Page 23 of Primal Bonds

A lean, furry body brushed Evie’s hip. Jace had moved closer. It was almost as if he were protecting her.

Adric’s brow raised. A look passed between the two fada, but all the alpha said was, “I’d still like to hear what happened last night.”

“Yes, of course,” she told him. “Please, sit down.”

While Adric sat back down and Kyler got himself a tall glass of milk, Evie set milk and sugar on the table and handed Adric a mug of coffee before pouring another for herself. She and Kyler took seats at the table across from Adric, while Jace lay on the floor near her feet, his gaze on his alpha.

Adric dumped a hefty amount of milk into his coffee and then drained the cup in a couple of gulps. Evie went to refill his cup, but he rose to his feet. “I’ve got it.”

She and Kyler exchanged a look. It was so surreal—the freaking Baltimore alpha making himself at home in their kitchen.

Adric sat down and leaned back in his chair, one big hand wrapped around the mug, seemingly at ease. But his eyes were watchful.

Evie cupped her own mug and tried to imitate his calm.

“So,” he prompted, “a night fae, huh? And how did you get involved?”

“I found him—Jace—outside. In my backyard. I didn’t know he was hurt until he passed out.”

“He passed out?” Adric scowled at Jace. “How the fuck did the asshole get close enough to hurt you that bad?”

Jace’s growl was low and vicious. Evie blinked, but Adric just shook his head.

“Go on,” he told her, and she explained what had happened after she’d found Jace on her doorstep, with occasional interjections from Kyler.

“I don’t think the knife went in too deep,” she finished, “but he was getting worse until we cleaned the cut out with salt water. Thank God he was able to tell us what to do.”

“You say he shifted in the middle of the night?” Adric glanced at Jace.

His eyes were closed, his big black head resting on his paws, but his ears twitched.

“Yes,” Evie confirmed. “I think his fever spiked. He was restless and moving around, and the next thing I knew, he’d changed to a jaguar.”

Adric shook his head. “You should’ve had her call me,” he told Jace.

The big cat huffed in disagreement.

“Stubborn ass,” his alpha returned. He looked at Evie. “He hasn’t shifted since?”

“No. But he seems better—he’s definitely moving easier this morning.”

“Right. Okay, let’s talk about the night fae. Did he get a look at you?”

“No,” Evie said. “He was right outside the door, but he couldn’t see us. The window blind was down.”

“So he didn’t see you, and he doesn’t know for sure Jace was here?”

“No on both counts.”

“That’s good. And night fae can’t scent any better than a human, so I know he didn’t follow Jace’s trail here. He was trolling the neighborhood, seeing what he could find.”

“But I could swear he could somehow feel us on the other side of the door.”

“He could.” Adric took another gulp of coffee. “Night fae get off on dark energy—fear, anger, pain. He could sense you all right, but he couldn’t be sure one of you was Jace. And from what you said, Jace used his quartz to tamp down your energy. The only way to hide from a night fae is to sit quietly and slow your breath and heartbeat.”

“And think happy thoughts,” Evie said.

“Is that what Jace told you?” The corner of Adric’s mouth twitched. “I suppose it didn’t hurt—but if Jace hadn’t been here, all the happy thoughts in the world wouldn’t have helped you. He was trying to keep you from panicking.”

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