Primal Law (Alpha Pack #1)(35)
Sariel waved a hand at Kira. "My new friend persuaded me to give your hospitality a chance to make a difference for me. I don't know how long I can impose myself upon you all, but for the time being I will live here and abide by your leader's rules."
Dr. Mallory nodded thoughtfully. "I don't think you'll be sorry."
A wave of emotion rolled off Sariel, catching Kira by surprise. Had she really felt a deep, profound regret and sadness emanating from the Fae prince, or was she simply projecting her own feelings? It had happened the first time she'd seen him weeping, his emotions pouring over her like a waterfall.
It had happened when she met Jaxon, too.
Before she could puzzle over this more, Dr. Mallory addressed her. "You must be the new assistant Nick and Dr. Grant told me about this morning. You're quite the busy bee already."
While not unfriendly, her tone held a note of censure as she slid a brief side glance toward Sariel. In doing so, she silently made it plain that while she wouldn't take issue with Kira's initiative in front of the others, she'd appreciate being kept in the loop in the future.
"I'm Kira Locke. I apologize if I've stepped on any toes," she said, injecting as much sincerity into it as possible. "I simply couldn't stand to see Sariel so unhappy and I wanted to help."
"Yes, well, that's understandable. Nobody wants that for anyone living here. We'll discuss the other residents of Block R later, all right? I'll give you some insight on them before you continue your work." So the doctor was tough, but wasn't the type to berate her subordinates in public.
Good to know. "That sounds fine. I'll come down to see you this afternoon, if that's okay by you."
The older woman looked satisfied. "Buzz me first to make sure I'm not in the middle of something in the lab or with a patient, but that should work."
"I'll do that."
"Nice to meet you, Kira. Sariel, I want to examine you after you've had a chance to settle into your room. How about after lunch. Three hours?"
"As you wish." The faery leveled the doc with the full force of his brilliant smile, causing her to blink at him a couple of times before looking to Zan and Hammer.
Lust. It was suddenly radiating from the outwardly stoic doc, as well as a distinct wave of . . . fear? Vulnerability? Didn't anyone else notice? Nobody seemed to. Kira stifled a giggle and thought she must be losing her mind-though if she hadn't already, she was probably safe.
"Later," Dr. Mallory said. Then she left, her staff following. Mac waved at Kira and hurried after them.
"Why do I feel like I just passed inspection?"
"Because you did," Zan said with a chuckle. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he gave her a friendly, one-armed hug. "After getting the equivalent of a green light from Melina, the rest will be gravy."
"If you say so." Kira paused, recalling something in retrospect. "I sensed a lot of anger in Dr. Mallory. And oddly enough, a feeling of vulnerability, as though she's not as in control as she'd like others to believe." She glanced at the men, who were gazing at her intently. "What?"
Hammer crossed his arms over his massive chest. "Does that happen a lot?"
"Does what happen?" she asked, mystified.
"Getting 'feelings' from people."
"No, I don't think so." She frowned, remembering. "At least not before I met Jaxon last night. Weird, huh? It's probably this place and the sudden submersion into all this woo-woo weirdness frying my brain. No offense."
Hammer looked at his friend and raised his brows, and the two seemed to share the same thought before Zan turned to her.
"Maybe you should mention this to Melina when you meet with her."
"Why? Other than suffering from delusions because I talk to faery princes and think I see men shifting into wolves, I'm perfectly healthy," she deadpanned.
Both men gave a quiet laugh, and then Zan answered. "I know you are because I'm a Healer and I'd know if you weren't. Still, it won't hurt to tell her and see what she has to say. Since the Institute of Parapsychology was established, Melina has made it her life's goal to learn what makes every supernatural creature tick. Tell her, and then she can log your information in case it's important."
Kira thought he was going overboard, but didn't see the harm. "Sure. Why not?"
"Have you ever had any leanings toward paranormal ability? Ghosts in your house, seeing things others don't, anything at all?"
"Not in the slightest." She frowned, recalling the voice she thought she'd heard when fleeing NewLife with the tissue samples, then dismissed it. Surely that had been her imagination. "But I'm a big fan of Ghost Hunters!" They gave her a blank look. "You know, on the Syfy Channel?"
"Um, we don't watch much TV. And when we do, it's probably not going to be anything dealing with the paranormal."
"Kind of like folks who work in an ice cream parlor not eating the stuff because they're sick of it," Hammer put in.
"Exactly."
"Oh. Well, you'll have to make an exception in this case. Great show. I'm completely addicted; even follow Jason and Grant on Twitter." She grinned at their perplexed expressions. "Never mind. Baby steps."