Smoke and Wishes (Best Wishes #1)(29)

Supernaturals are superior to humans.





I felt ice slide through my veins looking at the prompt. Despite knowing no one at our table would actually agree with it, my chest tightened thinking of the upcoming debate.

“We’re taking the opposing team,” I announced with a no argument tone, holding the paper out for Cam to take, his soft fingers brushed mine. A tingle made its way up my arm from the brief contact, warming my skin. I looked over to see if he had noticed my reaction, but his eyes were on the paper and attention focused on adjusting his black plastic frames. He skimmed it quickly and nodded his head in agreement, passing the paper off to Dante.

“Supernaturals are superior to humans,” Dante read out for Nik, a frown forming on both of their faces. Neither looked happy to be on the supporting side of the argument. “This prompt is certainly controversial.”

“No kidding, I don’t think I’ve ever met a supe who truly believes that, but I guess it would be unrealistic to believe they don’t exist,” Cam added as he ran his hand over his freshly-shaven jaw. Nik’s glassy eyes shifting from Dante’s direction to my partner. Grigori squawked in agreement with Cam’s assessment. This was going to be a rough debate, I thought as we started discussing points for our accompanying arguments.





9





September 5th

Wednesday Afternoon

Lucienne





I nibbled on my bag of chips as I flipped through the history book I had collected from the shelf. Cam sat quietly across the table from me, hunched over his notebook page, scribbling notes quickly across the paper. His light brown hair was messier than usual from the number of times he’d run his hand through it. I turned my attention back to the book forcing myself not to stare at him. Despite agreeing to work on our debate to get our main points selected, I couldn’t seem to focus, my mind just a blur of random thoughts.

“Lucie?” Pulling back to myself, I looked at Cam. His hazel eyes streaked with green, gold, and even some blue, were laced with concern. “Were you listening?” I grimaced before I answered.

“Uh, no. Sorry. My mind is all over the place today,” I admitted quietly, “what were you saying?” He stared at me for a few moments, eyes taking in every detail of my face.

“I was just asking if you had found anything in your book, but it doesn’t matter. Are you alright?” His honeyed voice soothed the turbulent emotions swirling in my chest. My lips pursed as I tilted my head slightly, trying to decide if I wanted to dive into where my mind had drifted.

“I was just thinking about my birth parents... what would they be like? How would my life have been different if I grew up with them in the supe community instead of with my adoptive mom as a human, stuff like that,” I scratched my forehead attempting to cover my filling eyes from the guy across from me who seemed to see everything even if I didn’t want him to.

“I’m sorry, I can’t be much help, but I didn’t grow up with my parents either. My aunt and uncle gained custody of me when I was five. They’re wonderful people, and I love them dearly, but I grew up wondering the same things. Now, I understand that it’s better to live your life instead of trying to reimagine the past. You can’t fully enjoy the present if you’re living in a world of what-if’s,” the words were soft-spoken, but they hit me like a freight train.

He slipped his hand into mine, his thumb running back and forth against my knuckles. I blinked back tears, knowing he was right. My mind quieted the longer he rubbed calming circles. I smiled once, finally focused on the here and now.

“Thank you, Cam. It means a lot,” squeezing his hand when I spoke the sentiment.

“Of course, doll, but while we’re on the topic of growing up human, do you have any questions? Or anything you want to talk about?” My chest swelled with emotion at his thoughtfulness.

“I always knew supes were out there, obviously everyone does, but I don’t think I knew any personally. Are there a lot like us?” Insecurity crept in at my lack of knowledge of my own people.

“There’s about a 55 to 45 percent ratio of humans to supes. Each state has at least one supe-specific university. The larger, more populated states have more than one obviously. Most children don’t really talk about being a supe, since we don’t develop any kind of powers until our late teens, usually end of senior year. It’s the reason almost all supes attend specific universities. Not all mind you, but most. We go to normal schools growing up, the only difference is our home life since our parents have their powers,” he informed me, no judgment colored his words as he relayed the facts. Despite the previous melancholy mood, I felt Cam’s signature chucks rubbing lightly against my ankle. My hand still nestled in his, my pale skin only a shade fairer than his.

“I never knew that. I grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere Washington where everybody knew everyone and supes didn’t really get brought up. It’s nice to know I’m where I belong,” I gave him a warm smile, causing my dimples to make an appearance. The action drew his eyes to my cheeks. “I think that’s all I have for questions right now. I’m feeling better and more focused, so I’m going to see what I can find in this book,” I gestured to the thick, leather-bound tome in front of me. He grinned softly before returning to his notebook. His foot remained at my ankle, tapping lightly as he wrote.