something?”
Her hesitation did nothing to reassure him.
“Raquel…”
“Here’s the thing,” she said, pausing for a beat before blurting the rest out in a rush. “Kamis isn’t at the house and I can’t feel him through the bond.”
“We need to tell Aiden.”
“No,” she said sharply. “You know what he’ll do.”
“Aiden will do what needs to be done.” Just like he always did.
“It could be nothing.”
“If Kamis has found a way to block you then he’s doing it for a reason.”
She untucked her legs and put her feet on the ground. Leaning forward, she said, “You could help me find out what that reason is. I think we need to know that before we take any kind of drastic action.”
He opened his mouth to argue that, but before he could speak, she continued, “If Aiden kills Kamis, I don’t know what it will do to me.”
His mouth snapped closed and he stared at her.
“It might be fine, but I just don’t know. I’ve been poring over the old records trying to find more information. Lois won’t know the answer and Kathy will only go to Aiden. Kamis understands how the geis works, but I can’t trust him to give me a straight answer.”
“Have you confronted him?”
“Not yet. So far, he’s only tampered with the bond when he thinks I’m sleeping. I noticed it a few days ago when I woke up in the middle of the night.” She hesitated again, a guilty flush rising to her cheeks. “That’s when my own shields are unreliable. This is the first time he’s tried it while I was awake. I think he’s testing his boundaries. I haven’t let on that I’ve noticed anything strange.”
“You haven’t told Fen this. Why?”
She bit her lip and looked away, suddenly seeming to find the fern on the bookshelf fascinating. “Fen worries too much as it is.”
“And you’re trying to save him from himself?”
“Of course not. I’m trying to save him from me.” She dropped her head into her hands. “I screw everything up.”
That brought him up short. It wasn’t that she thought Fen would turn her away. That wasn’t it. Fen was a hound…all in on this relationship. There was no turning back for him. But being permanently bound to someone didn’t necessarily guarantee a good relationship. A lot of hounds ended up hating the person they were stuck with. Christian couldn’t imagine that happening to Fen and Raquel, though. He’d never seen a couple more perfect for each other. It was why he’d stepped aside in the first place.
“You had a fast courtship,” he said carefully.
She nodded miserably and then lifted her head. The look in her eyes made him want to move over beside her and wrap her up in a hug. With anyone else in the clan, he would have done just that. With Raquel, he couldn’t. He was careful about boundaries with her. For Fen’s sake as much as his own. This conversation felt perilously close to crossing one of those boundaries.
“Fen knew what he was getting into with you.”
Her eyes flashed as they met his. “Are you sure about that? At the time, he was a lot more concerned about making sure I knew what I was getting into than the other way around.”
“He knew.” He smiled. “Fen’s a lot smarter than he looks.” That earned him a pillow tossed at his head. He caught it and tucked it behind his back. “I can’t believe after everything you two went through to be together that you’re getting cold feet now.”
“I’m not getting cold anything,” she said. “I love Fen with all of my heart. I’m just…having a moment.”
“Yeah, but you’re having it at my house. If I’d known it was going to be like this, I’d have suggested we all just move in together.” She looked stricken, and he rushed to reassure her. “You know I’m kidding. You’re always welcome here, anytime you want to stop by. What’s really going on?”
“Nothing. It’s just…” She stood abruptly. “I should go.”
He straightened, suddenly wary.