Page 32 of Property of Crypt Keeper
Silence stretched. Long enough that I was certain he had nothing more to say.
“Who?” he finally asked.
Defiantly, I held his gaze.
And for the first time since I’d met him—I hesitated. That didn’t happen.
“Rafael,” I surprisingly admitted.
The name hung between us.
“It didn’t come through my usual channels,” I added. “It was… direct. Specific.”
Gideon’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Never heard of him.”
“Most haven’t,” I explained with mild amusement. “That’s the point.”
His jaw tightened, the muscle jumping. That was a problem for him.
Oh well. But that wasn’t what was really bothering him. I could feel it. That tension under his skin. That restless edge.
“You didn’t come here just to ask about yourself,” I murmured quietly, getting to my feet.
His eyes snapped back to mine. There it was. The crack. Small. But real. He exhaled slowly. Then stepped closer.
Close enough now that I could see the faint shift in his pupils. The way his body leaned toward mine without him realizing it. I caught myself wanting to move toward him as well.
“You have records,” he assumed. “On wolves in this area.”
“Yes.” I didn’t elaborate or offer up information.
“Any of them female?”
That caught me off guard. I frowned. Something that almost felt like… jealousy sparked under my skin. My eyes narrowed.
“Why would that matter?”
His gaze dropped for a second—just a second—before coming back up. And something in him shifted. Not weaker. Not softer. But… open.
Like he’d made a decision.
“There’s a kid,” he admitted.
I stilled.
“A child,” he continued. “Five. Showed up at the clubhouse a few days ago.”
My mind moved quickly. So this was the child I’d seen. I didn’t let on that I’d been watching that day.
“That’s not unusual,” I replied. “Humans abandon their young all the time.”
“She’s not human.”
That made me go still.
“What is she?” I asked.
