Sassy Embrace (Sassy Ever After #11)

15. Leigh

FIFTEEN

LEIGH

L eigh hadn’t left her apartment since the announcement at Embraced. She knew that it wasn’t really the reaction to the announcement about vampires and wolves being welcomed into the club—that in itself was hurtful, but she expected nothing less from the general public. She had enough experience to know that the supernaturals would need some time to lean into this fresh reality. Change took adjustment.

But that wasn’t why she was feeling down.

Leigh stayed in her sweatpants and loose T-shirt, meandering from room to room, feeling like a ghost in her own home. Claude had rejected her—or, at least, he hadn’t fought for her. That wasn’t how mates were supposed to behave, was it? He was supposed to pull her back into his arms, stare deep into her soul with those dark eyes, and profess that he wasn’t going anywhere.

That was what she had heard over the years about fated mates. It once lingered like a fable in her mind, not something she precisely pursued, but something she longed for. When she met Claude, it struck her like a lightning bolt. She would be one of the handful of wolves who were lucky enough to find their mate.

But the man was a vampire. He fucking drank blood, for fuck’s sake. Vampires didn’t have the fated mate sense like wolves did. Whatever she had been to him was likely somewhat of a distraction. Something used, then discarded.

Leigh felt like tossed-away garbage.

She still managed to stay on track with the opening of Embraced, answering emails and sending out letters of acceptance to employees. But she did it on autopilot, listening to the depressing scattering of rain out her window and the crestfallen crackles of thunder.

She reached for her wine glass a few too many times. Wolves had high tolerances, but that didn’t mean one wasn't capable of pushing it too far. Three days after Claude’s rejection, she drank nearly two full-bodied merlots and sank into a restless slumber on the couch.

She shook awake at the striking sound of someone knocking on the door. Then, her headache hit, pulsing like a heartbeat at the center of her forehead.

“Okay!” she snarled, peeling herself from off the couch. “I’m coming, hold your fucking horses…”

She swung the door open and gulped down the remainder of her obscenities.

Standing there was Barbara Wolfe, holding two coffees and a package of pastries. She was smiling, bemused.

“Good morning, Leigh," she said, stepping into the apartment. “I know you likely didn’t want any visitors, but I’m here anyway. Nothing like caffeine and sweets to wake up to.”

Leigh was embarrassed, her cheeks flushing scarlet. She didn’t own a lot of furniture or items, but whatever was there was in disarray from the past few dark days of mourning. The rainy weather that had been plaguing Blue Creek didn’t help.

“Barbara, I’m sorry,” Leigh croaked, gathering up the empty wine bottles and glasses hurriedly. “It's been a rough few days.”

“I figured, darling,” Barbara said, sitting on the couch and ignoring the blanket and pillow. “Come. Sit. Talk to me.”

Leigh was reluctant, but Barbara had always felt like a mother to her. There wasn’t anyone else she would have allowed inside with a headache that felt like an ice pick being slammed into her skull.

Barbara gazed down into Leigh’s arms, which were full of the wine bottles and glasses. She then motioned toward the bathroom with her chin.

“Do you have aspirin?”

Leigh nodded.

Barbara went to the bathroom, flicked on the light, and retrieved the painkillers. Leigh put the wine bottles and glasses in the sink, then met with Barbara back on the couch.

“Water,” Barbara said. “Drink some water, darling."

“Oh, yes."

Leigh got water from the kitchen and swallowed three painkillers. She groaned, her throat as dry and gritty as a desert.

“So tell me what’s going on?” Barbara inquired.

They sat on the couch next to each other while yet another storm brewed outside. But the ache in her chest remained. She cleared her throat and spoke toward the floor.

“I’m not happy with the response to the announcement. It’s pretty scathing. I know that it’s going to take time for people to really get on board with the mixture of the two supernaturals, but still. People have been really nasty .”

Leigh bit into the word with a fury she hadn’t anticipated. Barbara looked at her with a cocked eyebrow, balancing her coffee on her knee.

