“Rae?” Sam appeared in a pair of undone jeans, and nothing else. His eyes widened as he took her in, and then Titus passed out on the floor.
“What the fuck was… Ti?” Axel rushed in behind him, bare chest pumping, similarly decorated in the glyphs. “What happened?” he asked, crouching beside Titus.
“I don’t know,” she began, talking quickly in her panic. “We were at the hotel, and then we were suddenly here.”
Sam came to Titus’s other side. “Baby, did you see the fucking wing?”
Axel paled, but lifted Titus up off the floor. There was a crunch when he placed him on the bed, and everyone paused.
“His wing!” Rae cried. “You crushed his wing!” She knew it must have caused him pain, but he didn’t react. Not even a single muscle twitched. “He’s okay, right?” She’d never seen him so still. Not even when he slept.
“Fuck. Sam, go get Lucifer,” Axel said.
Sam didn’t need to be asked twice, shooting into the hall to leave them alone.
Rae brushed the hair from his forehead, the skin clammy. “Is he sick?”
“We need to wait for Lucifer,” was all Axel said, hovering on the other side, panic and worry carved into his expression. “Was he okay before he drifted?”
Rae frowned. “Drifted?”
“He jumped you from the hotel to here, right?” Axel asked slowly.
Rae bit back her snarky retort, knowing Axel was reacting to the stress of the situation. “He was fine earlier.”
Axel crossed his arms, fingers digging into his upper arms. Sam reappeared, followed by a tall male she recognised from the bar. His eyes glowed, and she finally recognised them for what he was. A Daemon. Just like Titus.
“What the fuck happened?” Lucifer asked. “Is that a fucking wing? Where’s the other one?”
Rae stood guard beside Titus, wary. “He kind of pulled it off.”
Lucifer jerked his head to her, mouth snapping open. “Fucking hell.”
“Is that bad?” Axel asked, Sam wrapping his arms around him from the back. They were mates, Rae remembered. He was comforting him.
“Well, it’s not fucking good, is it?” Lucifer rubbed his jaw, his wrist covered in around ten different beaded bracelets. After a second he shrugged. “Idiot’s passed out from the drift. You can't just fucking drift without preparation, otherwise your molecules might go missing.” Reaching over, he rolled Titus onto his side, manhandling his wing out from beneath him.
“Will he be okay?” Rae asked, cringing at the clicking sound his wing made as Lucifer stretched it out beside him.
“He’ll be fine in a few hours, just takes a while to get used to.” Stepping back, he eyed his handiwork. “He received a summoning name, but I didn’t think he would get wings, or even fucking drift.”
“Does that mean the Rite was completed?” Axel asked.
“Looks like it.” Lucifer clicked his tongue. “I wonder what his beast will look like now he’s more like me.”
Rae cleared her throat. “He… he keeps the wing.”
“Well, that confirms it.” Lucifer clapped his hands together. “Titus is officially my favourite Guardian.”
“Wait, you’ve seen his beast?” Axel turned his attention to her.
Sam tightened his arms, pressing his jaw against Axel’s shoulder. “Easy, he’ll be okay,” he said to his mate.
“Can you feel him?” Axel asked, gaze direct. “In here.” He slapped a hand against his chest, just under where Sam held him.
Rae wasn’t sure how to answer that, the scrutiny under the three men too much. “He needs his rest,” she said instead. “I’ll watch over him.”
Axel looked like he wanted to argue, but Sam pulled him back. “Come on, we’re only next door.” His lips brushed Axel’s ear, and whatever Sam said, he softened.
