"He's not going to hold me hostage, Sean."
"You don'tknowthat."
"He gave me a choice! I'm there voluntarily!"
"That's what all hostages think at first." Sean leans forward, his expression disturbingly serious. "But then the Stockholm Syndrome kicks in, and before you know it, you're defending your captor in Swiss and refusing rescue."
"One, they speak Swedish in Stockholm. Two, that'snothow Stockholm Syndrome works. Three, that's utterly insane."
"Just hear us out," Micah says, placing a calming hand on my arm. "We're not saying anything bad is going to happen. We're just... preparing for contingencies."
"Paranoid contingencies."
"Preparedcontingencies," Rowan corrects mildly.
It's not good when evenhecan't be reasoned with.
Killian clears his throat, reclaiming control of the conversation. "If you need help but can't call or text, there are signals you can give. Sean came up with them."
Oh, this should be good.
Sean straightens up, massive shoulders bunched like he's ready to leap out of his seat. "Okay, so. If you scratch behind your left ear, that means you're uncomfortable but not in immediate danger."
"My left ear."
"Specifically the left. Right ear means something completely different."
"What does the right ear mean?"
"You need snacks." He says this like it's obvious. "We'll send Micah with supplies."
I look at Micah. He shrugs. "I volunteered for emergency snack duty."
"Moving on," Killian interrupts. "If you tap your nose twice, that means Villeneuve is acting suspicious and you want backup in the area."
"We'll be nearby," Rowan adds. "Close enough to intervene but far enough to avoid detection."
"Like tactical support," Sean says. "Emotional support tactical support."
"And if I actually need help?" I ask, because apparently I'm entertaining this madness. "Real, genuine, emergency help?"
"Pull your ponytail loose," Killian says grimly. "We see that, we're coming through the walls."
"I might just want to wear my hair down."
"Don't. Not today."
I set down my coffee cup, looking around at the four of them. My ridiculous, overprotective, completely insane wolves. They're watching me with such earnest concern that I can't even be properly annoyed.
"You know these signals are absurd, right? He's not holding me hostage. I'm his teaching assistant. And if my ear itches, the last thing I need is you four bursting through walls like He-Man."
"Just humor us," Micah says gently. "Please? It'll make us feel better."
I sigh, feeling the weight of four sets of hopeful eyes on me. The bond pulses with their desperate need to protect me even when there's nothing to protect me from.
"Fine," I relent. "But if I actually need something, I'll text, and if I can't text, I'm pretty sure you'd feel it through the bond anyway."
I can tell they want to argue, but Killian just sighs as if I've told him they discontinued his favorite protein powder. "Fine. No secret signals."
