Chapter 6
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I WATCHED HER EYES go wide and then soft. Then she narrowed them at me.
"What did you do?"
I looked around in confusion. "I kept you from falling on your ass?"
She shook her head, stepped back, and then reached out and touched my chest. I stood like I was made of stone.
She seemed like she was testing something, because she did it three more times.
Every time she touched me, all my nerves lit up like they were on fire.
I should not have liked that as much as I did.
Unfortunately, my body had already filed the paperwork.
"What's happening?"
"I don't know." I was just as confused as she was.
"Do you have people for this? Someone who can tell me why when I touch you I feel warm and safe?"
I winced. "I think I need to call my brothers. They'll help us figure out what's going on. Okay?"
She nodded and I stepped back. She stepped forward. I stepped back. She followed again, keeping her hand on my chest.
"I, um, need to touch you. Is that okay?"
Inside my head I roared, HELL YES, but outwardly I just nodded. I carefully took her tiny hand and wrapped it around my wrist. "Okay?"
She nodded, so we made our way to the living room, where my phone was tossed on the couch. I sat down and she scooted until her side pressed against mine. I wrapped my arm around her. She felt right there, like it was where she belonged.
"Are you a witch?" It was really one of the few explanations that made sense. Maybe it was her supernatural part that made the candy smell weird.
"What? No, I didn't know any of ... this,"—she tipped her chin at me to let me know I was the this—"existed."
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Then I hit the speed dial for Kragen before I could chicken out.
"Quin?"
"So, a funny thing happened last night."
I could hear the sigh in his voice. "What happened?"
"I kidnapped a woman." I rushed on before he could start asking questions. "It's fine. It's all fine now, but I need your help. And maybe Cavi's. And maybe Bacon's. I'm not sure. Anyway, I could use a bit of help."
"I'm on my way."
I hung up and groaned. "The, uh, cavalry is on the way."
My five brothers and two mates, plus Nanna, poured into my house moments later like water through a burst dam. I felt Haven shrink further against me and pulled her closer.
They arranged themselves in front of my couch in a rough semicircle, all of them staring at me with varying degrees of shock.
I tried for casual as I waved at all of them, but my muscles locked around Haven, and I had the strange notion that I would shred any of them that got close.
"Hi guys! Glad you could come over." I tilted my head in her direction.
"This is Haven. I sort of kidnapped her last night, but it was an accident. "
Kragen shook his head and pinched his muzzle. "You ... kidnapped someone ... by accident?"
"Oops?"
Roul roared. "Kidnapping is not an oopsie, Quin!"
Haven flinched.
A snarl rose in the room, and it took a beat for me to realize I was the one snarling. I managed to keep my voice level as I growled, "Do not yell again."
Roul actually backed up a step.
"Okay, everyone calm down." Kragen stepped forward and crouched in front of Haven. "Hi, I'm Kragen, and these are my brothers Drym, Thurl, Cavi, and Roul. The lovely ladies are Kendal, Jade and Nanna."
Kendal stepped up beside Kragen. "Are you okay?"
"I'm..."—she glanced at me—"not sure actually?"
"There's some weirdness going on between us, which is why I called you."
"Weirdness, how?"
Cavi tilted his head like he was examining something under a microscope. I didn't like it, but managed to control myself. "We're experiencing strange reactions to each other."
Everyone in the room relaxed. Drym and Thurl shared a knowing look. Drym spoke next.
"How does she smell?"
I heard Haven's sharp intake of breath and her whispered, "What?" but I ignored it and answered.
"Like candy, but weird."
I felt more than saw Haven's head whip to look up at me.
"And she's feeling a compulsion to touch me."
Drym and Thurl were nodding now, but Cavi rubbed the back of his neck. "Weird how, exactly?"
"Remember the gummy worms that Kendal brought us?" I waited for them all to nod. "And how there was that chemically, artificial scent beneath the sweet?" Again, they nodded. "She smells like that."
Cavi addressed Haven. "And this compulsion to touch him, what does that feel like?"
She sat up straighter and I loosened my hold.
"When I'm touching him, I feel warm and safe, but when I let go,"—she moved away from me for a moment, shook her head, and then moved back—"I start to panic."
"Do you have a history of panic attacks?"
"I've never had one before in my life."
Cavi turned to Kragen. "I'm concerned. I think Quin is right and we should bring in Bacon. This doesn't sound like the mate bonds Drym and Thurl experienced, and Kendal and Jade never reported symptoms of this magnitude." He glanced at the couples in question. "Correct?"
All four of them bobbed their heads.
"I was attracted to Drym from the start," Kendal said, "but I never thought I'd panic if I weren't touching him."
Jade was nodding. Thurl added, "And there is no chemical undertone in how Jade smells to me."
Kragen stood and looked at Cavi. "Are you thinking this is manufactured somehow?"
Cavi shook his head. "I'm unsure. I just think it warrants further investigation."
"All right. I'll call Bacon. She'll have further contacts if needed." He crouched to address Haven again. "Are you okay staying with Quin, at least for a little while?"
She snorted. "I don't see how I could leave. Even letting go of him makes my heart race—and not in a good way."
Pinpricks of blue light began to glow around the room. "Uh, guys? Are you seeing this?"
"Seeing what?" Kragen asked as everyone looked around in confusion.
Haven answered for me. "Little blue lights? Floating around? Oh, wait." She stared up at me.
I finished the thought. "They're lining up. From her to me. Or the other way around? Hard to tell, really."
Drym growled. "You didn't bite her—right? You'd never—"
"What? No! Why the hell would I do that?" I swatted at the lights in a panic.
Roul caught and held my wrist. "Those are bond lights, idiot. You're mate-bonded."