Page 8 of The Lunatics

My mate.

This couldn’t be happening.

This had to be some horrible nightmare. Any moment now, I would wake up.

Michael held himself perfectly still. His hands were in the pockets of his suit pants, feet braced wide, the picture of calm. Nathaniel stood at his side, one long arm draped across the shoulders of the pretty redhead he’d been bonded to. Her much smaller arm was wrapped around his waist. Despite the concern on their faces, they looked settled. Like they’d accepted their fate and looked forward to getting to know each other. The sight turned my stomach.

“Layla, I’m so sorry,” Gia said from beside me.

I couldn’t stand to hear the heartache in her voice. Not when she should be filled to bursting with happiness. I wanted to look at her, tell her not to worry, but it was impossible to pull my gaze from Michael. Our hearts beat in tandem. We breathed as one. He occupied far too much space in my head, though he’d done something to calm the storm of emotions that raged beneath his polished exterior.

“We need to speak with each other,” he said. The words rolled off his tongue with precision, slower than I was used to, as if he chose each and every one with care.

I nodded and forced my gaze away. “Gia, go with Natalie. I’ll be fine.”

She bit her lip and looked back and forth between me and Michael. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ll call you later. Go be with your mate.”

Gia hugged me, hard, and when she pulled away there were tears in her eyes again.

Natalie reached out and clasped my shoulder, no doubt experiencing my best friend’s emotions firsthand. “I’m sorry.”

Her attempt to comfort me made me realize I’d been looking at it all wrong earlier. I wasn’t going to lose Gia. Gia’s love for me meant that I’d be gaining another friend.

I gripped Natalie’s shoulder in return. “Thank you. Take care of her.”

She nodded. “I will.”

“Now go.” I released Natalie and pushed them away.

While I’d been saying my goodbyes, Michael’s younger brother had disappeared with his mate, leaving the two of us alone together in a sea of wolves. I wanted to reach out and touch him, this stranger who, until a moment ago, I had only ever felt sorry for. The urge to bury my nose in his neck and learn his scent was as irresistible as it was unwelcome.

“Come on,” I said. “Unless you want to have this conversation in front of everyone?”

He shook his head and motioned me forward. “After you.”

I turned and led him through the crowd. Not even the highs and lows the people around us were experiencing distracted them from Michael’s presence. They watched him pass with expressions ranging from wariness to disgust. Those who glanced from him to me wore open pity on their faces. One or two even mouthedI’m so sorryat me, and I fought the urge to snap my teeth at them in response.

It’s the bond, I realized.

It made you hypersensitive, instilled a defensive set of instincts in newly mated wolves that made simple slights against your partner seem like full-blown attacks.

I dropped my gaze to the ground and kept it there until we rose out of the hollow.

Michael pulled even with me, strolling by my side as though he hadn’t a care in the world. “I’m Michael Kolbeck.”

I know who you are, I wanted to snap.

“Layla Fitzpatrick,” I said.

“Courtesy dictates some polite response here, perhaps something along the lines of ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you,’ but given our current circumstances…” He waved a hand in a vague sort of gesture.

“I understand,” I told him.

We fell quiet as we neared the mouth of the forest trail, our hearts beating as one, our strides perfectly even thanks to the fact that we were the same height. I wanted to say something more, if only to keep him talking. I liked the sound of his voice. Would like it even without the bond. His rich timbre and careful cadence were soothing, and I needed soothing right now, but I had no idea what to say.I’m sorry this happened to us? Do you and your family really control all of Boston?My head was filled with the rumors I’d heard of them.

He broke the silence when we reached the trailhead. “I hope it’s not an inconvenience, but I gave my keys to my brother so he and Sarah can find somewhere to speak in private as well.”