Page 270 of Shifting Hearts 1
“See? You do laugh just like her.”
“Stop it. She sure is one hell of a beauty,” Morgan said, and I looked at her strangely. If anything like that ever happened, I couldn’t even think about it.
“Oh, oh, you into women?” Paul asked.
“No, but if I were, that would be it,” Morgan said, pointing in her direction.
“So half of what and what?”
“Half vampire, half werewolf.”
Paul froze mid-step as she continued walking. She laughed softly.
“You’re fucking with me?” he asked, rushing back to her side.
“Nope, they exist.”
“But you said…”
“I said a lot of things. Somewhere out there, a long time ago, a wolf fell in love with a vampire.”
“How?”
“How what?”
“How did they mate?”
“There’s nothing wrong with your sperm, Paul. It’s females like me that can’t bear, but wolf females can carry vampire spawn. Wolves despise them—they truly believe a vampire forced himself on a wolf.”
“How?”
“Exactly my point. They refused to believe that mortal enemies could fall in love.”
“How do you know so much about them?”
“I loved one a long time ago… actually two. They’re very different from vampire lovers, that’s for sure.”
“Male or female?”
“Males, Paul. Both were males,” she chuckled.
“What happened?”
“They both died,” she said, lying. I knew she truly would let me go when all of this was over. She couldn’t know about my fire, Paul.
“I promised I’d never tell anyone about your fire,” he said.
“No matter what story she tells you, okay? You ask me, not her. I would never lie to you.”
He nodded, and they wandered through the park together, eventually settling on the swings. Before heading back to the B&B, Em sent Paul a quick text.
Over the next few weeks,Em welcomed them into her apartment. I was surprised she didn’t live with Bo and Alice, but had her own place, and I fumed, convinced Richard and Irene must have had a hand in it. I had told them not to interfere.
I huffed. What kind of father was I? I wanted her back home with me, yet the rest of her family did what I should have done.
The apartment was beautiful, and Paul and Morgan couldn’t resist teasing Em about it. She was captivated by both of them, and it was easy to understand why. Paul was an open book to her perceptive gaze, but Morgan baffled Em completely. I remembered that same feeling, and I could see how difficult it was for Morgan to explain herself.
I watched as a friendship slowly blossomed between Morgan and Em, and how Em quietly fell for Paul. He was perfect for her. Night after night, they spent hours at the bar, Morgan andEmily flirting boldly with other men. I found myself amused by their playful antics, though Em always made it clear: Paul was the only one for her.
