Which means she doesn’t have the same bias a lot of supernaturals have about mixing races.

“Felix mentioned you went to Brickstone University. It sounds lovely, what did you study?” She’s trying to steer the conversation into easy topics. Which this should be, but I’m not sure there’s anything about me that wasn’t tainted by being turned.

“I studied English,” I answer. I leave out that I didn’t graduate. It’s not a lie so she won’t be able to tell, especially with the nerves I already have.

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