Axel hummed. “I think you’re wrong about one thing, though.”
I pulled onto the road again and headed for the house. “And what might that be?”
“I’d bet my life that Mase feels the same as you, maybe not as strongly, but he definitely feels some sort of pull.” He waited for me to look at him. “Because I lied before. I’m never wrong about these things, and Gabriel Mason is not one hundred percent human.”
* * *
Axel’s wordsstayed with me long after I’d dropped him back at his house.
Gabriel was most definitely human.
And he had no idea we had the potential for a soulbond. I was certain of that. I’d never even hinted at it, not sure myself until those last couple of weeks. I’d been building up the courage to tell him, to lay it all out there, but thank fuck I’d never got the chance.
Despite what he’d said, Axel was wrong on this occasion.
Had to be.
The evening was cool but clear, stars filling the night sky as I walked through the forest. My house had been relatively quiet, but I’d felt an itch to be outside. And I’d still needed to talk to Nell. Might as well kill two birds with one stone.
She’d probably give me grief for calling on her at this hour, but rather that than have her surprised by a hunter.
Unsurprisingly, her door swung open as I walked up the path. “Evening, Nell.”
“Alpha, to what do I owe the pleasure.” She scowled at me. “At such a late hour.”
I bit back a smile. “It’s nine o’clock, not midnight.”
She huffed but shuffled back to let me in, walking stick gripped in one hand. “When you get to my age, seven o’clock feels like midnight.”
“Rubbish. You’re as spry as someone half your age.” I actually had no idea how old she was because she refused to tell me. My guess was late sixties, early seventies. “And put that stick down, I know you don’t need it.”
She grinned at me over her shoulder and immediately straightened, feet no longer shuffling over the floor. “Not everyone knows that, though. I like to take people by surprise.”
I laughed at the wicked gleam in her eye, hoping she wouldn’t be out taunting humans again any time soon.
Her living room was full of mismatched furniture that managed to look homey and stylish. I sank into the sofa while she perched on the armchair opposite.
“So, what do you want?” she said, eyeing me in a way that had me squirming in my seat. “There’s something different about you.” She sniffed the air, and I hoped like fuck she couldn’t smell anything other than Axel and my pack. Nell’s senses were as heightened as mine. Sometimes I got the feeling they were sharper. Whatever she was thinking, she kept it to herself.
So I took the opportunity to distract her. “We have hunters in the area.”
“I know.” She smirked at my look of surprise. “I might not leave the forest all that often, but I have my sources. How is that poor boy?”
“Callum?”
She scoffed. “Yes, Callum. Unless there’s another young shifter that’s been attacked by hunters?”
Nell had the ability to make me feel less like an alpha and more like a child she was telling off. I sat up straighter. “I spoke to Falon before coming here.” I sighed. The news hadn’t been good. “Still no change. He hasn’t regained consciousness for any length of time, and those moments when he does, Falon says he’s not himself.”
“But he’s not dead,” she stated, as though we could take that as a good sign. And fuck, maybe she was right.
“No, he’s not dead.”
“Then there’s hope he’ll pull through yet.” She settled back in her seat as a black cat appeared from nowhere and settled in her lap. It gave me a vicious side-eye and promptly fell asleep. “He was poisoned, yes?”
I narrowed my eyes. “You do have good sources.” I wasn’t sure who knew the specifics about Callum, but as far as I was aware, Nell hadn’t left the forest since Sunday. “Yes, he was poisoned. It looks like someone gave him Blue Alhuirn.”
She blew out a harsh breath. “Nasty stuff.”
