One Night

Chapter 153

Edwin

“Anything useful?” Charles leaned over my desk, tossing aside another pile of papers from that dusty box Audrey’s mother had given her-mostly just old report cards and doctor’s notes.

I shook my head frustratedly as I shoved aside more papers of my own. “The only “birth certificate’ is this,” I said as I held up a yellowed document. The paper was thin, almost translucent with age. “It’s just a certificate from the day she was discovered. at the orphanage. No information about her birth parents or where she came from.”

Charles frowned. his brow furrowing. “Do you really think she could be the Silver Star?”

My wolf reacted to those words. He’d been on edge lately, caught between believing that Audrey was the Silver Star and being unsure

I leaned back in my chair, considering. “Many signs point to her. The silver streak in her hair, her silver eyes, those two incidents when my wolf sensed that the Silver Star was near…”

An image flashed through my mind-a few months ago on campus, when there had been a… disturbance in the air. My wolf had insisted that the Silver Star was nearby then. And it had happened again at that dance club over spring break.

All signs did indeed point to Audrey. She’d practically wiped not only Linda’s memory, but also that kid’s at the club. But we couldn’t know for sure just yet. Maybe she’d need to shift for the first time for us to be certain.

“Have you noticed anything unusual about her abilities?” Charles asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing beyond the normal capabilities of a werewolf. But then again, she’s only just awakened. Who knows what might develop over time?”

Charles nodded thoughtfully. “What about her adoptive parents Could they have any information?”

I scoffed, the sound bitter even to my own ears. “Those people?” I kicked that dusty old box with my foot “Doubtful. But Audrey mentioned she had two sets of adoptive parents. The first one… she spoke fondly of her.”

Charles pressed his lips into a thin line. “I’ll track down the original orphanage and see if I can find information on her first adoptive mother. Perhaps there’s a trail we can follow.”

As Charles turned to leave, my eyes fell on the drawing on my desk. It was the sketch I had taken from Audrey’s childhood room. I had it framed now,

Goddess knew that her ‘parents’ never went to the effort to frame her childhood artwork.

The thought of my mate growing up in that horrible house made my blood boil. Even my wolf growled, angry at the injustice of it all.

Before we had left yesterday, I had had… words with her mother,

When Audrey had stormed out, that b**h of a ‘mother’ had turned to me, hand outstretched. I’d blinked, surprised. She’d wanted… money, I didn’t know why she thought she was entitled to it. Maybe she thought that she had done me a service by raising my mate,

“You’ll never see her again, I’d growled, watching as her mother had shrank beneath me. “And you’ll live to regret the way you treated an innocent child.”

Her mother had just swallowed hard, throat bobbing, and pointed at the door with a shaking finger. “Get out,” was all she said. Not a care in the world that her ‘daughter’ would never return to this place. Just angry that she hadn’t gotten a paycheck.

08:58 Fri, Sep 20

Chapter 153

“Charles, I called out, just as he reached the door.

He turned, eyebrow

raises

“Contact the orphanage that’s giving Audrey’s… parents… another kid,” I said, my jaw clenched so tight I could hear my teeth grinding. “Tell them if they let those people adopt a child, I’ll have the entire orphanage shut down. Use whatever leverage you need to, I don’t care. Just don’t let it happen.”

Charles nodded, a grim smile on his face. “Understood. I’ll make sure they get the message loud and clear.”

That night. Audrey and I lay tangled in my bed, the sheets a mess around us. She was panting softly beneath me, legs curled around my waist as if afraid to let me go. I caged her gently to the pillow on my forearms, brushing strands of hair out of her face and pressing gentle kisses to her neck as I moved inside of her.

Audrey had seemed overwhelmed since visiting her parents house yesterday, and I didn’t blame her. In her words, she hadn’t been there in over a year, and now hearing that they intended on subjecting another child to that. It was a lot.

I just wanted to protect her, to shield her from any more pain. And when she had come to me earlier, practically ripping my clothes off the second she saw me, I knew that she needed the kind of comfort that only her mate could give her.

So I gave it to her. Slow and sweet and long.

But as we reached our climax together, I noticed tears slipping from Audrey’s eyes. The sight made my bean clench, and I stopped my gentle thrusting.

“Audrey

She quickly moved to wipe them away, face reddening with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why that happened. I’m not sad, I just.”

I caught her wrist gently before she could wipe her eyes. “Hey. It’s okay,” I murmured, kissing away her tears. The salt of them was sharp on my tongue. I held her close, still inside of her, trying to send all the love I could manage down that thread connecting us. “You don’t have to explain. I’m here.”

She nodded, lip quivering

After we cleaned up, I came out of the bathroom to find Audrey standing on the balcony. She wore my button-down shirt, which was far too large on her, the hem brushing her thighs. Despite the cold night air, she stood there trembling slightly, her arms wrapped around herself as she looked out over the railing

I walked up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. She leaned back into me, her body fitting perfectly agains mine. We stood in silence for a few minutes, just looking out at the view of the town below.

Suddenly, Audrey turned to me.

“Edwin, could you teach me how to handle my werewolf senses? Her voice was small. “I’m still not used to all the smells and sounds. When we went into that house… it was overwhelming. I felt like I was drowning in sensations. I still can’t get the smell of it to go away.”

I wrinkled my nose, remembering the state of that horrible house. Even I could still smell the scent of cigarettes and sweat and stale food. To think she had grown up there…

“It must have been ten times worse for you with untrained senses,” I said. She nodded.

Her hands and feet were cold from the night air, her skin pale in the moonlight. I led her back inside, sitting her on the bed and rubbing her hands and feet to warm them.

2/3

“The best way to learn to control your senses is to practice using them,” I explained. “It’s like building a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger and more controlled it becomes.”

Audrey nodded, still blinking mist back from her eyes. “How do we start?”

“Close your eyes, I instructed gently.

Audrey complied, her eyelids fluttering shut. I held my hand near her face, not touching “Where is my hand?”

She frowned in concentration, her nose twitching slightly in a frustratingly cute way. “Um… near my left cheek?”

“Good,” I said, encouraging her. “Now focus on the air currents. You should be able to smell and hear exactly where my hand is moving. Try to use all your senses together.”

We practiced for a while, my hand hovering over various parts of her body. Slowly, Audrey began to improve, pinpointing my hand’s location with increasing accuracy. Her face scrunched in concentration, but I could see the tension in her shoulders easing as she grew more comfortable with her heightened senses.

“You’re doing great,” I encouraged her, my voice soft. “Remember, your senses are interconnected. Use them all together. What do you smell? What do you hear? How does the air move around you?”

Audrey nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. “It’s getting casier,” she said. “I can smell your scent more clearly now, and I can hear the way the air moves around your hand. Everything else, the sounds and smells outside the apartment, aren’t so. dizzying now. It feels like I can focus.”

Finally, I placed my hand near her heart, not quite touching. The heat of her skin radiated against my palm. “Where’s my hand?” I asked softly, my voice hardly a whisper now.

Eyes still closed, Audrey reached out and took my hand, pressing it against her chest.

I could feel her heartbeat, strong and steady, beneath my palm.

“Right here,” she whispered.

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