Chapter 7

S itting in a coffee shop on a Sunday morning with four guys who are vying for your affections should be nice, right? Well, it would've been had it not been for the wake-up call I had received, in the form of two hellhounds snarling in my face and dribbling acid drool onto my bed sheets.

I'd ended up in a puppy pile with a naked Alex and Seb after the pack run in the woods. We hadn't had sex, although I'm sure the guys wouldn't have protested, and I'm not even sure if Alex and I are in any place where we would have sex. Killian had been invited, and he had looked torn, but he just silently shook his head and walked back to his cabin on his own. After the high of running with the pack, I hadn't wanted that feeling of closeness to end, hence the puppy pile. It had been surprisingly comfortable, until the hellhounds that is.

At my yelp, the guys had instantly gone into attack mode, Alex snarling and pushing me behind him, Seb snarling in the corner, looking ready to change at a moment's notice. I pushed up from my place on the bed and reached forward for the collar on the beast, feeling a scroll attached there. I pulled it away, rolling my eyes at the theatrics as I read the message, although the feeling of relief and annoyance started to build up within me .

With a sigh, I got up and started throwing on clothes under the bewildered stares from the guys. I explained to them that this had always been Tori's way of summoning me. When she wanted me, she would send a snarling hellhound to fetch me. It takes a huge amount of effort for her to summon these and I'd always told her it was a waste of her magic, but she didn't care. Found it hilarious, her version of a joke, crazy witch. So, I called Garett and Killian, and we all got ready to meet Tori.

Which is why we are all sitting here in the human coffee shop. Her message had explained that she needed to get away from everything for a while and a ‘friend' was keeping her safe. Tori didn't have many friends, and the fact that she had just up and left without so much as a word to Garett concerns me. She either knew this person and trusted them, or she was in danger and had no choice but to trust them.

We sit in a corner of the coffee shop we have commandeered as our own. Killian is sitting a little ways from the rest of us, scowling at anyone who comes close. Alex and Seb are sitting opposite me, chatting amongst themselves, but I can tell that they're on alert, their eyes flicking around the room looking for threats.

Garett had met us here, swooping me up into a fierce hug, burying his nose into my hair, breathing in my scent. I fight against the part of me that wants to pull away and tell him off for his possessive behaviour. I know how hard it must have been for him when I was in the Shadow Realm, not just because his shifter instincts would have been telling him to keep me close, but because he loves me. Not to mention my own instincts are screaming at me to keep him in my arms, to nuzzle into his warmth and strength.

Now, he sits next to me with my hand in his, calmly looking around as we wait for Tori. I know he's nervous though by the creases around his eyes and the way his foot is tapping softly against the floor. I stare into my coffee, trying not to let my mind run away with all the possible things that could've happened to her. The ding of the bell above the door has me looking up from my cup, only to see Tori standing in the doorway. I nearly shatter my cup as I drop it and jump up to my feet. The only thing that stops me from rushing to her is the iron grip around my arm and on my shoulder, preventing me from moving. Garett grips my right wrist, and I turn to glare at Killian, who stands just to my left with a tight hold on my shoulder, keeping me in place. I bare my teeth at him in a snarl until I realise that Alex and Seb are also standing and have moved closer, surrounding me in a semi-circle of shifters. Good thing the coffee shop was almost empty, because nothing about my guys look human right now, their auras are screaming supernatural.

"Ari." Tori's guarded voice has my eyes shooting up again, running over her to check for injuries. She's smiling, but she looks tired and wary of the guys in front of me. That's when I notice someone is standing behind her. He hasn't come into the shop yet, but I can see his outline.

"Are you going to let me in? It's freezing out here," a male voice complains.

I know that voice.

"Demon, what business do you have here?" Killian's voice is like acid. I push past him, and he drops his arm with a small snarl but doesn't take his eyes off the figure in the doorway.

