Revealed (Unbound, Book 5)

Chapter Eighteen

"Hello!"

I rolled onto my side and squeezed my eyes shut. The sounds that shattered my dreamless sleep would go away if I ignored them.

"Nora."

Groaning, I grabbed the pillow from the other side of the bed and put is over my head. "Goway. I'm sleeping."

"Wake up."

"No."

"I'm not leaving."

"Ugh! Onyx." I lifted the pillow enough so that I was no longer muffled. "Attack."

"Hey!"

Onyx whimpered as though she was willing to do as directed but it was against her better judgement. Pushing the pillow off all the way, I opened one eye and then the other.

As soon as I saw Calin, I realized my imagination wasn't conjuring his voice because I wanted to hear it. Once that clicked, panic set in. I began to pat the bed around me to find the books I'd been reading so I could avoid having to answer his questions. A second later, I stopped, remembering that I'd put them in the bag beside the bed. Feigning nonchalance, I sat up and pulled my legs into my chest. I wrapped my arms around my knees so I could clasp my hands together and rest them on my shins. With any luck, Calin would sum up my weirdness up as a quirk.

Calin didn't notice my odd behavior because he was too busy staring at Onyx, wary. He held out the tray he was holding in both hands, his movements slow, and finally looked up. "Is she going to bite me if I give you your breakfast?"

"Onyx." I made kissing noises and Onyx came to my side. I stroked her head between her eyes, and shrugged. "She would, yeah." I nodded, then squinched my nose so I wouldn't scratch an itch. Unable to avoid it, I unclasped my hands and rubbed the tip of my nose up and down with my palm, my eyes shut tight. The pitch of my voice fluctuated as I asked, "She's trained to obey me, remember?"

"Well, I have breakfast here for you when you're done with... that."

I dropped my hands around my legs again and opened my eyes to find Calin giving me a strange look. It was something between I-can't-believe-I-like-such-a-weird-chick and what I hoped was she's-obliviously-adorable. I shrugged and rolled my eyes. Either way, it was his problem.

No sooner did the thought cross my mind than another, more sobering reality sink in. My smile turned to a frown, and I looked down to the covers that were still drawn to my waist. If we're relatives, I had no business hoping he thought of me in any way except as a friend. Proud for me, happy for me—or even with me—yes. Anything else required a negative match in our biological comparison. Until then, everything outside the boundaries of friendship felt shameful. I felt ashamed for not being able to control my reaction to him.

"I get it, okay?" Calin asked as though he could tell what I was thinking. "I brought you breakfast is because it comes with a tasty cotton ball cheek swab so you can do your part of this test. I'll do my thing and take them to my dad, who will send them off to some lab." Calin set the tray down at the foot of the bed and shrugged, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "I don't think anything will come of it, but I get why you want it."

Leaning forward, I picked up the mug of coffee from the tray and then relaxed against the headboard. Holding the mug with two hands, I sipped, watching Calin over the rim and feeling unsure of what to say.

Calin sat beside the tray and took a piece of toast. Biting into it, crumbs landed on his lips. He chewed, swallowed, and then licked the food out of sight. "Mom said that you guys are leaving the day after tomorrow."