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I slept at Gen Caleb’s house like he’d asked—or rather, ordered—and slept longer than I liked. Nox and Cameron were out doing Warrior stuff, and Thad and Justin had to join them, so I slept alone—in the bathtub. It wasn’t too bad. Nightmares didn’t visit me, either.
When I woke the next morning, the smell of bacon had me drifting downstairs to find Caleb barefoot in the kitchen with a gray t-shirt and black sweats on. His long hair was twisted up into a messy bun as he hummed a tune while flipping pancakes. A plate of cooked bacon was on the table.
I had to stop my heart from being overtaken once again. He was not mine. That’s what I told myself as he shifted and saw me, his gaze widening. “Hello, I didn’t think you’d be up this soon.”
He delivered that statement like we had slept together. My thoughts ran wild. No. Tracy, you have enough. Don’t go adding, I told myself, but the angel and devil on my shoulders told me he was fair game.
I swept a hand through my wild sleep hair while a low chuckle escaped. “Yeah, I could smell the bacon. My stomach demanded that I fill its empty cavern before it dramatically suffers from pre-morning starvation.”
He cracked a smile. “So you’re hungry.”
I thought it would be wise not to speak again, so I nodded.
He turned from me, flipping the cakes, and reached over to the side of the counter, grabbing a plate and slapping three on it before stretching the plate out to me. “Here, take these and grab the butter out of the fridge.”
I accepted the plate and set it down on the table before raiding his fridge for butter. In there I noticed snack-bite packaged apples and those berry yogurts that came in a tube. I didn’t think Gen would eat food like that. Finding the butter, I grabbed it and headed over to the table where another plate had joined my spot.
Caleb was turning off the grill as I sat down. He brought over two mugs of coffee and sat across from me.
“Is it always this quiet?”
He chuckled. “No. The guys should be here soon.”
When he said that, I reached over and snatched some bacon, not wanting all of them to show and gobble it up.
“So...” I hedged. “What’s the plan for me?”
His eyebrows raised as he paused mid eating. “What do you mean?”
“What is my purpose here?”
He relaxed and continued, “You are going to Hydrent on Monday. You will attend an eight-week course, and after that, we’ll see.”
“We’ll see?” My nose scrunched. “What about the guys? And the whole bonding thing? Where am I going to live?”
His gaze went sharp. “I was going to talk to you about staying here. It’s... safer. And the guys will get their act together.” Then he cleared his throat nervously. “Bonding is a special, intimate time–”
“Oh shit.” I brought up a hand. “I’ll stop you right there, Gen. That’s not what I meant.” I dropped my hand and explained, “Nox took me to some ruins that I guess are used for marriage. When does that happen?”
He seemed relieved. “Oh, for a moment there I thought—never mind. Yes, you go through that ceremony when everyone's ready. It’s binding, but there are other ways of doing the same thing; it’s just preferred to have the ceremony first.”
“Oh.” My shoulders slumped. I was still a sitting duck with nowhere to go and no direction. Except Hydrent.
A rustling sound came from upstairs before I heard feet on the stares and Cameron showed up in the kitchen. He sought me out first, coming over to kiss my cheek. “Hey.”
He stole a piece of bacon. “Don’t take hers,” Gen growled, nodding his head to the counter. “Grab a plate and sit down.”
I shot Caleb a grin, and one of his own curled his lips before it disappeared. Always had to be the tough guy.
Cameron came back to the table and shot Caleb a look. He shook his head and said, “My mom’s.”
My gaze shot between the two of them. “What about your mom?”
Gen shook his head and got up, taking his coffee with him. “I’m going to get ready for today.” He nodded at me. “I’ll talk with you tonight.”
Then he was gone.
I turned to Cameron. “What did he mean by that?”
He dug into his food to avoid answering, and then Nox showed up and placed a bag on the table.
“What’s in the bag?”
"You need a damn cell phone for when you’re shimming to get away or just when we don't know where you are."
His gaze flickered to Cameron's. "Only one of us has gotten the chance to mark you."
My brows drew down in confusion. "Mark me?"
Big Bad Nox shifted his attention back to me with a tilt of his lips as he explained, "He didn't tell you? Cameron marked you the first time he left you."
"Nox—no," Cameron interjected, putting a hand on my arm. "Please, not now.”
Nox stared him down. "Why? She must be wondering how we could find her the first time, but not when she took Thad's candy and shimmed." He turned back. "You are curious, right?"
Without hesitation, I threw a glance to Cameron and said, "Hell yes."
"There are a lot of ways to do it–" Cameron began, wanting to ease into the discussion gently.
"An imprint. He imprinted a link. A way to find you. The very first time."
Whoa. Nox sounded... jealous. Mean. What the hell got shoved up his ass?
"O-kay. Then why couldn’t you guys find me when I took Thad's candy?"
Cameron's hand dropped. "Because Thad's shit of a candy overrode it. You were too hopped up for me to figure out where you had gone."