"Eric? What the hell are you doing here?" I'm shocked, and my voice conveys that. Eric Daniels—or Dr. McHotty, as my brain fondly likes to call him—was my friend and work colleague at the hospital I worked for prior to tending the pack. I haven't seen him since before the attack on Moon River Pack, where he told me that he was actually a type of incubus. Not the sex feeding type like I had thought, but feeding off emotions, specifically pain. This threw a major wrench in our relationship when I realised he had been feeding off the pain of his patients. As a nurse, this was a massive moral issue, not to mention the fact he'd been lying to me. The whole time we'd known each other, I'd thought he was human and he had gone along with that, hiding this huge secret from me. He knew I was a wolf, thanks to his powers, specifically that I was Shadowborn, but didn't trust me enough to tell me he was a type of demon. I should've been able to work out that he was something other , but the fact I couldn't means that he is either very old, powerful, or both. Nothing had ever happened romantically between us, and not because I didn't find him attractive. It's hard not to find him attractive with his short, neat blond hair and bright blue eyes like some sort of Scandinavian god. But I'd thought he was human, and there was no way I was going to have a sexual relationship with a human. I would destroy them with my supernatural strength. And that was all that would ever happen, because I didn't date, ever, sex was the only option.

"Ari…" Tori's voice brings my attention back to her, and I see that she hasn't moved from Eric's side. I look over the two of them, they aren't touching but they're standing close together. Tori looks unharmed, a little tired maybe, but given what's been going on, that's understandable. Eric, on the other hand, looks like crap. The last time I saw him, he looked bad, but he looks worse now, if that's even possible. His usually neat hair is long and uncombed, he has about a week's worth of stubble on his chin, and his eyes are red rimmed. His cheeks are hollow, and he looks like he hasn't slept in about a month. Our last conversation had ended early when I'd been taken away by ASP for questioning. I feel a twinge of guilt that I've not spared a thought for him since, especially considering how he looks right now.

My eyes slide to my best friend again, and I take a step towards her, only to be stopped by Killian's hand on my shoulder again.

"I don't trust the demon." His words come out as a growl, which I meet with my own.

"Kill, if you don't remove your arm, I will rip it off and shove it up your arse." My response must have surprised him, because he stops glaring at Eric to look at me with his eyebrows raised in shock. Alex and Seb snort out a laugh, and even Garett smiles.

"That's our girl," I hear Alex say quietly to Seb. Tension now broken, I meet Killian's eyes and give him a small smile .

"I know him, it's okay. I need to see Tori," I explain softly, just for him. I know the others can hear me, supernatural hearing and all, but I need him to hear me and understand that I've got this. His eyes narrow slightly, and for a moment, I think he's going to say no, but with the slight nod of his head, his grip on me loosens. I give him a small smile, knowing how difficult it is for him to give up control, and walk over to Tori. I get halfway across the room before Tori flings herself into my arms.

"Girl, you have a lot of explaining to do," she murmurs into my ear as she squeezes me tight. Her grip is crushing, but I cherish it. I thought she'd been taken and didn't know if I would see her again. I pull away and narrow my eyes at her comment.

"Oh, and you don't? And what was with sending the hellhounds after me?" I accuse, but I'm not really angry, and the smiles on both our faces are relieved. I pull her towards our table, gesturing to the guys. "Sit with us. You know the guys, ignore Killian, he always looks like that." I point to the scowling alpha next to me. "Be nice!" I order jokingly at him, and I hear him mutter, "I'm always nice," under his breath, which makes me smile.

I take a seat, pulling Tori down onto the bench next to me, where she lands with a thump, rolling her eyes at my roughhousing. I look up and see Eric still standing by the door, his eyes glued to my face, the expression on his face close to hunger. I clear my throat and wave at the chairs next to us.

"Eric, come sit with us, I want to know how you fit into all this," I offer. I'm not sure if I forgive him for lying to me, but if he truly helped my best friend, then the least I can do is hear him out. The chair next to me squeals as Killian sits and scoots it closer to me, boxing me in, and stopping Eric from getting too close. Alphas! So possessive!

