“Don’t Dimples-me, August Watt. You’re my best friend. I’ll worry if I want toworry.”
His lips tightened as though he found my reasoning maddening. Or maybe it was my sticking him in the friend-zone which he found maddening. Little did he know that he featured in many more zones than thatone.
Loud knocking redirected our attention toward the front door. A keypad beeped, but it wasn’t followed by aclick.
“You changed the code?” I asked as he strode over to open up for Matt andCole.
“Idid.”
I clutched my glass of water tighter. Had August changed it for me? So that people—his parents and Cole—didn’t walk in onus?
If there had been anus. . .
“Yo.” Cole slugged August’sshoulder.
Although Matt’s brother was the same height as my mate, he wasn’t half as ripped. August had been away from the Marines for over a month now and was still in formidable shape—slimmer than Matt but carved like a GreekGod.
I really had to stop ogling August if I wanted to convince the two Rogers my sleepover had beenplatonic.
“Morning, Little Wolf,” Matt belted out, moss-green eyes way tooshiny.
I decided not to bother convincing him or his brother of anything. I didn’t have anything to feel ashamed of. Besides—as I took a sip of my water, I sniffed my hand discreetly—I didn’t think I smelled of August or of our mating link. Sure, I’d slept on his couch, but apart from when I’d all but jumped onto his lap to check if he had a fever, I’d kept my distance fromhim.
Giant smile pasted on his lips, Matt rubbed his hands together. “You got our coffeesready?”
I tipped my head toward the coffee machine, and he dug through the cupboard of mismatched mugs to grabtwo.
I wasn’t sure why he was Mr. Smiley this morning. He was one of Liam’s friends. Shouldn’t Matt have been rooting against me and August? Unless he thought my presence in August’s life would get him workbenefits.
“Milk?” Mattasked.
“In the fridge,” Augustsaid.
I noticed he’d put on his sneakers while I was still barefoot. I curled my unpolished toes, feeling, however superficial, that a coat of nail polish might’ve made my feet more attractive. Not that anyone was staring at them. I set down my glass and grabbed a pair of socks from my bag. After lacing up my sneakers, I went back for somecoffee.
“So . . .?” Matt started as I elbowed past him to grab thecarafe.
“So . . .?” I volleyed back. I knew exactly what he was huntingfor.
“You guys have something to tell us?” Coleasked.
I looked at August, who proceeded to rub his neck. I wasn’t sure if he was still trying to get the kink out of it or if he wasnervous.
Taking in a deep breath, I said, “August decided to get injected with a massive dose of Sillin so I wouldn’t do it myself. I stayed over to make sure he didn’t have a seizure during thenight.”
The brothers blinked at me, smilesfading.
I sipped my coffee, letting the information settle. “Let me guess . . . that wasn’t where your minds hadgone?”
“Nope. Not even close,” Colesaid.
“Why?” Matt asked, watching August as though to spot the effect of thedrug.
“Morgan told me that when she was younger, she had to take a big dose of it to heal from a toxic waste poisoning. This led me to wonder if taking an enormous dose somehow left traces in our system—not enough to impair our magic, but enough to impair our enemies. Once August manages to shift, Greg will test hisblood.”
The atmosphere, which had bordered on lighthearted when the Rogers had arrived, turned downrightsomber.
“How long before we know the result?” Mattasked.
