Brandon closed his eyes and let sleep take him, the bond humming quietly beneath his healing ribs. Tomorrow, he'd figure out how to let her go. Tonight, he'd let himself pretend she might have a change of heart.
The last thing he felt before sleep claimed him completely was the distant awareness of Muriel in her room, talking softly to theCodex.
Then… nothing.
21
NUDGES AND REVELATIONS
MURIEL
Muriel stoodin the middle of the guest room, still wearing her dirt-streaked clothes from the rescue, and tried to remember why she'd left Brandon's room.
Right. Because he was hurt and exhausted. He'd needed rest, not her hovering.
Their bond hummed within her, calmer now in his slumber. She hadn’t realized how much it had become a part of her until he’d cloaked it.
Until she'd almost lost him for good.
The thought hit her again, harder this time. Those hours when he'd been gone, when she'd felt only the faintest flicker of him, had been awful. Like someone had reached into her chest and carved away something essential.
It was the loneliest she’d ever felt. Not even the devastation of her mother’s death had come close.
Muriel grabbed clean clothes from her bag and headed for the bathroom.
The shower was small, but the water ran hot, and she stood under the spray until her skin turned pink, trying to make sense of everything she was feeling. Guilt that she’d brought this to his door. Relief that he was safe. Gratitude to everyone who'd helped. Awe at the ease with which she’d called forth energy.
And something else.
Something that felt dangerously like… love.
No.She couldn't trust that. That could be the mate bond amplifying feelings, twisting them into appearing as something more than they really were. She couldn’t allow herself to get pulled in by magical compulsion masquerading as choice.
Except… this didn’t feel like that at all.
Muriel leaned her forehead against the cool tile and let herself reallyfeelthe bond for the first time, without walls or anger or fear getting in the way.
There it was, resting contentedly at her center. Not demanding. Not controlling or manipulative. Just waiting patiently for her to acknowledge and accept it.
But how? She barely knew him.
Except, that wasn’t exactly true.
She knew he took his coffee with a splash of cream. That his favorite mug had a faded image of a druidicAwen symbol.
She knew he was thoughtful enough to fill his apartment and his shop with plants so that she would feel comfortable.
That he was kind to strangers and patient with customers who weren't sure what they were looking for, as well as generous with his knowledge and his time.
He was liked and respected enough in the community to have vampires, shifters, and even ghosts willing to fight for him.
She knew him through a thousand small moments. His laugh. The way his eyes crinkled when he smiled or glowed when he was angry.
The rightness of his touch.
And now, she knew him through a pure, unfiltered connection that showed her his heart without pretense or performance.
So what if they hadn’t dated in the traditional sense? She knew the things that mattered.