Page 59 of Shifter Situations

I snorted at him but started walking just within the treeline, following the road back toward the lodge. One question circled my mind continuously, and I couldn’t stop it from spilling over my lips.

“Were you angry because you’re not over what you had with her or because she still gets to you?”

“I’ve moved on.” He grimaced. “It wasn’t really difficult once I got over the shock of being cheated on. I’m pissed at myself for being so stupid in the first place, though, for letting her get under my skin.”

I thought about his statement as we neared the edge of a small industrial park. And then, like an idiot, I blurted, “Did you love her?”

“No,” he answered, shaking his head vehemently.

“That was a stupid question to ask. It doesn’t change anything between us. I’m just trying to understand.”

“It’s okay, Barbie. I didn’t care about her at all. I barely tolerated her, and I can’t remember why I was with her to begin with. I can’t even recall spending time with her or anything that we did together. I very clearly remember when I wasn’t with her.

“The guys hated her, begged me to stay away from her, but I didn’t listen. When I finally ended things, I left town for a couple of weeks to reset. I felt off, but I couldn’t explain it,” he mentioned.

I frowned, feeling my brows furrow as I tilted my head. “That sounds a little too familiar. Are you sure there wasn’t some sort of spell involved?”

“No, I’m not. I don’t know how I’d be able to tell if there was, though.”

“I don’t think you could now, but it’s something that just popped into my mind. I know that’s walking the line of paranoia, but there’s no point in not thinking outside the box after all the shit that’s been going on. I have all these little conclusions that I keep coming up with, and none of them make any sense.”

“Like what?”

He put his arm out, stopping me from walking any further without telling him what I was thinking. Which was fine, but I’d rather be somewhere other than the edges of this creepy industrial park.

Somewhere without the potential of a passerby hearing us, and maybe not naked.

I summarized some of the main topics for him.

“Like how I could have brunch with Jack at The Blue Plate nearly every Saturday for over a year and not feel the tug of a mate bond to someone within the restaurant. By the way, that place went to shit when their head chef disappeared one day.

“How I’d visited CBP numerous times and never felt a mate nearby. Or how about the fact that not only does King Enterprises own the entire block across the street from the apartment that you guys lived in, but I also regularly used an office there.”

I shrugged. “I didn’t even connect the last one until Franklin asked me about it earlier. I’ve tried to ignore it, but it's eating a hole in my mind.”

“That’s… a lot to swallow at once, Barbie.”

Nodding, I bit at my lip. I knew it was an overwhelming thought, but the small connections wouldn’t stop popping into my head.

We were so close. It was like the Fates were trying to pull us together. Yet, there was something that had been keeping us apart.

“I know, but the more I think about it, the weirder it is. I felt the bond with York immediately when I saw him and the tug before I laid eyes on him. Vaughn’s father locked away the knowledge of having a bond with York, but I still felt the need to be near him once we reunited, before he was taken.

“I felt the same thing with Vaughn the day before I met all of you, and that intensified once you guys were all together. But I was at the pharmaceutical company at the beginning of May, and in and out for months prior to that. I felt nothing, even though Vaughn was there too.”

Reflexively, he scrubbed at his beard in thought. “Why wouldn’t any of us feel it when we were all so close before? What changed between the beginning of May and the middle?”

“That’s what I’m getting at.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, Barbie. I wasn’t there. I’m not the best person to be puzzling this shit out with either. We should talk to the guys, though. Palmer and Novak can figure it out.”

“Mmm, there are a few things that we need to talk about.”

“Take us through the Void. It’s time to figure all this shit out.”

I took his hand, threading my fingers between his as low murmurs reached my ears.

“Do you hear that?” I questioned, tugging him behind me as I silently moved closer to the noise. “It came from the road.”