I glanced at Hamid who was still talking to Orias. I hoped he was okay. I didn’t like him, but I’d never wish him any harm. It bothered me that he might have been hurt protecting me.

  As if he sensed my eyes on him, Hamid’s gaze shifted from Orias to me, and my stomach quivered at the intensity of his stare. No male had ever looked at me that way, like he owned me, body and soul. It angered me and excited me at the same time.

  I spun away, breaking eye contact with him, and came face-to-face with Mason, who looked like he’d bathed in demon blood.

  “Damn, what happened to you?” I asked him.

  He grinned at me. “Why are you shouting?”

  I lowered my voice. “Sorry. My ears are still ringing from Orias’s spell. Why are you covered in blood?”

  “Drex demon. I had no idea those things bled so much.”

  Envy tugged at me. “You killed a Drex?”

  “Yeah. Brock got the other one.” His eyes gleamed with excitement. “What a night, huh?”

  I rubbed at my temple where a dull throbbing had started. “You can say that again.”

  Mason laid a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, you okay? You got pale all of a sudden.”

  “It’s just a headache. I’m sure it’ll pass soon.”

  “Hold on. I’ll get you some gunna –” He broke off and stared at something over my shoulder. Whatever he saw made him take a hasty step back.

  “What?” I turned to find Hamid standing behind me, his expression dark and unreadable.

  “You’re hurt,” he said stiffly.

  I frowned, confused by his attention. “I have a small headache. It’s nothing.”

  “You should see one of the healers.”

  “I don’t need a healer.” If either of us needed one, it was him. Whatever was wrong with him was freaking me out.

  I was about to call Orias over when Hamid moved forward into my space. Before I could back away, one of his hands came up to cup my cheek with a gentleness I did not expect from the big warrior.

  I gasped as a warm tingling sensation radiated through me, and my heart began to thump so loudly I could feel it in my ears. My body thrummed with a strange energy, and it felt like I was experiencing the biggest adrenaline rush of my life.

  Suddenly, the headache was gone, along with the ringing in my ears. That was when I felt the odd fluttering in my mind that seemed to be coming from my Mori. This was something I’d never felt before, and I wondered if my demon had also been affected by Orias’s magic. Maybe Hamid was right and I should see a healer after all.

  Reaching up, I gently pushed Hamid’s hand away from my face, and then I stepped backward with a hand in front of me to keep him at bay. I’d never been shy or uncomfortable with male attention, but I was more than a little flustered by his proximity and his touch. It made me feel weak and vulnerable, and I didn’t like it one bit.

  “You’re kind of creeping me out right now, big guy,” I said as kindly as I could. “I never thought I’d say this, but I’d like to have the old Hamid back, please.”

  Confusion clouded his eyes, lending to my suspicion that he was suffering some ill effects of the spell. The Hamid I knew would be staring down his nose at me and telling me how this was no place for a young warrior. Blah, blah, blah. He definitely wouldn’t be hovering over me and touching me like I was a piece of glass that might break.

  “Orias,” I called loudly when Hamid didn’t respond to my comment. “Can you come here?”

  The warlock appeared at my side. “Yes?”

  I turned to him. “Are you sure that spell didn’t cause any damage to us?” I asked with a meaningful tilt of my head toward Hamid. “Maybe you should do some more tests.”

  Orias narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as he looked from me to Hamid. “I would not be surprised if you were both feeling a bit off after that. I can do another spell to see if there is any lingering magic.”

  “Great,” I blurted. “You can start with Hamid.”

  I literally shoved the warlock at the silent warrior and hurried to where Raoul was on his phone, probably calling in a cleanup team. We’d need a big one for this mess.

  He hung up and gave me a questioning look. “What’s up with you and Hamid?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine.” I waved a hand at the carnage before us. “What do we do now?”

  “Tristan’s calling the governor and mayor as we speak, and the Council is already assembling a team of scientists to send here. They want us to leave the scene untouched until they arrive.”

  “Won’t the humans be suspicious if a school closes for no reason?” I asked.

  Raoul shrugged. “The mayor’s office will handle that. I’m sure they’ll have some plausible story.”

  I watched Vivian, Aaron, and Eugene, who were talking as they walked the perimeter of the larger circle. Now that it was all over, it was hard to believe that a few minutes ago, I’d seen someone tear a hole in the barrier to the demon dimension. It should not have been possible, yet I’d seen it with my own two eyes.

  Mason came to stand beside us. “How’s your head, Jordan?”

  “You hurt your head?” Raoul asked. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  I heaved a sigh, tired of people fussing over me. “My head is fine. I had a little headache, but it’s gone.”

  I decided not to mention the way my Mori was acting up out of fear Raoul might confine me to the house for a few days. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck in close confines with Hamid, especially in his current state.

  My Mori did that fluttering thing again, and a wave of excitement came from it. Like steel to a magnet, my gaze was drawn to the warrior who was deep in conversation with Orias on the other side of the gym. The two men stopped talking as Vivian approached them. She said something and smiled at Hamid.

  My body stiffened involuntarily as a growl filled my head along with a single word.

  Mine.

