Chapter 12

Bailey

By noon, I was completely miserable.

It was ridiculous. I felt suddenly addicted to him and couldn't even seem to function with normal everyday tasks with being distracted by memories of that shower this morning.

"Bailey," Chan said as he discreetly nudged me under the table.

I looked up and realized Archie had said something to me.

"Sorry," I muttered.

"Are we inconveniencing you today?" he asked snidely.

"No, sir."

"Then answer the question. What were you and Dean checking out yesterday?"

Each other, I thought, but fortunately didn't say.

"The surrounding area around the cliff where we had the initial concern."

"And did you find anything requiring further investigation?"

"No, sir."

At least not in the area itself. Though all I seemed to be able to think about today was further investigating my mate.

"I heard mention of some sort of accident?" Patrick said.

"Yes, sir."

"What happened?" he asked when I didn't divulge anything further.

I decided honestly would be the best option.

"Dean was flying and ran into a tree."

"No, really," Patrick said.

"Concussion," I added. "Gracie Davenport was also flying in the area and came out to assist. She's the mayor's mate. You can double check with any of them if you don't believe me."

Patrick smirked. "Something tells me Dean would not be pleased if I did."

"I believe you may be right, sir."

He'd probably kill me for even telling them, but I wasn't good with lies, so the more truths to the story the better.

"I'm sure he was glad to have you out there to assist with that. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

It, too, was the truth. I was better than fine. I felt more alive than ever before. Being with Dean was exhilarating and not at all scary. I wasn't even nervous about being naked around him. Perhaps the fear of almost losing him yesterday had changed me. Or maybe it was that first kiss.

"Bailey?"

"Uh, yeah?"

They were all staring at me again.

"Are you sure Dean was the one that hit his head?" Luka joked.

"Sorry," I muttered.

"I'm going to send you over to the clinic to get checked out. Maybe whatever affected Dean to disorient him enough to fly into a tree is also affecting you," Patrick said.

He had no idea just how right he was, but it wasn't at all what he thought it was.

"Okay," I said.

The fact that I didn't argue with him made everyone worry even more about me.

I knew I was fine, just very distracted. I couldn't stop daydreaming about my mate. And I was counting the seconds until I could see him again.

There was a knock on the conference room door. Jude opened it and Dean walked in.

My heart fluttered at the sight of him.

I had it bad.

He briefly met my eyes and I could tell by the wild look I saw there that he had needed to see me, too.

"Dean. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I heard you were meeting here and just wanted to stop by and see if there was anything I needed to know. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, this is good. I told Archie earlier that we should have invited you," Patrick said. "Are you feeling better today?"

"Huh?"

"Bailey told us about your accident. You must have been really out of it to run into a tree like that. Did they find a cause? I'm afraid Bailey may have contracted it, too. She's been off and a little out of it all day."

"I'm fine," I insisted, knowing it would just worry Dean to hear it. Or at least I suspected it would.

The look in his eyes told me I was right.

"Perhaps you could take her over to the clinic to get checked out. And have them check you for any viruses as well. I really don't like knowing you both have similar symptoms that could be undiagnosed."

"Better to be proactive, I suppose," Dean said.

My cheeks were burning a bright shade of red.

There was nothing wrong with either of us. At least nothing I was willing to share with this group.

"We'll follow up with you later. I'll feel a lot better once the doctor has thoroughly checked the both of you out. Bailey, take the day off and rest up. Feel better," Patrick said.

"But. . ."

"This doesn't affect your placement on the team at all. We see how hard you work. But right now, we need you to take care of yourself."

I was stuck. I couldn't get out of this without telling them all about me and Dean. And I wasn't ready to do that.

"Patrick's right. Come on. I'll take you over there," Dean said.

He was trying hard not to smirk.

"Are you sure?" I asked Patrick. "I feel bad enough for missing yesterday."

