Page 50 of Her Reborn Mate
“Well, that explains it. Now, your love courses in my veins,” I said, rubbing my hand on her naked torso. “I do not doubt this potion will bring me to full health.”
“I should hope so too, Will,” Alexis said. I turned to look at her and found her sleeping in my arms. I kissed her on the forehead one last time before falling asleep with her, feeling safe, healthy, and happy.
Chapter 21: Alexis
I hadn’t anticipated such a sudden change in the town after Maurice’s death. The air was not that of mourning, as I had expected, given that their mayor had passed away under mysterious conditions. Instead, the atmosphere was competitive, to say the very least. Five different candidates had risen within a matter of hours, announcing their candidacy for the position of mayor.
It had barely been a few days since Maurice’s death had been made public news, and already the city was smattered with flyers, stickers, and flags of different colors, all of them urging the citizens to vote for this person or that.
Truth had a very sickening way of dawning on me as I stood outside Fiddler’s Green and looked at the posters. I did not know any of these people. All my life, I had lived in this place, and yet I was a complete alien to the goings-on.
Who was Wendy Wilshire, running for mayor from the business district? Did Fiddler’s Green even have a business district? I did not know who Jeremy Clarkson was either, and he was running from downtown. Weren’t the business district and downtown one and the same? Rodrick James, whose poster claimed he was a two times war veteran and had won the Medal of Honor, was running from the Grimm Abode district. At least I knew that district. What I was surprised to learn was that there were other colonies in the area besides the commune. Tony Hawkins, a relatively older member of City Hall, had also announced his candidacy.
“Vultures,” a complete stranger standing next to me said. I turned around and saw a very haggard-looking woman holding a bagged-up bottle of rum in her hands, her eyes bloodshot, her face looking haunted.
“I beg your pardon?” I cleared my throat, further alerting the woman to my presence. Given her inebriated stance, it did not appear that she knew that I was standing beside her.
“Vultures, each and every one of them. Our beloved mayor hasn’t been dead for less than a week, and there’s already a call for a new election!” the drunk, homeless woman yelled. “They’re feasting on his corpse, aren’t they?”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they’re feasting on his corpse,” I said, shaking my head. They were only following procedure. A town had to have a mayor.
“You’re just as terrible as the rest of them,” the woman said, her speech slurred to the point of incoherence, her arms dangling dangerously, and her eyes crossed.
“If you can tell me what Maurice did as the mayor, I’ll concede,” I said, but the woman was in no shape to respond. She was sprawled on the floor, cradling her bottle of rum in her arms, snoring loudly already.
“Don’t you mind her,” the bartender said, coming out of the bar I was standing in front of. “Her mind goes more and more each day, and she refuses to give up drinking. At this point, it’s more of a mercy to let her have a drink, so she does not have to bear the terrors of sobriety.”
“Was Maurice related to her in some way?” I asked.
“No. And he wasn’t related to half the people in the town who are all of a sudden finding sympathy for their departed mayor in their hearts. If there’s one thing you have to know about Fiddler’s Green, it’s that the people who live here love to be obstinate. Maurice was mayor for a long time. Thousands of people are finding it impossible to just move on and get on with their lives with a new mayor at the helm of this city.”
“Maybe I’ll run for mayor,” Will said suddenly, emerging from the lab on the right of the bar. He was holding a file in his hands, and his face bore a cheery look. He broke into a grin as he saw me standing outside the bar. “Wouldn’t that be something?”
“Not just anyone can run for mayor,” the bartender said to Will.
“Well, I’m not just about anyone. I’m a Grimm. My family helped build this town,” he said.
“Maurice was a Grimm too, and look what good he did to this city!” the bartender said, then receded back into the shop, shaking his head.
“My, my, the tempers are running so high in this city. The doctor in the lab was all red in the face about this mayoral campaign business,” Will said as he approached me and wrapped his arms around me. Then he kissed me on the lips lightly.
“But what did he say?” I asked, taking his file from him. I opened it and saw the results of all the tests. They were all negative, but even still, I wanted to hear it from him.
“The doctor said that there was nothing wrong with my blood, at least not that he could find through all the tests he conducted. He didn’t even find any trace of Wolf’s Bane or all the chemicals that Edward had been injecting into me. Believe it or not, your potion worked wonders. The doctor declared that I was in perfect health, all thanks to you,” he said. The moment he uttered those words, relief swept through my body, and my mind became peaceful.
“So, it was a good decision, right? Getting a second opinion from a doctor outside the commune?” I asked.
“It was the best decision. Now that we know that there’s nothing wrong with me, I can finally put the past behind me and look forward,” Will said.
“If you’re really serious about running for the mayor,” I said, smiling. “There are some things that you ought to get started with.”
“Oh, I was just kidding. Being an Alpha is already quite huge of a commitment. I do not need politics on my plate right now or ever,” Will said.
“Never say never,” I said, taking his arm and walking toward downtown. “Now, how about you take me shopping as a thank you for me saving your life?”
“At once, my lady,” Will said, bowing courteously, his arm waving at a Jeep—a brand new Jeep with the plastic still on the seats.
“Will, what kind of surprise is this?” I was unnerved by seeing such an expensive vehicle parked there. Knowing what I knew about Will’s current financial situation, I knew there was no way he could afford a truck worth thirty-thousand dollars. It made me apprehensive to think what Will must have been thinking of while buying such an exorbitantly expensive thing. But instead of replying to me, he kept laughing till tears started dripping from his eyes. “Is this some sort of a joke?”