Page 17

Two days later, on Monday afternoon, Faith peered through the window on the passenger side of her car and watched as children streamed out of the elementary school building.

As always, Chloe was one of the last kids out because she couldn’t tear herself away from her friends or the teacher. Then she made up for it by racing toward the car. Her purple backpack bobbed up and down, and her wild curls bounced with every step.

Chloe yanked the car door open. “Hi, Mom!” She tossed her backpack in and clambered into her high-back booster seat.

“Hi, sweetie.”

Chloe’s tongue poked out as she focused on buckling herself in. She had only mastered it this year, so the task needed her full concentration.

Faith got out to double-check if she had done it correctly and closed the door once Chloe was safely buckled in. Then she climbed back behind the wheel and eased the car away from the curb. “How was school?”

“It was great,” Chloe said.

Faith expected a steady stream of chatter about art class or an exciting thing Chloe had learned that day.

Instead, her daughter was silent. Her sneakers scuffed against the back of the passenger seat.

Something wasn’t right. Faith glanced into the rearview mirror.

“Mommy?” Chloe finally said, which ratcheted up Faith’s concern even more. Her daughter only called her that when she was really excited or scared and forgot that she had recently decided she was too old to say “Mommy.”

Faith gripped the steering wheel more tightly. “Yes?”

“Is Tala your girlfriend?”

Faith nearly hit the brake. Her heart thrummed in her ears. She gaped at her daughter in the rearview mirror. “What? Who told you that?” Okay, that sounded like a confirmation. “I mean, who said she is? And how do you even know her name?”

“The woman at the parade called her Tala,” Chloe said. “Don’t you remember?”

No, she didn’t. But for some reason, Chloe had been fascinated by Tala from the moment she had caught sight of her. She still seemed to remember every second of their short interaction at the Wrasa Pride parade.

“Mia showed me a photo,” Chloe added when Faith just kept looking back and forth between the rearview mirror and the traffic ahead of them.

“What photo?”

“Of you and Tala playing Mario Kart. It was on Instagram.”

No, no, no, no! Chloe wasn’t supposed to ever find out! That hadn’t been part of the plan. Faith gripped the steering wheel so tightly that her fingers ached. At the next red light, she braked and turned to stare at her daughter. “Why on earth does a six-year-old have a phone of her own? And why is she on Instagram?”

“Mia is seven,” Chloe said as if that made any difference. “And it’s her big sister’s phone.”

That didn’t explain why a seven-year-old would have it.

“Is it true?” Chloe asked. “Is Tala your girlfriend?”

Faith’s thoughts tumbled over each other as she furiously tried to think of an answer. Telling her the truth was out of the question; it would only scare Chloe. She also hated the thought of lying to her, especially since it meant denying her sexual orientation—something she had done for her father’s sake for much too long already. She had promised herself to be honest with Chloe when the time came. Faith just hadn’t expected to be having this conversation so soon—and definitely not while she wasn’t even dating a woman for real!

But if she told her Tala was her girlfriend—or even simply a friend—she would also imply that Tala was a decent person. Someone to be trusted. It would influence the way Chloe saw the Wrasa.

Could she really be sure her father was wrong about them?

“It’s okay, Mom,” Chloe said when Faith kept hesitating.

The driver in the car behind them honked.

Faith jumped and turned back around. The light had turned green. Quickly, she navigated the car across the intersection. “Um, what do you mean?”

“It’s okay to like boys and girls.” Chloe sounded very mature and matter-of-fact. “I love kittens and puppies the same too.”

Oh my God. Faith couldn’t keep up with this conversation. It was completely out of control. “I… Um, that’s a good way to put it, Chloe. I do like boys and girls. Well, men and women. And that’s completely fine, no matter what anyone might say. I want you to know that.”

“I know,” Chloe said as if it was no big deal to her at all.

If only Faith could have grown up with that belief.

“And Tala,” Chloe added. “You like her…right?”

