True Mate Read online

  “I don’t have eggs. Will cereal do? I have milk.” He looked slightly embarrassed as I jumped, lost in my thoughts the way I was.

  I nodded and stood. “Cereal is good.” I walked to the kitchen and poured another cup of coffee for myself as well as a bowl of corn flakes before sitting down at his kitchen table. He joined me a moment later, sitting across from me.

  In between bites of cereal, I relayed everything I could remember about the crime scene Sally and I had attended the day before, assuming it was a crime scene. I certainly hadn’t noticed what caused the sheriff’s death, but I didn’t expect he walked in there to die unless he’d been suicidal. By all accounts, he was energetic and looking forward to retirement, so that scenario seemed unlikely. I knew not to expect a coroner’s report from Tammy Willoughby until this afternoon at the earliest. She’d told me she had two autopsies to complete before working on the sheriff’s remains.

  “Do you need help with determining whether shifters were involved in the death?” Vincent asked. “I smelled werewolf on you when you returned last night, so I assume they were involved, right?”

  “Sally said she picked up the scent of werewolves but that it was faint, not recent. There were also no outward signs of a werewolf attack on the corpse. We couldn’t even find any footprints or boot prints around the body or even in its vicinity, so we have no idea how the body got in there without a trace.”

  “So…Sally smelled werewolves? You were right about her being a shifter, then.” He smiled broadly at me.

  “Oh, shit! I forgot to tell you! I talked to Sally about shifters, and she already knew everything about you, me, and the confrontation between us and Floyd’s pack in front of your house that night.”

  “I figured,” Vincent said, looking contemplative. “So, she was spying on us that night?”

  I chuckled. “She was hiding in the woods in her own shifter form. She said we had a lot of shifter witnesses.”

  Vincent’s eyes widened. “I should have guessed. I would have known if I’d been paying attention to other scents, but of course I was caught up in only one man and the threat to him that night…you.”

  I smiled at him, setting my spoon down, and leaning over to kiss him. When I pulled back, I rested my chin in both hands, elbows on the table as I stared at him.

  “Guess what kind of shifter Sally is,” I said.

  Vincent’s brows drew together adorably. “I haven’t met her but if you make me guess, I’d say she’s definitely not a prey animal.”

  I laughed like crazy, imagining a tiny hedgehog as a prey animal. I shook my head, trying to compose myself, though, it was impossible to lose the grin.

  “No, she’s not a prey animal. She’s very small with a pointy pink nose and spiky fur.”

  “I would say porcupine, though, they’re not small,” he said thoughtfully.

  “She’s a hedgehog,” I said with a grin. “Have you ever heard of something so charming?”

  Vincent smirked. “Charming? Well, I guess that’s one way of putting it. In fact, I’ve seen a whole lab full of white mice shifters once. Come to think of it, they were pretty charming when they suddenly all shifted back to humans at the same time.”

  I laughed. “What happened?”

  “Seriously? It was incredibly charming when all the lab techs and scientists shit their pants at the same time as a dozen naked blond Vikings suddenly burst out of mice cages all at once.” He smirked. “I heard that the doctors were starving them or something.” He snorted. “They reacted to that with extreme prejudice.”

  “They were Vikings?” I bent over at the waist, gasping for breath as I laughed so hard my stomach started to cramp.

  “Anyway, I’d like to meet your hedgehog deputy sometime,” he said. “Her size might be a great advantage to you. Just think of when you’ll need to interview a suspect who thinks you have no backup. You could just carry her in your pocket when you want bad guys to think you’re alone.”

  “I’d have to hire a bunch of tiny little gunsmiths to have them make weapons for her, so I’m not sure how that would work.” We both laughed, and I pushed my chair back, standing, and walking over to the sink where I rinsed our coffee cups and the cereal bowl. Vincent followed me, slipping his arms around my middle and resting his chin on my shoulder. When he yawned loudly, I laughed, taking the dishtowel to dry my hands before wrapping him up in my arms.

