“I’m so glad we don’t have to keep hiding shit from you,” I blurt out and then immediately regret it when Ray’s glare is back in place.
“You’re both such assholes! I was left in the dark for so long! I didn’t even know my girlfriend was a fucking vampire!”
“I said I was sorry,” Page says, crossing her arms over her chest.
“But you haven’t apologized! And I still have no fucking idea what you even are because Page wouldn’t tell me.”
“I’m a banshee. There. I’m sorry I kept it a secret.”
“I’m sorry, a what now?”
I roll my eyes. “A banshee.”
“Like the spooky long haired ladies who scream when someone dies.”
“Yes, exactly that. Sorry, I chopped all my hair off so I don’t really fit the description anymore.”
“Don’t be sassy,” Ray says with a pout, “I’m trying to figure all this shit out. Give me a break.”
I quickly shove a giant bite of pasta into my mouth, giving myself a moment to calm my racing heart. Will explaining this stuff get any easier? Will it ever not make me panic with the thought of my favorite people rejecting me?
“A lot of the lore around banshees are true. I have the ability to scream when I sense death but I’m not compelled to do it. If I ever did it, the scream could scramble someone’s brain so I try to keep that to myself,” I explain softly. “The only thing you really need to know is that you’re safe around me, Ray.”
Ray reaches over and pats my cheek. “That was never in question, idiot. Plus, if you ever try to fight me, I’ll just shoot lightning up your ass. Or or or! I don’t know, apparently I have magic or something.”
Casper snorts so hard I’m worried he’s accidentally inhaled a noodle up his nose. He coughs, getting himself back under control. “Sorry. I’m just amazed you’ve gone from denying your magic to embracing it so wholeheartedly you’d use it to shoot lightning up someone’s ass.”
“What else would I do? Continue to run from this until I’m an old lady? That sounds exhausting. Better to embrace it now and learn to live with these abilities. And hey, maybe it’ll help you guys out when you’re investigating these hauntings. If things turn to shit, I’ll be there to actually communicate with these spirits instead of sending them running.”
“Speaking of hauntings,” I say, looking at everyone at the table. “How do we feel about a road trip this coming weekend?”
“You found something?”
“It looks like a standard haunted house about three hours from here. It should be a pretty easy case, but what better way to let Ray dip her toes into things?”
Ray bites her bottom lip for a moment before finally nodding. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
“It’s a date,” Page says with a giggle, laying an obnoxiously loud kiss against Ray’s cheek. A hand touches my thigh under the table, giving it a squeeze. I look over at my mate and give him an encouraging smile.
His body language is the picture of ease now that this has all gotten taken care of. Ray is accepting of their bond which brings me more joy than I can understand. A part of him has settled. I want nothing but the best for him.
I’m surprised by the depth of my feelings for Casper already. Sure, we’re true mates, but I didn’t realize it was possible to fall for someone this quickly. I’m lucky to call him mine and to have him accept me as his.
I lace my fingers with his, giving him a squeeze right back. The smile he gives me in response steals my breath. Gods, he’s so pretty. As much as I feel lucky, I also feel like there’s no way this will last. I need to tell Casper everything that comes with being a banshee. I need to show him my true face. The sooner I rip this band-aid free the sooner I’ll know if Casper can handle the truth.
“Well,” Page says, standing up and pretending to dust off her pants. “This has been lovely. We should really do it again soon.”
“Going so soon?”
“Yeah,” she says, nodding her head and pointing her thumb towards the door. “Gotta run to the hardware store before going back home.”
“What do you need there?”
I watch in fascination as Ray’s face turns the brightest red I’ve ever seen while Page is grinning from ear to ear. “We need new light bulbs. Apparently magical manifestation equates to orgasms making the lights explode in our house.”
Ray covers her face with her hands, groaning at her mate. “I hate you. I hate you so much. You did not have to tell them that.”
“I’m sure you’ll think of a creative way to get back at me. Maybe you can shoot lightning up my ass. Might be fun,” Page says, giggling as she pulls Ray out the door.
Casper and I stare after them, a moment of silence passing between us before we’re both laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation we just witnessed. “You don’t think she’ll actually try that, right?”
I look at my mate with wide eyes. “Well, if Page can’t sit properly in the car this weekend, we’ll know what happened.”
Chapter Nine
Casper
“Okay,” I say under my breath, checking and re-checking that I have everything we might need. “I think I’ve got it all.”
“You seem nervous,” Ray says, putting her hands on her hips. “If you’re nervous, I’m gonna start getting nervous and that smells like a recipe for disaster. So get your shit together, Casper.”
I run my fingers through my hair. I have no idea how time moved so quickly. One moment I was enjoying being a couch potato while Zeke worked on edits and putting together a new video from the last haunting he took care of and the next moment he was packing me up into the car, preparing for our next adventure. “This is my first time too, you know! It’s not like I’ve been bonded to a spark before!”
Gods, I’m so fucking nervous. What if I fuck all of this up and Ray hates her magic even more? What if we can’t get the spirit to show itself? What if everything goes wrong?
“So we’re two idiots figuring this out as we go along?”
I set the bag down on the ground, letting out a long breath and trying to get my stomach to settle and stop feeling like I’m going to upchuck dinner. “Yeah,” I say softly, returning Ray’s amused smile. “We really are. You good with that?”