"Ignore the alpha baby. That's Killian, this is Garett." I introduce the bear shifter to my right, and then gesture to Alex and Seb, who are sitting to my left on the other side of Tori. "And this is Alex and Seb." Eric glances briefly at the guys before his eyes come straight back to me, and I swear his pupils widen as his eyes lock with mine. He finally comes to join us at the table, taking the seat opposite mine, and inhales deeply as he sits. Wait. What?

"Did you just sniff me?" I blurt out before I can stop myself. I can almost feel Tori's eye roll at my question, but I ignore her.

Erin gives me a small, apologetic smile before clearing his throat. "Sorry about that. How are you Ari?"

"Yeah, tell us what happened," Tori chimes in, impatient as ever. It's my turn to roll my eyes as I look at her.

I spend the next thirty minutes filling them both in on how I ended up in the Shadow Realm and what happened while I was there. I don't tell them everything, like my apparent soul link with Killian, which seemed to bring me back to the real world. Eric may recently be my friend, but he broke my trust and his Hippocratic oath. I question if he can earn that trust back. I finish my story and lean back in my chair, looking at the two of them expectantly.

"Your turn."

Tori looks towards Eric and starts biting down on her lip, that's never a good sign, and why is she looking at him?

"So, after the attack on your pack, Garett called me and warned me about everything going on. I holed up in the apartment, which was the safest place for me since no one can break through those wards." I smile slightly as she speaks, proud at how strong my friend's powers are and how she owns it, no hint of bragging in her tone.

"The day you disappeared, Eric called me and told me something had happened to you and that I was in danger," she continues, glancing at the doctor. "I thought he was crazy. I tried to call you, but I couldn't get through. That afternoon, there was a knock at the door, which I ignored, then the door was blown off its hinges." I gape at Tori as she explains. What the hell kind of magic were they using against us? Something she says triggers my memory back to what the guys had told me when they were searching for her .

"But the guys said that they couldn't see any signs of magic. Surely they would have seen the door blown off?" I exclaim as I glance at the guys, who look equally as confused as I am. She furrows her brow as she thinks over what I said, before shrugging her shoulders like this is an everyday occurrence.

"Hmm, they must have used some sort of cloaking magic to hide it. I didn't recognise the witch who attacked me, she wasn't local. Anyway, they may have broken my damn door, but they couldn't cross the wards, so I climbed out the window and ran. Called Eric as soon as I was far enough away, then he came and picked me up and has been keeping me safe since then." I look between the two of them, trying to understand Tori's words. The fact that it wasn't a local witch would fit with what the guys were saying about the kidnappings, and since that's obviously what they are, there's no point in beating around the bush and calling them disappearances when it's obvious that people are being taken!

Something about what Tori had said doesn't sit right with me. I look across at Eric, meeting his eyes, which are trained on me once again.

"What I don't understand is how you knew she was going to be in danger. Why would you risk outing your secret to save Tori? You don't even really know each other."

"I warned Tori because I know she's like family to you. And the rest is more complicated," Eric explains, finally breaking eye contact and looking around the coffee shop. "I'm going to get a drink before I explain. Tori, you want something?" The two of them excuse themselves and go to order drinks.

I look at my guys with a raised eyebrow before looking pointedly back at the two at the coffee bar. "Do you think something is going on there?" I ask quietly, keeping my eyes on the two of them. Eric is acting oddly, not like the guy I used to know.

"Something's going on, but I'm not sure it's what you think it might be," Garett replies, and I look at him in question. He just shrugs his shoulders in a ‘we will see' way .

"I don't like the way he looks at you," Killian comments, his voice more controlled than earlier, but his scowl is firmly in place. I roll my eyes at his comment, which seems to be a theme today.