"I'm sure. You and Dean may need to be quarantined if it's anything serious, so the less exposure to the rest of us, the less risk you two will present. And maybe it's nothing. There's just a lot of crazy going on in the world right now, so better safe than sorry. We still don't know exactly how the Collectors are exterminating the dingoes."

"I'll make sure we both get thoroughly checked out," Dean assured him. "Come on, Bailey."

I didn't say another word or bother to protest again. Instead, I gathered my things and left with Dean.

"You really suck for this," I whispered when we were out of the room.

He chuckled. "We can't be too careful."

"I can't believe you're going along with this."

"Selfishly, I'm happy to spend the day with you. And if they want to quarantine us for a week, I won't complain."

"Dean," I warned.

"Bailey. Orders are orders."

I shook my head. "You're incorrigible."

"That's good, right?"

I loved this playful side of him. It was certainly better than the brooding scowls I was getting before his head trauma.

"Now tell me, why does Patrick think we have some sort of virus? I went along with it since it seemed highly probable that I'd get to spend the day with you, but I have no idea what I walked in on."

"It's all your fault."

"What did I do?"

We had walked outside and down the street. He was at the door to the freaking clinic before I realized where we were. It wasn't open yet, so we stood out front talking while we waited.

"You can't be serious."

"A promise is a promise. Besides, there's a good chance he'll check to make sure we saw the doctor."

I groaned.

"But why?"

I hid my face in my hands and shook my head.

He pried my hands away, one finger at a time.

"Bailey?"

"I told him about you getting disoriented and running into a tree."

"Because my raven chose that moment to claim you as our mate, and I was a little shocked."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"I've known since the first moment we met. Why didn't you?"

I knew there was pain laced in my question.

"Maybe I did, in a way. I couldn't stop thinking about you. I dreamed about you. Hell, I blew off dates because it felt like my raven was going to peck my brains out if I even thought of looking at another woman. So maybe he was trying to tell me, but all it did was make me feel like a creep and pissed off that I couldn't stop obsessing over you. I even contemplated asking Patrick if it was possible for a person to inherit other shifter traits when spending too much time together because I could smell you, and that's not a raven trait. I thought I was going insane."

"I guess that explains all the glares and scowls. But when did it all change?"

"I'm not sure what it's like for your kind, but for ravens, our birds, or I guess animals, have to meet before he confirms a mating bond. So maybe there were other signs, but not anything I would know about, at least not until I was flying and saw you in your wolf form."

"And that distracted you enough to fly headfirst into a tree?"

"Hell yes."

I snorted.

"Scent is one of a wolf's first indicators," I confessed. "My wolf alerted me to your presence when I first caught your scent, but you definitely didn't seem happy about it."

"I'm sorry. I was just confused and had no idea what was going on."

"It's okay. I'm glad I didn't leave Ravenden."

"What?"

"I considered it. I was going to quit the internship program and go home to see if maybe the ARC would take me this semester, even though the semester is almost halfway over."

He growled.

"Do ravens growl this much?"

"No. Again, I thought all the wolves were rubbing off on me, but now I think it's just you tormenting me."

"Hey!"

"You never answered my question about why Patrick thought you might be contaminated, too."

I blushed again.

"I was busted daydreaming and not paying attention during the briefing this morning. On more than one occasion. And that's not like me at all. He knows that, so obviously I must be sick or something."

Dean chuckled. "Or something is right." He lowered his voice and whispered in my ear. "Were you thinking about me?"

I nodded.

"Were you thinking about me in the shower this morning?"

A small gasp escaped me as I looked up into his eyes. I didn't have to confirm his suspicion. The heated look I saw there already told me he knew.

I bit my lower lip.

"I can't stop thinking about it either," he confessed, just as the door to the clinic opened.

"Dean? Are you okay? You were just in here yesterday."

"It has been impressed upon me to get re-checked. Bailey too. She can't resume work until she does."

"Okay. Come on back and I'll get you set up right away."

When she led us down the hall to separate rooms, Dean corrected her.

