Still, the Jase voice had a horrible habit of making sense she decided as she walked behind where Walker was sitting, his hands sprawled out across Allie’s World Civ notes. There were a number of bad things that could happen, including being raped and pillaged. She looked across the room to where her gun still sat and regretted leaving it out of reach. Thankfully, the first impression she got when she placed a hand on Walker’s shoulder wasn’t one of malice or ill will, but genuine fear, which made her feel all kinds of guilty.

There are all types of Seers in the world. Some women can See simple, everyday things which can easily be misinterpreted as a normal, human talent. Talley’s mother, for example, could See colors and patterns. It made her quite good at math and mind-blowingly amazing at costume design. Though Mrs. Matthews lived in a modest house in Timber, Talley’s mother was actually exceedingly comfortable financially. Despite sending half of all the money she made to the Alpha Pack due to her belief that any earnings made based on your Sight was to be shared with the entire world of Shifters and Seers, Talley knew she could have gone to college anywhere and her mother would have just wrote a check to cover tuition.

While Sights like Mrs. Matthews could be profitable, they were considered minor and weak in the eyes of the Shifter and Seer world. The Sights which had a decidedly more supernatural tint were considered stronger and more enviable. Talley’s ability to See emotions and thoughts with a single touch was considered one of the most prestigious. Only one or two Seers every generation possessed the power, and each was given great respect. Most of the women could only get a glimmer of an emotion or a whisper of thought, but still they were treated like royalty, most earning a spot in the Alpha Pack. Talley didn’t catch glimmers. No, when Talley Matthews touched someone she got it all. Every thought running through their head. Every emotion pouring through their soul. If she concentrated long enough, she could even pull memories from the vault where they normally resided in a person’s subconscious.

When her Sight first manifested the summer before her senior year of high school, it had been overwhelming. She’d briefly considered dropping out of school and living the remainder of her life as a hermit to keep the noise of other people’s brains out of her head. Then Jase had stepped in, challenging her to get it under control. Believing she was stronger than her power.

To her amazement, he had been right. She was able to control it, getting to the point where she could block a person’s inner-voices even when clasping their hand in hers. However, she’d always been able to pull down that barrier from her mind with little to no thought and delve right into the other person’s brain.

Until now.

“Who are you?” Talley wasn’t sure if she was asking for him to confirm his identity, or if she was inquiring as to what kind of person could block her Sight. Walker took it as the first and once again told her his name and pack. Again she got a whisper of emotion, enough to tell her he wasn’t lying, but clear thoughts were beyond her reach.

“Why are you here?”

“To see you.” Again, it felt like a truth, but Talley could have sworn there was something he wasn’t saying. It was in the trace of anxiety she Saw. She tried to follow that thread of emotion, hoping it would show her something more, but she lost it. It was like the emotion tapered off into a thick fog.

“And what do you hope to accomplish by seeing me?”

More anxiety, and this time a healthy dose of embarrassment. “I would like for you to become my mate,” he said after some hesitation.

Talley froze in place. Not because of what he said. Six guys had already told her the same thing, although several of them had just announced that she would become their mate as if she’d just won a million dollars. No, Talley froze because of the emotion attached to his admission. Walker didn’t feel disgust or resignation at asking Talley to be his mate. He felt hope, desire, and fear of rejection. All the emotions she imagined someone would feel if they were interested in Talley Matthews, person, instead of Talley Matthews, Seer.

“Why?” When Walker didn’t immediately answer, she became uncharacteristically impatient. “Why?” she asked again. “Why do you want me to be your mate?”

This time she didn’t have to use her Sight to know his reaction. His hands told the whole story, tensing and slacking on the desk until big, angry blood vessels popped out along the backs of his fingers.

“This isn’t what I wanted to happen,” he said. “I just wanted to meet you and get to know you. I wanted to see if it might have been possible for us to maybe work out. I swear, if it wasn’t so important, I would leave right now and never bother you again, but I’m begging you to please give me a chance.” He turned his head so Talley could see into his eyes, which she noticed were the color of watered down soda pop. “Please.”

Chapter 5

Jase’s roommate looked like a bug. It wasn’t just that his too-big-for-his-face eyes were coupled with sharp cheekbones and a pointy chin, but his whole body had an insect quality to it. His overly long and thin limbs looked better suited for balancing on the end of a twig than pacing about their twelve by nineteen foot room.

“Have you seen Suzie?” Joshua asked, looking under books and empty soda cans.

Jase looked up from his math book. “And Suzie is…?”

“My iPad.”

“Your iPad?” Jase wondered exactly how much pot Joshua had smoked over the course of his life. “You mean that thing in your hand?”

Joshua looked down as if just noticing he was holding something. “This is Alfred.” He held up the device, and sure enough, “Alfred” was written across the back in black Sharpie. “Suzie is smaller and more compact, which is exactly how I like my women.”

“You have two iPads?” Jase didn’t even have one. He’d asked his parents for one at Christmas last year and got a generic knock-off instead.

“No, I have four.”

“Four? Why on earth would anyone need four iPads?” The CEO of Apple probably didn’t have four iPads.

Joshua stopped mid-step, swung his head around to peer at his bed, and then practically leapt across the room. “Because three weren’t enough,” he said, pulling an iPad Mini out from under his pillow. “There you are, Suzie. Come now, dear. We’re going to be late for class.” Without another word to Jase, he spun to the door, swung it open, and came to a halt as if he’d just plowed into a wall of glass.