"You don't like the way anyone looks at her," Seb quips, and Killian snarls lightly at him in response. I briefly look between the two of them, surprised by their interactions. Before the attack and Garett getting taken, if Seb had said something like that to Killian, he would have probably gone all alpha macho on him and demanded that he submit. But his response just now was almost playful, there was still a warning growl for Seb to remember his place, but nothing like it would have been previously.

I look back over to Tori and Eric where they are discussing something in quiet voices, quiet enough that even my supernatural hearing can't pick it up. Eric's gaze turns back to me, and our eyes meet again. He stills as he sees me looking at him, an unreadable look crossing his handsome features. With coffee in hand, they make their way back over to our table. Tori keeps shooting me looks out of the corner of her eye as she sips at her coffee.

"Okay, stop stalling. Eric, spill," I demand, fed up with all the secrets. With a resigned sigh, Eric puts his coffee cup down and fixes me with that piercing gaze again.

"Ari, you know I'm a type of incubus, that I feed from pain? It's very rare, but incubi have mates, and much like your true mated pairs, we have fated mates too. The mate bond has to be triggered by something, usually one of their lives is at risk for the bond to make itself known. Once the bond has been activated, the incubus will have visions of their mate. As some sick sense of humour from the creator, we can't feed until the bond has been accepted," Eric explains, his eyes finally leaving me to scan those sitting with us for their reactions. The guys look tense, and things finally start to make sense.

"You've met your mate. You've been getting visions, and that's why you knew Tori was in trouble. Is that why you look like you're starving?" I question bluntly. Tact isn't my middle name. As he nods slowly at my suspicions, a thought comes to me. I look at Tori in shock. "Tori is your fated mate?" I screech, my voice flying up a couple of octaves. Tori tries to hush me as people around the coffee shop glance over our way.

"No, not Tori." Eric's voice brings my attention back to him as a dawning horror settles on me. "You, Ari. You're my fated mate." My mouth drops open in shock.

Growls and snarls fill the air around me as three of my four guys react to this bombshell, even Seb looks unhappy. I can now understand why they wanted to meet in a public space. With the humans around, my guys have to be on their best behaviour and can't beat Eric like I'm sure they want to right now.

"How can that be true, Eric? How do you know?" My mind is reeling as I try to understand how this happened. Killian is my true mate according to our law, so I can't be Eric's fated mate too, can I? Fate has a wicked sense of humour.

"The visions we have are always of our fated mate, and you were in every vision, Ari. It's you. I feel stronger just sitting near you."

"Wait, so if I don't accept the bond, you'll what? Die?" Talk about putting pressure on a girl. "Eric, you lied to me! I can't just let you into my life with open arms. What the hell is fate playing at?" I exclaim, thoroughly pissed off. I feel the guys next to me relax a little as they realise I'm not going to go skipping off into the sunset with Eric.

"Ari, calm down, please. Let me explain. If I can be near you, I'll be stronger. You don't have to accept the bond, I wouldn't force that on you. But if you choose to push me away…well, I'll die."

"So what happens if I let you close to us, and I choose not to accept the bond?"

"As long as I'm with you, I won't die, but I will never be as strong as I was. With the bond accepted, I'll be stronger than I ever was before." His eyes are doing that intense focus thing on me again, and I groan as I drop my head into my hands. What am I going to do?

"I guess you better come back with us then," I finally reply, lifting my head from my hands as I hear the complaints from my guys. "Look, I'm not going to let him die! I don't know if I'll accept the bond, but I won't have my friend's death on my conscience just because I have commitment issues. Something's going on here. One fated mate is rare, but two? Plus, this link with the five of us? It's not exactly normal, is it?"

I sigh as a heavy sense of responsibility settles over me. If I reject Killian's bond, he will live a half-life, constant longing for me. If I reject Eric, he'll die, and if we don't complete the bond, he'll never return to his full strength.

"Let's go back to the pack, we need to have a chat with the alpha."