Roman
Roman could feel how freaked out Everleigh was.
Was that because of him? She noticed her daughter was missing and she panicked, like most human parents. Even though her daughter wasn't human. Even if the little girl's father was human, she would've picked up most of the bear traits that would protect her from harm. She couldn't even be overpowered by a human adult.
But even when Everleigh had laid eyes on her daughter, she had not calmed down. If anything, she had seemed to grow more alarmed by the minute. He didn't want her to be scared of him or to think he was somehow going to disrupt her life.
It was true that Sutton had asked him for information. But maybe Roman would not give Sutton any information, maybe that's what she was afraid of. If he talked to her, he could reassure her. He could reassure her that she and her daughter were under no threat from him.
He raced out onto the sidewalk. He scanned the area but didn't see them. He looked again, and he spotted her, further down the sidewalk than she could be if she were human holding a five-year-old.
"Everleigh," he whispered, knowing she’d hear. He didn't want to shout her name and alarm her. They didn't have a bond to speak of, but he tried to send calm, reassuring vibes anyway.
When he got close he called her name. "Everleigh. Will you slow down for a second? Can we talk?"
She turned around. "I don't have anything to say to you, Roman."
He couldn't let her go, but there was no way he was going to follow her to her home. Especially not while she had her child with her – he knew that was a bad idea. The mama bear would definitely come out then.
"Can we talk? What about if we stopped in the bookstore?" he asked.
He’d forgotten that her daughter would hear him too. "Mommy, can we?” She looked down at her daughter and she stopped walking. He stopped walking too, not getting any closer.
"Roman? Is that your name?" the little girl called out.
"Yes. That's my name."
"Who are you?" she asked, "Are you a stranger?"
He wanted to answer her, but he didn't want to override her mother's authority. He looked at Everleigh, who sighed. "I knew Roman a long time ago. Back before you were born."
"He wants to go to the bookstore." The little girl hopped up and down. "So do I."
"Okay. But you have to stay in the place where I tell you. No running off. You get to pick out a book, not a toy, okay?"
"Yes, Mommy! I love you, Mommy!" The little girl slithered down her mother's legs and then grabbed her mom around the waist and squeezed her tight.
Then she yanked the door open, pulling it nearly off its hinges
Roman chuckled. Seeing little shifters in the human world was always hilarious to him.
Everleigh looked down at her daughter. "You are sure that you will stay in one place? You won't see someone you know and take off running?"
"No, Mommy, I promise."
"Okay, we’ll give it a try, but if I find you wandering around, we're going to have to leave."
Roman and Everleigh took her daughter straight to the kids’ section where she plopped herself down in front of a set of books about cats. "She adores cats," Everleigh said.
"Do you have one?"
"Yes. I have a kitten. This was the first year I thought she would be gentle enough to be able to handle it."
"I bet she loves it."
"Oh, she does. And I do too. We never had pets in my clan." She stopped herself. "Why am I telling you this? Is there something you need?"
"I just wanted to see how you are doing. It's been so long."
"It's been so long for a reason."
"Yes. I regret the way I handled that. I could've been more mature and not so abrupt," Roman said. He wanted to be sincere, but he was afraid he was coming off as wooden.
"It's water under the bridge. Don’t worry about it. Obviously, we’ve both moved on," she said.
That was a knife to the heart. But he wasn't going to get frustrated. She had every right to be angry about the way he had left.
He wasn’t going to give up. He was going to ask her out again, even if it was a long shot. He could start over and make things right.