All Chapters of Northstar Heir's Scarred Mate: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

21“You were with them in the accident.” Val blurted out the words, looking stricken.Claire nodded, and she appeared to be bracing herself. “I was. I was asleep in the backseat.”“What can you tell us about what happened?” asked Duke. He sounded surprisingly polite. “We were never very clear. I mean, we had the authorities’ accounts and eyewitnesses’ interviews, but it wasn’t the same as someone who was actually there.”Claire straightened her shoulders and sat up some. Apparently, she forgot herself for a moment, because she tucked her hair behind her ear. He was proud to see the revelation, though he realized his parents were both stricken at the sight. Claire must realized too, because she started to reach up to cover her face again, but he intercepted her hand as though he didn’t realize what she was doing, putting it in his on top of the table. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”He might’ve stymied her ability to cover her face with her hair by claiming her

23Claire was sleeping in when Bodie left early Monday morning, since she had to work that evening. Dillon had asked him to come in, and he decided to take half the cake they’d baked into the station to keep himself and Claire from eating all of it. Considering neither one of them knew much about baking, it had turned out reasonably well, and he placed it down on Juno’s desk as he entered the station a short time later.She looked at it with interest. “What’s that?”“It’s a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. Claire and I made it this weekend.”Juno arched a brow. “I didn’t know you could bake. I guess she does?”Bodie laughed. “Truthfully, neither one of us are very good, but we muddled through. It’s just a matter of following instructions.” He removed the cover, revealing the frosting was a little uneven, and the cake was sloped. “Don’t let the appearance fool you.”After a brief hesitation, she reached out and plucked off a piece, taking a bite. “That’s surprisingly good.”

25 Claire’s stomach was twisting in knots as she entered the kitchen. She smothered a groan at Saul standing there. He sent her a curious look. “What are you doing here, kid? You aren’t scheduled for two hours yet.” She’d hoped to be able to go right through without seeing anyone, so she feigned a glance at the clock. “Gosh, I guess I must’ve misread the time. I’ll be back when my shift starts then.” She rushed through the kitchen, breezing past him without giving him a chance to ask her anything else. She waited at the front of house for a few minutes, giving Bodie’s truck time to put distance between himself and the restaurant. He should be halfway back to Northstar by now, and that would give her enough time without him being aware of what was happening. Everything settled heavily in her stomach like a lead balloon as she broke into a jog to get to her parents’ house faster than usual. She was used to doing a lot of walking, since she couldn’t bring herself to drive anywhere, bu

27The forum was practically dead, though Bodie continued to try to make connections or get people to say something. It appeared that the most active ones, the forum founders, weren’t online. Without them there, everyone else checked in and left quickly. He dared hope that without those three, the whole movement might fall apart if they could find out who was behind it.That wasn’t entirely true though, because there were locations sprouting up all over the world, according to the forum. Each country had its own subforum, and there was enough activity in each one that suggested the Human Purity Movement was gaining momentum, even though it was currently bound by secrecy since shifters weren’t yet known to the whole world.His blood ran cold when he read a post about how they might force shifters into the public eye, making humans acknowledge them. It was a terrible idea, and he knew humans weren’t ready for it. It would lead to war and suffering for both sides, but likely his own peop

29Dillon answered on the second ring, and Bodie quickly filled him in on what had happened, along with the suspicion there was a bomb somewhere in Northstar. Dillon sounded as alarmed as Bodie felt, and he promised he and Juno would immediately begin searching. “Be sure to check in frequently,” said Dillon before hanging up.The misery was practically pouring off Claire in waves, and he could feel it as if it were his own. If he allowed it to overcome him, he would probably burst into tears alongside her as she continued to silently cry. He did his best to erect a block between them just so he could stop receiving the full brunt of her emotions at the moment. He did reach across the bench seat and take her hand though, squeezing gently. He wanted to tell her it would it be okay, but he didn’t want to make a promise he couldn’t keep.As he drove toward Northstar, he tried to think about where they might have planted a bomb. It couldn’t be anywhere too visible for the components, or ev