Page 23 of Dark Awakening: Hidden Currents

Something in his manner set off alarm bells in Jasmine's mind. "What's going on? Are you running more tests on him?"

Julian hesitated for a moment before answering. "Ell-rom is on a video call with the clan therapist, Vanessa. It might take a while."

Jasmine felt a knot form in her stomach. "The therapist? What for?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't discuss that with you." Julian smiled apologetically. "I know that you are his mate, but I take patient confidentiality seriously. You can ask Ell-rom about it later, but I'd advise you to wait for him to volunteer what he talked about with Vanessa. I'm saying that not as a doctor but as a happily mated man. People need their space from time to time, even if it's only the space in their heads."

Julian was right, of course, but Jasmine's mind was racing, trying to piece together what could have prompted this sudden therapy session. Hopefully, it wasn't about Ell-rom's dream of killing someone with a thought.

Damn it. She was so stupid. She should have warned him to keep that to himself, but she assumed it was self-explanatory. What she hadn't taken into account was how naive Ell-rom was.

Still, it might be about something else, and she wasn't going to give Julian any hints by asking questions that would make him suspicious.

Plastering a smile on her face, she nodded. "Thanks for the advice. It's good. I need to remember not to overdo it and make Ell-rom feel like I'm mothering him."

Julian chuckled. "Some mothering is okay. Just not too much."

"Right," she agreed. "How long do you think it will take?"

"These sessions can sometimes run long. Why don't you go back to the penthouse? I'll make sure Ell-rom knows where to find you when he's done, and if he needs me to take him up there, I will gladly escort him."

It hadn't even occurred to her that Ell-rom could probably travel between the penthouse and the clinic without her help.

Talk about mothering.

Nevertheless, she wasn't comfortable leaving Ell-rom alone there, especially given what she suspected he had revealed to Julian.

If Kian thought that Ell-rom was dangerous, who knew what they would do to him? They were not bad people, but their sense of self-preservation might kick in, and they would not want someone who could kill with a thought anywhere near them.

"I think I'll wait for him in Morelle's room. I promised Ell-rom I’d talk to her."

"Sure thing," Julian said. "I'm going to take a break and get something to eat. But don't worry. I have my phone with me, and I will be notified immediately if Morelle needs me."

"I'm not worried. Is Gertrude around?"

He shook his head. "I'm the only one here for the weekend, but again, you have nothing to worry about. Morelle doesn't need constant supervision."

"I know."

17

ELL-ROM

Ell-rom drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair as he waited for the video call to connect.

When Julian had called the therapist, the medic hadn't expected her to be immediately available to help, and neither had Ell-rom. She surprised them both when she told Julian that she was just finishing a meeting and would call Ell-rom right away.

It had been a few minutes, and Ell-rom was impatient, not because he was eager to talk to a stranger about his embarrassing problem but because he wanted it to be over, hopefully after being solved.

As the screen finally flickered to life, it revealed a beautiful blond woman with kind eyes and a warm smile.

"Hello, Ell-rom," she said, her voice carrying a soothing quality even through the speakers. "I'm Vanessa, the clan's psychologist, and I'm so excited to meet you, even if it's through a video call. It's an unexpected pleasure. I thought I would have to wait for you to arrive in the village for us to get to know each other,but here we are." She pushed her hair behind her ear. "Luckily, I had my earpieces upgraded with the new Kra-ell translation capability, or this would not have been possible. I only know a few Kra-ell words and definitely not enough to conduct a conversation."

"Hello." Ell-rom returned her warm smile to the best of his ability, given how nervous he was. "Thank you for speaking with me. Julian didn't expect you to be available right away, and neither did I, so I didn't prepare what I wanted to discuss."

"That's fine. Just let it flow, and we will piece it together. I actually prefer that to a rehearsed speech." She smiled. "This is about emotions, Ell-rom, not logic or eloquence, and emotions are messy."

It was comforting to hear her say that. "My problem is an aversion to blood." She'd said to just let it flow, and she was right. It made things easier. "The aversion is so strong that I can't bring myself to bite anyone, not for pleasure and not in defense, and as I am sure you can imagine, that's a serious problem for a male. God, immortal, or Kra-ell."