“I know,” Stax said simply, looking oddly pleased with himself. “That’s why you’re here.”
That made no sense to him, but the steadiness of the man’s gaze brought Cam’s temper back under control. How did he do that?
“Cam?” David touched his back, offering support. “Are you good?”
“He’s fine. The sooner he accepts who he is, the sooner you can have your mate.”
“Was that all it took?” Cam asked sarcastically, rubbing the stiffness from the back of his neck and feeling weary. “Even if it’s possible for us to mark her without it ending in tragedy, even if we wanted to stay and let Bailey work her magic on this town, the pack laws would deny us and put us all in constant danger. Put her in danger.”
Because shifter packs rarely intermingled. Wolf, cat and rabbit shifters, for example. And certain anomalies, like Aaron, who had the capacity to be more than one thing? He wouldn’t be allowed anywhere at all.
“You’re right,” Stax said, surprising him again. “About all of it. And it’s time, I think. Some rules will have to change. You can help me with that.”
“Help you? Because you can do that?” Cam thought he might know what Stax was now, but he didn’t come right out and ask. It didn’t seem like a good idea to push after his outburst.
“We can do that. I’m owed a few favors of my own, Alpha Locke. And once they know who you are, you’ll have a seat at the table. Everyone you care about will be protected.”
Stax started to speak again, then hesitated, concern transforming his features. “I do know what you need to do to successfully join with Bailey, Cameron. It is possible. But we might need to wait on that conversation.”
A sense of foreboding skittered up Cam’s spine. “Why?”
“She was on her way here, I was expecting her, but now she’s turned around. I knew she was overwhelmed by the link and had the wrong idea about your feelings for her, but I was sure she would still…” He shook his head. “You should go.”
Cam was already running toward the door, Davide right behind him. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Weren’t you listening? I just did.”
Chapter Eleven
Bailey tried to get her hands to stop shaking enough to start the truck. How the hell did she shut this crazy telepathy shit off?
She’d been halfway up the hill on her way to their place when the first wave of desire had torn through her body, strong enough to make her swerve onto the shoulder. She’d barely gotten the truck parked in the shadow of a vacant house before she was hit with another blast of it, along with an image of Cam and Davide having sex in their kitchen.
She’d felt everything they did. Every caress. Every thrust. She’d had three orgasms before she’d been able to come up for air. It was the most intense sexual fantasy of her life. Too intense. Cam’s thoughts and Davide’s were clear in her mind, and so different from her own that it reminded her of what Liam told her about Stax being in Dani’s head.
What had the coyote said to her again? “Being safe isn’t enough anymore, so be brave. And no matter what you see, don’t forget to listen.”
He was the only magical creature she knew other than the spider, and that one wasn’t talking. Was he doing this? Why give her a glimpse of Cam and Davide’s most intimate moments? Why let them see her in return? Was it some kind of game to him?
Don’t forget to listen.
She wasn’t sure what possessed her or what she expected to happen, but she closed her eyes and opened her mind. She wasn’t Kaya. She wasn’t even the Divine Darla. But if she was connected to them the way Kaya had claimed, then maybe…
Don’t make me choose. I can’t lose him.
The thought stabbed at her like a knife, pinning her to her seat. The barrage of images that followed left her sobbing.
Thirty years. Thirty years of love and fights and passion. How could they have been together for that long? Longer than she’d been alive. How old were they? And how had she seen so much of their life together in less than a few heartbeats?
She’d thought they were just rich and bored—too beautiful to be called average, but still human. Human, bisexual, fancy-booted real estate tycoons. That would have been wild enough for her.
But they weren’t human. Not even close. They could turn into animals on command. Holy shit.
“This isn’t real,” she told herself, fighting the urge to panic.
She’d go to their place right now and find them fully dressed and surrounded by their entourage. They’d be surprised to see her and they wouldn’t have a clue she’d just been masturbating in her truck down the road, because they weren’t psychically connected. That would be all the proof she’d need that this was all in her head. What a relief it would be to only need therapy.