Page 14 of Chasing Stripes (Enchanted Falls #3)

FOURTEEN

A rtemis sighed, shoulders sagging in defeat. “I don’t know what’s happening, okay? When he touched me, there was this... jolt. Like electricity, but...” She searched for the right words. “Deeper. More significant. My skin is still buzzing hours later.”

“And?” Kalyna prompted, eyes gleaming.

“And my magic went haywire,” Artemis admitted reluctantly. “The lights flickering, the glowing handprints. It’s like my fae side recognized something in him, which makes absolutely no sense because he’s a tiger shifter and I’m fae and those energies don’t typically?—”

“Unless it’s a mate bond,” Kalyna interrupted, her expression suddenly serious.

Artemis choked on air. “That’s ridiculous. Mate bonds between different species are incredibly rare.”

“Rare, not impossible. My great-uncle Finley, a fox shifter, mated with a selkie. Caused quite the scandal in 1897.” Kalyna leaned closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “The signs are all there. Physical reaction to proximity, magical resonance, energy fluctuations. Did time seem to slow down when he touched you?”

The uncomfortable accuracy of the question made Artemis squirm. “Maybe a little.”

“Did you notice his scent more than you should have? Feel drawn to him physically? Experience inappropriate thoughts about someone you just met?”

Each question hit closer to home. Artemis groaned, dropping her forehead to the counter. “This can’t be happening.”

“Oh, but it is,” Kalyna’s voice lilted with delight. “My best friend and the brooding tiger alpha from across the street. It’s like something out of those romance novels Gloria Arbor keeps recommending to everyone.”

Artemis’s head snapped up. “Gloria Arbor?”

“Bartek’s mother. Lovely woman, but relentless when it comes to her son’s love life. She’s convinced his dedication to the pride has left him emotionally stunted.” Kalyna chuckled. “She’d be over the moon to know a pretty fae baker sent his alpha senses into overdrive.”

“We don’t know that’s what happened,” Artemis protested weakly. “Maybe it was just... chemistry. Normal, everyday attraction.”

“Normal attraction doesn’t make handprints glow, sweetie.” Kalyna’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “So, when are you going to make a move on him?”

“What?” Artemis squawked, causing several customers to look up. She lowered her voice. “I’m not making any ‘moves.’ I barely know him!”

“Details, details.” Kalyna waved dismissively. “The universe clearly wants you to jump his bones. Who are you to argue with cosmic forces?”

“Kalyna!”

“What?” Kalyna batted her eyelashes innocently. “I’m just saying if a hunky tiger shifter left magical handprints on my waist, I’d be across the street faster than you can say ‘mating season.’“ She paused, tilting her head thoughtfully. “Though I suppose Rust might object. Lions can be so territorial.”

Despite herself, Artemis laughed. “You’re terrible.”

“I’m practical,” Kalyna corrected. “And I know sexual tension when I smell it. This place reeks of it.” She sniffed dramatically. “Honestly, it’s a wonder the muffins aren’t bursting into flames.”

As if on cue, a small spark leaped from the muffin display, singeing the edge of a napkin. Artemis quickly patted it out, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“See?” Kalyna’s grin turned triumphant. “Your magic agrees with me. You should?—”

The bakery bell chimed again, cutting off whatever outrageous suggestion Kalyna had been about to make. Both women turned to see Tilly entering with a bag of groceries.

“Kalyna!” Tilly beamed. “Perfect timing. I was just telling Mrs. Norwood at the market about our exciting morning. Did Artemis fill you in about her tiger rescue?”

“She tried to downplay it,” Kalyna replied, shooting Artemis a smug look. “But the evidence speaks for itself.” She pointed discreetly to Artemis’s waist where the glow remained visible.

Tilly’s eyes widened with delight. “Still glowing? Hours later? Oh my, that’s even more significant than I thought!”

“It’s not significant at all,” Artemis protested. “It’s just residual magic from?—”

“From an incredibly powerful connection,” Tilly finished for her. She set down her groceries and joined Kalyna at the counter, both women now regarding Artemis with identical expressions of amused speculation. “Magical imprinting like that doesn’t happen with ordinary interactions.”

“That’s what I said!” Kalyna exclaimed. “Classic signs of?—”

“A potential mate bond,” Tilly nodded sagely.

“Exactly!”

“I’m standing right here,” Artemis reminded them, exasperation coloring her voice. “And this conversation is wildly inappropriate.”

“What’s inappropriate is ignoring what’s obviously happening,” Tilly countered. “Fae-shifter bonds are rare but powerful. Your grandfather nearly caused a hurricane when he first touched your grandmother.”

“I thought they met at a harvest festival,” Artemis frowned.

“They did. Why do you think the festival moved indoors after 1942?” Tilly grinned. “Their connection disrupted weather patterns for miles. Magical compatibility can be... intense.”

“The question is,” Kalyna interjected, “what are you going to do about it? Because that tiger definitely didn’t dash through a magical explosion just to be neighborly.”

“I’m not doing anything about it,” Artemis insisted. “I have a bakery to revive, remember? That’s why I came back to Enchanted Falls. Not to... to...” She gestured vaguely, unable to even articulate the suggestion.

“To find your destined mate?” Tilly supplied helpfully.

“To have wild, passionate affairs with sexy tiger shifters?” Kalyna added, wiggling her eyebrows.

“You’re both impossible,” Artemis groaned.

“We’re both right,” Kalyna corrected. “And deep down, you know it.”