Poison

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

 

                The week after Melanie agreed to move with him to Denver had been busy. They’d gone down that same day, mostly because Talon wanted to talk to Lukas, but he also wanted to start looking into places to live and for jobs. He’d applied for several jobs and then they headed back to the mountains and spent one last night with the Carters.

                Talon and Melanie didn’t have very much, so there was next to nothing to pack into the back of Talon’s car. The dresser he got for Melanie was the only thing that didn’t fit, and the Carters promised to take it down as soon as they had their own place. The family was also very helpful on that front, giving Talon a loan in order to get a place much sooner than he thought he’d be able to. Originally, Talon’s plan had been to see if he could borrow money from Sophia and other friends, and sleep in his car until he had enough to get an apartment. He hadn’t wanted to take a loan from the Carters, but they insisted.

                Within that first week, Talon had found a place to live and started a job. He was working retail and not making very much, but he knew he and Melanie could make it work. They had to do without a TV or Internet, and many of the other things Talon had grown used to having over the years, but since Melanie hadn’t had those sorts of things, she was used to it, and as long as she was happy, Talon was too.

                There was a library not too far from the apartment, and Melanie quickly found a deep love for books. While Talon was away at work, she spent most of her time reading. Being a fast reader, she went through books quickly and went to the library just about every day where she checked out books on all sorts of things. While she mostly read fiction, she also found she enjoyed non-fiction as well.

                After his first full week of work, Talon came home. He unlocked the door and sighed when he walked in. He really wished he had a couch or something to sit on besides the floor. Melanie had fallen asleep on the floor, and Talon felt like he was a terrible mate. He couldn’t even get a bed for her. He knew he was lucky to have her with him, but he wondered how long she would stay if he could hardly even provide for her.

                He headed to the bathroom, trying to be quiet so as not to wake Melanie, but as he passed by her, she sat up. Even only being half wolf, her senses were just as sharp as his. Sometimes, it made Talon wonder if she really could shift.

                “Hey Talon,” Melanie said.

                “I didn’t mean to wake you,” Talon said. “Sorry.”

                “It’s okay. Did you have a good day at work?”

                “Yeah,” Talon said. “It wasn’t too busy, but busy enough. How was your day?”

                “I just read and slept,” Melanie said with a shrug. “The usual.”

                Talon sighed again, still wishing he could give his mate better. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I hate to have you sleeping on the floor and have nothing but books for company. My first paycheck I’m gonna have to save for rent, and then, I got to pay back the Carters. But as soon as I do, then I promise, the first thing I’m going to do is get you a bed.”

                “It’s all right,” Melanie reassured him. “Really. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor. And I like reading. After being raised by people who thought I was a monster, this is great.”