Page 50 of Pit Stop

“Listen, as your doctor, I really can’t offer any medical solutions. For now, I’d advise you to stay close to one another so that you can make this transition easier. Over time, you’ll be ableto spend more time apart, but for now, you should be close to one another to foster the bond and to make sure that Skye here doesn’t get sick again.”

“So, there’s no solution to fix this?” Maverick asks.

The doctor looks at him and shakes his head. “Nothing medically sound, although if you wanted to try something different and very unorthodox you could look into shamans.”

“Shamans?” I ask, and the doctor nods.

“In some shifting clans they have shamans who may be able to reverse this.”

I meet Maverick’s gaze, and he nods, looking resolute. “I’ll do some research.”

“Do that, but for now, enjoy it. A bond can be a great experience if you let it.”

I bite back a sigh and then feel myself deflate when Maverick looks like he’s going to be sick. Apparently being bonded to me isn’t something he’s looking forward to.

Which is fine. This was an accident.

We will just have to make the best of it until we can find a solution.

As we exit the doctor’s office, Maverick slides his hands inside his pockets and looks up with a sigh.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, Skye. This…this isn’t what I wanted.”

I glower at him. “I mean, I know I’m not the best choice, but you don’t need to be so cruel about it.”

His eyes slam into mine and he shakes his head in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I mean, you could have anyone and now you’re stuck with me. I get it. It’s not ideal.”

“I don’t feel stuck. I just don’t want you to have to give anything up because I lost my fucking head and bit you. It has nothing to do with it being you. For fuck’s sake, Skye.”

I put my sunglasses on and continue walking. “It’s fine. You don’t need to explain. We’ll manage.”

“Yeah, all right.”

We drive the entire way to my dad’s house in silence and when we arrive, I see Forest and River standing in the driveway, waiting for us. River is grinning stupidly, and Forest looks like he’s going to put a hole in the nearest wall.

“Mav! Nice one, bro. Welcome to the family,” River calls out dopily as we exit Mav’s car.

Forest smacks him on the back of the head and then puts him in a headlock.

“Shut the fuck up. This isn’t a good thing. Skye was going places…”

“Hey, don’t talk mean about my mate,” I grumble. “At least until we’re not bonded anymore. I don’t like it.”

Forest lets River go and then scoffs.

“And he didn’t mean to do this. We’re going to figure this out and get the bond dissolved.”

“Yeah, we fucking are. It’s why we’re all here,” Forest murmurs.

“Oh gods, don’t tell me Sage and Glenn are here too. I don’t want to deal with all of you. It’s too much alpha ego all in one place.”

“We sure are,” Glenn growls as he appears on the porch with my dad, his enormous arms folded over his chest. He looks like the quintessential lumberjack. “River told us everything.”

I stick my tongue out at my annoying brother as Sage meanders down the stairs in his long, flowing pants and linen shirt, pulling me into a hug. He smells like patchouli and pine needles. He’s my favorite, a hippie inside and out, and the most chill out of all of us.

I squeeze him back and then Sage asks, “So, spill. What did the doctor say?”

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