“Sure,” Gabby said quickly exiting her chair and moving to open the door. Michelle offered a hand to help me stand. Neither said anything as we left, and I felt relieved. I’d given the Elders enough information to get them off our backs, for now. I just needed to figure out what to do about Joshua. If he had an unusual spark, we couldn’t trust him. But what to do about it?
When we entered a huge room filled with tables and chairs, I only caught a glimpse of it before Clay strode toward us. He stopped just in front of Gabby, preventing all of us from moving any further. The heavenly smells of Turkey and stuffing drifted to me as his eyes swept over Gabby’s face. My stomach cramped. This time from hunger.
“She’s fine, big guy, but my stomach’s really hurting. Would you mind—” I didn’t get to finish the sentence before Clay was jostled aside with a growl from behind.
“Move already,” Luke snapped at Clay, scooping me up.
Clay’s eyes narrowed as they settled on Luke. Gabby curled her fingers in his hand. He stopped his glaring and gave her his full attention. “I’m fine. Bethi’s not. We’re supposed to get her something to eat.”
I caught Clay’s nod before Luke turned, almost bumping us into Emmitt. Two little boys circled around him like satellites. Luke huffed, and I reached up to smack the back of his head lightly. “The decisions you make and the words you speak influence the people around you. Be aware of your influence,” I quoted.
His lips twitched, and he looked down at the boys. “Excuse me, please,” he said politely.
They scampered out of his way, and Emmitt stepped aside, his eyes on Michelle.
“Didn’t you take the pills?” Luke asked softly, carrying me to a cushioned chair.
“I took them.” My stomach cramped, and I tried to remember what I’d last eaten. “Nana mentioned something about food.” Instead of setting me in the chair, he sat and settled me on his lap.
“I’ll get it for you,” Michelle called moving toward the kitchen. Emmitt followed closely behind.
Clay moved to the chair across from us and sat, his eyes never leaving Gabby. Gabby perched on one of his knees and smiled slightly when he set a hand on her waist.
“How long have you two been together?” I asked. I really just wanted to know how safe she was. Claimed was good, but Mated was better.
“Clay has been living with me since the end of August.” Her smile widened. “But I just recently Claimed him.”
“Not Mated?” I wondered.
She shook her head. Well, crap.
Michelle returned just then with a sandwich. “Here you go.”
I accepted the plate with a smile of thanks. “How long have you and Emmitt been together?” Taking a bite of the sandwich, I listened to Michelle say they’d been Claimed for several months and were planning a wedding. Another one not Mated. Dangerous business. I glanced at Emmitt who was watching me closely. We were still all ripe for Urbat picking. I wished again that Luke would just give in and at least let me Claim him.
“What about you two?” Emmitt asked.
I shrugged and took another bite. Everyone continued to wait patiently for my answer. Even Luke, the jerk, was quiet. Fine.
“He has a problem with my boobs.” I took another bite of my sandwich.
Luke made a choking noise, and I grinned. “Secretly, I think he’s hoping if he waits until I’m eighteen they might grow a bit more.”
Emmitt’s face betrayed nothing as his gaze flicked between me and Luke. Clay’s whiskers split to show two rows of perfect white teeth. His eyes were on Luke. I didn’t want to turn around to see why. Michelle looked slightly shocked and worried. Gabby was frowning at Luke.
“They’re kinda like the elephant in the room. We’re not allowed to talk about them.”
Luke stood with me in his arms, turned, dumped me—gently—in the chair, and strode away. I grinned at the group.
“That’s usually how he reacts if I do talk about them.”
“So you haven’t Claimed him yet?” Gabby asked.
I snorted. “Nope. He won’t let me. He’s pretty quick to protect his precious neck. I got smacked in the face, like, at least fifty times on the trip here.” I polished off the sandwich with a sigh. That had to have been the best sandwich ever.
“That makes no sense,” Gabby stated. “I was so sure.” She looked in the direction that Luke had walked off and moved to stand. The content, happy feeling left my stomach.
Clay wrapped his hand around her wrist to stop her. I took a slow breath and tried to let go of the anxiety filling me. She was my sister. I would need to depend on her. So why was I so jealous of her and her relationship with Luke?
She turned and met Clay’s eyes. “It’s okay. I’ll be right back. I have to know,” she said quietly.
Michelle shifted uncomfortably in her seat. See, the restless part of me yelled. Even she sensed that Gabby shouldn’t want to go chasing after Luke. I shushed myself.
Clay sighed and let go, but surprised me by following her. She didn’t seem to mind.
“Do you want something to drink?” Michelle asked quietly, pulling my attention back to the remaining two.
“Sure.” I stood to go with her since I didn’t want to sit and dwell on what had just happened.
“The Elders don’t have much to go off of,” she said quietly.
I smiled at her evasive wording. “No. They don’t,” I slowly agreed. “Maybe Elder Joshua’s arrival will help?” I still wasn’t sure what to do about him or how to expose him so he wouldn’t tell the other Urbat that I’d figured them out.
She glanced at me with a slight frown, and I could see her making the connections. “I hope so,” she murmured.
In the kitchen, I had to pause for a moment to gape in amazement. The heavenly smells that dotted the commons intensified as I stepped through the door. Several ovens lined the walls. The counters and stovetops were spread with numerous ingredients and dishes in various stages of preparation. So much food...
An older woman with long blonde hair came over to us. She smiled at Michelle. “Another sandwich?”
Michelle looked at me.
I watched another woman pull a turkey from the oven. The crisp brown skin called to me. “Turkey,” I mumbled in a zombie-like fashion.
The woman laughed and turned to watch the other woman baste the bird. “It’ll be another three hours until they’re done. Eighteen birds in all,” she confided.
Tearing my eyes from the food, I really looked at her for the first time. “Charlene,” I whispered recalling the memory of the girl at school. She didn’t look much different. Sure, a little older, but the face was unmistakable.
“Do I know you?”
“Charlene, this is Bethi,” Michelle introduced us.
Charlene held out her hand. I looked down at it briefly before meeting her eyes again. “I think it’s better if we don’t,” I said softly. She dropped her hand and eyed me curiously. “You have a lot of food to cook, and I don’t want to be responsible for knocking you on your butt. But I’m glad to have met you.” Charlene’s eyes flared in surprise.
“Same here,” she said. “I’ll get you something more to snack on. You look like you need it.”
“You know how it is when you’re on the run. You’re so busy moving your feet you forget to shove something in your mouth.”
She nodded again—the look in her eyes told me she really did understand what it felt like to be on the run—before turning away to get a plate. She loaded it with two pieces of pumpkin pie covered with a mountain of whipped cream, a large scoop of fluffy stuff hiding mini marshmallows, and an enormous square of bread pudding with cranberries.
“This should help,” she said handing over the heavy plate.
Saliva pooled in my mouth. I could only nod as I turned away. My stomach pulled a little as I carried the plate.
“Can I carry that for you?” Emmitt offered. I looked up. Apprehension spread through me. His eyes saw too much.
“Sure,” I said with false ease as I surrendered the plate.