"One room is fine. We're being checked over for the same thing, so best to just explain it to Doc once."

"Um, okay."

She didn't argue, but she was side-eyeing me with a concerned look.

"This is ridiculous. We both know there isn't anything wrong with us."

"Do we? I mean, a virus and quarantine wouldn't be the worst thing to happen right now."

I groaned.

When the doctor came in, he looked from Dean to me and back to Dean again.

"Are you having any residual side-effects from the concussion?" he asked before even saying hello.

"No, nothing quite like that. And to confirm, this room is sound proofed?"

"Of course, every exam room here is. I take patient-doctor confidentiality very serious."

"Great. Because I'm counting on that. Patrick O'Connell is here with Westin Force."

"I've heard. Bailey here is on his team."

"Correct. Well, Patrick seems to think we may have been exposed to some sort of virus that is making us both distracted."

"Distracted enough to run headfirst into a tree?" he guessed.

"Exactly."

My face was already beginning to warm.

"The probability of that is pretty slim, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, but if you're both experiencing the same symptoms, perhaps there is cause for concern."

"Perhaps there is. Maybe you should quarantine us for the next week or so."

The doctor once again looked at me and then back Dean.

"What's really going on here?"

"Bailey's my one true mate. I know it's not conventional and obviously we aren't ready for this to become public knowledge, as we both deal with it in our own ways."

"So that's the distraction?"

"Pretty much. My raven confirmed it while I was flying above her as she ran through the woods yesterday, and it was a revelation I was not at all prepared for. One minute he's claiming a wolf and the next I felt a sharp pain and then lights out."

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"I was distracted in a meeting this morning, which isn't at all like me, and Patrick became concerned."

"Under complete confidentiality, can you tell me why Westin Force is here?"

"I'm not supposed to talk about it," I confessed.

"But, under patient-doctor confidentiality, I will tell you that there is a worldwide concern regarding the Collectors. It's slightly more than a routine check as they reassess our borders and security measures," Dean explained.

The older man sighed and then walked to a bookshelf covering one wall and pulled off a Norse mythology book.

"Seriously?"

"I know it sounds like a bunch of hocus pocus, but hear me out."

He flipped to a page and then pointed for us to read.

When a raven and a wolf come together, it was a good omen for victory over an upcoming battle.

"If you dive into raven history, you'll find that you aren't the first to fall for a wolf. It was also thought to be a sign of protection for our kind in times of trouble."

"So you're saying something bad is coming, but because of our bond, it's going to be okay?" I asked.

"These are only legends, Bailey. None of it is founded in science. But I'm superstitious enough to claim you're both suffering for an unknown virus that I will be testing and researching you both on for at least the remainder of the week."

"What? No."

"Sounds great to me," Dean added.

I shot him a look.

"Look, I'm a superstitious old man. I'll admit that. But at least one journal alludes to a mated couple necessary for victory. So do what you must, but seal that bond quickly, especially if there's a possibility of the Collectors attacking."

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. What the hell was happening?

"Um, okay," Dean said.

I punched him in the arm.

"We're not just diving into this on a superstition."

"Starting now, you're officially on quarantine. Make the most of it. I would recommend your family home, Dean. I believe you are the only one living on the second floor, plus you won't have to worry about anything there."

"Yeah, okay."

"This is crazy," I protested.

Dean shrugged and gave me that heart-melting smile that made me want to say yes to anything he asked.

"It is, but I guess sometimes life is just crazy, Bailey. This is an opportunity for us to get to know each other better and figure things out without dealing with all the distractions."

"But I'll be letting my team down."

"Will you?" Doc asked. "If the Collectors come and you two are the omen we need to defeat them, then I think that's a worthy cause for your team."

I sighed. There was no way I was getting out of this, and I couldn't even pretend that spending the rest of the week cooped up with Dean wasn't intriguing.

"Fine," I conceded. "But you guys are explaining this to Patrick."