I wokea few times throughout the night to movement. Sometimes on the bed and sometimes others within the room. Quiet voices filled the night with soothing sounds and I had a feeling they weren’t just my men. Maybe I was partially asleep, but I was sure that there were animals curled with us on the bed too.
The whole thing must have left us all drained. The curtains were drawn over the large folding accordion doors that led onto the third-floor balcony. There was the constant white noise of a fan within the room, making the curtains flutter.
I yawned, opening my eyes to find a kaleidoscope of colors within rainbow eyes staring over me. I gave a start, nearly jumping up.
Astro, still a dog, chuckled from where he looked down at me. “Relax, Hadley. You’re safe.”
Kohara chuckled, pulling me closer to his chest. Then he winced, sighing in frustration before loosening his hold on me.
“You need some Advil?” I wasn’t sure if that actually worked on monsters. I’ve never taken one, but it seemed to make humans feel better. Dallas lived off it some days.
He grinned, opening his eyes to look at me. At my back, Tempest buried his face in my hair, taking a breath and sighing, too.
“No,” Kohara said, his voice low and thick with sleep. “Just gonna take me a bit to get rid of this soreness.”
“But you’re okay?”
His fingers brushed my cheek as he looked into my face with a tender smile. “I’m good. Promise.”
“Time to wake up, storms,” a voice said into the room, quickly followed by delicious food smells. Around me, several groans followed. I think it was a toss up between hunger and grouchiness at being awoken.
When I stifled my own grumble and pulled myself up, I found that the enormous room had quite the gathering of people, and they weren’t all Malaks and Nashs. Self-consciousness at waking up to virtual strangers made me flush.
A cold nose dipped to my neck, right below my ear. I swatted Astro away, glaring at him. He gave me a wolfish grin before bounding over our heads and landing with light feet on the floor half a dozen feet away from the mattresses. I didn’t even hear his paws hit.
“Show off,” I muttered. He looked back, winked, and sauntered off. I watched as he lay at Miller’s feet, looking at me smugly. Miller chuckled, rubbing Astro behind his ears.
“Look at you making friends,” Tem teased as he eased himself into a sitting position. The smile in his voice fought against the wince as he moved. “Fuck.” He reached for his ribs and hissed. “I swear, it feels like I’m tearing something when I move. Where’re the glow sticks?”
Lazarus shook his head as he crossed to us, dropping to his knees on the bed. With his hand around Tem’s neck, manhandling him in a way that almost looked sexual, he very gently touched the wound. Tempest grimaced, his hands holding Lazarus’s wrist so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Closing his eyes, he breathed with heavy exhales while Lazarus softly poked around.
“Still hurt to the touch?” Laz asked, his voice low.
Tem nodded. “You sure everything is tied up in there?” he asked, strain in his voice.
“Yeah, babe. Lay down a minute. Let me see what I can feel, hm?” Tem nodded, letting Lazarus guide him down, so his head was in my lap. Koh shifted next to me, offering Tempest his hand. Tempest gripped him with the same vice-like hold he’d had around Lazarus’s wrist a minute ago.
I enjoyed watching my men interact with each other. Learning all their quirks and unique relationships. But I was seeing that even the relationships they had with their friends were kind of intimate. From the teasing and flirty, rough behavior, to their gentle touches and deep concern.
My heart ached because once, I thought I had that too. Seeing what was right in front of me only emphasized what I had likely lost. Simply by being me and honest.
Lazarus sighed, dropping his hand and running his other through Tem’s hair. “It feels like you’re just sore, but when the witches get here, we’ll see if there’s still magic in you. That might be keeping the pain strong and cause other damage that I can’t feel. Physically though, you’re in one piece.”
Tem nodded. He’d broken out into a sweat from the pain. “Thanks.”
Laz continued to rub his fingers through Tem’s hair for a minute, the concern and sympathy in his eyes bright. “I’m not going far, Tem. I’ll be right here to make sure you don’t fall apart.”
My man smiled, though he didn’t open his eyes. “I know. I appreciate you, glow stick.”
Lazarus beamed a smile. Winking at me, he got off the bed. Now that he wasn’t distracting me, the room smelled even more strongly of delicious food. My stomach growled in response. We hadn’t eaten in… damn, has it been more than twenty-four hours? It sure felt like it.
While we lazily went through what must have been enough food to feed an army, more people filed into the large space. People I recognized from the gathering not that long ago. Friends of my men.
Tem had shifted to lay across Bronte. Mostly because I’d had to get up and pee. And while I was out, I dressed in my own clothes. Ones that fit. And something that made me feel more secure, a camisole to keep the girls from swinging around.
I joined the bed again where half of my future husbands were still lounging with a handful of others. They were all cuddled close together, offering comfort and support to our injured and stressed. Zilan took me in his arms when I joined them on the bed, my head resting on one of the sea monster’s shoulders, who was sitting close. She brushed my hair and while I still didn’t know her from any other stranger, her soft smile and soothing touch made me relax in Zilan’s arms.
“This is Tide,” he said after a few minutes. “One of my best friends.” He kissed the top of my head.
