Free Compelled (The Secrets of Dragons Book 1) by Kat Barrett Page A

“That’s an understatement. Eric and I have been like rabbits whenever she wasn’t around because we wanted to wait for a good time.” Of course the good time had been in a store parking lot. It would hopefully become a funny private joke on some future day.
    “That’s amusing. Is she displaying any other problems besides sleeping?”
    “I don’t know. She wasn’t awake long enough to say much.”
    Yassie hummed in consideration. “Can she smell it? It’s more possible she will have a profound problem with your scent if she can consciously smell the odor of sex.”
    Eric was glaring at him, and he put the phone on speaker. “She briefly mentioned a smell when she first met us, but nothing more. Has she said anything to you, Eric?”
    Eric slowly shook his head.
    “I don’t know.”
    “Find out when she wakes up.”
    “Did she seem drifty after sex?”
    “I don’t think so.” Again he looked at Eric. Eric shrugged. “No, but she was shivering quite badly.”
    “Shivering?” Yassie said as a question and comment at the same time.
    “Yeah,” Eric replied. “It was chilly in the bedroom, but she acted as if she were freezing. I covered her up and then cuddled up to her back, but it took a while for her to warm up.”
    “Have you told her?”
    “No. We don’t completely trust her yet.”
    “Then I suggest you either stay away from her or find trust. Ask her if she can smell you and if she can, she has severe scent sickness. It will become more dramatic as time goes on. Eventually it will send her into a sleep from which she will never wake up.”
    Alex stared at his phone. “Are you serious?”
    “I am.”
    “Why would nature give us that trait?”
    “It’s said scent sickness is caused for two reasons. If the person is your enemy, then your scent is caused by anger. It’s a protection thing like a squid that releases ink. If they’re your heartmate, the scent forces you claim them or give them up. It takes the guesswork out of mating.”
    That was not extremely helpful. “I don’t think she’s an enemy.”
    “You would already know. Has she ever incited rage in you?”
    “No.” He had never even really been mad at Lou. “How will we know if she’s my heartmate or Eric’s?”
    Yassie sighed heavily. “The only way I know of is to make love to her separately and see who she smells. Of course that will take her one step closer to comatose.”
    This was a no-win situation. “I guess it’s something to consider. We may be bringing her up sooner than expected.”
    “I’ll look forward to seeing you then. Anything else?”
    “No, that’s it. Thank you, Yassie.”
    “Stay blessed you two.” Yassie clicked off and Alex set the phone down.
    “I guess we had better hit the road. See if you can cancel our reservation. We need to get home and figure this out.”
    Eric simply nodded, but Alex could tell by the look on his face they were having similar thoughts. Did they want to tell Lou the truth, or break things off? It was an impossible dilemma to solve.

Chapter Six
     
    Lou opened her eyes, stunned she had fallen asleep. They were still moving, so she hadn’t slept for long. “Where are we?”
    “Jacksonville.”
    “Florida?” she asked. “I thought we were stopping in Virginia.” It also meant it was almost morning and she has slept an additional ten hours or so.
    “We were,” replied Eric. “I’m not feeling well and we decided to just go home. Are you feeling ill?”
    She actually felt great. “No, not at all.”
    “That’s good.”
    Eric turned back to look out the window, and she frowned. Had something happened while she was asleep? “Eric, what’s wrong?”
    “I’m just queasy.”
    She didn’t know what difference it would make where they stayed. It wasn’t like they were going home to a house. He would be sick in the RV either way. It was also not what she meant, but maybe turning to look at her was throwing his equilibrium off and making him feel worse.