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Edward came home to a mess of shadows scattering all over the place, leaving sorts of stains behind wherever Tomi went. He followed the trail, and found her in their bed, her face buried in one of his shirts, her body curled on itself.
He slowly slid beside her, getting a slight stir from her.
“Sh,” He rubbed at her back, and frowned when he heard a small squeak from his mate. “It's just me.”
She turned slowly, her body cracking and protesting against the sudden movement. She fisted his shirt, and brought him closer. Oddly, she sniffed at his clothes and pulled back— her face broken in a scowl.
“Where have you been?”
“What do you mean?”
A small, hesitant laugh came from her throat. “You smell like a wet dog.”
He chuckled, nodding his head away at her. “The— the two men in their Coven came to give me a talk at lunch.”
Tomi cocked her head curiously, and rose to sit again. He followed, rubbing at the bones that cracked loudest. She didn't fight against him as his hands palmed her knees, but she kept her stubborn eyes open to make sure she was focusing. “So one of them is a werewolf?”
“Yes, but apparently packless.”
Tomi frowned, and then recalled what had happened earlier today. “Gwendolyn is gone.”
He hummed down at her knee, his fingers working up and down again until it felt less painful and knotted. “I know. Couldn't hear her when I came home.”
“Where do you think she went?”
“Not far. She didn't take the car.”
Tomi nodded at the observation, her lips still in a frown. “And the werewolf— is he the one that made Gwendolyn panic?”
“No,” Edward frowned, and tried to remember how the lunch had gone.
Edward was alone at the table. Utterly alone, without his mate, he felt her absence deep in his being, like a missing part of his puzzle he knew how to fix but couldn't.
Keep up the appearance, Cullen, Gwendolyn had said to him even in her panic. So he’d listened and had stayed behind to show a sort of front.
And now he was regretting it, because not only were two men coming to sit with him, but because they were part of the Coven they were trying to bring to safety.
