Yet something is strange about him. Something that I can’t quite place until he looks at me again, his eyes flicking to my lips then back to my face.
I glance at Piper, who looks between him and me, her brow furrowed. “Are you looking to adopt a cat?” she asks him. “We have a lot of cats that need homes.”
That’s when I finally catch his scent.
Moss.
Rain.
A forest during a storm.
A garden in winter.
I shoot back from my chair and suck in a breath while everyone in the room stares at me.
“Piper?” Maeve asks.
“Are you okay?” the Alpha asks, his brow furrowing.
Those deep eyes, so rich and amber, regard me with a care that resembles the way I catch Travis looking at me sometimes.
“Yeah,” I say breathlessly. “Yeah, I’ll just…I’ll be back.”
Moss.
Rain.
Alpha.
I catch Piper’s shocked expression as I head toward the bathroom, locking the door behind me and staring at myself in the mirror.
My face is flushed, my pupils are huge, and my chest rises and falls as I take in deep, gulping breaths.
I move the collar of my sweatshirt to the side to observe my mating gland, which is now inflamed.
“Holy shit,” I hiss.
I grip the sink, my knuckles turning white while I struggle to collect myself.
Oh, my god.
“Blair?” Piper’s voice calls from beyond the door. “Are you okay?”
I unlock the door and open it a crack. “Is he gone?” I whisper.
“What? The guy? I can ask him to leave, if you want. Do you know him?”
I shake my head.
“Blair, I love you, but what the hell is happening?” Piper demands, exasperated. “You look like you saw a ghost back there.”
I swing the door open wider. “Come in,” I hiss.
Once Piper is in, I shut the door and lock it. “Something strange is happening,” I whisper. “And I don’t know what to do.”
“Is it your Heat?” Piper whispers back. “Do you need to go home?”
“No, it’s not due for a while. It has to be something else,” I mutter. “His scent isdoingsomething to me.”
