“I don’t... I don’t know.” I blinked, trying to clear my vision. “I feel weird.”
“Weird how?”
“Tingling. Weighted. My senses are...” I trailed off, unable to describe it. Everything seemed more intense suddenly. The light was too bright. I could hear Caelan’s heartbeat, actually hear it, steady and strong and slightly elevated with worry.
“Is this from the claiming?” I asked. “Another symptom?”
His jaw tightened. “It shouldn’t be.”
“What do you mean it shouldn’t be?”
“The claiming doesn’t cause physical symptoms like this.” He was studying me head to toe, searching for answers. “Not beyond the initial bite healing.”
His worry hit me through the bond, a spike of genuine concern that made my own anxiety double.
After a few minutes, the sensations faded. The tingling stopped. My vision cleared. The strange weight in my limbs dissipated.
“Better,” I said, straightening. “That was... weird.”
“What happened just now?”
“I don’t know. But I’m fine. Really.” I forced a smile. “Let’s go to the bookstore. I need to pick up my stuff.”
He didn’t look convinced, but he nodded, grabbing his jacket.
“I’m watching you,” he said, and it wasn’t a threat, it was a promise. “If anything else happens...”
“You’ll be the first to know.” I patted his arm. “Relax. I’m sure it’s nothing. Probably just low blood sugar.”
We walked to the bookstore.
Caelan kept one hand on my lower back the entire time, possessive and protective in equal measure. He was watching me from the corner of his eye, tracking every breath, every step, every micro-expression.
It was sweet.
Chapter & Verse was a cozy independent bookstore that had been in Lysmont for decades. Margaret, the owner, was a kind woman in her sixties with silver hair and reading glasses perpetually perched on her nose.
“Riley!” She brightened when we walked in. “I was starting to worry. You were supposed to come yesterday.”
“I’m so sorry. Things got... complicated.”
“Life has a way of doing that.” Margaret’s eyes drifted to Caelan, who was hovering behind me, a very attractive shadow. “I see you’ve been busy.”
My cheeks heated. “This is Caelan. He’s my... fiancé.”
The word still felt strange on my tongue. Like wearing someone else’s shoes. Very expensive, very royal shoes that I hadn’t technically agreed to put on. Margaret’s eyebrows rose.
“Fiancé! Congratulations!” She clapped her hands together. “Well, let me get your things. The banners are in the back, and the signed stock too. Oh, and...”
She disappeared behind the counter and emerged with a small object in her palm.
A watch.
My heart stuttered.
“Found this on the floor after you left the signing,” Margaret said, holding it out. “It looked antique. Figured it had to be yours.”
I took it with trembling hands.