My gaze narrowed in on him. "When? When did you ever get a chance to do that? To mark me? Was it between the eyebrow waxing and phone number giving?"
He blushed and shook his head.
Nox looked confused. “What the hell?”
Cameron shot him a glare and answered me, "It was when I thought you were out from Justin’s mindsweep. I touched your lip."
"My... lip?" I remember when he had pulled my lip away from my teeth, but I hadn’t felt anything.
He nodded. "It wasn't a strong imprint, but it was intimate enough to create a small link."
I glanced to Nox, still confused. "But all of you have done more than that with me."
"It's old magic,” Nox explained. “Not one practiced. We don't know how to do it, but he does."
My eyes narrowed in on Cameron, feeling a twinge of jealousy. "Why? How?"
"Because I used it on Samara also. That's the real reason I learned how to do it. I didn't have a talent, but I learned as much as I could, and when we all thought she might be in danger, I imprinted her."
Swallowing, I stood from the table and turned away from them, trying to reason with myself and my jealousy that she was in the past. That it didn't matter. I had to fuckin' let it go because I couldn't be jealous of a ghost.
"Okay, fine. You used it on her before me. I'm grateful." And I was, I realized. I shifted back to the two of them and let out a sigh of acceptance. "Without Cameron finding the imprint thing... What is the name for it?"
"Securus Luerein. It means to attach or secure oneself to another with the intent to find," Cameron explained.
"So... I didn't hear anything about an intimate act in there," I noted.
Cameron cheeks went slightly pink. "It doesn't always have to be through intimate contact. That's just how I did it with you."
My brows scrunched. "Why?"
"Yeah, why?" Nox barked.
My gaze swung to Nox, seeing the frustration in his tense muscles and clenched fists. Damn. He was on edge this morning.
Cameron shot him an annoyed frown. "Because I didn't know her well enough, and because I didn't, intimate contact was the only way to go."
"You're lying." Nox growled, lifting an arm to point at him. "Tell her the damn truth. No more games. No more holding back. Tell her." For some odd reason, this was important to him. Why?
Cameron froze, and a shattered pain crossed him face. "No."
My eyebrows lifted, and I turned all my attention to Cameron. Oh shit, what was he hiding? I’d about had enough with secrets. "What? What are you holding back from telling me?"
"Look, I wanted to–"
"Do it now, then." My body tensed, and I was ready for whatever blow he would send my way.
He rounded on Nox. "I fuckin' hate you for this." Then he turned back and blew out a breath. "I didn't mark you because I wanted to keep you safe. I marked you selfishly because you were soft and sweet, and I wished to make you mine."
I didn't speak. It took a moment to register that that was all he had to say, and I relaxed. "Okay. You wanted to date me." After taking a second, I turned to Nox and rushed him. His eyes widened since he didn't expect this from me. I shoved him as hard as I could, but all he did was stumble back a step. "Now you fuckin' talk."
His expression was stunned. "Wait—wha–"
I pointed a finger at him. "Don't you dare come in here having Cameron spill his dirty little secrets when you fuckin' have a ton. How the hell did you find out that Eric was my contact?"
"You knew?" Cameron asked with bewilderment.
I shook my head. "No, I didn't fuckin' know, but Nox made it clear that he did."
Nox shook his head and growled. "No, I didn't. I lied."
Now Cameron was starting at him like he didn't even know his best friend anymore. "The hell you did! I heard you lay it out. It all matched."
Nox's gaze shot over to him, shoulders dropping. "But it wasn't true."
Cameron drove a hand through his hair and stared at me, realizing what he must have done. "Shit." His gaze swung back to Nox’s. "You did it to protect her."
He shot a glance to me, mouth pressed. He didn't like what he had done. "Yeah."
I...I didn't know what to say, so I went with the first thing that came to my mind. "Sorry I shoved you."
Nox opened up his arms, and I went into them, knowing that he took a big risk to keep Eric in prison, not just jail.
"It didn't even hurt," he murmured, dipping his head so his lips touched my hair.
"Should of," I stated, annoyed.
He chuckled. "We'll have to teach you to fight better, baby."
“Justin already tried,” I muttered, which had him laughing.
"Give her to me. I want a hug," Cameron stated, feeling left out.
I left Nox and went to him.
"Sorry," he sighed. "I'm glad you're not mad."
I snuggled my nose into the side of his neck and hugged him tight. "I would have gone with you in a second, with or without a Lydent light."
He stopped rubbing my back and his head dipped down. "Really?"
Drawing back, I snorted and gestured to all of him. "Have you not looked at yourself lately? You're hot."
Nox huffed. "Can we get on with this so I can give you the fucking phone?"
I shot him a glare. "Be nice."
He cracked a smile, pulling out the box from the bag on the table. "I'm trying."
I took it, grateful but annoyed by how he was acting. "Thank you."
"All the numbers are programmed in with our names. It comes with a charger, so you can charge it every night. We all have the same phone, so you don't have to bring it with you when you stay with one of us."
