Page 60 of Furever Loyal
“Why don’t you have another one then?” Kincaid asked, turning to look at her for a moment.
Haley thought about it. “I guess I just never felt the time was right. A dog is a big commitment. Not as much as a child, perhaps, but a big one anyway, and I suppose I never felt ready for it.”
“I understand.”
“What about you? I would imagine pets are probably not so welcome in an environment around massive bears?”
“Basically. Though you’d be surprised at the number of stray cats that seem perfectly at ease living on the property. So we’re not unused to them. But no, I’ve never had a dog before.” He started rubbing his chin. “Though if we all started adopting them, and naming them after Canis shifters, that would be a hoot.”
Haley giggled at the image. “Yes, yes it would.”
“What do you do for fun then? What are your hobbies?”
She mulled it over and came to a depressing conclusion. “I don’t really have any,” she admitted. “I like to read. I enjoy wine. Now that I say it out loud though, that sounds like the makings of an alcoholic.”
Kincaid renewed the smile on his face. “I doubt that.”
“I wasn’t serious,” she admitted. “Still, maybe I should take up something in my spare time.”
“That would be good. What would you do?”
“Maybe paint,” she mused. “I’m not really a sporty person, but there are paint nights around town, and groups and such. I’m sure I could get involved in something that way.”
“That sounds good. I could use some new wall décor.”
“Ha.” She stuck out her tongue at him.
“See, this is productive. Time well spent out here. We’re getting to know one another.”
She lifted her eyebrows in disbelief. “Really? This coming from the guy with basically superpowers, who also tells me there are people running around who can use real honest-to-God magic. Do you realize how much Idon’tknow about you?”
“I can’t use magic,” he countered.
“That’s…I didn’t mean. Argh! You know what I meant,” she pouted.
“I know. You only have to ask questions. If I can explain, then I will. But you’ve seemed remarkably calm about it all, to be honest with you. I…I’ve been unsure on how to approach it. To ask you how you’re taking it.”
“I’m still having a hard time accepting it, and I’ve seen you change multiple times. Hell, I rode on your back while you ran through the forest like a wild man. Except you were a bear, larger than anything that should exist. It…I don’t know,” she admitted. “It’s scary, to think about in depth. Like…just how much else don’t we know? Have you and your kind always been around?”
“Not always,” he admitted. “The first records come just before the fall of Rome.”
“The fall of Ro…that was like, fifteen hundred years ago,” she gasped. “Like, what was it, the 400’s or something?”
“The fifth century, yes. I believe 410 A.D., to be specific.”
“How do you know that’s when you originated?” She was growing curious now.
“Well, for starters, our records show that we were the ones who sacked Rome. With the help of humans, of course.”
“I’m sorry. What? Shifters sacked Rome? How did that bit of information just get lost?”
He grinned. “We won. That’s how. With the vampires dead—oh yeah, the vampires ran Rome. The Senate was their ruling council. That’s why we went after them. Terrible creatures.”
Haley gasped. “I’m sorry, did you just say vam—”
“Wait a minute,” Kincaid said, leaning forward. “Here we go. Look, see that man there?”
Trying to put her brain into some semblance of order after the bombshell he’d just casually dropped on her, Haley followed his finger as a large man got out of a black armored car.