Faith hesitated. “Yes.” Not in a girlfriend way, of course, but she was starting to enjoy her sharp wit. “I do like her. But, sweetie, she’s not my girlfriend. We’re just… We’re going on some dates. So please don’t think she’s going to be your new mommy, okay?” She chuckled nervously as she watched her daughter’s reaction in the rearview mirror.

“Okay.” Chloe looked disappointed. “But it would be really cool to have a mom who can turn into a fox. They’re so cute!”

Faith groaned. She wanted to bury her face against the steering wheel. “Sorry, kiddo. Can’t help you there. You’ll have to cope with having a boring human mother.”

“That’s okay.”

“Hey, you’re supposed to say, ‘You’re not boring, Mom.’” Faith tried to keep her tone light and teasing, even though she was still shaking on the inside.

Chloe giggled. “You’re not boring, Mom,” she repeated obediently.

“Thanks.” At the Waterfront, Faith took a right onto Wisconsin Avenue. Almost home.

“Can Tala come over and play Mario Kart with us for the next date?” Chloe asked just as Faith thought she had successfully made it through this conversation.

“Um, I don’t think that’s a good idea, Chloe.”

“Why not?” Chloe’s little face scrunched up as if she was thinking hard. “Is it because Grandpa doesn’t like people who can turn into animals?”

Faith swallowed. She had tried hard to keep Chloe away from that part of her grandfather’s life, but Chloe had always been very perceptive for her age. How could she explain his attitude toward the Wrasa without scaring her?

“It’s…complicated, Chloe.”

Shit. Now she was the kind of parent who used cop-outs like that, even though she had promised herself she would never do that.

She cleared her throat. Twice.

“It could be our secret,” Chloe whispered before Faith could speak.

This situation was rapidly going downhill! Faith pulled into the parking garage that belonged to the converted Paper Mill complex and parked the car in their assigned spot.

“No secrets,” she said firmly. “Your grandpa knows about me going out with Tala. He’s okay with it.” Of course, that was only because he had sent her to spy on the Wrasa.

“Then why can’t I meet her?” Chloe asked. “Doesn’t she like kids?”

Faith turned off the engine. Sudden silence filled the car, making her lack of an answer even more glaring. “I have no idea, Chloe. That’s not something adults ask on the first few dates. We’ll see how it goes, okay?”

Chloe dangled her legs against the back of the seat and sighed. “Okay,” she said in a resigned tone. “Can we have pizza for dinner?”

“Sure,” Faith said. She would have said yes to ice cream for dinner if it meant getting out of this conversation.

“Yes! Pizza!”

Faith climbed out and opened the back door to help Chloe, her mind already on the three phone calls she had to make—to their favorite pizza place, to Mia’s parents, and to Tala.

~ ~ ~

As soon as Chloe was in bed, Faith settled down on the couch with her phone and a glass of red wine—she had a feeling she would need it.

Jeff Madsen’s people had set up Instagram profiles for both Tala and her before they had gone on their first date. But so far, Faith hadn’t posted anything, nor had she paid any attention to what Tala was sharing on social media. Truth be told, she hadn’t wanted to know. But now she opened Instagram and typed Tala’s name into the search bar.

Tala’s profile picture popped up. It was a photo of her staring directly into the camera with her intense golden eyes. She was grinning, but the expression didn’t appear authentic—more as if she’d been told to smile.

Why on earth had the Wrasa chosen Tala for this fake-relationship scheme? While she was certainly fascinating, she wasn’t what Faith would call a people person. Most of the time, she came across as aloof, blunt, and arrogant—not exactly traits that would endear her to the human public.

The grid of Tala’s feed didn’t show any pictures of her with family or friends. It was just photos and a couple of videos from their dates.

Tala had tagged her in each of them.

Slowly, Faith scrolled through the posts—a Titanic-esque selfie from their dinner cruise, a beaming Faith and a grumpy-looking Tala in front of the Mario Kart winning screen, and a photo of Tala twirling her around in the bowling alley.

Had Sabina taken that last picture and sent it to Tala? Or had someone from Madsen’s team followed them to take photos?

