2
" Something hit the floor with a crack. Nate turned and looked down to see his cell phone on the floor. He patted his back pockets, as if to be sure it was his, then swore and reached down. The phone slid across the floor.
“What the hell?” he muttered.
It slid faster now, scraping and bumping along.
“Carter!” Nate growled. “This is not the time for pranks.”
As he took off after the phone, I looked out the bathroom door to see it rise a foot off the ground, then fall with a crack.
Nate swore and picked up speed, loping down the hall, muttering. “If you break it, Carter, I swear you’re buying me a new one.” "
― Kelley Armstrong , Belonging (Darkest Powers, #3.5)
3
" “But you know a way to catch him?” Nate said.
“I do.”
Brad slapped another photo on the table. A smiling teenage girl with blue eyes and blond hair streaked with red.
“Cute,” Carter grunted. “Let me guess, this guy has a crush on her.”
“More than just a crush. It’s his girlfriend.”
They looked surprised. The cute smiling girl definitely did not seem like a romantic match for the scowling brute in the other photos. But Brad had done enough surveillance to be sure of his facts.
“She’s another subject, one who escaped with your grandson and his foster brother. She’s a necromancer.”
Carter’s face screwed up. “A what?”
“Someone who can speak to the dead,” Theo said. “Like the Alpha’s girlfriend. The one on TV.”
“She’s hot,” Nate said.
“Little young for you,” Carter said, still eying the photo.
“I meant the one on TV,” Nate said. “So the kid’s got it bad for this girl?”
“He does, and he already has a werewolf’s protective instinct in spades. He’s the same way with his foster brother, which would be the backup plan, but the brother is a sorcerer and knows self-defense. A necromancer has no defensive powers and this one’s a tiny thing. She’s his weakness. That’s how Liam and Ramon got close enough to fight him. They made a tactical mistake, though. They settled for teasing and threatening her, which only pissed the boy off enough to fight. If you want him, you just need to take her. He’ll come running.” "
― Kelley Armstrong , Belonging (Darkest Powers, #3.5)
10
" It was long past lunch time, but there were people at nearly every table, more milling around with trays. I stayed back just inside the door and scanned the sea of faces.
Beside me, Simon murmured. "One, two, three--"
"There," I grunted and strode toward Chloe's table.
"Damn," he said as he jogged to keep up. "Three seconds. That's a record."
I scowled at him.
"What?" he said. "It's cute."
My scowl deepened.
"So cute," he said, grinning. "Incredibly, adorably cute. "
― Kelley Armstrong , Belonging (Darkest Powers, #3.5)
11
" I opened the bag and pulled out a small box of chocolates. “Happy anniversary.”
“Oh. Thanks.” She flashed me a huge smile that would have looked totally real … if I didn’t know her better.
“Simon said that’s what I should get you. That or flowers. So you like it?”
“Sure.”
“Liar.”
Her face went bright red now as she stammered, “N-no, really. It’s great. It’s—”
“Completely and totally impersonal. Like something you’d buy in bulk for all your teachers.”
“No, I like this kind. You know I do and—”
She stopped as I held out the bag.
“Your real gift,” I said.
She looked in and let out a choking laugh. Then, still grinning, she reached in and pulled out a penlight, a Swiss army knife and a purse-sized can of mace.
She sputtered another laugh. “This is …”
“Practical?” I said.
“In my life, it is definitely practical. But I was going to say thoughtful.” She smiled up at me. “The most thoughtful gift I’ve ever gotten.”
“And the most completely unromantic? Simon almost had a heart attack when I showed him. He made me get the chocolates, as a backup.”
“I’m sure he did. Which I suppose explains why I ended up with you instead.” She rose on tiptoes again and put her arms around my neck. “Because buying me gifts to keep me safe? That’s my idea of romantic.” "
― Kelley Armstrong , Belonging (Darkest Powers, #3.5)
