Page 55 of The Doctor's Wolf: Part Two
Maximreturnedtothescene at speed, double-parking close to where the area had been cordoned off.
“I’m not in trouble, am I?”Corinne asked.
She stood next to Gordon, both of them still in their white body suits, both with their arms crossed, the van running so the cooling unit kept their guests comfortable.
“Probably not.”
“Dr.Morris, you could at least pretend.”
“I said probably.”Gordon scratched his head.His scalp was itchy, and he needed a shower.Maybe I should get a new color soon.I wonder what Adler would like?
“Probably isn’t a comfort word,” Corinne said, but Gordon had nearly tuned her out.
Adler got out of the car, and their eyes met, the commotion that was still going on while the crime scene was being processed suddenly receding.
…mate.
Gordon’s eyes went wide.He’d heard the word in his mind, loud and clear like his own thought though that undertone of proud possessiveness wasn’t something that existed in Gordon’s mind.
Shit.Fuck.Fuckety-fuck.This can’t be real.I need a shower.And coffee.I’m imagining things.This isn’t the mate bond, can’t be.It’s too rare, plus Adler isn’t even shifted.Yeah, I just need sleep.
Both Maxim and Adler approached them quickly.
“Gordon, you two look like morgue twins,” Maxim said, sunshine rippling over his long braid.
Corinne cocked her head.“Not really.”
“Sweetheart.”
Adler’s voice was low, and it made Gordon shiver in his whitesuit, inappropriate for where they were but not something he could easily avoid, especially not with the way Adler’s eyes seemed glued to him.
“Dearest Corinne, are those two like that in the morgue?You’re supposed to keep things below freezing there, what with the corpses, no?”Maxim asked.
Corinne shrugged.“Live a little.That should be our motto, except Dr.Morris says it’sour guests come first.”
“And right he is.Corinne, Gordon said you paid attention to gossip?Do share.”
Maxim’s voice still had his levity, but there was something about him that tipped Gordon off.Maybe it was the set of his shoulders or the way his hands kept going to the short swords at his sides, but the hunter was agitated.
Corinne shrugged.“It’s really not a big deal, just that my friend’s project partner vanished on her.”
Maxim leaned in.“Corinne, it’s important.Did he ghost her or vanish without leaving word?”
Corinne shifted from one foot to the other.“Well, it sounded like the latter.”
“Call her, please.I need to have this confirmed.”
“Right.”
Corinne unzipped her suit and dug her phone out from her pocket.Gordon’s lips curled in a smile when he saw her screen wallpaper, a selfie with another woman whose skin looked vampiric in the flashlight’s flare.Pearson’s sister had none of the fury her sibling had bred like a cancer, not in her smile nor in the way she hugged Corinne.
Corinne placed the call, and they all waited for it to connect, Adler shuffling closer to Gordon and straightening.
Don’t like him out in the open unprotected.
Gordon flinched, and in response, Adler’s hand came to rest on his mate’s back.No.This cannot be happening.I’m making this up.It’s probably having sex with him when he was shifted that makes me think needy stuff.
“Hey, Corinne,” said a female-sounding voice on the other end of her phone.
