Page 36 of Seer

Ah. “Which is why those two wanted to hold my hand.”

He nodded. “Again, they meant well, but obviously they went about it the wrong way. They were probably a little overenthusiastic because the magic creates, um, some advance signals that a person will meet their mate very soon.”

My eyebrows probably met my hairline. “Theirmate?”

The server chose that moment to come collect our empty plates. I wasn’t sure if he’d heard what I said, but I’d been pretty loud. He didn’t ask us if we wanted dessert, just put our plates on his tray before slapping the bill down with his free hand. Then he vanished.

Greg’s phone chimed. He picked it up and frowned at the message before typing something and putting it down again.

I wasn’t ready to let this go. “So Shane and Ellis heard about me and decided to find out if I was compatible with them. And if Iwascompatible with one of them, it would’ve meant we weremates? Like in some shifter romance novel?”

Greg turned red again. He shrugged, finally meeting my eyes. “It’s more like you’d have the option to become mates if you both wanted to.”

“And they’d get some sort of power boost out of it?” It sounded... one-sided.

He shook his head and held up a finger. “Not just them. You’d get one too. When my dad was alive, my mom had a much greater distance range for her visions, and she could call them at will with almost no effort. If Shane or Ellis had ended up bonding with you, they’d have much greater sensitivity through their connections to the Wonders in theirdistrict. They’d be able to tell exactly where they were, their general emotional state, things like that.”

I grimaced. “Seems a little Big Brother-ish.”

“Yes, but also no. Remember, our charter was to protect the Wonders. Some of them get lonely, especially if they’re the last of their species. Self-harm is rare, but it can happen.”

I finished the last of my milkshake while I pondered everything he’d told me. After setting my glass aside, I pointed out, “But since you don’t have a list of the kinds of Wonders, you can’t really be sure someoneisthe last of their species.”

Greg looked startled. “Fuck.”

I shrugged. “I’m not saying you should make a list with their names on it, or even document exactly how many of each kind exist, but a general census would tell you if, say, less than ten of a particular kind of Wonder live in America, but over a hundred live in Germany. Then they could reach out to each other.”

Greg nodded. “I love that idea. There hasn’t been a lot of coordination between the families and the continents up to now.”

“That’s a shame considering the internet is just sitting there, waiting to be used.” I didn’t need a vision to know I had some programming in my future.

“True.”

“Okay, back to our creepy fog monster problem. We need to find out if there have been any other disappearances.”

Greg heaved a sigh. “We need to talk to my mother and probably my Uncle Edgar.” He eyed me hesitantly. “My apartment isn’t far, and it would be more private, but if that makesyou uncomfortable, we can go back to the pet resort and use the office there.”

I shrugged. “It’s cool either way. I need to get back to my truck at some point though.”

Greg’s phone chimed with a text. He picked it up, then shook his head, smiling slightly. “The decision has been made for us. Craig says Uncle Edgar showed up at Bark & Purr, and when I wasn’t there he told Craig he’d wait for me at my apartment.”

I blinked. “Why didn’t Edgar just text you himself?”

Greg grinned at me, his eyes twinkling. Fucking hell, he was gorgeous. Too bad all that beauty was wasted on such a jerk.

“I’m sure Craig offered to text me so Edgar would leave faster. You’ll see. He’s... an experience. He’s related to my mother, after all.”

He reached for the bill, but I put my hand out to get it myself. As soon as my fingers were within touching distance of Greg’s, he snatched his hand back like he thought I was going to scratch him or something.

I froze, my hand hovering over the bill still lying on the table. “Uh, I can get it.”

“Sorry,” he muttered. “I’ll meet you at the car.” He grabbed his phone and scooted out of the booth before walking swiftly toward the door. He didn’t look back.

Well, I guessed spending the morning together hadn’t improved Greg’s opinions about me if he was still afraid he’d get?—

Oh.

Oh.What had he said? That touching would tell both peopleif they were compatible? Well, obviously being compatible with me was Greg’s worst nightmare.