  Shock rippled through me, and I swayed on my feet as the truth slammed into me with the force of a Mack truck.

  Raoul steadied me. “Are you alright?”

  “Yes.” I laughed to cover the tremble in my voice. “Been a crazy night.”

  Mason chuckled. “That’s an understatement.”

  Solmi, my Mori said fiercely.

  My mind began to race as panic set in. No, no, no! No way. This is not happening.

  The voice in my head became more insistent. Solmi.

  Shut up! I tore my gaze from Hamid, trying to silence my demon, but it was too late. The damage had been done.

  It was no wonder Hamid was acting so weird. I’d thought the spell had screwed up his head, and all along it had been the bond.

  Our bond.

  Fear and denial made my stomach roll. I couldn’t be bonded. I didn’t want a mate, least of all him. I didn’t even like him, and he barely tolerated me.

  Oh, God, this was so messed up.

  The air in the gym thickened until I found it hard to breathe. I needed to get out of here, to get away from him.

  “You sure you’re okay?” Raoul asked me. “You look a little pale.”

  I schooled my expression. “Actually, I think I could use some fresh air after nearly being fried by Orias’s magic and almost crushed to death by Hamid.”

  Raoul studied my face. “Why don’t you head back to the house and have one of the healers check you out? Just to be safe. The rest of us can manage here.”

  “I just need a few minutes outside.” I wanted to get as far from Hamid as possible, but I wouldn’t leave in the middle of a job. And there was absolutely nothing a healer could do to help me now.

  Raoul smiled, but his voice was stern. “I’m pulling rank on you and ordering you to go see the healers. You can come back once they give you the all clear.”

  “Fine. But don’t think you can start bossing me around.”

  He laughed. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  I left by the door we’d come in, and though I kept my gaze averted from Hamid, I could feel his eyes on me until I exited the gym.

  I found Kaden in the hallway, looking scared and confused, and I told him he could leave if we had his contact information. He gave me a jerky nod of relief and hurried away. I didn’t blame him for wanting to get away from there, although I had a completely different reason.

  As soon as the main door of the school closed behind me, I doubled over and took large gulps of the cool night air. Panic threatened to overtake me, and I forced myself to calm down, calling upon the meditation breathing techniques I’d learned years ago.

  I was almost back in control when my Mori started to flutter, reminding me why I’d been close to hyperventilating a minute ago. The fluttering grew stronger, and my Mori’s growing excitement told me Hamid was coming toward me. He was the absolute last person I wanted to see in my current state.

  I ran to my bike, sheathed my sword, and took off without even bothering to don my helmet. I barely registered it rolling across the pavement behind me as I sped out of the parking lot. I didn’t have to look back to know Hamid had come outside and stood there watching me ride away. I could almost feel the heat of his gaze burning into me.

  I forced myself to slow down once I could no longer feel Hamid’s presence. It wouldn’t do to crash my bike, and I needed time to clear my head before I reached the house. If I arrived in this state, there’d be no hiding that something was wrong, and I was in no mood to answer questions.

  I’d managed to evade Hamid for now, but eventually he’d come looking for me. We’d bonded, and he was going to want to talk about that. Under normal circumstances, I’d expect him to break the bond, but he was not acting like himself tonight. The way he’d fussed over me and touched my face was how a male behaved with his mate. I had no doubt that getting blasted by that spell was the reason for it.

  “Argh!” I shouted into the wind. This was all Orias’s doing, and I wanted to go back and punch him in the throat for my troubles.

  The logical side of my brain knew the warlock wasn’t at fault. If he hadn’t performed that spell, God only knew what would have happened tonight. But my emotional side, which was a hairsbreadth from losing it, needed someone to blame.

  I managed to calm down by the time I reached the command center, and I went straight to the guesthouse to see the healers. I knew Raoul would ask them if I’d been to see them, and he’d give me hell if I hadn’t.

  Once Leslie gave me a clean bill of health, I debated whether or not to return to the school. I’d never left a job unfinished, but the thought of seeing Hamid made a pit form in my stomach. I went to the control room where Caleb and Will were manning the computers tonight. They’d already heard from Raoul about what had happened at the school, and they peppered me with questions, which I answered as well as I could.

  When I could stall no longer, I told them I’d see them later and headed back to my bike. I was about to start the engine when Caleb caught up to me.

  He laid a hand on one of my handlebars. “Do you have to go back to the school right away?”

  “No, why?”

  “We just got a call about a possible vampire attack in Malibu. You want to ride with me to check it out?”

  “Sure,” I said, hiding the relief that filled me.

  Caleb went to his bike. I quickly dialed Raoul to let him know I was responding to a call with the other warrior, and I wouldn’t be coming back to the school.

  “Did you see one of the healers?” Raoul asked.

  I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. “Yes, Dad.”

  “Okay.” His voice lacked his usual amusement. “I don’t need to tell you to be extra vigilant after what went down here tonight.”

  Coming from anyone else, that comment might have annoyed me. But Raoul and I had been friends for three years, and I knew he wasn’t questioning my abilities. The events at the school had everyone rattled, and he was just worried about me.

