Maya gasped, then burst into tears and ran back into the bathroom. Cole frowned, then turned to Aria for an explanation. Again.
“What did I do now?”
She shook her head. “Clueless,” she muttered. “Some men are just clueless.”
Then she went into the other room in search of Maya.
Cole scratched the back of his head. “What the heck was all that about?”
He turned to his friend to await his reply, only to realize that Nash hadn’t followed him into the bakery. What in the heck was going on? Was everyone losing their minds? Cole went back out onto the street and looked left and right for his friend. He found Nash sitting on a low wall opposite the bakery. He went over to him then clapped Nash on the shoulder.
“Nash, everything okay?”
Nash lifted his head and Cole bit out a curse when he took in Nash’s eyes and teeth, shifted into their bear form.
“Jesus,” he bit out. “What the hell?”
Cole looked up and down the street to ensure no one had seen the otherworldly display.
“I can’t help it,” Nash growled out. “I can’t get them to shift back. They’re stuck like this.”
“Stuck?” Cole had never heard of such a thing. “Are you sure? Take a couple of deep breaths.”
“Yeah, because I wouldn’t have thought of that,” Nash said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Well, they can’t stay like that,” Cole said.
“Oh, ya think?”
“Close your eyes,” Cole said, and when Nash did as instructed, Cole glanced over his shoulder at the bakery. He hoped Maya would be okay. He didn’t like that she was ill. He wanted to do something to help her. He should have been in there right now, doing…well, something.
“Now what?” Nash asked.
Oh, right, he’d forgotten about his friend. Cole sighed. One problem at a time.
“Okay, breathe with me,” Cole said. “Deep. In through your nose then slowly release out through your mouth. That’s it. Now do it again.”
They repeated the slow-breathing process for about ten deep breaths, but at the end of it, Nash opened his eyes and they were still deep amber.
“Did it work?” Nash asked. His incisors were still clearly on display. He frowned. “It didn’t work, did it?”
“Not really, no.”
Nash sighed. “What’s wrong with me?”
“I don’t know,” Cole said. He glanced down at Nash’s body and sucked in a breath. “Christ! Have you got an erection?”
“Well, not on purpose,” Nash said. “It just sort of happened.”
Cole frowned. “When did it happen?”
Nash shrugged. “I don’t know, we were walking towards the bakery, then I caught a whiff of that incredible scent again, that smells like honey and sunshine, and then you—”
“Woah, woah, back up a couple of steps,” Cole said. “Honey andsunshine?”
A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. Nash might be clueless as to what was going on, but Cole had a little experience in the matter. Everything that Nash was going through now reminded Cole of how he’d felt in that warehouse six months ago on the day he’d met his mate. That had to be what this was. Nash’s mate was around here somewhere. But where?
“That’s right,” Nash went on. “Then, you went into the bakery and then the smell got stronger and I had to come and sit down because I thought I was going to fall on my ass.”
