Conall rolls his eyes and yanks the door open. The two of them come spilling into the room. It occurs to me that of everyone on the island, Dolly is the only one who hasn't changed at all. She looks exactly the same as she always has.
"Mates?" Dolly says in a teasing lilt.
"We are not mates," I insist.
"Okay, we're not here to unpack that kind of denial. We're here to let you know that Randy doesn't buy it, and Randy is a snooping little bitch. So you know what I think, right?" She's staring right at me.
"Um, no, I really have no idea what you're thinking."
She blinks and turns to Conall. "You know what I'm thinking, right?"
Conall tips his head back, sighing at the ceiling. "Yeah. Magical spying."
I wrinkle my nose. "He can watch us?"
"Yes and no," Amy says. "He can't see you or anything. Laz has safeguards for that. But he can check that you're following typical mate behavior using will-o'-the-wisps and brownies, so this," she gestures tothe blanket and pillow set up on the couch, "is not going to fly. They'll start to think you're not really mates pretty quickly."
My heart pounds in my ears. She cannot be suggesting what I think she's suggesting. "Like we need to pretend to be mates through this?"
She nods. "At least until the wards can be fixed. Then we can adjust from there. If all goes well, fixing the wards will make you the hero of the island, and no one will dare make you leave. Then, whether or not you’re really mates will be irrelevant." It makes sense. It really does, but looking at Conall with his floppy green-black hair, square jaw, and cut body, I don't see how faking being mates is going to cause anything but trouble.
I resolve to focus on his other traits instead. His claw-tipped hands, sharp canine teeth, pointed ears, and the tail moving behind him. Nothing sexy or distracting about any of those things.Right?
"Or you could just be mates," Dolly reiterates, as though she sees no issue with that statement, even though there is an entire book that could be written on why it's an impossibly bad idea.
"We're not mates," Conall and I accidentally say in unison. I bite my lip.
"Okay, whatever. Just play it like you are for now. Fix the island wards when Laz figures out how. Declare Ivy a hero and call it a bad month," Amy says.
My breath catches a little, and I have to look away. Amy has quickly become a friend, and if I'm being honest, one of the only real friends I've had since high school. Mark didn't like me going out. It made him angry, and he didn't like me being away from him. When we were younger, I thought it was sweet. Once I got older, I realized it was just isolating. Which is exactly what he wanted.
"Okay," I manage to mumble. Dolly unexpectedly hugs me, and I let it happen. Are they both friends now? I guess so.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure Puppy keeps a good lookout too," she says sweetly, pulling away.
"No," Conall says firmly. "No Puppy."
Dolly's brow creases, and she stomps her foot. "He isn't dangerous to my friends or me."
Well, that answers that. Somewhere along the way, I've become friends with the small pink terror that is Dolly. I'm just glad she's on my side. I have a feeling going against her would be messy.
Conall sighs. "Just keep it under control."
It.What the fuck is Puppy? I don't ask. I feel like any more information will burst my brain.
Dolly and Amy leave, pulling the front door closed behind them. For a moment, Conall and I just stare at each other before I turn and trudge up the stairs.
Conall
The bedroom smells of vanilla lotion, the wind off the lake, and the faint sweetness of her. The floor creaks as I make my way to the other side of the bed. She goes straight to the connected bathroom. I change quickly into sweatpants and boxers, way more than the usual nothing I sleep in, but that doesn't seem like it's going to fly tonight. The bed is full-sized. Not even a queen. There's no way we're getting any space here.
And my hound? Well, he's pretty fucking out of control at this point.
Mate.
Mate.
Mate.
