Chapter 14

Bailey

I couldn't believe I just blurted that out. From the shocked expression on Dean's face, neither could he.

"Sorry. I had to tell someone."

"Wait, Oscar doesn't know about him?" Tobi asked.

"Sorta," I admitted.

"What does that mean?" Dean asked.

"I told him early on after we met and you were acting weird. So he knows I found you and that you're a raven, but that's it."

"We're gonna keep our mouths shut tight about this, right Tobi?" Jackson said.

"Yes. Our lips are sealed. No way am I gonna try to explain this one."

"I was there for Chase and Jenna's mating. Interspecies mating is crazy, but even more so if you're true mates," Jackson said.

"We are," Dean and I both confirmed.

"Cute. We certainly wish you both the best of luck. And don't let him fool you. Mating period is a crazy time."

Dean snaked his arm around me and I sighed, leaning into his touch.

"Okay, we don't have long. I have a meeting with Wilcott in an hour. So if we're playing, let's do this."

We all agreed, jumped back into a waiting room, and then joined a game where, of course, we kicked butt. It wasn't even close.

I saw enough to know that Dean was a skillful player.

"Since we're just sitting around waiting anyway, why don't you do a little trick and we'll play a bit of two on two?"

"Girls against guys?" Jackson asked.

"No. You and Tobi against me and Dean."

He laughed. "You're serious?"

"As a heart attack."

Dean and I muted our mics when they agreed.

"I've only been playing this game a few days. I don't have it memorized yet," he said.

"But I've been playing it from the very beginning. You've got skills. You can handle this."

"Jackson Holt designed this game. Doesn't that give him a huge advantage?"

I chuckled. "Jackson designs a lot of games and even more variations of games. We'll make him do random selection to help our odds. Trust me. He doesn't always remember what he designs."

He looked at me like I was crazy.

I turned the mic back on.

"Random selection, so you can't cheat, Jackson."

"Dammit, Bailey."

I grinned at Dean, and he winked at me.

Jackson conceded to my one request, and we came off strong in the first round, beating them by a slight margin. Then they came back strong to win the next two.

"Worthy opponents. I think you play stronger with Dean than you do with Oscar," Tobi praised.

"We have to run. It was great catching up, Bails. Don't be a stranger. And Dean, you better take care of this girl. She's a keeper."

"I couldn't agree more."

"Do you want to keep playing?" I asked him after Jackson and Tobi left the game.

"Nah. I'm not sure anything will top that today. Not for gaming, at least. As fun as that was, it still wasn't the highlight of my day."

I blushed, knowing he was referring to our morning shower.

Was that really today? So much had happened since then that it felt like weeks had passed, or days at the very least.

I leaned back against his couch. It was oversized and comfy enough to curl up and sleep on. Plus, it smelled like him, and that was quickly becoming my favorite scent in the entire world.

He put his arm around my shoulders, and I snuggled up against him.

"How long are we going to be locked up in here?"

"I don't know. At least the rest of the week, from what Doc said."

I groaned.

"Is that really that bad?"

"For a wolf? Yes. I hate being cooped up."

"Even with me?"

"I guess that won't be the worst thing."

He leaned over and kissed me. I already looked forward to his lips on mine. It was funny how just a day ago I was so nervous about a kiss and now I craved them, needed them even. No, I needed him.

"How will we pass the time?" he asked before sneaking another kiss.

"What was it Doc said? We should take this time to get to know each other."

"Pretty sure he said go, do what you have to, and seal the deal."

"I don't recall that."

"It was implied with his speech on how we're supposed to be a good omen when the Collectors come to town if we are mated or whatever that bullshit was about."

"It was crazy. We should probably do some research on that myth. It was Norse, right?"

"Yeah. That's what he said."

My phone rang, and when I picked it up, I saw it was Patrick.

"I don't know if I can do this."

"Do what?"

"Lie to him."

"It's not a lie. Doctor's orders, remember."

"But there's nothing wrong with us."

"Are you going to answer it or not?"

I took a breath first.

"Shit. It's a video call."

"Go ahead and take it."

I did, plastering on a smile for my boss's benefit and keeping the camera just on me.

"Hi Patrick."

"Just checking in on you. How the feck did this happen? Doc doesn't seem to know what we're dealing with exactly. Are you feeling okay?"

Dean's hand slid up my thigh, causing me to squeak out a "Uh-huh."

"You look a little flushed. We should report this back to Doc."

"He's already running some tests. I don't think we need to bother him any further today."

"I know you'll be tied up for the next week, at least. I'm not even sure we'll still be needed here that long, but don't worry. I'll have a plane here ready to take you home when you're able. Would you like us to keep you informed on what's going on with the mission, or prefer to just rest?"

"Of course I want to know what's going on, all of it."

He chuckled. "I suspected as much. Security looks tight here. Dean's done a wonderful job implementing some of our earlier recommendations."

I couldn't help it. I beamed with pride when he complimented my mate.

"Archie has set up a few new cameras. We really haven't found anything concerning beyond what we already knew and discussed previously. But. . ."

"But what?"

"Latest reports out of Australia are not looking good. We found a tribe completely massacred. Two more are currently missing, though they could have gone into hiding."

"How's Lachlan handling it all?"

