Page 16 of Conner's Luna

"Got an internship, though?" I mumble as the pain continues to face. I'll have to remember to tell Uncle Alex to make sure she doesn't ever have her scholarship taken away.

"Mmhm. A really good one, too," she says. "At Honekier Labs."

"Haven't heard of them," I wrap an arm around her waist and nuzzle her legs.

"They're a good hour away. They do genetics."

I grunt in acknowledgment, already planning on having Sarj look into it for me. A comfortable silence falls, but the pain is nearly gone so I don't ask Bailey to start her monologue up again. After a few minutes, I open my eyes to look up at her. She is staring off into space, her fingers absentmindedly drawing circles on my skin. She looks... sad.

"Bailey..." I grunt out.

She jerks her hand away from my abdomen and my wolf responds by nipping my stomach again. I groan and her hand flies back to me.

"Sorry! You startled me; I was thinking about something."

After a minute I've recovered enough to ask her, "what?"

"Hmm?" She looks at me again.

"What are you thinking about?" I expect her to start reciting the periodic table of elements or some chem formula she's recently invented, but she doesn't.

She smiles sadly, "my mom."

"She OK?"

Bailey shakes her head, biting her cheek as tears well in her eyes. My wolf growls slightly at her sorrow. He's unhinged and seeing this human girl cry is making him even more unstable. "She died, a year ago tomorrow. Dad and I were supposed to go to the cemetery this past weekend, but both of our cars died." She hiccups a laugh, "it's like the universe is out to get us."

Or, that bastard Trey prevented his mate from leaving town to see her friends and family. Shit, this poor girl's mother died and her mate, who she doesn't even know about, is a giant douchebag. He should be comforting her, helping her through her loss. Instead, he is fucking my mate and treating his like shit.

"I'll take you," I offer. I have to stop her tears. Ihaveto. This human girl deserves to be happy.

She looks down at me, surprise written on her face. Delight shines on her face, a smile that spreads over her, all the way to her eyes.

I was wrong about her eyes. Those sad eyes that I thought weren't that interesting aregorgeous. They glimmer and dance; fucking sparkle like... like diamonds or some shit.

Damn. It makes my entire body clench. That hurts like a mother, but it's a good tense. Shit, she's got a nice smile. My wolf has all but forgotten the mate betrayal, his focus on this human female and making her smile again.

"You'll take me to see my mom?" Her voice is brimming with hope.

I had plans for Lydia today. Screw it. I have to take care of Bailey. I owe her.

"Yeah, let's go. Your dad want to come with us?" I grunt out as I force myself to climb to my feet.

"He's working. That's why we were going to go the other day."

"All right," I wrap my arm around her waist and steer her out of the closet.

A couple of freshmen are standing outside in the lab, chatting it up. They stare at us in surprise. Bailey blushes and I glare at them, especially the kid who ogles her knowingly. I think I recognize him from the RedMoon.

"Fuck off," I snarl. They both drop their gazes to their shoes. Smart of them.

Bailey stiffens next to me, pulling away. I feel the loss of her warmth and turn to look at her. Her head is bowed, her lower lip trembling. Shit. "What's wrong, Bailey?"

"I... um, I have to go study."

"No," I grab her again and start to walk toward the side door to the parking lot. "We're gonna see your mom."

"Now?" she asks with disbelief. "I have to start my research-"

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