Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Hailey
I was staring at the wall, my brain racing like a horde of squirrels at a roasted nut convention.
The big guy, Ilyas, thought I was Eric’s mate, but how was that possible?
We hadn’t engaged in anything but polite pleasantries.
We hadn’t even shaken hands or, like, hit the button for the elevator at the same time, but there was no denying the way that his breathing had become less labored and that there was a healthier color to his skin.
All that was without acknowledging the fact that I was basically naked in a bed with the orc whom I maybe had a crush on, and a werewolf I didn’t know at all.
“I can feel you freaking out over there.”
Good manners suggested I should turn to face the man, er, creature talking to me, but that would mean turning in Eric’s arms and putting our fronts together, and he was basically naked.
Quite frankly, he also smelled like old corn chips and sweat, yet under all that, there was a scent I always found reassuring about Eric, like the hot summer sun on strawberries or something.
I cleared my throat. “I think I’m entitled to freak out a little bit. I’m currently in bed with two men who are basically strangers.”
The guy laughed. “That’s fair, but we don’t have to be strangers. What do you want to know? I’m an open book. My pack says I’m too open. I won oversharer of the pack every year since I could talk.”
“Is that a thing?”
He chuckled. “I don’t think it was before I came along. I’m Louis Gentry by the way, werewolf from the Central Valley Pack.”
“Hailey. You know where I’m from.”
Another soft laugh. It was a nice sound. “Not a great neighborhood, especially for a single, female human.”
“How do you know that I don’t have a seven foot linebacker boyfriend waiting for me at home?”
Another contemplative hum. “Several reasons. Only your scent was in your apartment, and as you just said, you’re in bed with two strangers.”
“Platonically,” I corrected, and I could almost feel his amusement like a caress. “It was the right thing to do.”
“I doubt your imaginary linebacker would feel the same.”
Frowning, even though he wouldn’t see it, I had the urge to defend my imaginary boyfriend. “Hey, he might be big and scary, but I’ll have you know that he has a soft soul filled with empathy. He’d want me to help Eric. Maybe he’d be in this bed too, giving Eric lifesaving, uh, cuddles.”
Louis burst out laughing, and Eric stirred.
“True. Sorry I pigeonholed him as an overprotective meathead. If I ever meet him, I’ll apologize.
” I saw Louis’s hand in my peripheral vision, and it came to rest on Eric’s forehead.
“He feels better already. The exposure therapy is definitely helping. I think he should be awake by tomorrow morning, though I’m not entirely sure.
This was one of the worst cases of clan sickness I’ve ever seen.
Most orcs go home as soon as they feel even a hint of clan sickness. ”
It begged the question of why Eric didn’t go home. Why did he lock himself in his apartment? If I hadn’t called the hotline, if Louis and Otis and the rest of their team hadn’t kicked down the door, Eric would have died.
I threaded my fingers through Eric’s where they rested on my stomach. I didn’t understand. “What your friend said, about it being, uh, mate sickness and me being his mate… Do you think that’s true?”
Louis hesitated, but only for a moment. “I don’t know. We won’t know for sure until Eric wakes up and tells us himself, but the signs would say yes.”
I let out a shuddering sigh. “And if I don’t want to be his mate? Would this happen to him again? If I moved to LA, or if I really found a linebacker boyfriend, or whatever, could he actually die?”
I could almost hear Louis weighing how much he should say.
“Normally, the rejection of an unreciprocated mate bond would be counterbalanced by the clan bond. They would anchor him to the world and his lifeforce to the clan, but Eric doesn’t appear to have a clan either, so if you were to reject him, there is a chance that he would end up back in this state.
” His fingers moved from Eric’s head to my shoulder, and he patted it reassuringly.
“None of that is to say you’re obligated to do anything, Hailey.
As Otis said, all this” —he indicated the length of Eric’s body curled up between us— “is not your problem. We’ll find Eric a surrogate clan, and they can help him move past the bond he has with you. ”
My jaw clenched, but I said nothing. That would be for the best. I was sad that I wouldn’t see him every day.
I looked forward to standing at the bus stop with him, watching him as he scrolled on his phone and smiled softly when he saw a video he found funny, or frowning when he read articles on whatever travesty was happening in current events.
I enjoyed observing people, and for the last six months, Eric had been my favorite source of joy.
I gripped Eric’s hand a little tighter, stroking my thumb over the side of his palm—for his health, of course.
Louis started to hum again, then I realized he was singing some rock song beneath his breath. Apparently, the big, scary wolf was a Fleetwood Mac fan. Who saw that one coming? Finally, around his slightly off-key rendition of “The Chain,” I fell asleep.
* * *
The door opening and closing woke me. “How is he?”
Otis’s big body blocked the light coming from the ensuite bathroom, but I jumped when it wasn’t Louis’s voice that answered, rather that of Ilyas.
“Much better. His temperature is normal, and he has stopped sweating profusely. I believe he isn’t in the danger zone anymore.
If Hailey wishes to leave, she probably could.
The relapse should be small, and we can ensure skin-to-skin contact for the week. ”
“Amoranze said she might be able to get someone from Canada to come down sooner if he doesn’t respond to us as a potential clan replacement.
It would have helped if one of the teams had an orc.
I’ll have to make the suggestion to the higher-ups at the next regional meeting,” Otis responded.
“I’ll take a shift now. You head out and grab something to eat. Louis cooked.”
When had Louis swapped out with the big guy? I’d obviously slept through it, and that was terrifying. The blankets shifted, and I kept my eyes closed so they didn’t know I was awake. Had they drugged me or something?
“Relax, human. You were obviously in need of rest also.” I forgot there was no hiding my responses from creatures. Most had enhanced senses, while others could straight up read your mind.
“Hailey,” Otis prompted.
“Hailey,” Ilyas repeated. “When we swapped, you were sleeping peacefully, so we didn’t wake you. You’ve been asleep for eleven hours.”
I rocketed up in bed. “What?” My heart thundered. I’d been asleep in a strange place with strange men for eleven hours? I hadn’t slept that long in months. It had to be some kind of magic, right?
Before anyone could repeat themselves, Eric jackknifed up in bed, a snarl on his lips, his face twisted into that of a monster. His tusks were bared, and his eyes were wide and bloodshot.
I screamed as he grabbed me, completely uncaring of his partial nudity.
Turning so his back wasn’t to the other men in the room, he moved toward the window, placing me gently on my feet and pushing me toward the wall, never taking his eyes off the other creatures.
His low growls made the hair on my arms stand on end, and my heart thundered in fear, but something in the back of my mind wasn’t scared.
It knew Eric was protecting me against a threat, against predators, even if the Eric I knew wasn’t in control right now.
He was panting and pale as he snarled and growled, nudging me toward the window. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that we were four stories up. I couldn’t fly, and from what I knew of orcs, neither could he.
Still, he herded me insistently, and I wondered if I was going to have to climb out onto the fire escape to keep him happy.
Before it got to that point, he swayed from side to side then faceplanted straight into the carpet.
We all looked down at him. “Well, I guess that answers that question,” Otis remarked quietly.
Ilyas raised a brow at me. “Congratulations on your mate bond.”
Fuck, maybe I should take a leaf out of Eric’s book and pass out into blissful oblivion.