Sly as a Fox {Book One}

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Longing

noun

-strong, persistent desire or craving, especially for something unattainable or distant

Luckily, because it became known that Alpha Monroe was going to come to the Talon mansion that night after speaking to some of his pack in preparation for Blithe's Alpha ceremony, I was able to weasel my way out of a Lupo sleepover with the girls.

With Brian's car left behind at the restaurant just like Blithe's had been, the couple ended up calling Tiffany to come pick us from the police station. I was hoping they would just get a cab instead of calling on the Alpha's daughter to come to the rescue, but Lisa had already texted her before I could voice my concerns. I felt awkward enough around Lisa after what had transpired with the Alpha, but as his child, this feeling was only magnified with Tiffany.

Tiffany's gray BMW pulled up to the curb a few minutes later and I felt my shoulders slump when Brian, with his wide body, ducked into the backseat with Lisa in tow, leaving me to sit up front with Tiffany. I had no idea if she had heard through the grapevine what had happened with her father today and I was nervous for her reaction to learn about Blithe getting arrested on my behalf on top of that.

Sliding into the bucket seat, I closed the door behind me, noticing that Tiffany didn't have the radio on this time and the car was silent. Locking her door, she put the car in park and turned in her seat so her body could face me full-on. Her dark eyes were downcast and her voice was careful, "Lisa told me what happened at the restaurant, Willow." I felt myself cringe from her, fully prepared to be lectured on how disappointed she was with me or how I was a bad influence on her brother. "I'm sorry people treat you like that just because of your species. You don't deserve it."

Like an imbecile, I blinked my eyes at her blankly, needing a moment for my brain to process what she had just said as opposed to the screaming match scenario I had conjured beforehand. Not knowing what else to say to her kind words, I answered her simply, "Thank you."

Her eyes met mine for a second and then went downwards again, a deliberate Lupo display of behavior to give me the upper hand. "I-" she started, pursing her bright pink lips as she paused to compose her thoughts, "There are things about my family you don't know and I think Blithe should be the one to tell you, but I want you to know that none of us kids think the way my dad does about your species. That's all him."

With a small, thankful smile gracing my lips, I put my hand on Tiffany's knee so that she would look at me, "I know." It was obvious that the Talon children were innocent, if not a bit ignorant, in the way they treated my species. It was remarkable that they weren't all calling me special slurs the way they were raised, but they welcomed me into their brother's life all the same. "Your Aunt and Uncle were just as welcoming and accepting as you are, but I don't know about the rest of your family." I had to say it aloud; the rest of Blithe's extended family had barely acted like existed the other night at dinner.

She nodded, turning her head to look out of her windshield, "Yeah. They weren't so quick to move on from everything and they've held onto a lot of hate because of it." She shrugged, a wall appearing as she hid her true, honest emotions, "So did my father, I guess." I wasn't sure exactly what exactly she was referring to her family "moving on" from, but I took a wild guess that it had something to do with her mother. Whatever had happened to the Talon matriarch had had a ripple effect with the power of a tsunami.