Faith stared at the image.

Both of them were flushed and laughing without restraint. She had her arms wrapped around Tala’s neck while Tala held her safely by her hips. They looked deeply into each other’s eyes.

No wonder they had tricked Sabina into thinking they were a couple! It certainly appeared convincing!

Faith tapped on a random reel. It showed a montage of their cooking adventure.

She wasn’t sure what she had expected. But not…this.

The video showed Tala adjusting the strap of Faith’s apron, her fingers grazing her neck. Even now, as Faith watched it on the small screen, goose bumps trailed down her body.

The next shot had captured her feeding Tala a spoonful of the stew, their gazes locking.

God, she hadn’t realized how intimate it would come across.

The laughter was a surprise too. She hadn’t noticed how often they had made each other laugh during their cooking experiment. Come to think of it, they had shared plenty of humorous moments during all of their dates.

None of it looked fake. They appeared like a couple with sizzling chemistry.

She marveled at the skills of the Wrasa’s PR team. Their editing and the romantic music they’d added would have made a boxing match appear tender and heartfelt!

But did it seem as convincing to their audience?

Faith checked the comments.

The video had garnered a lot of attention. It had nearly two hundred comments!

She read a few of them.

@christiedroemer Why would you tarnish your reputation by being with a monster?

@mavericksfan7 Disgusting! There should be laws against this shit!

@literallylegendary Why can’t you date one of your own kind? Leave our women alone, you beast!

With each comment, Faith’s grip around the phone tightened more. Of course she had known there would be backlash. A human and a Wrasa together wasn’t just any relationship; it was a political statement, so everyone felt entitled to comment on it.

But she hadn’t expected this much hate from hundreds of total strangers! What on earth was wrong with people? Why couldn’t they scroll past a post that had nothing to do with them?

The vicious words made her eyes burn and her hackles rise, which was silly since their relationship wasn’t real. But somehow, it felt personal—maybe because she suspected she would get a similar reaction if she ever walked into her dad’s church holding hands with a woman…even if she wasn’t a Wrasa.

Most of the comments seemed to be from humans, but some Wrasa had lashed out too:

@prideofthepack1 They have killed and oppressed us for centuries. Why would you be with one of them? This is a betrayal of our heritage!

@corbinfenwick You’re engaged to MacAllister’s daughter of all people? Traitor!

Engaged? Wow, people on the Internet were really jumping to conclusions!

Just when Faith wanted to toss the phone to the other end of the couch and never look at it again, she found a few positive comments.

@NylaRozakis Don’t listen to the haters. It’s great to see another Wrasa/human couple! #LoveIsLove

@suziegearsh OMG! You two are so cute together! #WroupiesForever

The comment was followed by three heart-eyes emojis.

Wroupies? Like Wrasa groupies?

Faith pinched the bridge of her nose.

Had Chloe and her friend read any of the comments beneath the post they had discovered? The thought of her daughter being exposed to so much hate twisted Faith’s stomach like a dishrag wrung dry.

It hadn’t sounded as if Chloe had read the comments, but Faith would have to do some careful digging tomorrow to make sure. But even if Chloe hadn’t seen anything this time, how long until she did?

Hot and cold chills skittered down her spine. God, she’d been naive, thinking she could keep her daughter out of this mess, as if she could build a bubble around her and trust it would hold. Why hadn’t she seen this coming?

She had let her father talk her into agreeing to the scheme, and with every date, she had gotten more and more entangled in this web of lies. Lying to her best friend had been bad enough, but this was where she drew the line.

She had to protect Chloe. Faith had always promised herself that she would give Chloe the carefree childhood she’d been denied after her mother’s death, and she would keep that promise, no matter what.

Besides, she was half convinced her father was wrong about the Wrasa being dangerous, so what reason did she have to continue?

A surge of determination swept through her.

With a stiff finger, she slashed across the screen to close Instagram, then stabbed at her contacts.

Time to call Tala and tell her to cancel Operation Make-Believe Mate.

~ ~ ~