  “I will.” I heard Caleb’s bike come to life. “Gotta go. Catch you later, boss man.”

  * * *

  “How long is this going to take?” I asked as I stared up at the living room ceiling in the guesthouse. I was lying on the rug where the coffee table used to be, while Orias walked around me, chanting and waving his hands over me.

  Orias stopped walking and shot me an exasperated glare. “It will go a lot faster if you keep still and stop asking questions.”

  I huffed loudly and scowled at the light fixture above me. For the last hour, I’d had to lie here while he ran his magical tests on me to see if there were any side effects from his spell. I tried to forget I was the one who’d suggested he test Hamid and me to figure out why the warrior had been acting so un-Hamid-like last night. Of course, that was before I knew the real shitstorm I had landed in.

  My traitorous Mori did that annoying little flutter again to remind me said warrior was close by, probably outside waiting for Orias to finish with me. The situation at the school had kept Hamid and the other Council investigators busy last night, which meant I hadn’t seen him since we’d bonded. I grimaced. Just thinking about bonding with anyone, let alone him, made me want to throw up my breakfast.

  “Hmmm,” Orias murmured.

  I tilted my head to one side to look up at him. “Hmmm, what?”

  “I’m detecting some residual magic around you that shouldn’t be there. Interesting.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  He stroked his chin. “I’m not sure yet. It might be nothing.”

  I sat up and glowered at him. “It might be nothing? That’s all you can say?”

  He peered down his hawk nose at me. “This is not an exact science. There are many nuances to magic that can make it difficult to identify.”

  “But it’s your magic.”

  Orias let out an exaggerated sigh, as if I should already know what he was about to tell me. “You and Hamid were caught in the crossfire between my binding spell and the one used to open the barrier. When two magics merge, they become something new.”

  Caught between two spells? A chill ran across the back of my neck when I remembered the hole appearing in the barrier. If magic could do that, what would it do to Hamid and me?

  “So, what now?” I asked him.

  “I’ll know more once I test Hamid again and see if I find traces of the same magic. For now, you may go.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered, standing.

  I walked to the door and opened it, feigning surprise when I saw Hamid leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. The dark blue Henley he wore did little to hide the muscles underneath, and I wondered briefly if the shirt was custom made. Did they even make clothes big enough for shoulders that wide?

  My Mori quivered, and warmth flowed through me.

  Gah! Stop that.

  I hid my body’s reaction to Hamid behind a mask of annoyance. “If you’re waiting for Orias, he’s all yours.”

  I’d barely taken two steps away from the door when his hand captured my arm and turned me to face him. His face was hard, and I couldn’t tell if it was anger or determination or some other emotion burning in his eyes. Whatever it was, it made my entire body tingle with awareness of him.

  “We need to talk,” he said brusquely.

  “About what?” I yanked my arm from his grasp, and surprisingly, he let me go.

  He stared at me as if I’d spoken another language. “About what happened last night.”

  “You were there, and you saw the same thing I did,” I replied in a voice that belied the apprehension building in my chest. “If you need anything else, you can read it in the report.”

  His eyes narrowed. “I’m glad to hear that, but I want to talk about what happened between you and me.”

  “Between us?” I frowned. “Oh, I get it. You want me to thank you for saving little old me from the big bad demons.”

  Hamid’s eyebrows drew together, and it was a struggle not to squirm under his sharp perusal. “Why do you pretend?” he asked with a note of impatience.

  “Pretend what?”

  “That our Mori did not bond last night.”

  I let my mouth fall open, and my eyes go wide in feigned shock. “You’re out of your mind,” I said with as much incredulity as I could muster without being over the top.

  The hard lines of his face softened. “I understand this upsets you, but denying it won’t change the fact that we are bonded.”

  “Stop saying that,” I snapped.

  “Why?” he challenged. “It is the truth.”

  “It’s not,” I persisted stubbornly.

  During my sleepless night, I’d come up with the brilliant plan to just deny everything. My plan didn’t feel so brilliant now that I was face-to-face with him. But it was the only one I had, so I was sticking with it.

  He reached out and took my hand, his strong fingers closing around mine so I couldn’t pull away. My Mori went nuts at the contact, and my heart began to pound against my ribs.

  “I know you feel what I feel,” he said huskily. “I can see it in your eyes.”

  A delicious shiver went through me, and I caught myself before I could lean into his touch. I swallowed dryly. “You’re seeing what you want to see.”

  His eyebrows rose. “You think I wanted this?”

  I shoved hard at his chest with my free hand. “Screw you. You’re an ass.”

  The door opened beside us, and Orias looked from Hamid to me. “Good. You’re still here, Jordan. I had a thought about the magic I sensed on you, and I need both of you to test my theory.”

  “What magic?” Hamid asked, still holding my hand despite my attempts to pull free from his grasp.

  If Orias noticed the quiet power struggle taking place between us, he didn’t mention it. He gave Hamid the same explanation he’d given me about the two magics merging, and asked us to come inside so he could do an illumination spell on both of us at the same time.

  “It will allow me to see if you two have the same magic residue and give me a better picture of what the magic looks like,” he said.