Lachlan was our resident psychologist. He provided therapy to anyone on Westin Force and to those who needed it from Westin Pack. I had a few sessions with him myself. He was a good man, and a dingo. With the dingoes being targeted, I worried about him.

"Lachlan has gone AWOL. He found his mate amongst one of the tribes there, and it is feared that she's been captured. Needless to say, he hasn't handled it well. The number of my men that go off on missions and find their true mates is staggering, and an enormous pain in my ass."

Not just your men, I thought, but kept to myself.

"We believe we have an inside lead, though, and we're checking into that. We all know that being here is just a precaution. I still fear the ravens hold the biggest risk with the Collectors' love of witches."

I hadn't really considered that Dean was a witch. I hadn't seen him use any powers or anything, unless his gift was kissing, because Lord knew that man could kiss.

"Bailey? Shit. You're zoning out on me again."

I shook my head. "Sorry."

"You need to start keeping track of these episodes. Maybe it will help Doc figure out what's wrong with you. I'm going to have Micah look into things with fresh eyes, too. I'm worried about you. We all are."

"I'm okay," I said, feeling embarrassed when I knew it was just the mating bond.

I'd never had problems with focus before, so it was a little unnerving to be reminded of how I kept drifting off in mid-conversation. I totally blamed Dean. This was all his fault. Every single time someone pointed out my distraction, I was thinking of him.

"Your face is all flushed again. Get some rest and try to take it easy. We've got everything here under control. I'll check in on you again tomorrow."

"Thanks Patrick."

I disconnected the call and found Dean staring at me. I'd desperately been trying to ignore him while on call with Patrick.

"You really were spaced out, glassy-eyed and everything. Are you sure you're really okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You're sure?"

I smacked him. "It's all your fault."

"What did I do?"

"Just breathing is enough," I muttered.

"You aren't making any sense."

I growled in frustration. "Okay, so like this time, Patrick mentioned that all ravens are witches. Logically, I already knew this, but it got me thinking about you. I've never seen you use a special power." I blushed furiously, thinking about kissing him. Dammit .

"You just did it again. What were you thinking about?"

"None of your business. Just because you're my mate does not mean you are privy to all of my thoughts."

He chuckled, and I had the urge to punch him again.

"So, are you going to ask me then?"

"Ask you what?"

"What my powers are."

"Oh, so you are a witch?"

"Of course I am."

"So what is it?"

"Did you know that each Flock is prone to a different set of powers?"

"I did not. What do you mean?"

"For an example, Kim is a Grimes. Her Flock has water powers. Gracie is a Montgomery. They wield fire. I was named after the Dean Flock, the one my mother was born into. Dean's have Earth powers. Pierce's manipulate air, Caldwell's ice, while Thornton's are the keepers of light and dark. Each Flock provides the Congress with their particular skills."

"So what do the Davenports provide?"

"Power and electricity. For me that comes in the form of sparks."

"Sparks?"

"Yup. Think the ability to throw lightning."

"That's crazy."

"I know, and not exactly a skill I require often. It's come in handy more for parlor tricks than personal safety. So not really as cool as it sounds."

"Hypothetically, if we were to have children, would they be witches?"

"Hard to say. I don't exactly know any ravens mated to another species. But typically for my kind, the powers of the father's Flock are passed on to their chicks. Not always. There have been exceptions. I'd imagine our chicks would most definitely be unique and possibly an exception to the rule."

"You mean pups," I corrected.

He scowled. "Chicks."

"I'm a wolf. I will someday have pups."

"What would that even make our children?" he pondered.

"Well, if Oscar is any indication, then there's a fifty-fifty chance."

"Huh?"

"My best friend, Oscar, his mom is a wolf, but his biological father is a tiger. The way everyone made it seem, he had a fifty-fifty chance of being a wolf or a tiger. At least that's how it was explained to me."

"Or he gained his spirit animal from his father's line, which means you would have chicks."

"Fifty-fifty," I argued. "Can you even handle the possibility that you could father a pup?"

"Are we really arguing about our future kids?"

"Hypothetical kids," I corrected.

"Of course. Well, hypothetically speaking, if I fathered a whole pack of pups, it would be okay because I know they'd be just as amazing as their mother."

He seemed to know exactly what to say to turn me into a big ball of mush, or maybe more like putty in his hands.

"And if they were a whole flock of chicks, I'd be nervous at first. There'd be the whole witch thing to deal with, but I'd be more freaked out about the flying. I don't think I'd handle that part well, but I know their father would teach them everything they need to know. It would still freak me out at first, though."

"Does my flying freak you out?"

"Well, no, but that's different. I didn't watch you learn to fly."

"True. How the hell did we even get on this subject, anyway?"

We both laughed.

"All hypothetical," I assured him.

"Hypothetically, we could start practicing for our hypothetical children whenever you like."

He flashed me that smile of his.

"Dean, I thought you were okay with taking things slow."

"Slow is not what we did in the shower this morning."

My cheeks were on fire, because I knew that was all on me. He hadn't asked me for any of that. I'd just been so curious. I still was and couldn't wait to explore things further. I seemed fine when I was the one in control, but I didn't yet know how I would feel when the roles reversed.

I licked my lips as I replayed that shower scene in my head. I had no idea what had come over me to make me do something so boldly, but I'd loved every second of it.