Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Hailey
I paced back and forth in front of Eric’s door, the dread I hadn’t been able to shake for days threatening to give me a panic attack.
I didn’t understand why. I thought it was PMS or that true crime podcast I’d listened to last weekend, but as the week went on, the anxiety got worse and worse until I’d called the Creature Crisis Hotline.
Maybe it was nothing. The guy on the other end had sounded calm, and Eric going to visit his family seemed legit.
It wasn’t like he was obligated to tell me his movements.
We weren’t even friends, just ships that passed in the night… and the mornings.
The elevator door dinged, and I spun toward it, then I froze.
Some of it was because my hindbrain knew these guys were something else, something that could snap me like a twig even though they were in their human forms. Something about them screamed other.
However, most of my freeze response was because they were disconcertingly attractive. One guy was huge. Like, huge. Nearly seven feet of solid muscle, he was broad and tall and could have definitely popped my skull in the crease of his elbow. He barely fit through the doors of the elevator.
Behind him was a guy who felt wrong but looked oh so right.
His expression was neutral, but his eyes were cold.
They were molten silver and swirled in a way that told me everything I needed to know—he was a demon.
Well, that explained the goosebumps and red flags I wanted to ignore like bunting at a carnival.
As if to directly contrast the chilliness of the demon, the guy behind him grinned so wide, it lit up his entire face. His hair was streaked with multiple shades of brown and white. He had sharp canines, even in his human form, and soft gold eyes that marked him as some kind of shifter.
Finally, another huge guy brought up the rear.
He wasn’t quite as wide as the first guy, but his shoulders were broad, and there didn’t look like there was an ounce of excess fat on him.
He was rock hard, his hips tapering down in a distinct V, and his shirt was tight enough that I could see the flex of abdominal muscles as he turned left then right, searching for threats up and down the dingy hallways of my apartment building.
The first big guy stopped in front of me. He had golden skin and eyes that were big and dark in his face. He stared down at me, and my heart raced. I wondered if I looked like an ant from way up there. “Hailey?” he rumbled, and I recognized his voice from the phone.
“Otis, right?” I replied softly, and his nose twitched at my words—honest to goodness twitched, like a little bunny. Shit, what if he was a rabbit shifter? The irony would be unbearable.
“That’s right. Is this Eric’s apartment?”
At the sound of Eric’s name, the dread roared back to the surface. I stood aside and pointed at the door like they didn’t have the number. “Yes.”
Otis looked over his shoulder at the demon. “Before we go busting down some guy’s door for no reason, can you sense anyone in there, Syke?”
The demon, Syke I guess, placed his hand on the door. His eyes shot to mine then back to Otis. “He’s in there.”
Panic edged my nerves, and the happy guy put a gentle hand on my arm and tugged me back a little. “Might want to stand back. Could get a little messy.”
Otis lifted his foot and kicked down the door.
It shattered into a million pieces. I could have told him they were basically glorified papier-maché and could be opened with a chinese food menu and a kind word.
I pushed my side table in front of mine every night, but seeing the strength of someone like Otis, I felt like perhaps that was just a band aid to appease my anxiety. That door held absolutely nothing back.
The big guy at the rear looked down at me like he could read my thoughts, but he didn’t say anything.
Otis stepped inside, and Syke followed closely behind him. The smiley guy slunk after them, but when I went to step in too, the big guy at the back put out an arm to stop me. He didn’t look at me, and his forearm had absolutely zero give in it. It was like running into a solid brick wall. “Wait.”
“He’s by the bed,” someone shouted then hesitated. “He’s in a bad way.”
Panic made my heart thud wildly, and I ducked under the stone guy’s arm, racing into Eric’s apartment. All the apartments were set up much the same way—an open studio with one door that led to a tiny bathroom. Otis and Syke stood on the other side of the bed, and I ran toward them.
Eric lay on the floor in front of a small blow heater that had long since burned out, and he was covered in blankets. If the response team hadn’t been standing there, I might have missed him.
He looked terrible. Unlike these guys, I’d only ever seen Eric in his orc form, but right now, he was so pale I would think he was human. He was still tinged green, but it was like the green of illness.
“Eric,” I whispered. Was he dead? No, Syke said there was someone in here, so that must have meant he was alive.
I couldn’t see how though, because he was so still.
I moved closer. “Eric,” I said again and reached down to touch him.
No one stopped me, and I didn’t blame them.
He looked weaker than a kitten, and he’d even lost weight since I’d seen him last.
At the sound of my voice, he stirred, blinking his eyes open.
I was so happy to see his electric purple eyes, I almost sobbed with relief.
I couldn’t tell why it was so important to me, except that Eric was a good guy, and I hated that he could have died here alone if I hadn’t listened to that niggling little voice in the back of my brain.
“Hailey?” he breathed softly, though his eyelids blinked slowly, like they were fighting to close once more.
I reached down and wrapped my hand around his. “I got help. It’ll be okay now,” I whispered, even if it was a lie. I had no idea if he would be okay.
Otis crouched down. “Louis? Can you smell anything? Poisons, illness?”
The smiling guy swooped down beside Eric, inhaling deeply. “His blood smells fine, as does his sweat. Our boy here is a little ripe, but I don’t think it’s an illness or poisoning of any kind.”
Syke reached over and pressed a hand to Eric’s temple, his face folding into a frown. “Clan sickness… or mate sickness maybe?”
Louis sucked in a shocked breath, flattening his hands on Eric’s chest. “Eric, where’s your clan? It’s imperative that we get you to them. You’re suffering from clan sickness.”
His eyelids fluttered again. “No… clan…”
I looked between the creature crisis response team and my orc… friend. They looked more and more worried by the minute. “A mate?”
His eyelids screwed shut. “No… mate…”
“Fuck,” Louis muttered. They seemed to have a silent conversation, their eyes flicking back to me again. “It’s the only thing we can do, at least until we get him to a surrogate clan.”
“No… clan…” Eric said again, his clammy hand clinging to mine.
Otis huffed out another heavy sound. “I know you said you weren’t friends, Miss Hailey—”
“Just Hailey. Swoon. My name is Hailey Swoon.”
He looked down at me again with those inscrutable eyes.
“Hailey.” He tasted my name like it was a sip of fine wine.
“I know you said you weren’t friends, but we believe Eric is suffering from a wasting disease that occurs when orcs are without their clans or mates for too long.
We are going to take him back to the crisis center and act as a surrogate clan for however long it takes to stabilize him.
We believe you could be beneficial to his recovery as a familiar face and someone he obviously feels a connection to.
” He nodded down to where Eric’s hand was still holding mine.
I hesitated. This guy wanted me to go to an undisclosed location with a bunch of creatures who could snap me in half without breaking a sweat?
Eric groaned, curling up into a ball, even as he shook. I had to try. I couldn’t let him suffer.
“Okay,” I agreed before I could overthink it.
Otis nodded at me once then looked over my shoulder at the other big guy. “Ilyas, take Eric down to the van. Syke, go with him and monitor his vitals. Louis and I will escort Hailey to her apartment to pack a bag. We’ll meet you in a moment.”