Page 27 of Hunt the Dusk
“Okay, so, a few nights ago…” I filled them in on Ordell’s condition and how he’d kind of attacked and bit me. “But it healed, and it’s left a scar, and now he’s telling me I have to stay away from him, and last night we almost…I mean we were just sharing a slice of cake and then, bam, we were on my bed, and if Hemlock hadn’t come in?—”
“He’s mate marked you,” Bryce said gruffly. “But I think, deep down, you already realized that, didn’t you?”
I closed my eyes and exhaled. I’d ignored my suspicions for days, because surely Ordell would have said something, right? But last night…The way I’d felt with him, as if I would abandon my calling to claim the pleasure that he could give my body…That had been the clincher.
There was no ignoring this now. “What do I do? How do I…make it go away?”
“You can’t,” Jax said. “But there are usually rules to a mating. Steps that solidify it, and it’s different for different shifter breeds. You need to figure out what his rules are. Best way is to ask him, but…Orina, a mate bond happens for a reason, you do realize that, don’t you?”
I squeezed my eyes closed because of course I did. It meant we were a good fit. The perfect fit, and in some cases a soul mate fit, but none of that mattered. Not for me.
“Orina…” Quinn said softly. “Do you like him? Like…have feelings for him?”
My throat pinched. “That’s irrelevant.”
She sighed. “I don’t understand how the Order works, but I know how you’ve always held back from relationships, so I assumed it was some kind of Order law. Is that true?”
I wanted to tell her so badly in that moment that I had to bite the insides of my cheeks to stop myself spilling the beans. “Something like that.”
“Then I need to ask you, is the Order more important than your happiness?”
The answer to that question was easy. She would never understand, and I couldn’t blame her. “The Orderismy happiness. But sometimes…Sometimes I wish I could have both.”
“Speak to the male,” Bryce said. “And if you need help in that bloodsucker infested territory, then call us. Quinn might not be able to come, but we will be there. We do not abandon family.”
My eyes pricked with heat, and when I spoke, my voice was thick with emotion. “Thank you.”
I ended the call and wiped my wet eyes. Ordell had chosen me as his mate. He wanted me, and I couldn’t lie to myself about how wonderful that made me feel. But I wasn’t free to be his mate, and we’d need to figure out a way to dissolve or prevent the bond from growing stronger, because if I lost myself to it,then I would lose my calling, and that…That was not something I’d ever be able to forgive myself for.
As much as I wanted to storm off, find Ordell, and demand answers, there was work to be done here. Holly’s spell was maturing faster than expected, and we might be able to get out and track later this afternoon.
I tucked my phone into my pocket and headed back into the office. It was time to put my work head on.
The confrontation with Ordell would be a tonight problem.
Chapter 10
Holly had finished the first batch of her tracking spell, a liquid tincture that she’d consume to be able to see some kind of mystical imprint of the missing wendigo. The plan was to start at his house and go from there.
I was grabbing my coat when Merry popped her head into the office, a wicked grin on her face. “You have a visitor.” She sing-songed the words.
“Who?”
“I’ll send him in.”
“Wait!”
She ducked out, and a moment later Kaster walked into the office, momentarily filling the doorframe with his powerful presence before entering the room.
His eyes spoke volumes, asking me how I was doing and what happened, and it hit me that I’d neglected to message him like I’d said I would.
“I’m fine.” I rounded my desk and approached him, hand out so he could touch it and establish a connection. “How are you here in the day?”
A small smile tinged his lips as he took my hand and carefully sandwiched it between his. An itch formed in the back of my mind, then his voice bloomed in my head.
UV blocking glass on my car, and this…He held up an umbrella.UV blocking material.
But it’s still too dangerous.
