Chapter 26
Surprisingly, Briel was happy to be back at Apex. The ride back had been strained because Tyce hadn’t gotten to tell her what he’d wanted to say and she’d burned to ask him to finish what he’d started. She hadn’t though because they’d ridden back to Apex crammed into a Humvee with five other men. Even whispering wasn’t an option, so sitting hip to hip with Tyce was as close as she’d gotten.
Walking into Apex felt like coming home, and when Fena rushed from the kitchen, she dropped to a knee to catch the little body that hurtled into her own.
“Sissy, where was you?”
Briel held her tight. She wasn’t about to tell her sister about the helicopter crash. “I…” Her eyes lifted to Tyce where he stood behind Fena. “I went to visit friends.” While Monroe and his people had gone about it all wrong, she’d been in his office to see the video he’d shown Tyce. Monroe and his men had done both she and Fena a favor, and whether Tyce was willing to admit it or not, the favor covered him as well. Well, it did if this whole claiming and mating nonsense were true.
“You left me here,” Fena accused.
Briel pinched her eyes tight against the ache that seized her chest. “Never again,” she whispered. “I’ll never leave you again, I swear.”
Fena held up her pinky and Briel linked it with her own. Satisfied, Fena wiggled out of Briel’s arms. “Lots of people’s here. Come see.”
Briel let Fena drag her deeper into the house, having no choice but to ignore the pained look on Tyce’s face. She understood. She wanted to be alone with him too, if even just for a moment, but as she was led into the large sitting room, there were so many people milling about that it distracted her from her wants.
As soon as she entered, with Tyce right behind her, the room fell silent and all eyes turned on her.
“This is Fena,” Tyce spoke firmly, voice full of confidence as he stepped in front of Briel and scooped Fena up into his arms, resting her on one hip. He circled his free arm around Briel’s waist, still addressing the room. “And this is Briel. My Angel.”
Briel looked up at him and then back to the crowd.
“Briel,” Tyce spoke low. “This is, well, everyone.”
People lined up to meet her, but none extended a hand by way of greeting. At first, she thought it was rude, but then James appeared at her side, crunching loudly on a fist full of popcorn he’d crammed into his mouth.
“Whey can housh who.”
Turning, she frowned at him. “What?”
James chomped quickly before making a show of swallowing his large bite and pointing at the line of people in front of her. “They can’t touch you.”
She looked down at her hand and then back up at him. “Why?”
He grinned and jabbed a finger toward Tyce. “Because Tyce hasn’t given it to you yet, so until he does, it’s hands off for all other males.”
She shook her head in confusion. “Given me what?”
James opened his mouth, but Tyce growled, “James!”
Jamming his hand back into his bowl of popcorn, James backed up with a wicked grin. “Oh, you’ll see.”
The next hour was a whirlwind of introductions before Briel was finally able to slip away for a quick shower and a change of clothes. The clothes she’d had on had been borrowed from a woman at StoneCrow named Lilly, who was her exact match in size. Stylistically though, the two women couldn’t be further apart.
Showered and smelling like vanilla lotion, Briel dressed in a pair of soft skinny jeans, black Converse sneakers, and a black knit sweater. Her short auburn hair was brushed and left to dry naturally. Sighing, she was relieved to feel ten times better than she had before. The drugs were wearing off and she felt more and more like herself.
A soft knock at her door caused her heart to thunder to life. “Come in.”
When Pyper entered instead of Tyce, she tried to mask her disappointment.
“Hey, Briel. Tyce said you were injured when you were taken. He’d like me to take a look at you.”
Snorting, Briel rolled her eyes. “He’s a nut. I told him it was just a scratch.” Because she wore a camisole beneath her sweater, she slid the sweater over her head and turned so Pyper could see her shoulder. “See. A scratch.”
Pyper made a show of squeezing her arm, inspecting the wound. “Mmm. Pardon my bluntness, but do you plan on having sex with Tyce anytime soon?”
Briel reeled back in shock. “What?”
Dipping her head, Pyper had the good sense to blush. “Sorry. That was crass. I just meant that, if you two plan on completing the claiming, then this’d be fine, otherwise, I should probably give you a tetanus shot.”
