Jase.
And just like that, she knew that even if she’d never heard the words “Shifter” or “Seer”, she and Walker would never work out. Her heart belonged to Jase. He might not want it, but it was his. It would have been cruel to Walker to pretend otherwise.
Actually, once she thought about it, what she was doing right now was kind of cruel. She had to put an end to this charade before he got the wrong idea.
“I called Makya,” she said instead of telling him what her favorite class was like he’d asked.
The quick change in conversation didn’t seem to faze him. “I knew you would.”
“He confirmed your story.”
“I didn’t think you would be here otherwise.”
According to Walker, he had heard about her rise in rank on Facebook. Because apparently there was a Facebook group for Shifters. It seemed wrong to Talley on so many levels, mostly the ones involving putting the privacy and security of Shifters and Seers in the hands of Mark Zuckerberg. After seeing the post about the new Potential, Walker had done a bit of Facebook stalking. At first it was out of curiosity, but the more he read about her, the more interested he grew. Finally, he’d contacted Makya, one of the members of the Hagan Pack who Walker knew from Camp Sk’elep, a summer camp for young Shifters and Seers. Camp Sk’elep (or Camp Coyote as the kids all called it) was supposed to be a place for “the next generation of leaders to form friendships and alliances”. In reality, it was a place for teenage Shifters to brawl with people outside their own pack and teenage Seers to kiss as many Shifters as possible to figure which one they wouldn’t mind marrying someday. Jase, Charlie, and Talley never went. Talley used her allergies as an excuse, Charlie managed to schedule a basketball workshop every summer during that week, and Jase… well, Jase just refused to go. His biological father had died before he was born, and he had been raised by Scout’s biological father, who was a school superintendent and quite possibly the furthest thing from a Shifter in the whole world. Since Toby couldn’t exactly override Jase’s parents, Jase got away with flat out refusing a lot of things the rest of them couldn’t.
While most of the younger members of the Hagan Pack avoided Camp Coyote at all costs, Makya Hagan counted down the days until he could go every summer. Charlie said it was because he finally got a chance to be more dominant than someone else, but Talley thought it was because he didn’t have to feel like a Scout-substitute with those people like he did at any given pack function. According to Walker, Makya was pretty much the king of the camp. He was one of the most dominant Shifters in his age bracket, which meant all the other Shifters looked up to him and all the Seers wanted to date him. Talley didn’t exactly see the appeal, but then again, she was always comparing him to Jase and Charlie, who were more dominant and charismatic by far.
Walker had been surprised when Makya not only remembered him and agreed to talk to him, but was willing to dish out information on Talley. According to Walker, Makya even called him on the phone to give a verbal rundown of her many virtues. Walker declared by the end of the conversation he couldn’t not take the chance. He had to meet her and see if there was a possibility of anything happening between them.
“Listen, Talley,” Walker said, “I know I’m not the like those other guys who have come to see you. They’re all Tatum Channings, and I seem to be channeling Seth Rogen more often than not. I don’t know how to woo you, and I haven’t got money or power or a glamours life to offer you. Hell, I want to take you away from a glamorous life—”
“Take me away?”
Walker focused on the sagging unnaturally pink daisy in the middle of the table. “I don’t have any desire to join the Alphas, Talley. I don’t want to leave my pack. I want to save them.”
Talley reached across the table to where his hand rested. He turned it over without hesitation and threaded their fingers together. Anyone who looked over would think they were merely a couple showing a bit of affection, but neither person at the table was under any delusion about what was going on. Talley wanted to See, and Walker was willing to let her.
“How do you think I can help you save your pack?” Even with the muted read she got off of him, Talley could feel the desperation and hope.
“You’re a Seer. A strong one.”
“Yes.” She felt a bit conceited agreeing, but it was the truth. Denying it would have been an insult to them both.
“My pack is dying out. We’re down to my grandfather, my great-uncle, my father, and me. If I don’t repopulate our pack with Dominants, then in a generation or two, it’s all over for us. The Helkamp Pack will fade into obscurity. It’ll be like we never existed.”
Even holding onto his hand and getting a read on his emotions, Talley had no idea what he was trying to say.
“I’m sorry, but what does my position as a strong Seer have to do with you needing to father a bunch…” As she said it, it all came together in her head. “Oh. Oh!” She jerked her hand back. It kept her from Seeing, but there was no way she could continue to touch him. “You want me to be your broodmare?”
“It’s not like that.”
“How else could it be?” Talley thought she had come to terms with people wanting to use her, but this took things to a whole new level. Maybe it’s because the other guys had never even hinted at the type of intimacy needed to make babies, while Walker was sitting here telling her that making babies was his main goal. He didn’t just want to use her, but her body as well. Somehow, that made it worse. “You just said you want someone to give you a litter of Dominants, and you think I can do that because I’m a Seer.” Not that she believed that Seers gave birth to more dominant Shifters. She grew up in the Hagan Pack where none of the most dominant members had Seer mothers.
“What? No. I—” Walker raked a hand through his hair. “No, you’re right. I do want to marry a Seer and have a bunch of dominant babies. But that’s not all I want.” His brown eyes met hers and she didn’t have to be touching him to see his sincerity. “I don’t want just any Seer. I want one who is beautiful and smart and funny. I want one who is so nice and good even an asshole like Makya can’t think of a single bad thing to say about her. I want to marry someone I love, and I want to have a whole houseful of kids I can teach how to play baseball and help them with their homework. I don’t want just any Seer, Talley. I want you.”