Angela

Three days later, she still couldn’t believe her luck.

Noah had been true to his word, and hadn’t revealed anything about what he’d discovered. Angela still couldn’t bring him into the circle, though there were times she wished to with all her heart. Not until the spy was discovered could that happen. While she may believe Noah with every fiber of her being, the others didn’t.

Neither of them blamed anyone for that. After all, none of them knew him the way she did, and it was only through that combination of intimacy and uncanny trust that they shared that she knew him to be truthful. Nobody else could tap into that, and while she was glad to have something shared only between the two of them, it was certainly a hindrance in this case.

Noah had been more than understanding, and had promised to work harder and better to show all his colleagues that he was true to his word. Eventually the spy would be discovered and he would be allowed to be welcomed into the circle of trust, but until then, he was content to labor on the outside. It was just another way with which he impressed her on a regular basis. Angela knew full well she wouldn’t be that patient.

All of which whirled back to her disbelief that she’d found herself a man that complemented her so perfectly. He was a genuine good person, and even better, he was a phenomenal father figure to Cooper. More than once she’d walked in to find the two of them giggling and being thick as thieves together. When she’d asked them what they were doing, all she’d gotten were a pair of innocent looks in return.

“Now this is the life,” she said to him, leaning into his arms as they lounged on her bed, enjoying simply being together.

Noah kissed the top of her head by way of answer.

“So what happens next?” she asked.

“Next?” he echoed.

“You know. We’re together. Things are good. Where do we go from here?”

He thought for a minute while she watched him, enjoying seeing his brain tick. He should never be a poker player. She thought as his face betrayed myriad emotions upon it.

“That depends,” he rumbled. “But I don’t know if it can go anywhere until things are resolved with the embassy.”

She frowned. “You mean the spy.”

“I mean the spy.”

“That’s not your problem, Noah. You don’t need to do anything about it.” He hadn’t said as much, but she knew what he was thinking, and wished he would stop believing that he had to fix everything.

“No, I don’t,” he agreed. “But the longer the spy is here, the better the chances are that he’ll discover this place’s secret. All it took for me was one slip of the tongue from Rachel and some stealthy tracking of Hector. How hard could it be for someone trained to do this sort of thing?”

She didn’t have an answer for that.

“I might have an idea which of the two it is,” he said, stunning her with the revelation.

“What? Really? If you know who it is you need to tell Gray!”

“I said I might have an idea,” he repeated. “I can’t go to him with speculation. I need concrete proof. At the moment all I have is a suspicion, a feeling.”

Angela sat up so she could look at him better, admiring the several days’ worth of stubble he’d let grow in. It gave him such a rugged look. It was wonderful. “Based on what?” she wanted to know.

“The other day, after we talked things over and I went to go get food, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, I ran in to Chase in the hallway. He asked me if everything was okay with us.”

“So?” She didn’t understand.

“So, I never told anyone that we were having some difficulty, that things were tense between us. Nobody should have known that we weren’t good, but somehow he did. Not only that, he made some comments that sounded rather suspicious.”

“Suspicious how?”

“As in, he could have been threatening you, if I didn’t tell him anything I might know.” He flexed his fingers into fists several times, looking at them as he spoke. “It’s tough to explain, half of it was his body language and the way he voiced things. It could just have been me being paranoid. Or he could have been letting me know he knew all about us, and that he was well aware that I couldn’t always be there to protect you.”

Angela felt uneasy at the knowledge that she was somehow being brought into this. That cold feeling coiled in her stomach and grew as she realized it wasn’t just her, but Cooper as well. They were both in jeopardy if Noah was correct.

“What do we do?” she asked.

“Nothing yet. We play innocent. This is a game of cat and mouse. Shadows against shadows. Nothing is going to be black or white, but purely shades of gray,” he growled, his eyes focusing on something distant. “I can’t afford to let on that I know what’s up. I need to play the big dumb shifter for as long as possible.” He snorted. “Which is exactly what I’d be if I hadn’t overheard that conversation.”

She reached out and rubbed his arm. “Learning about the spy really did put you into a tough spot, didn’t it?”

