Cain was the biggie wow seer around here, but Jack was like the biggie wow alpha. The rest of them were just soldiers.
Triton met his gaze.You know I meant your mate no disrespect.
I was protective, scared, and pissed. I’m still a little pissed. How come we can’t just have normal, boring, happy lives?
Triton shrugged.Well, I blew up an entire keep.
Oh, right. Then I’d made my living rescuing people from keeps.
Thatishow you came across your hailee.
Right. Shut up.
Triton gave him a wicked grin, and Talon simply crawled back up on the couch, holding Mercury. It was more comfortable than the floor.
“Anyway,” Kami murmured. “I just want some answers, right? But I can wait. I’m not interested in hurting Mercury or you. In fact, it’s sort of the other way. I’m interested in making sure you’re safe.”
“Speaking of safe, didn’t you say you were bringing my goddaughter?”
Reno smiled. “Tempest is sitting with her. They’re watching a movie together next door.”
He didn’t know what to think. Was he supposed to be worried that the girls were by themselves? Was he supposed to be satisfied that everything was safe? It didn’t feel safe. “This was supposed to be our home; this is supposed to be a place where we don’t have to worry.”
“It’s still our home.” Triton snorted, “Listen, guys, there will always be somebody who’s starting shit. There will always be someone who wants something that we have because we either took it from them, which, okay, I take responsibility for that, or because what we have is magical and good.”
Durango snorted. “It pisses people off when you take groups that have been neglected and offer them a safe space to get on their feet and thrive. It proves that their bullshit rules were literally just that—bullshit rules. Prejudice and bigotry.”
Talon guessed so, but it still frustrated him. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to kiss his hailee. Not even like a real deep, passionate kiss, and he knew that Mercury wanted it.
“He just needs to rest,” Cain told him, smiling for him in that gentle way Cain had, which hid a will of steel. “Once he does that, he’ll feel better about being here too. Everything is just like a raw, open wound to him, Tal.”
Talon nodded because he understood that much. It was just like when Kami had gotten a new heartstone. It exhausted someone to do that. Hell, he’d experienced it himself. Plus, now Mercury was trying to form a mate bond with him, and he was trying to get used to all of these strong personalities being in his space when he hadn’t had anybody pay attention to him in who knew how long? Decades maybe?
He closed his eyes for a moment, centering himself as he’d been taught when he first started his warrior training, breathing deeply in and out. “You’re right. I won’t say I overreacted because I refuse to be sorry for protecting him. But I want you all to know how much I appreciate that you’re trying to keep us safe.”
“And that, gentlemen, is Talon’s way of telling us all to fuck off.” Kami stood, shifting his weight from foot to foot as if he was boxing, his eyes lit up with laughter.
Reno stood as well. “I think we should all go get some food. Tal, do you want to come with us or are you telling us to fuck off?”
“This time I’ll stay here with Mercury. Next time we’ll come with you, both of us, okay?” He meant it because only if he opened up and allowed Mercury to be really friends with his friends and family would it feel like the right thing to his mate. He knew part of Mercury’s uncomfortable feeling was because he was worried about how all of this was going to play out.
“Sounds great.” Cain also rose, coming to put a hand on his shoulder. “I would like the healer to see him though, if that’s all right with you. Just briefly to make sure he’s recovering like he’s supposed to.”
“Of course.” As if he was going to say no to that. He wanted to make sure there was nothing going on inside Mercury’s body that would cause him to pass out like he did today that was not just exhaustion.
“I’ll send someone, but I’ll give you a chance to rest with him first. Come on, you lot. I am craving some sort of fish stew.” Cain led the way to the door, and behind his back, there were a lot of wrinkled noses. Most of them were happy not to have to eat fish so much anymore, but Cain still thought it was a delicacy.
Either that or it was just sheer stubbornness on his part, which it could be. One never knew.
Talon held Mercury in his arms for several minutes after everyone left, the quiet ringing in his ears. Then he stood and carried his mate to the bed. This time, instead of going to a meeting with his friends and family, he would stay with his hailee, and try to give him some energy.
Mercury curled around him, the heartstone on the bed between them, as soon as they got covered up with the blankets. This was the right decision. He needed to stay with his mate and just let them have time alone together.
He stroked Mercury’s silvery hair back off his forehead. “I love you, hailee. I promise I won’t let anything hurt you—not even my best friend or my brother. But they don’t want to. They just want to know everything is going to be okay, the same as we do.”
Mercury sighed softly, so he knew his hailee heard him, whether or not he believed him, he had no idea.
Chapter
