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Seconds later, Gideon bursts into the living room from the deck, claws out.

“What?”

“Smell.” Nix points to Grayson’s T-shirt.

As an alpha, his sense of smell won’t be that of Nix or even the enigmas, but it’s so strong now even Luca and Leo can smell it.

He expects Gideon to balk, but he just dives in nose first, no questions asked.

Sniff, sniff, sniff.

“Patchouli? You can’t have called me in a panic about his new perfume.”

“He’s not wearing any.”

Nix lets that sink in, and he watches Gideon’s eyebrows disappear into his hairline.

Gideon yanks Grayson’s T-shirt off over his head and throws it to the floor.

He presses his nose to Grayson’s chest but jumps back with a hand to his nose.

“Hot. Fuck, that’s hot. Dr. Merritt! Get your very fine ass down here with your kit.”

Finn arrives at a more sedate pace, med-kit in hand.

“Is this about your temp, Gray?”

“Just check it, will you? No…with the infrared one.”

Finn drops the ear thermometer back into the bag and pulls out the non-contact thermometer.

“Check the app, will you? The chip seems pretty accurate.”

Finn hands Gideon his burner phone and then angles the thermometer toward Grayson’s forehead.

“No, here.”

Gideon points Finn’s hand toward the center of Grayson’s chest, and then mischievously flicks his nipple ring just to hear Grayson catch his breath.

The thermometer beeps an urgent signal, and Finn resets it again and again.

It happens three more times before Gideon waves the app in front of his face.

“Holy shit.” He shows Grayson and then Nix.

“106°F. Every time. This is brain-meltingly dangerous. You sure you feel alright, Gray?”

Grayson shrugs. “I’m tired and hungry as fuck, but better since I’ve been here and touching Nix. It doesn’t feel hot to me. Or rather, no worse than a sunburn.”

It’s true. Nix can feel the bond is even better now that they’ve had physical contact.

When the bonds are calm, Nix’s wolf is calm, and it goes a long way to settling Nix’s anxiety about this.

Whatever it is, it doesn’t feel dangerous.

Not to the wolf, anyway.

“The bond looks good from the inside. I think you need more food, though, Gray. You must be burning through calories like crazy.”