  “I’m so tired. I couldn’t sleep last night,” Vincent admitted.

  “You’ve been sleeping on my schedule. Don’t you think I’ve noticed that you should be sleeping all day and up at night, not the reverse?”

  “I do require a few hours sleep, definitely not a whole day’s worth. I need to go into the store this morning before the sun is too high and then be home by nine to sleep,” Vincent said.

  I leaned in and kissed him. “Well, I need to go to the office, so let’s both get going. It’s only seven, so you’ll have at least an hour at the store before the sun is too hot or bright for you.”

  “Okay, love.”

  Vincent kissed me once more, using the endearment again. I wondered if he even noticed how many times he’d called me my love or sweetheart or mate or lover, in the last twenty-four hours. It sounded wonderful every time he did it, and I wondered whether that was intentional too. I suppose I was a suspicious type, but the truth was, that being thought of as Vincent’s mate was incredibly exciting. Besides, being suspicious came with the whole detective-sheriff occupation as well as my time spent in the Marine Corps when on patrol.

  I needed to learn more about vampire laws. I almost wish I’d met another vampire who I could question about this stuff. Maybe Vincent could tutor me, but I felt weird asking questions, possibly making him think I was questioning him and not vampire culture. Then there was also the very real assurance that he was putting a spin on things—making them appear or sound the way he wanted me to interpret them, and I didn’t want that either. I wanted the unvarnished truth about him and everything there was to know about vampires in general.

  I needed to know more about the three hostile vampires also.

  I suddenly realized how alone I was in Prosper Woods. I’d been cut off from everyone and everything since Vincent had claimed me under some ancient vampire law. When he’d first said it, it didn’t really sink in but now, cut off from the outside world, it seemed like more of a thing than it probably should have. I honestly didn’t know what to do about that problem. There was no one out there I could trust and no one I could ask…

  That wasn’t entirely true. There was one person, my best buddy from the Marine Corps. I’d known him since we were kids. We’d joined up right after high school, and after we were discharged, I’d gone into law enforcement and he’d gone into private security. Maybe I should call Mel and tell him everything. That confession would go one of two ways. He’d either think I was drunk and laugh his ass off or he’d beat the crap out of me for being a complete idiot. He’d done both to me before.

  Still, it wasn’t a bad thought. I could always use a human ally. I just had no idea how he’d take all this. How on earth was I going to make Mel believe that I was a unicorn and always had been? I suppose, I could shift and show him but that might cause the man to go into cardiac arrest. Not only that…how was I going to tell him that my boyfriend was a vampire? It was probably a really bad idea.

  I put all thoughts of such stupidity out of my mind as we dressed and shaved in Vincent’s basement master suite. We stood side by side brushing our teeth and it felt so normal, just two boyfriends standing companionably side by side. When he dropped his fangs to brush them too, I gaped at him in the mirror, shock written all over my face. He grinned back at my stunned expression, toothpaste foam dribbling down his chin and dripping off his fangs.

  I started my day with a hearty laugh.

  Chapter Six

  Prosper Woods Chronicle. Letters to the editor:

  “There’s a shack in the woods where I buy moonshine. Last
week, I swear, there were two pigs rocking on the porch, lifting their jugs. That’s gotta be unhealthy…just sayin’.” Signed, “Someone call the vet.”

  Romeo

  When I parked my old truck in front of the sheriff’s station shortly after Vincent and I parted that morning, I noticed a VW convertible pulling into a space in front of the post office just down the block. It was easy to recognize Precious as she sat in the passenger side of the car. When she leaned over to kiss Mary, the young hostess from Todd’s Hash House, I couldn’t stop my wide grin.

  I’d been right then. Precious and Mary were girlfriends. I decided they made a good couple, both young, Precious ferocious when she got her teeth into something, and Mary, shy and sweet.