“Yes.” He closed his eyes briefly. “But I wouldn’t change it. Now that I know what I do, I’m in the perfect position to do something about it once I get the chance.” Noah gave her a wry smile. “I just wish I knew what to do.”

Angela didn’t hesitate. She leaned up and kissed him. “Whatever you do, I’m sure it’ll be the right thing. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders Noah Landeau, and as long as you use it, we’ll all be fine.”

“I hope so,” he said, kissing her back. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

From the crib beside the bed Cooper began to make noises. Her shifter laughed and slipped from the bed to pick him up. “Of course I meant the both of you,” he said gently. “You’re a package deal, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Shortly thereafter, Cooper fell back asleep.

“You’re pretty good with children,” she said from across the room.

Noah smiled. “I had plenty of practice. Most of the people I knew back in Cadia all had two or three kids by now. So if I wanted to see them, it meant seeing their kids too. You just sort of pick it up after awhile.”

She eyed him while he continued to gently rock Cooper, ensuring the baby was back asleep before putting him back into the crib.

“Have you ever thought about being a father yourself?” she asked.

He turned to look at her from where he’d been bent over the side of the crib ensuring everything was right.

“Of course,” he said softly. “Many times. I’ve always known I wanted to be a father. The image of walking into my house and having my kids come running saying ‘Daddy, Daddy!’ is a scenario that I’ve dreamt of many times before.” He fell silent.

Angela could hear the pain in his voice, the sadness about how such a scenario had never come true for him, leaving him to live through his friends’ experiences.

“How would you feel about being a father to a child not of your own blood?” As she asked the question Angela felt a sense of relief flood through her at the words. It surprised her to realize that she’d been subconsciously worried about that situation. She couldn’t remember having had much in the way of worry about it before. Just seeing Noah with her child had told her he didn’t seem to care much.

But apparently a large part of her felt differently. It wanted to know for certain that he was okay with playing that part in Cooper’s future. Not just for the here and now, but in the long term as well.

Ah. That makes more sense, she thought as things clicked in. She was asking him if he viewed their relationship as something serious, something long term and lasting.

Noah understood. She could see it written on his face; bless his inability to hide things from her. He looked down at Cooper and reached into the crib to tug something into place that she couldn’t see. Then he came and stood in front of where she sat on the edge of the bed. He squatted down so they could see eye to eye.

“Angela Breeson.” He spoke deeply, his voice thrumming with power and emotion. “I’ve not spoken of this to you until now, because I did not want to scare you away.”

She felt butterflies erupt into action in her stomach at his words, a combination of nervous hope, and also fear of the unknown. Could this be where he told her something she’d begun to expect? Or was she in for the shock? She clasped her shaking hands together, but that lasted only a few seconds before Noah took them into his, the massive fingers of his hands closing around her with ease. She couldn’t respond, her voice having fled her. But enough control remained in her body to ensure she could continue to look at him.

“Ever since the day I came with Hector when he picked Rachel up from your class, I have known this truth. I longed to tell you then and there, but I knew I couldn’t. It wasn’t the way things were done with humans. If I was going to see things through, I would need to do it in a way that worked for you as well. I’ve tried my best to do it that way, and I hope I’ve succeeded.”

Her throat was dry, making it impossible to swallow.

“Now that you have asked, however, I feel it imperative to be truthful and honest with you. Not to hide anything, and to state all that I know.” His eyes burned with blue fire. “In you, I have recognized my other half. A soul that I wish to be conjoined with for all time. Never again will I desire any other. I accept that, and welcome it, you, and your son into my life, with all the compassion and care that I possess.” He inhaled and she could hear the ragged tear to it.

He was nervous too, she saw suddenly. But over what? What was making him so scared to continue? Her mind worked frantically trying to come up with a reason. He’d told her all that she’d needed to hear from him, speaking directly from the heart without trying to obscure anything. Angela had wondered a time or two if Noah saw her as a potential mate, or as something lesser, a person he cared for and liked enough to spend some time with.

Now she knew. So what was he so scared of?

“That is,” he said at last. “If you’d care to have me around.” He looked almost sick. “I know there’s a large age difference between us, and that might scare you away, but I—”

Angela’s lips silenced his further protests as she did the only thing she could think of to prove to him that she was okay with him the way he was.

She showed him.