“Cat Savage said as the pack healer there’s nothing she can do. But… as a healer with magical abilities, is there anything you can do for me here?”
“Such as?”
“Such as help me get through this without all this anxiety and all these awful, painful emotions? Maybe something anti-psychotic so I don’t bald any females for being interested in Jase and so I also don’t hear voices in my head like a pup yipping at me because it may or may not be the soul of a future daughter the nice lady on the plane told me she saw in my future?”
“I’m guessing that’s not a random example.”
“She gave me knitted baby booties for my future daughter that she had a vision of. Oh, and she said that I’d be getting a puppy, too, which I’m assuming is code for a daughter that’s part-shifter.”
Her eyes widen. “That’s… specific.”
“Yep. She said she knew she sounded kooky but said her visions frequently come true.”
Dani mouths the wordwow.
My brother is walking up the sidewalk toward us. Mason and Linc are right behind him in Linc’s SUV. Joel and Tyson are following behind in Joel’s car.
“We should continue this convo later,” I suggest.
Dani nods and we go back to help Mom bring the refreshments to the sunroom.
A few minutes later, Riley and Erica pull up on Riley’s motorcycle.
***
It’s fifteen minutes after the meeting was supposed to start, and the small talk has started to fade. People are fidgeting and making concerned eye contact with one another.
I’ve been silent this entire time, eyes laser-focused on the door.
My eyes bounce between Erica and Dani now. They’re both watching me.
“He’s not coming,” I say.
Erica clasps her hands together. “Okay, well, the spell is going to be extended until this time tomorrow. We’ll meet here then, if that’s okay with Graydon and Carrie.”
“I’m sure it is,” Grey says.
My parents aren’t here. They decided to stay out of it after how graphic Jase got the day we got back from overseas.
It’s clear he didn’t get a clue from Jase today on the phone that Jase wasn’t coming or I’m sure Grey would’ve made sure we didn’t waste our time.
Linc approaches me, taking his ball cap off.
“We all think a lot of you, Bailey,” he says.
“I sense abutcoming,” I mutter, thinking he’s about to rip me a new one for potentially slowing down his mating.
“He’s wrecked. Fuckin’ wrecked.”
“Oh, poor Jase can’t get lucky because he’s stuck on the scent of me? Sorry I didn’t just fall on his dick.” I roll my eyes.
But even as I say it, it’s an act. Because I know it’s now about more than sex. Maybe he’s feeling humiliated at being rejected. He made it crystal clear he’s disappointed with my behavior. Either he’s done waiting around and is thinking about a severance, or he’s doing this to get revenge on me.
“Bailey,” Grey mutters disapprovingly.
I shouldn’t take my frustration out on Lincoln. And not because of Grey’s reprimand, either. I already know I’m going to lie awake tonight beating myself up for that statement because it’s not like me to be disingenuous. I’m tired, cranky, stressed out,and possibly hormonal if my body is reacting to the denied mate bond, too.
I’m about to apologize to Linc, but he speaks up first.