“What do you mean, ‘complete the claiming?’”
“Claimed, collared, and bound. All three steps need to be complete for you to be his.”
Oh God, she thinks I’m his too?
Pyper’s eyes dipped to the halo around Briel’s throat. “First, a Walker is afflicted. Once they decide to chase, they’ve claimed you. Next, you’ll be collared.” She pointed at the halo. “Last stage,” she winked, “funnest stage, is being bound.”
“What? Like tied up?”
“No,” Pyper laughed. “He binds himself to you, and you to him, by…you know.”
Briel slapped her hands on her face to make sure her cheeks weren’t on fire. “Oh. My. God.”
“Anyway,” Pyper continued, undeterred. “Changes occur in the human mate, physiologic transformation begins with the introduction of your Walker’s seed.”
“Seed?”
“Semen.”
Blushing even hotter, Briel was certain her head was going to pop.
“The changes won’t give you a Walker’s healing abilities, but they will prevent illness.”
“What?”
Pyper beamed. “I know. Cool, right? Once you two initiate intercourse, I’d love it if you’d come to my lab. I’ve been doing my own studies on Aries and Sky, but they aren’t here often enough. Thea and Marko still aren’t feasible for testing because the drugs in Thea’s system are still wearing off. I hope it happens soon.” She sighed. “It’s been so long.”
Briel had no idea who Thea and Marko were, but she was certain she would not be going to Pyper’s lab for any testing.
Pyper continued without even taking a breath. “And since you’ll be our Domina, it makes sense that you’d want to make the sacrifice for your Walkers, right?”
Briel threw her hands up and dipped her head, eyes pinching shut. “Wait, wait, wait! Tyce and I aren’t sleeping together. We’re not involved like that.”
Pyper only smirked. “Give it a minute.”
“And what in the hell is a Domina?”
“Oh! That’s you. He’s the Dominant Skin Walker here, and because you’re his mate, that makes you the Domina.” She lifted her fisted hand and bumped Briel on the shoulder. “When he’s not in charge, you will be. Awesome, right?”
Briel turned and paced to the bed, plopping down on it before lifting hands to massage her temples. “I don’t…I don’t wanna be in charge.”
Pyper shrugged. “Don’t worry. Once you begin to consummate your relationship, he won’t be able to be away from you. They really are like rutting animals. He’ll need to take you several times a day just to sate his inner beasts. That’ll last for the first year, at the very least.”
Sex several times a day for a year! Briel swallowed hard, ignoring the punch of lust that tore through her at the thought.
“Anyway,” Pyper was sorting through the medical bag she seemed to carry everywhere. She pulled out a syringe. “So, are we doing the shot, or…”
Briel waved her off, still in shock from everything that was just dumped unceremoniously into her lap. “Can we wait? I need a minute to process.”
Finally, Pyper seemed to realize she may have said too much. “Jeez, Briel. I’m sorry. Was it too much, too soon? I just thought that, once he went charging out of here after you, it’d be a done deal by now. It’s how it worked for Conn and York.” She jammed the supplies back into her bag. “Shhhoot, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Briel was still staring straight ahead, trying to process everything.
“I’m, I’m gonna go.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “If you need that shot, or if you need anything else, or have any questions, extension eleven, okay?” She didn’t wait for a response as she backed out of the door.
Alone, Briel’s mind wouldn’t stop reeling. “Claimed, collared, bound? Physiological changes! Seed! Domina!”
Pyper made it sound like Briel and Tyce sleeping together was a foregone conclusion. Briel angled her head to the side. Is it?
Yes, she was highly attracted to Tyce, and if the kisses he’d stolen were any indication he was interested in her too, but it was hard to accept that they were meant to be together just because he’d been afflicted. She didn’t want that. She wanted Tyce to want her because he was attracted to her, not because of some zap of light that shot out of his halo and told him she was some mystical ‘One’.
She glanced at the phone, considering calling Pyper because she needed to know if Tyce had a choice in this fated mate theory. She didn’t make the call though, and she was woman enough to admit that it was because part of her was too afraid to find out. Afterall, there was a reason that Tyce hadn’t told her all this. Already, Aries and Briel had divulged more than he had, and it had her wondering why.