“That’s not what you’re really upset about though, is it?”

Leigh met Barbara’s eyes. They were smooth and blue like a calm ocean. How could she not confess her deepest secrets to her?

Leigh sighed, then let it all cascade from the well of her soul.

“You’re right. It’s not just because of the reaction to the club. It’s because of Claude… he… I think he’s my mate, Barbara.”

She expected the sage wolf to waiver, but she didn’t. She stared at Leigh, contemplatively.

“Wolves don’t just think they’ve found a fated mate, Leigh, they know it. The way they know the taste of sugary sweetness on their tongue. The way they feel a violent gust of wind. Tell me what you really feel."

Leigh sat up straight. Her headache had nearly dissipated completely and her confidence was rising.

“He is my mate. Claude, a fucking vampire, is my mate."

“And that bothers you?”

Leigh leaned back against the couch and fixed her gaze on the ceiling. Barbara continued to listen intently.

“I always thought that if I found my mate, it would be a wolf. Finding it to be a vampire has… disturbed me. It doesn’t make any sense. I don’t see how it can work."

Barbara placed a hand on Leigh’s knee, and Leigh looked down. Barbara was smirking, completely unfazed.

“You spend so much time in clubs and bars, honey. It really doesn’t surprise me that someone other than our kind has turned out to be your mate. I get that you weren’t expecting it, but it must feel somewhat refreshing, no?”

Leigh glowered.

“Do you think that a Wolfe pack member mating with a vampire is something that our community is going to embrace with open arms? They’d stop visiting the other clubs because I’d be seen as a traitor.”

Barbara scoffed and cut her hand through the air.

“Stop thinking that way, Leigh,” she said, shaking her head. “Tristan and I have committed to peace and unity in this town. If there is more movement forward with wolves and vampires being mated, then all the better. It’s an adjustment, but I have faith that our people will learn to understand. They will have to. Progress is going to happen whether they are on board or not."

The casual look on Barbara’s face gave Leigh some relief, her chest deflating slightly like a balloon. She was still uncertain about what would happen next, especially since Claude had altogether disappeared out of her life. But before she could mention the update to Barbara, her phone began to buzz.

“Sorry, honey, one second.”

Barbara answered the phone, listened, then her expression turned solemn. Leigh was instantly on high alert.

“Okay. I’m on my way now. I’ll call Tristan. Don’t wait.” She shoved her phone into her purse and stood. Leigh rose with her.

“That was Mason. Apparently Emma has gone into labor."

“Really?” Leigh said, glancing at the calendar that hung next to her desk. “Isn’t it early?"

Barbara nodded apprehensively.

“Quite early. I’m going to head over there now. I’ll have to call Tristan, too, he's out of town. Sorry to have to leave so quickly.”

Leigh felt renewed and picked up the coffee cups and pastries from the table.

“Do you want some company?” she asked, smiling.

Leigh quickly changed and dabbed on some deodorant before heading out to Barbara’s car. They drove as fast as they could out to the Central Pack hospital where Emma was having her baby.

The gray skies had finally parted to reveal a glistening sun, and it felt warm and reassuring on Leigh’s skin. She wasn’t thinking in the past or future anymore. She was genuinely excited to meet the next generation of Wolfes. There was an ounce of concern in Barbara’s voice for both Emma and the baby’s well-being, but they were reassured by their robust genetics.

Claude was never far from Leigh’s mind. She found that, ever since she met him, he haunted her. His scent, housed in some distant, hidden room of her mind, his touch, his animalistic growls…

“Let’s wait here and not crowd her too much.”

Emma was still in labor when they arrived at the hospital, and they decided to give Mason and the new momma their space. They were rounding the corner to the waiting room when a scent smacked Leigh as hard as a slap.

It was that intriguing blend of marble and dusty roses.

Leigh nearly crashed directly into the man of whom her thoughts could not stop dancing back to. Claude.

“Oh,” she said.

Claude stood there, wide-eyed, as Barbara grinned ear to ear.

“Well, it's nice to meet you, Claude."