Chapter 9

H emlock made a bed on the floor like the last time he’d bunked in my room. But we’d shared a bed since then, so it seemed petty to make him sleep on the floor. Besides, my bed was large enough for us not to have to even touch.

“Come up here.”

He arched a brow at me. “You want me in your bed?”

“I want you to get a decent night’s sleep, and the floor is hardly comfortable, is it?”

“I’m fine here.”

“I shared your bed, so it’s only fair you get to share mine. And mine is bigger.”

A ghost of a smile teased his lips. “I very much doubt that.”

Huh? “Ew!”

The smile broke, and I caught a flash of teeth before he wrestled it under control. “Fine, but stay on your side.”

“Of course.”

He put his blanket between us like a barrier and lay down on the other side.

“Seriously? Do you think I’m going to attack you in the night?”

His eye whites gleamed in the gloom. “No.”

Then…oh…

He closed his eyes and settled.

“Hemlock?”

“Hmmm?”

“Has Ordell’s beast been fixated on anyone else like this before?”

His eyes remained closed, giving the illusion that he was relaxed, but his body visibly stiffened. “You should get some sleep. It’s late.”

“It’s a simple question.”

“Maybe, but there is no simple answer to it.” He sighed and opened his eyes. “Look, just keep your distance. No alone time, okay? It’s for the best. Trust me.”

Something pricked at my consciousness. A possibility that I didn’t want to entertain and therefore couldn’t voice.

But it was also something I couldn’t ignore. “Okay, good night.”

Hemlock’s eyes slipped closed again, and a few minutes later, his breathing had evened out.

How he switched off like that would never fail to amaze me, but it would be a while until my active mind shut down because I suspected what the answer to my question was, and I knew just the person who might be able to confirm it for me.

Hemlock was gone by the time I woke, but I caught him at breakfast, which we all took in the kitchen.

“Where’s Ordell?”

“Gone. He had things to do. I’ll be driving you into New Town.” He sipped his coffee. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah.”

“You snore.”

“I do not!”

“Yes. You do. You purr.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “Like an angry kitten.” A stab of heat passed between us, sudden and unexpected. My face warmed, but his expression closed off, as if he regretted his words. He quickly drained his cup and shoved his seat back. “I’ll be outside.”

He left quickly, leaving me staring at his vacated seat. “What the fuck?”

“Oh, don’t worry about him.” A plate of bacon and eggs materialized in front of me, and Ingrid manifested a moment later. “Hemlock was never one to share his emotions, even before…This makes him uncomfortable.”

“This? What is this?”

“You, my dear. His attraction to you.” She canted her head slightly. “You don’t see it?”

Had I? I’d be lying if I said I was oblivious, but I’d ignored it because, what was the point? And it was Hemlock: prickly, arrogant, acerbic, and…sweet. He could be sweet when he wanted to be.

But what did it matter in the grand scheme of things?

Romance wasn’t why I was here. “Can I get some coffee please, Ingrid?”

She leaned in, her gaze intense and searching for a beat and a prickle of awareness skated over my skin. “Ingrid?”

She shook her head and laughed softly. “Oh dear. Coffee. Yes.”

She filled up my cup then vanished, leaving me to quickly stuff my face, my thoughts already on the phone call I was going to make once I got to New Town.

No one went into the interrogation room, so I ducked inside for privacy to make my call, hitting speed dial for Quinn.

It rang for ages, and I was about to give up when she answered breathlessly.

“Orina? Oh my God, I’ve been so worried about you.”

“Hey, I’m fine. I’m safe.”

“Really? Lorenzo told me you were in Dracul territory. Vampires, Orina. You fucking hate suckers.”

“Yeah, the irony.”

“I tried calling you a few times, but it never went through. I don’t suppose you got my text messages?”

“The reception here is odd. I didn’t get any messages, but I should have called you sooner. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I get it. But are you all right? Really?”

That was such a loaded question, and if we got into it, then we’d be here all day. “I’m good. Getting my head around things here.”

“The vampire king? That’s…Are you safe?”

