Two Mates And A Mistletoe

FIVE

Evelyn stood by the heavy wooden door, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She glared at Adrian like he had just stolen her car and crashed it into a swimming pool.

“Okay,” she said, her voice flat. “Let’s get this straight. You barged into my room. You locked the door. And now you’re just standing there like a creepy statue. Do you have an explanation? Or is this just your weird version of a house tour?”

Adrian didn’t answer. He paced back and forth in front of her small fireplace, one hand raking through his already messy hair. He looked like a man trying to remember where he’d left his keys. His mouth opened, then snapped shut. Then opened again. No sound came out.

“Well?” Evelyn demanded. She tapped her foot on the stone floor. Tap, tap, tap.

He kept pacing. His jaw was so tight she could see the muscle jumping. His shoulders were rigid. His hands kept curling into fists, then releasing.

Then she heard it. Not out loud. In her head.

'Why does she smell so good? It’s like… vanilla and something else. It’s driving me insane.'

Evelyn blinked. That was Adrian’s voice. But his mouth was shut. It was in her head. Again.

'I need to figure this out. Why do I feel this… pull? It’s like a rope tied to my gut, yanking me toward her. Every part of me wants to—'

“Adrian?” she said carefully.

He stopped pacing and looked at her. “What?”

'Her lips. I can still taste them from the garden. I want to—'

“Adrian!” she said, louder.

“What?” he snapped, annoyed.

'I want to pin her to that bed and—'

Evelyn’s eyes went very, very wide. “Oh my God.”

'—kiss every inch of her skin until she forgets her own name.'

Her face flooded with heat, turning a bright, unmistakable red. “Adrian!”

“WHAT?!” he yelled back, throwing his hands up in frustration.

'I want to rip that ridiculous fluffy nightdress right off her and—'

“You pervert!” Evelyn shrieked. She grabbed the edges of her robe and yanked them together, backing up until her shoulders hit the wall. “You’re—you’re thinking about—about undressing me!”

Adrian froze mid-pace. His eyes went wide. He stared at her. “What did you just say?”

“I called you a pervert! Because you are one! Your brain is a garbage dump!”

“No,” he said, his voice low. “The other part. You said I was thinking about… undressing you.”

“Yes! Because you were!”

He took a slow step toward her. “You can hear my thoughts?”

“Yes! And they’re disgusting and detailed and I want you to stop!”

'Oh, s**t. She can actually hear me. This is bad.'

“Yes, I can hear you!” Evelyn yelled, pointing a finger at him. “And your internal swearing! Stop it!”

Adrian’s shock melted into pure panic. He looked from her to the door and back again. “How? How the hell are you doing that? That’s not possible.”

“I don’t know! You tell me!” She threw her own hands up, mirroring his earlier gesture. “My entire life, I’ve never heard a single thought from anyone! Not my mom, not a teacher, not some weird guy on the subway! Nothing! And now, suddenly, I can hear you and Alaric talking about my hair and my freckles and my… my nose! And now this! This graphic… mental assault!”

'This shouldn’t be possible. Humans can’t tap into the mind link. They don’t have the wiring. Unless…'

“Unless what?” Evelyn demanded, stomping her foot. “Stop leaving dramatic pauses in your own head!”

He looked at her like she’d just started speaking in dolphin clicks. “You really can hear everything.”

“Yes! So for the love of all that is holy, stop thinking about… about whatever that visual was with the bed!”

Adrian stepped closer. The confusion on his face was real. “But why? Why can you hear me? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“How should I know?” she yelled. “Maybe you’re just terrible at keeping your thoughts to yourself! Maybe you have a really loud brain!”

“No,” he said slowly. He was close now, close enough that she could see the gold flecks in his green eyes. “The only people who can hear my thoughts are pack members. And even then, it’s only if I send them. Or if they’re really strong. You’re not—”

“Not what?” she interrupted.

He clamped his mouth shut. “Nothing.”

“Don’t you dare ‘nothing’ me!” she snapped, poking him in the chest with her finger. “You can’t just break into my room, mentally undress me, and then get all secretive! That’s not how this works!”

'She’s so loud. And so angry. And stubborn. Why is that… not awful?'

“I don’t care if you think it’s awful or not!” she said.

He groaned, rubbing both hands over his face. “This is a nightmare.”

“For you? I’m the one who has to listen to your X-rated internal monologue! I need brain bleach!”

Adrian’s hands dropped. He looked at her, his head tilted. “Is it because we’re mates?”

Evelyn stared. “Mates?”

“Yeah. Mates.”

She blinked. Then she blinked again. Then she let out a short, sharp laugh. “Are you for real right now?”

“What?”

“Only animals have mates, Adrian,” she said, speaking slowly and clearly as if to a very small, very confused child. “You know. Like wolves. And birds. And… and sea otters. I am not an animal. And unless you’ve got a tail hiding in those pants, you aren’t either.”

'She has no idea. She genuinely doesn’t know what we are.'

“Know what?” she asked, her anger momentarily replaced by curiosity.

His expression shut down. “Nothing.”

“Stop saying ‘nothing’! It’s the most annoying word in the English language right now!”

Adrian turned abruptly and marched toward the door. “This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have come here.”

“Yeah, no kidding!” Evelyn said, scrambling past him to get to the door first. She turned the key that was still in the lock with a loud click and pulled the heavy door open. A cold draft swept in. “Get out. Goodbye. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”