Teilo leaned against Nico. “It’s another level down, under where they kept us. Did you find it?”
“Do you know how to access it?” Kylo frowned. “I don’t remember there being any door other than the one we came through.”
Nico rubbed Teilo’s thigh while meeting Kylo’s stare with one that was razor sharp. “It’s under the last empty cage. A hatch in the floor. You might have missed it, seeing as it was so smelly when you got there.”
“They missed recognizing the smell of the lion,” Teilo agreed. “It’s understandable if you don’t know the place.
Ben internally smirked at the look on Kylo’s face. His older brother was a perfectionist and would hate the thought he’d missed anything, especially something so important, like records.
“It looks like we’re all going on an outing this time,” muttered Mao as he got up from the chair he’d been sitting on furthest from the table.
Ben twisted as he stood up. His eyes widening. “You’re coming too?” Ben couldn’t disguise his shock. Mao never left the boundary of the family lands. He preferred to stay put.
Felix gawped and slapped at Kylo’s arm hard enough to get Kylo grunting.
Nico and Teilo wore matching confused expressions as they looked at them all.
The door opened and Niro walked through; he stopped mid-step, his nose wrinkling. “Why wasn’t I invited to the party?”
His clothes were filthy, and he stank of something Ben didn’t want to think too hard on as Niro headed to where the food was. Only to stop when Kylo said, “Mao’s coming with us back to where we found Nico and Teilo.” The incredulity was there in each word.
Niro spun so fast he wobbled as he stared at Mao like he’d never seen him before. “Holy fuck… did hell freeze over and the world stop turning on its axis?”
Why is everyone acting weird about Mao?Teilo tilted his head at Ben.
The chuckle was all in his mind as he grinned at Teilo.Mao hates to leave this place. He only ever goes out when required to use his specialist skills, but apart from that, he stays here. He doesn’t like the outside world. He’s showing his support for our mating and how important it is.
Oh…Nico glanced at Mao, his expression giving little away. Ben suspected the other man didn’t know quite how to respond to such unconditional support.
His family might be a pain in Ben’s ass, but they’d have his back no matter what. Mao’s action proved that, even if he’d never understood why Ben wanted to leave Paraguay.
“Ben brought his mates home.” Mao’s simple answer got nods from everyone and Ben gave a choked cough.
“Right… how are we doing this?”
~/~/~/~
Nico
Put bluntly, being around so many people set every one of Nico’s nerves on edge. Ben’s brothers were loud and opinionated, but Nico could see in a weird way that they all cared about each other deeply. Which was totally foreign to Nico, and Teilo too, who kept looking at the men as if trying to work out what planet they came from.
And they were going back to that place. Nico worried, not about himself—his emotions about what they went through were buried deeper than the dead driver. Since their rescue, and Ben coming into their lives, Teilo had laughed, and played, and been so happy… Nico hated that could all be taken away just because he wanted revenge.
Logically, he knew the visit had to happen. Ben and his brothers had only focused on saving them from near death when they’d been at the house before. He didn’t know if there was anything down in the ‘hold’ as it had been called by the scientists, that Ben and Kylo could use, but if it got him one step closer to killing the men responsible for hurting his Teilo, he’d suck it up and deal.
But Teilo’s emotions were muted from him, as if he was trying to block his mates. Nico didn’t like that at all. He glanced at the face he knew better than his own, his emotions a jumbled mess inside of him. He didn’t have the words, and he hated that he didn’t. Yet the conflict—wanting Teilo and Ben with him always, and also hating that his mates have to be anywhere near that dark place—it was like a bubbling volcano inside of him.
It’ll be okay.Teilo’s voice was soft in his head, but even so, Nico had to quell his instinct to flinch. It was so close, having another person’s voice sound inside of him, and it was something Nico wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to. Although, there was a part of him that wished he and Teilo had had that added means of communication when they’d confined them in their cat form.It would’ve made captivity more bearable.
You didn’t want to come back here.Nico knew his message had hit its mark when Teilo nodded.
I didn’t, but my gut tells me this is the right thing to do. The scientists could set up somewhere else… someone else could end up living our experience. I don’t want that.
Nico didn’t get a chance to answer—that he really didn’t care about anyone else except Teilo and Ben. The off-road vehicle tires squelched on the muddy driveway. They’d arrived.
Never backing down on things that freaked him out was the motto Nico had lived by. Acting decisively saved his life, and Teilo’s more than once, and he wasn’t going to stop doing that now. As soon as the vehicle had stopped, Nico got out and stood for a moment, taking in the sights, smells, and sounds.
Nothing had changed in the two weeks or more since they’d left. The building still stood out in stark detail against the jungle greenery—just a house in the jungle, like so many others dotted around the area. There was a porch, steps, even a rocker chair sitting weathered in the porch’s corner. Nothing had changed, including the aura of the place that seeped into Nico’s soul like a terrible itch.
