LIFE AND DEATH (edythe's pov)

Chapter 21 The game

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Solar Midnight: Midnight Sun Reimagined (Life and Death, Book I) by beyondthedawn

Books » Twilight Rated: T, English, Supernatural & Romance, Beau S., Edythe C., Words: 224k+, Favs: 59, Follows: 36, Published: Dec 26, 2020 15Chapter 21: THE GAME

The time always went so quickly. Soon Beau would need to eat another meal, and currently there was no food at all in my house; I planned to rectify that in the near future. Time to return to the human world. As long as we were together, it was not a burden but a joy.

So a meal, a little while to soak up his nearness, and then I'd have to leave him. I expected he would want to talk to Charlie alone before my introduction. But as soon as I turned onto his street, it was clear that my expectations for the afternoon were thwarted.

A 1987 Ford Tempo that had seen better days was parked in Charlie's usual spot. And under the meager protection of the porch roof, a girl stood behind a woman in wheelchair.

Beau beat him home, the old woman thought. That's unfortunate.

Hey, it's Beau! The girl's thoughts were much more enthusiastic.

I could think of only one reason that Bonnie Black would be unhappy to see Beau arrive before his father. And that reason involved a broken treaty. I would have confirmation soon enough; Bonnie hadn't seen me yet.

"Has she forgotten who the treaty actually protects?" I hissed.

Beau glanced up at me, confused, though I doubted I'd spoken slowly enough for my words to be intelligible.

Julie saw me in the driver's seat just a second before Bonnie did.

Her again. So he must be dating her. Her enthusiasm vanished.

NO! Bonnie's thought was a shout, and then a mental groan. No.

I heard her half-articulated fears-should she tell her daughter to run? Was it already too late?-and then her guilt.

How did it know?

I saw that I was right, that this visit was no innocent social call.

Parking the truck against the curb, I locked eyes with the frightened woman.

"This is crossing the line." I enunciated clearly this time. I hoped she could read my lips.

Beau understood immediately. "She came to warn Charlie?" He sounded horrified by the idea.

I nodded, not breaking away from Bonnie's stare. After a second more, she looked down.

"Let me deal with this," Beau suggested.

As much as I would have loved to get out of the truck and stalk up to the helpless duo-to lean over them, intimidating, close enough that all the little signs of what I was would feel like they were screaming at the old woman, to bare my teeth and snarl a warning in a voice that would sound anything but human, to watch her hair stand on end and hear her heart splutter with panic-I knew it was a bad idea. For one thing, Carine wouldn't like it. For another, though the girl was well aware of the legends, she would never believe them. Unless I got in their faces and flaunted my less human side.

"That's probably best," I agreed. "Be careful, though. The child has no idea."

Annoyance flashed suddenly across his face. I was confused until he spoke.