Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Eric
I thought it was a dream at first. Hailey was lying across my chest, her face tucked against my throat.
I dreamed of having her this close, but the more my eyes opened, the more aware I was of the little things that were blurred in a dream—the scent of her skin, the slight dampness between our bodies because we were both running a little hot, and the way her hair itched my cheeks.
She was here. This wasn’t a fantasy. She was here and lying across my body like I made her feel safe.
What did I do now? If she woke up on my chest like this, would she freak out?
Probably. As much as it pained me to do so, I slowly shifted her to the bed beside me.
She was so beautiful. Her soft, golden hair and small round face made her look almost innocent, but the pain in her eyes told me she’d lived a life that was anything but innocent.
Her eyelids fluttered, and I closed my own again quickly.
If she woke up to me staring at her like a creep, she’d be out of here so fast.
I didn’t know if I could let her walk out of here again. I felt her stiffen slightly, and I tried to tell my wildly beating heart to calm the fuck down. She let out a tiny noise, and then she snuggled back into my side.
She was awake… and snuggling.
Be fucking cool, Eric. Be cool.
I blinked my eyes open like I hadn’t been awake all this time and looked down at her. She was gloriously ruffled. I cleared my throat. “Good morning. I thought you’d left.”
She let out a bitter laugh, moving slightly away. I mourned the loss of her closeness.
“Someone tried to break into my apartment, and I called in my favor from the crisis team really quickly.”
I froze, my whole body going rigid. “What? Someone tried to break into your apartment?” The words were almost a growl, so I swallowed it down again. I didn’t want to scare her more.
She nodded. “A dick from the diner didn’t like that I wasn’t a bigoted asshole. He decided to follow me home from work and teach me a lesson.”
I breathed in and out through my nose, trying to calm the raging beast that wanted out. “Hailey, I really need to hold you right now. Is that okay?” I choked out.
Her eyes ran over my face. “Why?”
I cleared my throat so I didn’t growl. “Because my beast feels like we failed you. We weren’t there to protect you, and you were almost assaulted or… worse.”
“Oh,” she murmured softly and moved into my arms. I held her tightly against my body. She was here. She was safe. I repeated it over and over until my heart rate slowed to something that would be considered normal.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured.
She huffed out a laugh. “I promise that everything bad that happens to me isn’t your fault. That jerk had nothing to do with you or, uh, this,” she said, waving a finger between our faces.
“That isn’t what I’m sorry for, though if I could apologize for the world being a shitty place, I would.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.”
Her huffed laughter tickled my chest hair. “Can you imagine if he’d broken in because I was nice to a bunch of werewolf construction workers, and he was greeted by my orc mate? Syke wouldn’t have had to turn him into ash. He would have dropped dead on the spot from the outrage.”
“Syke turned him to ash?” The demon rescued her?
“Yeah. It was… scary and impressive in equal parts.” She yawned and stretched, moving farther away again. I let her go, despite the urge to drag her back to me. “I should go say thank you, I guess. Is that the correct response when someone vaporizes an asshole for you?”
I chuckled. “I’m not sure, it’s never come up before, but I guess so.”
She climbed from the bed. Hailey was wearing tiny pajama shorts and an oversized shirt with a cartoon character on the front. It was a testament to how attractive I thought she was that I was growing hard at the sight of her in non-traditionally sexy clothes.
Thank the great orc she wasn’t still pressed against my body so I wouldn’t have to explain that.
This morning was the first day in… weeks, probably, where I didn’t feel like death. I actually felt good, and it was all her—my mate.
As she walked into the bathroom, I groaned and buried my face in her pillow.
I was fucking screwed. I was going to jail.
If I was anything other than a selfish prick, I’d send her away so she didn’t get caught up in the inevitable court case where they would ship me off to prison.
She was too soft hearted to see me in orange.
At least it contrasted nicely with my skin tone.
I heard the shower turn on, so I decided to find coffee and food. She’d be hungry when she finished. Climbing out of bed, I pulled my sweats up over my morning wood, tucking it into the waistband of my boxer briefs.
When I walked into the kitchen, Otis was sitting at the dining table, typing on a laptop that looked like a toy beneath his huge hands. He glanced up and smiled. “You’re looking good, Eric.”
