Sage groans from his place at the table, where he’s reading something on his laptop. “Is it another cat video?”
“No,” Red says, but his tone and too-innocent smirk tells us it’s something similar. He seems to be obsessed with animal videos, though he insists he only watches them when he’s stressed. “Please! You need to see this one. It reminds me of you.”
Sage sighs as he walks over and looks over Red’s shoulder to watch the video. A minute later, he grumbles something and tries to walk away, but Red snatches his hand.
“Reminds me of your birthday last year.” Red sputters a laugh.
“Don’t remind me.”
Ivy perks up. “When he was drunk?”
“Yes! Watch this.”
He passes his phone around the room, earning fits of giggles from nearly everyone. Even Jericho chuckles before handing the phone back and returning to his drawing.
“You’re lucky I was there!” Red says. “You might’ve drowned.”
Sage scoffs. “Youwere the reason I was drunk in the first place, remember? If you hadn’t cast a spell on the drink, it never would’ve happened!”
“Hey, it was worth it. Your birthday after all.”
Jericho and I exchange a look. “Wait, spell?” I say at the same time Jericho says, “You’re a mage?”
The tips of Red’s ears turn pink. “Technically, I’m a cross.”
Myeyes widen. I’ve never met a crossbreed before, though I’ve heard rumors about them. Supposedly they’re less stable than full-blood shifters or mages, which is why most people have a prejudice against them.
“That’s pretty cool,” I say. “Shifter and mage then?”
He nods. “I never had proper training, since crossbreeds aren’t allowed in the mageri. But I’ve focused on healing and have taught myself most of the important things.”
“He’s well-loved around here,” Jasmine says with a note of pride in her voice as she enters the living room. Her hair is wet like she’d just taken a shower. “All of the packs come to him for help when they need it.”
“He even helped Taren,” Ivy says from her place on the floor. She’s spent the last hour rolling an inflatable ball for Aster. It’s adorable watching him chase after it. Aster’s parents still haven’t warmed up to Jericho completely, choosing to stay in another room than be around him.
“You need to let me work, hon,” Sage says. He bends to kiss the top of his mate’s head. Red immediately tips his head backwards for a proper upside-down kiss. The two men share a private smile before Sage walks back to the table.
My eyes dart over to Jericho, who turns his attention to me at the same time. He gives me a tiny smile before studiously focusing on his drawing.
Something stirs in my belly. Does Jericho want that kind of affection from me? I thought it was just sex, based on the drawings I saw in his notebook, but what if it’s more? What if Jericho actually wants tobewith me?
The idea makes my heart beat a little faster, and not necessarily in a bad way. It wouldn’t be so different to be in a relationship with Jericho.I mean, we were as close as two people could be before he disappeared. Just… with clothes on and not any kissing. But our connection was, and is, just as deep as Red and Sage’s. So why have I never considered it before?
“Bronson and Elias just took over at the hotel,” Grant says, reading a text on his phone. “They said they can stay a week.”
Forest nods. “Sounds good. One of us will take over then.”
I pull my phone out to check the security camera for the umpteenth time. But no one has come by my house in over a week, aside from the man Forest sent yesterday to clean up the body at my house. I would've refused, except he said we didn't want to draw attention to the police for the wrong reasons. So where are they?
Frustrated, I get up and go to the kitchen for a glass of water.
“Wanna go outside?” Jericho asks, appearing at my side. His voice is quiet, like he’s hoping the others won’t hear.
I nod and finish the water before we walk outside. But a few seconds later, Rowen, Ivy, Red, and Grant all join us.
Jericho’s jaw ticks. “I’m starting to think you were told to never leave us alone.”
Rowen chuckles. “You’re not wrong.”
