Page 86

But this? This was scary. Big.

Nix’s wolf thinks they should track Carnell down, and maybe that human, and deal with this threat right the fuck now.

Calm down. We will get our chance.

Nix can’t blame him, though; feeling hunted isn’t their normal preference.

Not when they should be the hunter.

There’s a sense of rightness when he thinks that, but they should be the protector, too.

“We need to leave,” Nix states. “We can talk more about it once we aren’t where Carnell thinks we are.”

Jamie nods. “Agreed. We can’t stay here. Pack up. We’re leaving in thirty. Luc, can you pack Gray’s stuff? I’ll get Nix’s. You two just sit. And for fuck’s sake, call me if that guy tries it again.”

“I’ll call Lauren,” Gideon says, and takes his burner outside onto the deck. “See if she’s got somewhere we can go.”

“I could have called my mom, you know,” Leo says under his breath, pulling Luca after him to start their packing.

“Why don’t I get to pack for Nixie? He’s been naked for a week! There’s nothing out of his bag. Poof, easy peasy.”

Grayson’s eyes are still closed, but when Nix turns to him, they slide open, exhausted and with fresh bags underneath.

He reaches into the couch cushion and plucks one of Rowan’s hidden granola bars out from between the cushions. “Here, you need the energy.”

“I didn’t do anything. Why am I so tired? Fuck. I slept like a baby, except for the usual dreams. Do you think he was zapping my energy? Like feeding his own?”

“I don’t know, but I could feel it through the bond. You were pulling on where we’re joined.”

“Like our soul? I don’t like the sound of that.”

Nix doesn’t either; he peels the wrapper off the bar and takes a bite, then offers the other half to Grayson. “Eat.”

“What happened to your face?” Grayson asks after he swallows the food in a single bite.

Nix almost lies about it. It’s an old habit and a bad one, and he’s trying to be honest about shit. He has no reason to feel guilty.

“I slipped off the barstool when I felt the tugging. Cut my chin. It’ll be gone in a flash once I get some food in me.”

“He did that?” Grayson growls. “The magic-guy? Or Carnell. Fuck…I did it, even though it was through me. Iam so sorry.”

He runs a soft fingertip over the wound, and it tingles.

“It’s not your fault. Let’s hug it out,” Nix giggles and leans into his soulmate’s embrace, letting the chaos of the house that has been their home for the past week flow over him.

“You smell so good. Wanna rub it all over me.”

Patchouli and basil.

“What cologne is it? You never said.”

“I’m not wearing any.”

He sniffs his T-shirt, pulling it up toward his nose, and a stronger waft fills the space between them.

When Nix meets his eyes, he’s clearly panicked.

“Gideon!”