Page 42 of Sloth
She bit her lip. “Maybe I made a few people in the salon cry when I was upset.”
Max’s lungs stopped. Why had she been crying?
At Parker’s insistent stare, she rolled her eyes. “Okay. Maybe I made the entire salon cry.”
“Interesting. Goes both ways.” Parker scratched some more. “Could be linked to mirror neurons and theta waves.”
Max offered Sloan a hand. She took it, and he levered her up.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Like the name suggests, mirror neurons work like a reflection of what they see, and fire when one animal witness another completing an act. They help us learn by imitating.”
“I think I’m going to need a little more than that, bras?” She lifted her brows.
“A few years back, a study discovered monkey’s brains fired like they were actually completing the task they watched another monkey do. I’m guessing our maker somehow enhanced that ability into some kind of psionic power for you.”
“Oh great. I have monkey DNA.”
Tony snorted. “Would explain a lot.”
She shot him a glare. “You better be careful, or else I’ll make you impotent.”
Tony blanched and covered his groin with his hands. “You wouldn’t dare. Can she do that?”
Parker ignored and continued, “Have you noticed anything else, Sloan?”
“It seems to be linked to sensations and emotions. Sometimes I feel them, sometimes others do.”
“But you can’t control it,” Parker pointed out.
She shook her head, a sheepish flicker to Tony. “Not really.”
Tony visibly relaxed and moved his hands away from his goods.
“Then you need training,” Parker decreed. “We can’t have you wounding yourself every time you use your power. We’ll need to record limitations and—”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Tony held up his hands. “I think we’re all missing the big point. Who is it, Sloan? Who’s your mate?”
After staring at the rocky floor in stubborn silence, Sloan lifted her reluctant gaze to lock with Max’s. The rest of them fell silent.
What the hell was going on?
Eleven
The next fewhours were the most embarrassing of Sloan’s life. While they continued to hike, she trailed after the three men discussing the ins and outs of the mating bond. To his credit, Max took it in his stride. Well, at least she thought he did. He walked alongside them, listening and asking reflective questions every so often. Hearing their murmured responses made her stomach roil. She wanted to be included in the conversation and equally wanted to run in the opposite direction. She settled for trudging behind them.
The sun dipped below the horizon, bringing a much-needed drop in temperature. They would have to camp soon. The Lazaruses could go all night without breaking a sweat, and Max would most likely keep up with them out of sheer stubbornness, but he wasn’t built like them. Pulling her satellite connected device out, Sloan tracked their location as they walked, half listening to the conversation.
“So,” Max said to Parker, “if you’re out of balance, you black out and go berserk. You try to eliminate any sinner nearby, no matter what age or level of sin?”
“That’s right,” Parker replied. “It can’t be helped, unless…”
“You’ve been in contact with your special paired mate.”
“Yeah, bro. That’s right.” Tony nudged him with his shoulder. “Good to have you around.”
Her brothers were now treating him like one of the family, whether or not he liked it. It was enough to drive her crazy. She wanted to say they were all being ridiculous, that he didn’t have to do, or be, anything he didn’t want… but she held her tongue.
