The look on Greg’s face made me groan silently. I should have known better than to trust Jordan with something so delicate.

“Nikolas and I care about each other, and he’s very protective of me.” I explained the Mori bond without going into too much detail, particularly about the mating.

Greg relaxed when he realized I hadn’t become a child bride since we last saw each other. I think, in his eyes, I was still the girl he’d sat with at lunch in high school.

Roland grabbed two beers from the fridge for Peter and him. He took a long drink from his before he said, “So if two Mohiri get drunk and have sex, are they mated for life? That would totally suck. What if you wake up the next day and realize you don’t even like the other person?”

“It doesn’t work that way, thank God,” Jordan said. “The bond has to be there already for the couple to be mated. No bond, no mating.”

Peter leaned against the counter. “So what happens if you meet your mate when you’re five? Does the male beat up the other kids for playing with you?”

Jordan laughed. “Bonds don’t form until we’re mature.” She nodded toward me. “Or close to it in some cases.”

I sat on one of the bar stools at the kitchen counter. “It’s kind of like werewolf imprinting except both people feel the bond instead of one.”

Jordan sat beside me. “Only one werewolf bonds to the other? I didn’t know that.”

Roland picked at the label on his bottle, looking uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. “A male werewolf imprints on the female their wolf claims as their mate. The female doesn’t have to accept him, but she usually does.”

“What happens if the female werewolf doesn’t want the guy?” she asked. “Can he imprint on someone else?”

“Only if his wolf does,” Peter said. “And if they haven’t… you know.”

Jordan looked between them. “And what if the guy doesn’t like who his wolf chooses?”

Peter shook his head. “Same deal, but the wolf almost always imprints on someone they both like.”

“Wow, that totally sucks,” Jordan declared, and I couldn’t help but agree. Being bound, for the rest of your life, to someone who didn’t want you sounded like a miserable existence.

Greg whistled. “That’s rough.”

Roland nodded unhappily. “You’re telling me.”

“For a guy who hates the idea of being in a relationship, you date an awful lot,” I teased Roland. “Aren’t you afraid you’ll imprint on one of those girls?”

“Werewolves don’t imprint on humans.” He smiled. “That’s why I only date human girls.”

Peter snickered. “And he stays the hell away from the Knolls when they have pack gatherings there.”

“Why?” I asked.

Roland shuddered. “Because every eligible female between sixteen and thirty is there looking for a mate. Thank God, Uncle Max doesn’t force us to go to gatherings. He’s a tough Alpha, but he says it’s up to you if you want to mate or not.”

“So all those times you slept on my couch to give up your room for company, you were hiding from female werewolves?”

He blushed. “Um, yeah.”

Jordan and I laughed, and his brows drew together. “You wouldn’t think it was funny if it was you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Hello?”

Jordan snorted indelicately. “You poor, poor girl. I can see how being bound to a smoking hot warrior would be such a hardship.”

“Says the girl who vows she doesn’t need a man.”

“I might be willing to make an exception if he came in a package like that.” She let out a gusty sigh. “But I think Nikolas is one of a kind.”

My chest squeezed. He is.

Roland finished his beer and got another one. “Enough of this mushy crap. Let’s watch movies and get drunk since we can’t go out.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Peter said.

“You guys don’t have to stay in, you know. Jordan and I are the ones who have to hide.”

Roland, Peter, and Greg laughed at the same time.

“You two were out of our sight for less than an hour last night, and you started a fight in a room full of demons.” Roland shook his head. “We’re staying together.”

Jordan followed us into the living room, wearing a cocky smile. “We didn’t start the fight, but we sure as hell finished it.”

I made it two thirds of the way through the first Fast and Furious movie before restless energy sent me prowling around the apartment again. I read the titles of the books in Leo’s bookcase so many times I could have recited them by heart. I checked my email half a dozen times. At one point, I wandered up to the roof for some fresh air, but the cold soon drove me back down again. The others kept shooting me questioning looks, which I ignored. I couldn’t have explained my state of mind to them if I wanted to.

Jordan gave me a knowing look two hours later when I grabbed the laptop and headed to our bedroom. I sat on the bed and laid the laptop beside me. My hand hovered over the keyboard for a long moment before I hit the button.

“Hello?” said a warm male voice I’d missed more than I thought I would.

“Hey,” I replied.

“Sara? Jesus!” Chris whispered hoarsely, alerting me to the fact that he wasn’t alone. “Are you alright? Where are you?”