Dark Fates (A Paranormal Anthology)(80)

“I know, Miss.”

Drawing her brows together, Cora studied the female. Her brown hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, and Cora saw a little more confidence in her. She held her head a little higher and actually made eye contact with Cora.

“How are things going, Gina?”

Her face flushed, and she set the bomb on the table. “Good. Sven tried another treatment this morning. He thinks it didn’t work, but I can feel my wolf a little more.”

Without thinking, Cora drew the female into a hug. Gina stiffened, then relaxed and returned the embrace. “That’s a really good sign. Why did he say it didn’t work?”

“Because he’s trying to fix my human genes and not my animal’s.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess I can see where he believes it was a failed attempt.”

Gina possessed two different shifter genes in her DNA: wolf and tiger. As Cora understood it, Gina had an ancestor—no one was sure how far back—who mated with a shifter. Sven guessed the children of the couple were either latent or the shifter parent was and believed he or she was human. Therefore the shifter genes diluted over the years of mating with humans. The other shifter gene came from the mutant virus Felix injected her with when he abducted her.

Sven was trying to figure out which shifter gene she was born with in hopes of reversing the effects of the virus.

The door opened, drawing Cora’s attention. Jasmine entered, and Cora smiled. “What are you doing here?”

Jasmine nodded to Gina and the others before tugging Cora into a hug. “I’m meeting Graham to go over design ideas for the rebuild of the bar, so I thought I’d stop by and see how your date went.”

Cora averted her gaze, her cheeks warmed, and she tried to ignore the fact the room grew quiet. All of them were nosy as hell. “I shifted.”

Jasmine squeaked and hugged her again. “Wonderful!”

Cora laughed. “It felt wonderful.”

“I sense a ‘but’ in there.”

Cora glanced around the room. Instantly, everyone started working again. She leaned into Jasmine and spoke in a soft whisper. “I know in my heart Torin is my mate. You can stop pretending to not see his mark.” She giggled then continued. “We made promises and spoke the words, yet the bond never formed.”

Jasmine wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Oh, honey. Sometimes it takes a little while for the bond to form. It doesn’t mean you are not mated.”

“That’s what Tor said. I can’t shake the feeling there is something blocking it, though.”

Kissing her cheek, Jasmine released her and took her hand. “Give it time. You have been through a lot. It’ll happen.”

“Thanks. You always know how to make things right.”

Jasmine smiled and winked. “Just doing my job as you BFF. I’ll see you later.”

“Yep. Have fun with designing the bar.”

“I will.” Jasmine waved and left.

A moment later Torin entered the room with two cups of coffee and a brown paper bag. He had dropped her off, saying he had something to look into. Now she wondered where he’d gone.

The sweet scent of sugar and dough made her mouth water, even though she had eaten breakfast before leaving Torin’s place. “What do you have there?”

The silver in his eyes darkened, and one side of his mouth lifted. “A snack and coffee.”

She took the bag and opened it. Her mouth watered as she inhaled the sweet aroma of the large cinnamon roll with cream cheese icing. Lifting her gaze to him, she cupped his cheek and kissed him.

“Thank you.”

The room grew quiet again, and, when she looked around, everyone was watching them with smiles plastered to the faces. She rolled her eyes, tore off a piece of the roll, and fed it to Torin. “We can share the rest during my break.”

He snaked an arm around her. “I look forward to it.”

Laughing, she pushed out of his hold and turned to her team. Keegan, Ana, Robyn, and Gina had their backpacks on and were waiting on her. Butterflies fluttered in her belly. “I’m ready.”

Alec snorted from his spot in front of the computer station. “Cora, you’re supposed to say, ‘Let’s go people. Move your asses.’”

She shook her head, laughing. “No, that is something you would say.”

He nodded. “True. Then move your asses, and let’s get this party on the road.”

Keegan chuckled. “I have no clue where he gets his bossiness from.” He held out his hand. “After you, boss.”

Boss. She wasn’t so sure, but, coming from Keegan, it was an honor. “Okay, let’s do this.”

****

“Cora seems happier today.”

“What do you mean?” Torin knew where Alec’s train of thought was headed. He’d noticed it this morning when she woke, in his arms.

Alec shrugged. “She seems more confident. Her wolf is no longer hiding.”

“We had a good run yesterday before the hunters showed.” He growled. Damned humans. He’d never understand their obsession to kill for sport.

“Yeah, Blaine mentioned it. Once the outer layer is in place, we don’t have to worry about nosy, gun-happy humans anymore. Robyn’s magic crystals will create a large, bubble-like ward which will keep humans away and confuse those who mean us harm.” Alec punched a couple keys on the keyboard, and an image popped up on the main screen.