  I had no doubt with Precious around, Mary wouldn’t have problems with Catalina Broadmoor, the bigoted hag from CAT-PEE. I chuckled, remembering the name Precious had come up with for the woman’s organization. I still didn’t know what they stood for but if they started making problems for the town residents, I’d no doubt get familiar with the trouble soon. With a few exceptions, I was finding myself both filled with warm feelings for and equally amused by the townsfolk.

  I watched the two girls get out of the car and embrace before Mary walked into the diner, and Precious began clicking toward me on yet another set of strange Mary Jane platform shoes. These were made in red patent leather with rounded toes. The white stockings she wore came up over her knees and were tied with frilly red garters. She wore yet another mini skirt, this one in a red, black, and yellow plaid, and it flared out with a black net slip underneath, making it fluffy. Today’s crop top was nothing more than a stretchy red slip of a thing resembling a tube top. Over that a yellow denim jacket cropped to the waist was lined with something fluffy and white like sheep’s wool. The choker around her neck matched the red patent leather shoes, and a pink plastic heart hung from it.

  When she spotted me, she grinned and waved, and I noticed her walk had a sudden bounce to it.

  “Good morning, Precious,” I said, returning her wave.

  “Look what I have!” she said, stepping up close. She held out a Tupperware container that was made of a clear pink. Inside, I was almost certain I could make out doughnuts. I glanced up at her as I took the container she offered.

  “Are those homemade doughnuts?” My mouth began to water like a Pavlovian dog as I peered into the container.

  “Yes. I made them just for you, Sheriff Romeo.”

  I held out my elbow, and she took it, grinning crazily at me.

  “This is amazing. Thank you so much,” I said, walking up to the door of the station and pulling out the key to unlock it. “What kind are they?”

  We stepped inside, and Precious flipped on a bank of florescent lights in the ceiling, lighting up the room.

  “There are two kinds…filled ones with homemade lemon curd, and cinnamon twists with a clear glaze frosting.”

  “Oh my God, how did you know those are my favorites?”

  “They are?” she asked, looking incredibly happy.

  Chocolate anything was actually my favorite, followed by anything with rainbow sprinkles, but these would do just perfectly. The cereal I’d eaten at Vincent’s that morning had been completely forgotten.

  “These are my very favorites, followed by anything chocolate,” I said, noticing how she wrinkled her nose and then sneezed at my mention of chocolate. A funny thought occurred to me, and I suddenly wondered whether my receptionist was a shifter. She had her fair share of quirks, but I’d chalked it up to Precious’s style and bubbly, energetic personality. Sometimes the way she bounced reminded me of something.

  I put all those thoughts away and opened the lid of the Tupperware as I set it on the counter. The scent of delicious fried bread, cinnamon, and sugar, rose to my nostrils as I leaned down and sniffed before casting a side eyed glance at her and waggling my eyebrows.

  She smiled again. “Let’s go make you some coffee and bring those to the back, so the general public don’t come on in and steal your treats,” Precious said. “That would be a crying shame.”

  “I agree.” I picked up the container and followed her down the hallway to the break room where she began putting on a pot of coffee as I took out two plates and opened the container again.

  “None for me. I had one at home with Mary,” Precious said.

  I turned to look at her. “Is she your girlfriend?” I already knew the answer to that.

  Precious nodded. “Yes, but that’s a secret. With bigots like Catalina Broadmoor, and that husband of hers, and their precious organization in town, you can’t be too careful. Mary and I have to sneak around like a couple of puppies with their tails between their legs. It’s not fair at all!”

  I put my arm around her shoulders and gave her a brotherly squeeze as I looked down at her. She had tears in her eyes, and I knew that, though, she was tough, the old witch’s comments had gotten to her. I felt sorry for her, but I knew she was one of those people who could and would fight back strenuously when needed. I’d seen the way she’d come to Mary’s defense, and I’d appreciated it. Who the hell could yell at Mary? She was the epitome of gentle sweetness in every way.

  “People like Catalina Broadmoor feel inadequate in their own lives, so they feel like they have to take it out on people who they perceive as weak. They’re predators and have no feelings for others, Precious. Don’t let her get to you. Promise?”