Bless her heart. “As safe as you were when you went into Hawthorne territory and as safe as Nyx is in Morningstar right now, I guess.”

She was silent for several beats. “I can come to you. I’ll get the permits and?—”

There was a low growl in the background, then, “You’re not going anywhere in your condition.” I recognized the deep rumbling voice as Bryce, alpha of the Hawthorne pack.

Wait a second…Condition? My pulse spiked. “Quinn? What’s wrong? What condition?”

She laughed softly. “Relax, it’s nothing terrible, just the most common condition ever. I’m pregnant.” She said the last part in a ta-da way.

My heart swelled with joy. “Oh…Oh, Quinn, that’s amazing.”

“And she won’t be leaving pack territory,” another voice piped up. Jax, if I wasn’t mistaken. “Bryce has her wrapped in cotton wool,” he added sarcastically.

“Shut up, Jax,” Bryce growled.

“Bite me,” Jax replied.

“Will you both be quiet, please,” Quinn said. “I’m trying to speak to my friend. Better yet, I’ll just go in the other room and?—”

A chorus of no’s bloomed in the background and a fist of longing clamped around my heart. To have what she had—the affection and devotion and love of her mates. Of her pack.

“I’m fine, Quinn, honestly, I just had a question, and I think your mates might be able to help me answer it.”

“I’ll put you on speaker mode. There. Shoot.”

“Okay, so, a few nights ago…” I filled them in on Ordell’s condition and how he’d kind of attacked and bit me. “But it healed, and it’s left a scar, and now he’s telling me I have to stay away from him, and last night we almost…I mean we were just sharing a slice of cake and then, bam, we were on my bed, and if Hemlock hadn’t come in?—”

“He’s mate marked you,” Bryce said gruffly. “But I think, deep down, you already realized that, didn’t you?”

I closed my eyes and exhaled. I’d ignored my suspicions for days, because surely Ordell would have said something, right? But last night…The way I’d felt with him, as if I would abandon my calling to claim the pleasure that he could give my body…That had been the clincher.

There was no ignoring this now. “What do I do? How do I…make it go away?”

“You can’t,” Jax said. “But there are usually rules to a mating. Steps that solidify it, and it’s different for different shifter breeds. You need to figure out what his rules are. Best way is to ask him, but…Orina, a mate bond happens for a reason, you do realize that, don’t you?”

I squeezed my eyes closed because of course I did. It meant we were a good fit. The perfect fit, and in some cases a soul mate fit, but none of that mattered. Not for me.

“Orina…” Quinn said softly. “Do you like him? Like…have feelings for him?”

My throat pinched. “That’s irrelevant.”

She sighed. “I don’t understand how the Order works, but I know how you’ve always held back from relationships, so I assumed it was some kind of Order law. Is that true?”

I wanted to tell her so badly in that moment that I had to bite the insides of my cheeks to stop myself spilling the beans. “Something like that.”

“Then I need to ask you, is the Order more important than your happiness?”

The answer to that question was easy. She would never understand, and I couldn’t blame her. “The Order is my happiness. But sometimes…Sometimes I wish I could have both.”

“Speak to the male,” Bryce said. “And if you need help in that bloodsucker infested territory, then call us. Quinn might not be able to come, but we will be there. We do not abandon family.”

My eyes pricked with heat, and when I spoke, my voice was thick with emotion. “Thank you.”

I ended the call and wiped my wet eyes. Ordell had chosen me as his mate. He wanted me, and I couldn’t lie to myself about how wonderful that made me feel. But I wasn’t free to be his mate, and we’d need to figure out a way to dissolve or prevent the bond from growing stronger, because if I lost myself to it, then I would lose my calling, and that…That was not something I’d ever be able to forgive myself for.

As much as I wanted to storm off, find Ordell, and demand answers, there was work to be done here. Holly’s spell was maturing faster than expected, and we might be able to get out and track later this afternoon.

I tucked my phone into my pocket and headed back into the office. It was time to put my work head on.

The confrontation with Ordell would be a tonight problem.