Page 8 of Fearless Bond

“Sit,” the alpha said when I walked into the kitchen fifteen minutes later. He didn’t seem happy with my impromptu visit, and I couldn’t blame him.

I lowered myself into a chair, and he dumped a mug in front of me.

“You do drink coffee, don’t you?”

“I do. Thank you.” I shouldn’t because it made my anxiety worse, but one cup a day was fine. Besides, strange as it was, I didn’t feel anxious at all. My head was clear. Actually, I had felt pretty stable ever since I decided to break up with Damian. Well, aside from almost perishing in the snowfall last night—but that had been an objective crisis, not a meaningless freakout.

The man grunted and turned to the stove, where he was heating a pan. I eyed the black drink. It smelled like it could be used as rocket fuel.

“Um. Do you have milk?”

Without answering, he opened the fridge and placed a carton on the table.

“Thanks.”

“Hmpf” was his reply.

He wasn’t the least bit pleased with me, but curiously, Barclay’s consistent grumpiness made me relax around him. People had been nice to me before and then turned out to be abusive psychos. At least this guy was honest.

An alpha who didn’t want me here was unlikely to take advantage, right?

“I’m sorry to be such an inconvenience. You didn’t have to…”

“Sure. Should have left you to freeze to death, huh?” he muttered. “The eggs will be over-easy.”

“That’s great. Thanks.”

He cracked a few eggs into the pan and popped four pieces of bread into a toaster.

Over the coffee and food, I could still smell the other scent. Was it him? It was what I’d been smelling all over the house—pine, wood, smoke, only a hint of alpha musk, and something else I had no words for. It was pleasant, distracting, and it mademe… Huh. I straightened in my chair, pulling in more of the perfume. Ooh. A little more. Mm-hmm, that wasnice.

Barclay smelled lovely. Like a blanket by a fireplace, cuddles, and…

“Next time you go for a hike, wear proper shoes.” He stood with his back to me, poking at the eggs with a spatula. “And charging your phone is considered smart.”

For some reason, his reprimands made me smile. I poured milk into my mug and took a gulp. Lord, that was strong.

“I wasn’t hiking. I had an argument with my ex, so he kicked me out of the car and left me by the roadside.”

Barclay’s shoulders stiffened. “He did what?”

“I didn’t want him to come back for me. I found Beauville on the map before my phone died and went through the forest.”

He turned slowly, eyeing me up and down. “This ex. Was he violent?”

“Not physically.” I hated the shame that came with my admission. He’d never been violent, so why had I let him have so much power over me? Why had I always been afraid of him? What if it had just been in my head? A few times, I’d wished Damian would hit me. It was stupid, but I imagined that if he had, everyone would knowhewas the bad guy. Including me.

“He left you in the mountains in a snowstorm,” Barclay said slowly as if making sure he’d heard me correctly. “That’s fucking heinous.”

“I think he was trying to teach me a lesson.”

“What kind of lesson? That he’s a dick and you should stay away from him?”

It wasn’t funny, not in the least, but I laughed anyway. To hear someone else say that, yes, Damian was a jerk, and maybe everything wasn’t my fault… it made me nearly giddy with relief.

I had every reason to be freaking out right now. And still nothing. Heart rate normal, breathing easy—the scent! Noheadache, no tension in my back and neck, my hands steady. Had I finally figured out a cure for my anxiety issues? The near-death experience could be difficult to replicate. But staying away from Damian? That seemed to help immensely.

Barclay put a plate with two eggs and toast in front of me. He laid a tray with butter and cheese in the middle of the table and sat down opposite. I watched him spread butter over his toast and lay a thick slice of cheese on top. He didn’t seem scary anymore. Just reallyreallybig. And hairy. His forearms were covered with fur.

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