Page 13 of Fated to Her

I nod, resting my face back on Eli’s shoulder, the pain easing off. My face cools, my skin no longer blistering hot.

“Her temperature is dropping,” Eli says, his hands trailing up my back.

“I feel better,” I admit.

“You want me to let you go, then?” Eli asks.

I shake my head, loving the feel of his skin against mine.

“We should take you home soon. It’s nearly knocking-off time, anyway,” Cyrus says.

He’s right; best to get home before I start feeling like shit again. Sitting up, Eli passes me my blouse beside him. I pull it on, doing up the buttons. Eli puts his back on, and I climb off his lap, suddenly embarrassed that I’ve just used them for that. Yet they don’t complain, and I know they can feel my embarrassment through the bond.

Chapter 4

• Eli •

We end up dropping her home before driving home ourselves in silence. A massive storm is about to hit the city, clouds rolling across the sky. We help Debbie pull all the roller shutters down because the power’s gone out. We secure all their outdoor stuff, managing to squeeze most of it into their shed, yet Addie still refuses to leave home.

Pulling up at the house, the wind has picked up massively, the outside furniture scattering across the yard. We step out of the car, and Cyrus and I pick up what is left of the outside table before tossing it into the shed; the glass top shatters from hitting the tree beside the house.

“I’ll put the car in the shed,” Cyrus calls to me over the wind.

I nod before opening the front door; our house has power still, so that’s something. Going inside, I turn the heating on. The moment I do, the power cuts out before flicking back on. The solar panels are still working, thanks to the batteries’ storing energy.

Cyrus comes in a few minutes later, the wind so strong it shakes the windows.

“Everything outside is secure, but I’m drenched,” he says, grabbing a towel from the linen cupboard. I’m on edge, and so is Cyrus. We don’t want to leave her.

“She’ll be fine, Eli.”

“I’m not worried about the storm, more worried about her heat. Do you think it has been getting worse since we came back?”

“I don’t know, but we need to think of something soon, maybe give that witch friend of yours a ring later. Addie isn’t going to let us mate her anytime soon.”

“I’ll call her tomorrow. It’s a bit late now.”

“Hungry?” he asks, rifling through the pantry.

“Not really. I feel like throwing up,” I tell him. It’s an odd feeling, one I’m not used to, so I know it is coming from her.

“Addie…” he says, making me look at him. “I have the same feeling. She must feel sick.”

Cyrus picking up on it too, makes me worry more.

“Maybe we should call her and check on her. Or maybe go stay at her place. She might let us,” I tell him.

“How about we wait? Debbie will call us if she’s worried about her.”

Debbie would indeed call, but it doesn’t make the tension in my body leave knowing that. My entire being is calling out for her painfully.

“Well, I’m going to shower and put dry clothes on if you want to join me,” Cyrus says.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He nods, shuffling off.

I come into the room, flopping on the bed and hoping sleep will take me so I can wake up and see her. But my mind is restless, as is my body. My every thought is consumed with her.