I turned it on. "I know the Gen wants me here for the time being, but will I eventually be staying with you guys at the apartment?" I asked as I flipped through all the apps on the phone.
"No.”
My head popped up as my nose scrunched. "Will we all have one place to live or will you all live in separate housing where I'd visit?"
"One house," Cameron answered, sending a secret glance to Nox before continuing, "but that's not happening for a while. Thad and I still have to be granted the right to join your bond group. Unless some miracle happens."
Unsure what that look was about, I gave a slow nod. "Okay. What do we have to do to let that happen? I know that Lydents can marry humans; I read it in that Lydent 101 book, but it didn't say anything about bonded mates and Lydents together. Has that ever happened?"
"No," Cameron answered. "We'll have to take this one day at a time, and I'll do some digging on what we can do to make things easier on us."
"Sounds like a plan," Nox agreed. "But we have to head back on that mission." He turned to me. "Trace, you can stay here for a little bit longer, but then you need to shim back to Warrior Camp. When it gets late, one of us will find you."
Slightly annoyed that they had to go again, I remembered Travis and what he’d said. "Hey, are your missions dangerous?"
The two of them looked startled. "What?" Cameron asked.
"Are any of you in danger on this mission?"
"No," Nox growled and leaned over to kiss me before he shimmed out.
I swung my gaze to Cameron's. "He lied, didn't he?"
Eyes wide and mouth open, he gave a slow shrug. "I'll see you later." And with one quick kiss he was gone too.
"I don't like lies!" I yelled to the empty room. Of course, no one heard
***
I shimmed into Warrior Camp and stood at the entrance to the lodge on the spacious porch and observed as warriors of all ages and sizes walked to where they needed to be. I knew it wasn't just young guys here. There were men of many ages that stalked around eyeing me with interest. None of them had acted inappropriately or had bothered to talk to me, besides Travis.
I searched for that hot hunk of cocoa and didn't see him. My forearms met the porch rail as I leaned on it and sighed. When would life ever be normal?
The lodge door creaked open, which was an unusual sound since people around here just shimmed into places, and someone settled in beside me. Instinctively, as if I knew it would be him, I moved to make room.
"Hey." Simple, plain, and curious. Did he know Nox had lied?
Gen Caleb took the same stance as I did and looked out over all his warriors. "You know, life can throw you the unexpected, but it's what you do with the knowledge or situation that causes you to be either better than you are or less than you should be—what it all falls down to is a choice."
I regarded him. "Why not exactly what you should be?"
He didn't move. "Because life isn't about staying in place. If we did that, we'd never learn to walk or even ride a bike. We are always making choices that keep us moving forward. Either for the better or for the worse. And for those choices that seem trivial and unimportant, sometimes, those are the most important ones of all."
His shoulders were taut, his long, braided hair hanging down his back. He seemed pained as he looked out over the open field.
"What's with the fuckin' speech?"
"I like it better when you don't cuss." He finally swung my way, and his calculating eyes were full of wariness. Whatever retort I was intending to say caught in my throat. "I have a choice, and it's not one I'm considering lightly."
"Okay," I drew out gently, "what is it?"
He eyes held my own as the firm lines of his mouth tightened. "I don't want you to leave or run away."
I wasn't connecting the dots and didn't understand. "I'm not running. I'm here." I wanted to reassure him. Why? I wasn't sure.
His face softened. "But there are others who don't trust me to keep you here."
He reached for me then, taking my hand into his and linking our fingers together as one. I let him draw me in tight as if I was mesmerized by his touch and the strength he was offering me. He wrapped his free hand around my back and brought me to his chest. Our linked hands rested against his heart. Eyes now darkened with what I identified as lust, I couldn't break away from his stare. "Why did you lean into me at the Lydent court?"
My eyes grew large. Oh shit. "I-I because you could protect me?"
His head dipped down as his arm lowered around my waist. He shimmed us somewhere, but I wasn't paying any attention.
"That may be true, but I think there's something more than just that." His lips dipped down and skimmed across mine while his hand ran beneath my shirt and palmed my waist where one of my tattoos laid. I closed my eyes, taking in the sensation.
I pulled back slightly. "Shit, Caleb. Are you..."
He kissed me. Hard. Unforgiving. I moaned. He let go and cupped my cheeks in both hands. His fierce gaze was the only thing I was able to take in. I was waiting on an answer.
"Yes," he replied as he moved away from me, but my attention was still solely on him. "And forgive me." He shimmed away.
I let out the breath I held, blown away by what I’d just learned. Then it all went to shit. Gray walls. Concrete floor. I swung around, and my heart stopped.
I took notice of where I was. Where the fuck he left me. It was a fuckin’ gray room, but this one wasn't like the one before. This one had an exit; you just had to go through locked bars to get out.
Gen Caleb, who had informed me a moment ago that I was in fact his bondmate, just left me in jail.