away. “The detective can come over and talk to you, and if she says it’s all right, I’ll take you back to your apartment. Okay?”
I didn’t believe it, and he didn’t believe it either. We all knew the detective wouldn’t want me wandering around the city alone, not if Ms. Bridger was responsible for half the awful things that Smith attributed to her. My chest ached and I wanted to scream in frustration or hide or do anything but face the perfectly calm, perfectly composed shifters who watched me.
Waiting.
Patient.
Like they were letting me freak the hell out and get it out of my system so they could go on about their business. I pressed my lips together and lifted shaking hands to touch my forehead, to press against my eyes, to do something so I wouldn’t fly apart in a panic. “I think – I’m not ready for –“
“It’s okay,” Dodge murmured. He moved slow and his hand slid to the back of my neck so he could draw me close against his chest. “Easy, easy. Just breathe.”
I meant to pull away, to flail so I could preserve some of my dignity, but instead I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my face against his shoulder. It all caught up with me – all of it. Everything Smith said, everything Dodge repeated at lunch, the conversation about Silas and people being wolves in their head and the thought that the whole city full of supernaturals wouldn’t let me go back to normal. I was caught up in it, and I’d never not be caught up in it.
It was a life sentence. They wouldn’t admit it and Dodge claimed he’d make sure they left me alone, but it was one of those things that couldn’t be undone. My life was tied to them, to their pack. And all I wanted to do was forget any of it ever happened.
Chapter 18
Dodge
Dodge sensed it the moment that the situation became too much for Persephone; her energy changed and her posture changed and he just knew. He moved before he thought about it, pulling her close so he could try to comfort her. He didn’t like the frantic energy and tension, the way her hands shook and she started looking around for an exit.
He’d have been lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed when she said she wanted to put all of them behind her and go back to normal. For just a second, when they kissed, he thought that maybe... Maybe there was something there. Maybe he’d ask her out on a date and figure out how to have a normal relationship with a normal woman. Even if he knew Persephone was extraordinary in every way.
She shook in his arms as he held her; Dodge concentrated on breathing deep and even, to encourage her to follow his rhythm, and rubbed her back in smooth circles. He rested his chin on the top of her head and listened as she hiccupped. Dodge knew the storm wouldn’t blow over in a matter of minutes, and glanced at where the alpha watched with a smirk on his face. “You guys go ahead. We’ll catch up to you at the house.”
Evershaw shrugged, “Suit yourself,” and shooed Deirdre toward the door, since she was still in her witch alternate universe dreaming up spells or whatever she did when her eyes turned silver.
Todd grinned when he spotted Dodge comforting the human; only a ferocious scowl convinced the second-in-command to get the fuck out of there. And then it was just Dodge and Persephone in the small room that still smelled like garlic, grilled meat, and authentic kimchi. He’d traveled in Asia a bit, had been stationed in Korea for a year, and had missed the cuisine. He loved that restaurant, since it was the closest to Seoul-authentic he’d found in the U.S. He couldn’t have said why he chose it as the meeting spot, but part of him wanted to share that place with Persephone. The wolf wanted to see her well-fed, and he knew Korean barbecue would get the job done.
He closed his eyes and hummed under his breath, starting to worry as the architect continued to sniffle and bury her face against him. He hadn’t dealt with any humans when they first encountered the supernatural community, so he had zero practice managing the disbelief and other emotions that Persephone wrestled with. Dodge didn’t mind standing there as long as it took for her to find some peace