Page 62 of Unravel Me

"Maybe an inch shorter than you. Very muscular. Dark green curls. What I remember most is his eyes. They were green, gold, and brown… like the colors of the forest."

Veyron's expression turns strangely thoughtful.

"Are you absolutely certain you weren't under the influence of something?"

I stay quiet for a moment before finally saying, "You know… I guess something could've happened right before I headed into the forest. I met an older omega named Davos, and he offered me some candy that had a really strong herbal smell."

"Who knows? Maybe the hallucination got layered over a perfectly normal person, just an ordinary alpha. Other than his appearance, did he have all the traits of an alpha? His glands, his scent… and everything else?"

Heat rushes into my face. "'Everything else?' What exactly do you mean?" I mumble, stealing a glance toward Mauro, who's still standing behind the glass.

"A knot, that sort of thing."

Even though my cheeks are burning, I answer quietly, "Yeah. Other than looking strange, everything else was like that of a normal alpha. His glands, and even… you know, bodily fluids and everything."

"Did he talk?"

"Not a single word."

Veyron lets out a long thoughtful hum, lifts his eyes toward the sky, and spends a moment thinking.

"How far from here was it?"

"About a fifty-minute walk."

"Walking… at your pace, while recovering from heat? So maybe half an hour for someone in normal condition."

"I think so. And I wasn't exactly walking in a straight line. I kept wandering off the trail. So possibly it’s even closer. A twenty-minute walk? There were also… a lot of cameras mounted on the trees."

Veyron hums thoughtfully; he looks at me with his brow slightly furrowed.

"Tell me one more thing, Jared. Did you notice anything unusual about this young alpha here? You don't actually know him, right? You met him for the first time today?"

My face turns crimson all over again. At this point, I might as well accept that I’m going to stay red permanently.

"That's right. I don't know him, and I realize how this must look from the outside. Completely bizarre. But believe me, I'm just as confused as you are. It's like… something keeps pulling me toward him. I have this feeling that I've known him before."

"When he touched you, did it feel like First Touch?" Veyron asks in the tone of a detective conducting an interview. The only thing he's missing is a little notepad and a pipe. The image almost makes me smile.

"No, and that's exactly the problem. To be honest, I expected it to happen. He made an incredible impression on me, and considering how strongly I reacted to him, despite the recovery, I was sure we'd experience a First Touch. But no, and I have to admit, that disappointed me. So. I'm still searching for my fated mate."

Veyron falls silent, clearly thinking again.

"And that being in the forest… did you experience something like First Touch with him?"

I go quiet for a moment, searching through the hazy memories of those days. Everything is blurred by heat, but I'm fairly certain I remember the important parts.

"Yeah… actually something like that happened. I felt this powerful jolt, almost like electricity shot through me, but I figured that was because he was… magical. A forest spirit. He literally glowed! There were those little light particles floating around him. It could be like touching two objects with different electrical charges. Maybe that's just what happens when you come into contact with a being like that?"

"I think you're trying a little too hard to explain it all, and I think the answer is obvious," Veyron says; a hint of a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.

"But he was magical, sparkling! And the scent wasn't the same!"

"Jared, you're overthinking it. The answer is right in front of you."

I let out an annoyed huff.

"Oh, really? I don’t see it. But I’m not the detective here."