  She looked up as me and forced a smile, nodding as I dropped my arm. “I can take it when it’s aimed at me but when anyone picks on Mary, I just see red. She’s not accustomed to fending off assholes.” She paused, watching me plate up a doughnut for each of us. “I bet you saw a lot of discrimination when you were at the LAPD and in the Marines, right?”

  I frowned.

  Does everyone know I’m gay?

  “Discrimination?” I asked, acting like I didn’t understand exactly what was going on here.

  She smirked at me, and then shrugged. “The fact that you date vampire guys and all that.”

  I almost spat out the bite of cinnamon deliciousness I’d just taken. She grinned at me as I chewed the food in my mouth and finally managed to swallow it.

  “You know I’m gay…and that I’m dating a—”

  “Vincent the vampire? Yeah, most people in town know.” She said it in such a matter-of-fact way, my jaw dropped open.

  “Christ. I hadn’t expected this conversation first thing in the morning.”

  Precious chuckled and slapped me on the back. “It’s fine. The humans in town don’t know…about the vampire thing. They will probably figure it out if you keep spending your nights at his house, though…I mean the gay thing, not the vampire thing.”

  I was still staring at her, unable to fathom this conversation we were having. “Humans? You said…the humans? Does that mean you’re not human too?”

  She laughed this time…downright roared with laughter, which quickly turned into a little yippy sound. I just stared at her openmouthed as things began to fall into place. Sally had said she never baked with chocolate, and she always wore a choker around her neck. Her white hair was always drawn up in a puff at the top of her head, her nails and face were perfectly groomed, she almost bounced with happiness every time she saw me or anyone she liked.

  Fuck me. “You’re a shifter…a…poodle shifter?”

  She laughed some more, this time even harder. Her laughs turned to outright yips this time as she nodded. She pointed a perfectly groomed fingernail at me. “Took you long enough, unicorn.”

  “Oh my God!” I began laughing right along with her. “You’re a poodle shifter.”

  “A white standard poodle with a pedigree a mile long, I’ll have you know,” Precious said, puffing out adorably.

  “Wow, I swear. I will never get used to this town, Precious.” I chuckled through the cinnamon twist and moved on to a filled doughnut which tasted purely orgasmic in my mouth. When I’d swallowed my third doughnut and a full cup
of coffee, I turned back to my dispatcher. “So, Mary…she’s what? Human or shifter?”

  “She’s a shifter also,” she said, grinning. “Guess what kind?”

  “I couldn’t imagine. I just know that the two of you look great together, like you match.”

  She smiled so widely I was sure the sun radiated from her face. “Well, that’s because we do match in a way. Now, guess.”

  “Is she a dog also?”

  Precious nodded.

  “Okay, so it’s just the breed then.” I thought back to what Mary looked like. She was very pretty but very shy and had been hurt quite easily when that witch, Broadmoor, had turned on her. “She’s not purebred…she’s a shelter dog…a rescue…a mutt?” I asked as things began slotting into place. My world was getting stranger by the day.

  “Very good, Sheriff Romeo. She was a shelter dog of mixed breed. She looks a lot like a beagle when she’s in dog form but she’s by no means purebred which is just fine with me. I’ve loved her from the moment I first saw her behind those bars.”

  “You saw her in the shelter and knew she was a shifter?”

  “How much do you know about shifters?” Precious asked, sipping coffee.

  I shook my head, thinking back to Vincent’s description of the mice shifters in cages. “Absolutely nothing before coming here to Prosper Woods. Now that I’ve been here a couple of weeks, I know one percent more than nothing.” I smiled. “Fill me in. How did you know she was a shifter? Could you smell her or something?”

  “Shifters of the same breed—and this includes werewolves—communicate with each other telepathically. I knew what she was the moment I walked into the shelter in Stockton. She called out to me the moment she saw me, and we had a conversation. She was a mess.”