Page 62 of Primal Bonds

“It’s so…dark.”

Ah. He’d forgotten she didn’t have a cat’s night vision. And maybe she was a little cautious about entering a fada’s den?

He led the way down the stairs, leaving the two siblings to follow or not as they wished—and then held his breath, not sure what he’d do if Evie changed her mind. Because both man and cat wanted her here, had a deep, primal need to protect her.

He glanced over his shoulder. “There are quartz lights built into the walls. Our motion will turn them on.” The lights glowed on as he spoke—tiny blue and silver crystals set into the dark gray stone in irregular patterns.

“They’re beautiful,” Evie breathed, and started down the stairs after him.

He sent her a smile. “Thanks. They were my mom’s idea.”

Evie trailed her fingers down the wall. “They’re like stars in the night sky.”

“That’s what Mom said.”

When they reached the bottom, he touched his quartz to the lock in the heavy oak door. It swung open and he ushered his two guests through the small foyer into the living room. They looked around curiously, taking in the exposed stone walls, the quartz wall sconces and the colorful pillows scattered on the floor.

Evie fingered a beautiful rose quartz that his mom had brought back from Brazil, and then peeked into the spacious kitchen. “Wow, this is a big place.”

“My dad built it.” He watched as Kyler wandered into the kitchen and then back out again. “Five bedrooms, because he and my mom were always bringing someone home.”

Her mouth curved. “They sound like nice people.”

“They were.” He felt the familiar tug of grief that his parents had died so young. Fada normally lived for hundreds of years, but his mom and dad hadn’t even reached their seventies.

Were. Her dark eyes met his in shared compassion. “But you don’t live here alone, do you?”

He shook his head. “I have four den mates, although right now Luc is out of the country. And there’s Tigger—thinks he runs the show.”

On cue, the tabby leapt off the back of the couch and strolled over to sniff Evie. Introductions over, he butted her leg, completely ignoring Kyler.

“A cat?” Evie broke into a smile and to Jace’s disgust, crouched down to coo over Tigger. The damn housecat got all the attention. But he had to admit, Tigger had his uses, because when Evie stood back up, her wariness was completely gone. It was hard to be suspicious of a guy with a fat tabby for a pet.

“Let me show you the security system.” He and Sam had installed it themselves. It ran on crystal power, and was keyed to each of his den mates’ individual quartzes, as well as Adric’s. “We can work it with our quartz,” he said, “but you just have to key in this code.” He showed them the sequence on the touchpad next to the door and then made sure they both had it memorized.

“That will keep out a fae?” Evie asked.

“We worked iron into the lock. We have to be careful not to touch the lock itself, and I guess you should, too, since you have some fae in you. Kyler, it shouldn’t affect you at all. Between this and the look-away spell, nobody can get in here without my permission.”

She touched his arm, her face solemn. “Thank you.”

“You’re safe,” he added. “The night fae aren’t interested in you, and I’m not leaving you or Kyler alone for a minute until we find Corban. He’ll have to go through me to get to you.”

“Where are your roommates?” Kyler asked.

Jace inhaled, checking for scents. “Beau’s in bed—he’s a bear and likes his sleep—and the other two are out. Adric has them sweeping the city for Corban.”

The teenager stifled a yawn and nodded.

“The bedrooms are through here.” Jace led the way into the hall, where the five bedrooms were arranged in a semi-circle around the living room and kitchen. “We have two bathrooms, one at either end of the hall.” He pointed them out. “Kyler can take the extra bed in Beau’s room. Don’t worry about bothering him, he’s used to it. And Evie, you can have my room. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Your friends won’t mind?”

“It’s my den. But no, they don’t mind. They’re used to it—we have packmates staying over all the time.”

He ushered Kyler into Beau’s room. A single fae light winked on, enough to show the huge lump curled up on the bed. His animal was a brown bear, and even as a human he was huge.

Beau cracked open an eye. “A human?” Bears had an even better sense of smell than cats.

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