The growlingstopped.
“Pulling out the Peri card.” Heather laughed. “That’ll shut up anyone with abrain.”
Once again, the ground felt as though it had been ripped from beneath her feet, and Heather gripped Adam’s arm tighter. She hoped the fae had a high pain tolerance. If he didn’t, he hiditwell.
Fifteen minutes later, she was sitting on the steps inside Peri’s home with Kara beside her and Stella one step below her. She couldn’t see a damn thing—nothing new—but she could feel the frustration and rage vibrating intheroom.
“Healers,” Lucian said formally. “I would like to introduce you to some of the males of the packs that have come to aid us. I do believe that a few of them are true mates to each of you, though I do not think that is news to you. What will be news to you is the fact that those three wolves are now currently under a pack magic spell, as a result of their lack of obedience. I’m guessing, but I think the reason you might not be feeling the pull to them is because of thespell.”
“Shouldn’t we be able to do that mind speaking stuff?” Stella asked, not sounding eager to do that mind speaking stuffatall.
Lucian nodded. “Yes, since you’re in each other’s presence you should be able to communicate mentally through the bond. But again, I imagine the spell is preventing it, especially since there has been no exchange of blood by marking one another. Their punishment is this. They see you, but they are not permitted to touch you. They can smell you, but they are not permitted totaste.”
Heather choked on her laughter. “Kinkymuch?”
Stella reached back and pinched her. “Keep your trap shut,Helen.”
This was followed by a growl. Heather felt as if she was dealing with a new pack of training dogs fresh from the pound. Snarly and angry at theworld.
“They can hear but not speak to you,” Lucian continued as if she hadn’t thrown out her two cents. “You can talk tothem. You can touchthem.Youcan—”
“If you say taste them I’m pretty sure I’ll laugh like a thirteen-year-old boy, complete with cracking puberty voice,” Heather said, unable to stopherself.
Lucian chuckled. “Fine, you get the point. Touch is extremely important to the Canis lupus,” he explained. “Not just the touch between mates, but also the touch between pack members. A hug, a pat on the back, even the bump of a shoulder. Our wolves find comfort in touch. It brings peace and balance. To deny a male the touch of his mate is tantamount to torture. In fact, a Canis lupus male would choose torture over losing the touch of his mate. I tell you this because it will help you understand why they are growling and pacing like caged animals. If they scare you or make you uncomfortable, please letmeknow.”
The tension in the room had gone up, if that was possible, as Lucian explained the circumstances. Heather could only focus on one thing: her mate, the male werewolf created for her, was in the same room. Her chest felt tight as she realized that he was seeing her for the first time, seeing that she couldn’t see him in return. Would he want her still? Would he find her defective and weak? In the wild, the weak didn’t survive. Would he see her as aliability?
There was a snarl, and then Lucain yelled, “KALE!STANDDOWN.”
“MY LASS NEEDS ME,” the one named Kale roared back. “I can feel her distress. Dammit, Lucian,releaseme!”
“Kale,” Heather whispered under her breath. That was his name, Kale, her mate. And damn, he had an accent, and it was actually hotter than Gustavo’s. It was Irish, or Scottish, or maybe there was some other sort of nationality that ended with –ish and that’s what it was, but whatever it was, it was hot. AS. HADES. IN. JULY. Was it hotter in Hades in the summer months? Probably not important to wonder about that right now shedecided.
“Okay, that’s just weird,” Kara saidbesideher.
“What?” Heather asked, forcing herself to pay attention and praying she wouldn’t start drooling. It would bedifficult.
“When he talks to Lucian, we can hear him. But when you said his name, he turned to speak to you. His mouth is just moving, but no sound coming out,” sheexplained.
“That would be the whole hear-and-not-speak-to part,” Stella said. “So the magic prevents us from hearing their words when they’re directed at us. That’s pretty impressivemagic.”
“I will not,” Lucian said back in his calm voice. “What she needs is for you to get your wolf under control. This is new to them. Weeks ago, they didn’t even know werewolves existed. Now they have mates. You cannot expect them to simply fall intoyourarms.”
“She thinks I dunna want her,” Kale said, his voice sounded as though it was coming out through gritted teeth. “How the bloody hell can I convince her that it’s quite the opposite if I canna speak to her? How am I supposed to be what she needs if yer KEEPING MEFROMHER?”
His breathing was harsh and erratic, and when Heather heard something crash, she realized things needed to be reined in, and from everything she’d learned about his species and witnessed between mates, only a female could bring her male back to sanity when he waslosingit.
“Kale,” she said his name louder this time and turned her head in the direction where she heard him. He froze. Heather nudged Stella and her friend stood and, being the awesome person she was, helped Heather get on her feet without falling on her face. Once she was up, Stella released her. She knew Heather could handle herself. She remembered the layout of the room. As long as people moved their feet out of the way, she should begolden.
She took a deep breath, and his scent hit her. He smelled of the night air just before a storm, one of her favorite smells. She walked, unerringly, directly to him. When she could feel his breath on her face, she stopped. She reached out and felt for his arm. When she made contact, she felt him tense and heard air hiss through his teeth. Her hand ran down his arm until she clasped his hand in hers. She lifted it and began shaking it. “I’m Heather Banks, apparently your mate. And yes, at the moment, I’m having some hang-ups. But I’m not going anywhere. It’s not in me to run away, even when I’m scared. So maybe don’t destroy Peri’s home? If she turns you into a handbag, holding you might be easier, but not nearlyasfun.”
“No she didn’t,” Stella whispered frombehindher.
“Oh, she so did,” Karaadded.
Heather tried not to let his lack of response affect her because she knew that he had no control over it. He would have spoken back to her if he could, or maybe he wouldn’t want to say things so personal in front of a group. Maybe he was a little more private thanshewas.
“I am honored by Heather’s bravery and willingness to acknowledge me,” Kale said toLucian.
