She turned and crawled up to the top of the bed and leaned back against the headboard. “We can do more than just talk through the bond. Psychic touch, or at least that’s what I’m calling it, is possible. I can feel his hands on me if he thinks hard enough about touching me. Yes, it’s weird. And yes, it still kinda freaks me out. And no, I don’t mean in an intimate kind of way. We’re not to that stage of our relationship yet. Considering we’ve never even met in person.”
Alice felt a deep pang of loneliness settle in her bones. She usually kept herself so busy that she didn’t have time to think about the fact that she didn’t have any romantic interest and hadn’t for quite some time. When she did leave the lab, Alice went home to an empty condo and usually ate takeout. There were no intimate dinner dates, no inside jokes, or secret smiles from a lover who knew her like no one else. Sitting there and reading about the true-mate bond between Canis lupus had been a punch to the gut. She’d felt a deep sadness that had grasped onto her heart and wouldn’t let go.
“Are you going to cry? Because I am not good with tears. Comforting isn’t my thing. I suck at it.”
Alice waved her off. “I’m not going to cry,” she said, and her voice broke.
Lizzy stared in horror. She thought Alice had it all together. The woman certainly looked like she had it all together—with her dark, chin-length hair, bright eyes, and razor-sharp tongue. But the moment Alice said she wasn’t going to cry, the woman dropped her head, covered her face, and started bawling. Liar. Lizzy called the woman out silently.
She sent Finn an image of what she was seeing. “What am I supposed to do with that? This is not the same woman who stood in that lab and verbally sparred with the vampire king.”
“Nobody has it all together all the time,” Finn said, his voice gentle. “Some people are good at putting up the front they want others to see. Eventually, the facade cracks.”
Lizzy understood that. She’d mastered the “I’m fine” face and displayed it convincingly every time a teacher at school asked her, when all the while she was dying inside. “Umm, Alice,” Lizzy said carefully, as if she was approaching an injured animal. “Not to be judgy, but you said you weren’t going to cry.”
“I know.” Alice’s hands covering her face muffled her voice. “Give me a minute. I’ll be fine. Everything is fine. It’s all good.”
“All good is definitely not what I’m seeing here.” Lizzy watched the woman struggle to compose herself, and she saw a deep sense of loneliness in Alice’s glistening, hazel eyes—a feeling Lizzy could recognize from looking into her own reflection. She didn’t want to feel sorry for the woman, but Lizzy wasn’t a complete uncompassionate ass. If she let herself lose all compassion, then she would be no better than Cain. “You’re lonely.” Lizzy spoke gently. “That’s why you’re asking about the bond. Not because it fascinated you as a scientist, but because you are lonely.”
Alice wiped her eyes and tucked her short hair behind her ears. “Very astute.” She breathed out. “I’ve been keeping it together but reading about the true-mate bond just hit a nerve.”
“Like ice hitting a tooth just right?”
Alice nodded and sighed. “I’m sorry I came in here and dropped my crap on you after having injected you against your will. Good grief, I’m a bitch.”
Lizzy laughed. “You are indeed. But if what you say is true, and you’re not here because you want to be, then you have to figure out a way to survive. If that means become the biggest bitch possible, then so be it. As they say, when in Rome…”
“At what cost to my soul? How much of my morals am I willing to compromise to survive?”
“As much as you have to, but hopefully not so much that you lose yourself in the process.” Lizzy knew what she’d do to survive. There’d been times on the street when her own moral compass had been pointed in the wrong direction. But she had refused to become the victim again. People had gotten hurt, but not good people. People who deserved what they got. It wasn’t much of a consolation, but it was all she had. Now, Lizzy recognized Alice found herself in a similar situation. “You’re not just dealing with corrupt humans, Alice. You’re dealing with powerful supernaturals. And one of them is the king of the vampires, which essentially makes him the devil’s brother. So that automatically means he has no soul. Dude is just out there navigating the world with only his wants and desires as his guide.”
“This is a good thing,” Finn said.
“Are you kidding me? This woman’s about to crack, and you’re telling me this is a good thing?”
“No, no, not that part. But she needs to get her information about the supernatural world from us, not Cain. We can tell her the truth. I’m surprised he’s allowed her to find out about gypsy healers and true mates.”
“Maybe he was attempting to gain her trust by being honest? It doesn’t matter his reason. What else should I tell her? Not that I know jack, other than what you’ve told me or Cain has shared.” Lizzy waited for his answer.
“Ask her if the book talked about the healers’ abilities and their effects on others.”
Lizzy pursed her lips. “What do you mean, the effects on others?”
“Gypsy healer magic is unique. It’s pure.” His voice held that awe again that set her teeth on edge. “Their very presence is calming to supernaturals, and they have a pull that draws people to them, especially male wolves.”
“Then you can just keep your furry, happy butt in that cell because there will be no drawing you to her with her gypsy healer mojo.” Lizzy practically snarled. “I wasn’t the kid who shared her toys in the sandbox. I didn’t have many toys, or a sandbox, for that matter. But if I did, I wouldn’t have shared. And I still won’t.”
She felt him attempting to soothe her anger, sending warmth that made her all tingly. “Once a male finds his true mate, he is effectively blind to all other females. You have nothing to worry about, my Lizzy.”
She turned her attention back to the sniffling Alice. “Okay so, Finn”—she snapped his name out because she wasn’t quite done being annoyed with his admiration of gypsy healers—“said to ask you if the book mentioned anything about healers’ abilities or their effect on other people.”
Alice wiped her eyes. “Um, you sound annoyed. Why?”
Lizzy tilted her head back and groaned. “What’s annoying is you answering my question with a question. Why do you do that?”
“I’m curious by nature. It’s pretty much why I became a scientist.”
“Fascinating.” Lizzy had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. “Back to the book. Abilities and effects. What do you know?”
