“No more fur at night. Deal?”

The blankets and his chest muffled my voice, but I knew he heard me. He kissed the top of my head, the only part exposed. I smiled, figuring it meant yes.

The next morning my cell phone rang, waking me. Still wrapped in Clay’s warmth, I didn’t move right away. He reached over me, plucked it from the bedpost, and handed it to me. Only Sam and Rachel had my number.

I could hear movement in the house and looked at the display, expecting Sam’s number. Instead, it was one I didn’t recognize.

I answered with a questioning, “Hello?”

“Gabby, I found her, but...”

“Luke?” I hadn’t heard from him since we’d left the Compound.

“Yes. I understand you think she’s important, but she’s not even eighteen. How am I supposed to get her to come with me?”

I sat up excitedly and knocked back the covers in the process, exposing both Clay and me to the cool air. Clay grunted a complaint.

“I can’t believe you actually found her! I need to talk to her. If she’s like me, which I think she is, you had better bring her to the Compound. I hate to admit it, but the Elders need to know.”

“Fine. You better be there when we get there,” he said with an edge. The line went dead.

I pulled the phone from my ear to look at it, puzzled. Luke never had an edge. Slowly, I grinned. Had I been right? Was he now dealing with his potential Mate? Smiling hugely, I hoped she gave Mr. Confident a little hell.

Chapter 18

With the freeze came the night Rachel thawed toward Clay-the-man.

A heavy snow started to fall just as Clay and I went to bed. His arm curled around my waist, and my head rested on his shoulder. Asking him to sleep beside me was the best decision I ever made, and it made me finally understand that I determined the pace of our relationship. He had waited patiently for me to invite him in and would wait patiently for the next step, whatever I decided that would be.

My phone rang and pulled me from my warm cocoon. I recognized the number and answered.

“Hey. I’m coming home,” Rachel said. “It’s snowing too badly to go to Peter’s.” She’d caught on that Clay spent the night often.

“Thanks for the heads up,” I said with a laugh. “We’ll see you soon.”

Clay got out of bed as I ended the call. Puzzled, I watched him dress in warm clothes. He left the room. The back door opened and closed. A minute later, I heard the rasp of a shovel on the driveway. I smiled, moved to his warm spot, and burrowed in.

The sound of the plow scraping past disrupted the silent world and kept me awake. Clay stayed outside, keeping the entrance to the driveway clear until Rachel came home. I heard her thanking Clay as they came in together. He didn’t say anything in return, but I imagined he gave her one of his rare nods.

When he returned, I flipped the covers back for him and moved out of his place.

“I was just keeping it warm for you,” I lied.

He laughed and pulled me close. Even after being outside so long, he still warmed me.

My lids grew heavy, and he kissed the top of my head.

With the long holiday around the corner, I needed to cross a few things off my mental checklist. First, I needed to pin down my next victim for a power swap. After that, I needed to talk to Sam and hope for answers.

I’d planned to test my ability on Rachel before I went back to the Compound, but Clay watched me closely. Since he knew something happened when I touched other people, he subtly kept everyone out of reach. I pretended not to notice so he wouldn’t become even more protective.

Luck turned in my favor when Rachel texted and asked me to meet her and Peter for lunch. Having just left my morning class, the timing couldn’t have worked better. She suggested a small ma and pa diner close to the campus; the same one Clay and I had walked to so long ago for our sunrise breakfast. I quickly agreed, told her what to order for me, and rushed over the scraped sidewalks to my car.

I cautiously drove the few blocks to the diner. The salt on the roads made everything slushy, and my worn tires liked to slide when I least expected. I eased into the crowded parking lot and snagged a spot near the door.

Through the windows, I spied Rachel and Peter already snuggled in a booth. The waitress had just delivered our food, and they didn’t notice me park or get out of the car. They stared at each other. I saw their lips moving in quiet conversation. Rachel kept stopping to grin at Peter.

I opened the door, briefly blasting the patrons with the frigid air. It caught Rachel and Peter’s attention. They wore secret smiles as they watched me approach. I slid in across from them, the vinyl seat squeaking, and peeled off my hat and gloves. The warmth of the room heated my cheeks and turned them red in seconds.

“Hi, guys. This is a nice surprise. What’s the occasion?” As soon as I said it, I noticed the glint on Rachel’s ring finger. “Oh, wow...” It came out sounding as stunned as I felt. The rational side of me said it was too soon, but the part of me that saw them together and saw their synchronized pulses, knew it was perfect.

“Peter proposed last night, and I said yes.” Rachel’s happiness bubbled from her.

I stood and reached across the table to hug her. She bounced up from her seat and excitedly hugged me back. I grabbed hold of the opportunity. Focusing, I repeated what I’d thought and felt the other times I’d shocked someone. Was she doing the right thing? Was Peter the right one for her? What if I was wrong? I dredged up all my concerns and hope for her, held it tight within me and then let it flow through to her.

The shock jolted us apart immediately. The intensity of it burned my fingertips. Rachel settled next to Peter with a surprised laugh. I sat too, smiled, and opened my sight wide, forcing the full view of the world as I’d seen when I’d shocked Luke. It strained me a bit, but I didn’t let go. This time I really looked. The tiny sparks of all living beings covered the world. I focused the view so I could see the occupants of the diner in detail.

Peter and Rachel pulsed in time as usual. I expected Peter to be different, somehow, to signify his match with Rachel, but I couldn’t see anything unusual. They did appear a bit dimmer, like their light had faded. I remembered that happening when I’d touched Luke and quickly pulled back from such a close up view.

While I looked at Rachel’s tiny spark, something caught my eye. Faint pulses rippled out from her. Much like the ripples made by a pebble thrown into a pond, they spread outward, passing through all other sparks. One approached Charlene’s spark. Instead of passing through, it bounced off and came speeding back.

Startled, I scanned the sparks, zooming in and out as needed until I identified five uniquely colored sparks like me. The ripples didn’t pass through them. Instead, they bounced off and came flying back. Right at me, not Rachel.

The return wave of the spark midway between Charlene and me hit. I absorbed it, and a wave of dizziness rushed through me. That was the first indication of the drain I’d felt previously. I watched Charlene’s wave approach and knew that when it hit, I’d get worse. It made sense now, how I grew weak and sick shortly after transferring my ability. Each hit of return energy knocked me further on my butt. If I’d paid more attention to it before, I would have noticed it when I shocked Nicole and the other girls. But why had it acted differently when I’d touched Luke? Why had just one of the five become focused? I still had so much to figure out. For now, the clock ticked, counting down the time until I would turn into a shaking mess.

I’d noted all of this in the few short seconds it’d taken for Rachel’s surprised expression to clear.

“I’m so happy for both of you,” I said before she could say anything about my momentary pause.