Page 58 of Crave

Kind of.

Bowie must have said something to Jericho, because his eyes were laughing. Well, now I wanted to know what he said too.

“It must drive Bowie crazy not to be seen or heard.”

“Honestly, he has the worst sense of humor, so the world might be a better place for it.” Jericho chuckled, and I didn’t know if it was at his own joke or something the ghost of his twin said. My head shook in amazement.

“How?” Susannah asked. “I mean… His touch just feels real, if a little softer.Yourtouch, I mean,” she said, looking at the empty space beside her.

Jericho shrugged. “I think that has more to do with you guys than him being a ghost. Touching other Manix makes him more corporeal, at least for a moment. I don’t know the whys or hows really, but I think it's because the Manix have so much magical energy. It’s why the Moonburst Coven doesn't mind you being here. You’re fuelling their withering magic. Plus, the moonstone vein that runs under the town helps him focus too. It’s almost the perfect recipe to make him a real boy...” he joked, but I could see the sadness in his eyes for the brother who was just a shadow.

It made me so fucking sad for both of them.

“Don’t be sad, Omega,” Jericho said, his voice almost a growling whine. “Bowie said he’s used to it now, and it has given him more freedom to—no, I’m not repeating that. They’ll think you’re a pervert.” He rolled his eyes. “He said it gives him more opportunities to live outside the social niceties.”

Yeah, I bet that’s what he said.

I raised an eyebrow, and Jericho sighed. “Fine. He said he likes to sit in your company, even if you don’t know he’s there. Last night, he sat on the sofa beside you and pretended you were a Pack. He said he excused himself when you started getting naked, no matter how tempting it was to stay and watch.”

My skin flushed at the thought of a set of eyes watching me make love to Susannah, and while that should horrify or creep me out, the idea of a voyeuristic entity watching me eat out my mate made me feel kind of hot.

Susannah’s cheeks were pink. “Just squeeze my hand or do something to tell me you’re there, and you’re welcome to join us anytime...” Her eyes went wide. “To watch TV, I mean. Or just hang out. Not, you know, uh…”

Jericho started laughing, and Zanny buried her face in her hands. I was laughing too, because I loved seeing her like this. It reminded me of the girl she’d once been, before living in Wilkie’s Pack burned all the innocence right out of her. Maybe being here in Moonburst, with the men we wanted to make our Pack, would set that old Zanny free from where she’d hidden behind an impenetrable wall.

“He’ll take you up on that,” Jericho said, a wicked grin curling his face.

I shook my head. “This isn’t going to work for us.” I wouldn’t have thought it possible an hour ago, but I can almost smell the hurt of a ghost in the air. It smelled bitter. Flat. “Not Bowie himself—Susannah’s right, he’s more than welcome to join us.” I gave a wink, because I was honestly enjoying the idea of a little voyeurism. “I meant the fact that Bowie can’t communicate with us directly. That’s what needs to be fixed. Is there a way we can make him more corporeal? To us, at least?”

Jericho frowned. “You want to make him a poltergeist?”

“I want to be able to have my own conversation with him. He’s a part of you, but he’s his own person too, right? Maybe it's just me, but I would definitely struggle with having all my words passed through someone else first. Even if it's just touches, or enough corporeality to write on the windows, or something.”

Jericho shook his head. “I’ve never had enough juice to make him physical. Maybe with prolonged time in Moonburst, and with you, he might store enough magic to be heard at least? Maybe to be felt. I’m not sure what it would take for him to be seen.”

Susannah was chewing her lip, like she always did when she was about to say something controversial. “If being in our presence has made him stronger, what would a bond do?”

My eyes went wide. Okay, controversial it was.

Jericho looked like she’d sucker-punched him. “He can’t bond with you. He doesn’t have the physicality needed to create a bond. No teeth to bite with.”

Oh, I saw where Susannah was going with this. She cast a quick look at me, but still continued. Stubborn woman. “But if we bonded to you, would it feed down to Bowie?”

Goddess.What she was suggesting was crazy, but it might work. I didn’t know shit about magic and the metaphysical world. But I did know that a Pack shared its strength sometimes, especially in moments of heightened emotions. It was part of the bond.

Jericho looked blindsided, his eyes going to that empty place which I now knew must have held Bowie. “I mean, maybe? Not for a long time, but maybe for short lengths of time. An hour or two? Otherwise, it would be too big of a drain on your magic and mine.”

I grinned. “But if we were in a Pack, with a couple of real nice Alphas, in a town filled with magical rocks… Who knows? Would that make a difference?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

I could almost feel the desperation coming off Bowie now. I’d thought that scent, like sweet oranges, was part of Jericho’s complex earthy scent, but I was beginning to think maybe it was Bowie all along.

Susannah nodded, her eyes alight with the same knowledge as mine. It wasn’t something we often talked about, and hell, it wasn’t the only factor, but the Beast knew within five minutes of meeting someone that they wanted them to be a mate. It was the human side of us that needed convincing. That higher reasoning where we’d delve into things other than the raw, primal urges of the Beast. Were they a good person? Were they selfish or cruel or did they have a drinking problem or, or, or? The decision of the human was as important as the decision of the Beast, which was why we were taking shit slowly with the Alphas and Tanner.

But the Beast, both mine and Zanny’s, had decided on Jericho a long time ago. We needed to get to know the man he was now, rather than the hero we’d put on a pedestal so many years ago. But the Beast was still a hundred percent convinced that this Manix right here, he was one for us.

And if he came with a ghostly add-on, well, hopefully that was just a bonus. But it was hard to get to know a man if you couldn’t speak to him.

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