I felt my body shiver under the praise. That was weird.
Well, not really, I guess. He was an extremely handsome man, and he paid me a compliment, even if he didn’t mean it like that.
Plus, he was dominant. There was an idea that herbivores really couldn’t be dominant, and that it was the purview of predatory creatures only, but I challenged anyone to stand beneath the all-seeing gaze of this minotaur and not want to bare their throat in submission.
I cleared my throat. “I feel much better, thank you.” He pointed to the chair across from him, and I sat down. My legs were still a little shaky and weak. A week and a bit in bed would do that to anyone.
“Is Hailey still asleep?” Otis asked softly, closing his laptop. His hand was the size of the screen.
Shaking my head, I looked over my shoulder. “No, she’s in the shower. Uh, she told me that your demon—”
“Syke,” Otis corrected.
“Syke saved her last night. I’m forever in your debt.” It wasn’t enough, but the soft expression on Otis’s face told me he understood.
He nodded once. “The debt is to Syke. Technically, he was operating outside the standard procedures of the Creature Crisis Center.” He paused, taking a sip of his coffee. “Though any of us would have done the same. Hailey is a good person… a good human.”
I licked my dry, cracked lips. “You don’t even know the half of it. She’s the best humanity has to offer.”
We both heard the bedroom door open, and I stood, walking over to the kitchen to start the coffee machine.
Despite the fact that I’d, uh, accidentally bonded with her, I didn’t actually know how she liked her coffee, but orcs had a great sense of smell.
In fact, we had a vomeronasal organ on our bottom lip between our tusks.
We could almost taste strong smells, including coffee, which meant I knew how sweet she liked her coffee, and what creamers and flavorings she enjoyed.
I found the vanilla creamer in the fridge. I knew it wasn’t her usual brand, but I thought she still might like it. When she entered the common room area, her wet hair was braided back, and her face was flushed pink from her shower. She was in a pair of yoga pants and an oversized hoodie.
So fucking beautiful.
Clearing my throat, I took the coffee to her. “Uh, I made you coffee. I hope it’s how you like it.” I was so uncool.
Hailey sat down in the chair beside mine and smiled. “Thank you.” She took a small sip. “Perfect.”
I preened again. I was so gone. “You normally have one of those giant travel cups in the morning, so I know you’re a coffee lover.”
She snorted a laugh. “It’s because I’m normally operating on complete exhaustion. I swear, mornings aren’t my friend.” She gave me a deprecating grin. “I feel pretty good today though.”
Otis cleared his throat. “I think I can explain that. You’re both going to need to sit down though. We have a lot to talk about before I submit my report.”
Dread pooled in my stomach. This was it. We’d purposely glossed over the legal repercussions when she was here.
Otis gave me a reassuring look. “Mate bonding a human against their will, or without their knowledge, is illegal. Extremely illegal, in fact. You can imagine the bedlam that would occur if creatures could go around force bonding humans at will. It isn’t a future any of us want, so the punishment for doing so is…
extensive. Imprisonment, at the very least.”
Hailey frowned. “But it wasn’t his fault. Not really.”
“I’d put that in the report, of course, but he’d still have to go before a judge.
He might get community service instead, considering that no real harm came from the bond, and he’s willing to break it at much, er, discomfort to himself.
” Otis cleared his throat. “However, the greater problem appears to be that you’ve accepted the bond and started to consolidate it yourself. ”
Her forehead creased. “Because I lay in bed with him when he was ill?”
My heart was thudding in my chest. He couldn’t be suggesting…
“No, it’s my belief it began before that.
It was how you knew something was wrong with Eric, that sixth sense that he needed help.
When Syke dropped you home the other day, did you feel jittery?
Like there was something deep inside your chest that screamed you were in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing?
Before that, in the week when Eric was missing, did you feel more tired, stressed, and highly strung? ”
She frowned, and I frowned right along with her. Was he getting at what I thought he was getting at?
“I mean, sure, but I was worried about Eric and working doubles.”
Otis nodded slowly. “And today?”
“Today I feel great,” she answered slowly. “What are you trying to say?”
Looking between us like he was delivering bad news, he stated, “It appears that you’ve mate bonded the orc also, and whether or not he goes to jail is entirely in your hands.”