“Morning,” I whispered, then turned so I faced him. “Can I see Remi today?”
My question seemed to surprise him. “You miss him?”
I nodded. “He was the one person who could calm me down before I met you, and now that I know we’re brothers…” I let out a sigh. “I feel like I need him here this week, even if I can’t tell him about Aiden.”
He leaned in and gave me a soft kiss. “Anything for you.”
“And I want to get to know Juno, too,” I said, feeling lighter than when I woke. “We’re all family now, and it’s important to me that we stay close.”
He nodded, seeming to think something over. “I’m not as close to Juno as I am to many others from my team, but I like him. I think working on your relationship with them will be good for both of us.”
“And the fact that Remi is going through the same thing as me, Aiden and the trauma aside, I think it will help.”
“I’ll call Juno after their meeting. Maybe Remi needs this too. I promised the rulers to teach you some magic, too, but we need to start out small because of your core.”
“Can we not tell them about that?” I hurried to ask. “I don’t want to be treated like I’m broken. I am, but I don’t want them to know just how bad.”
His expression turned sad. “If that’s what you want, my darling, then we’ll keep it a secret for now. But just know that I love every part of you, broken or not. It’s you.”
Ignoring thelovepart, because I was definitely going to cry if I leaned more into just how much I loved hearing that. I moved closer and kissed him instead, letting his lips distract me from the mess that was my life.
While Nolen made us breakfast, I sat on the couch and watched a random documentary to learn more about this new world. It was a fascinating watch, and with the whole magic dying out thing, they had lots of different ones showing how their world used to look. It had definitely changed. The previously bright green grass that looked so much like the grass I was used to in my world, was a dull dried out green now. The trees weren’t as lush and leafy either. But the thing I found most apparent were the lack of said trees. Normally there would be lots of forested areas and a tree here and there, but just from the brief glimpses I’d had here, trees were a rarity. It made me appreciate the one we had in the backyard that much more.
Nolen’s voice came from the kitchen and I realized he was talking to someone else, laughing, too. I hoped it was Juno. I’d meant what I said about needing Remi here. He was my actual half-brother, and if he felt anything like I did, he would need someone who understood close by, too. My calming reaction to his scent was likely because of our bond, but then again, I’d felt the same with Nix and Juno, so maybe it was because of our world I felt that soothing effect? Nolen calmed me because we were mates, no matter how weird I still found that reality. My heart was all in on it, my brain just needed to catch up to the whole mated-for-life thing.
The sweet scent of waffles, or was it pancakes? Whatever it was, was pouring out from the kitchen, teasing my nose and stomach with the sweet promise of soon getting to taste it. Nolen’s love for cooking was something I would always cherish. How lucky was I that my handsome mate wascooking a delicious smelling breakfast just in the other room? And the best part? He was shirtless.
“Darling?” he called from the kitchen, and I was interrupted by my very visual fantasy of him feeding me breakfast while shirtless.
“Yes?” I replied, feeling a tad bit breathless.
He came into the living room with a plate stacked with waffles. “Juno said that Remi would love to come over. They just left the meeting, so maybe in an hour or two.”
I helped him set the small table and soon I had the best waffles I’d ever tasted in my mouth. I groaned, not able to stop myself.They were perfect. The outside was perfectly crisped and the inside soft and pillowy. They weren’t too sweet either, making the toppings more fun to add. I had whipped cream and strawberries on mine, plus a little drizzle of chocolate sauce that had a hint of hazelnut in it.
Nolen chuckled. “That good, huh?”
I hadn’t noticed it, but I was doing a little dance in my chair, unable to stop my body from showing just how happy I was. And Iwashappy. Aiden aside, I was doing great. I had the best mate in the whole world. I’d pretty much accepted that I was only going back to my former world to get Aiden. After that I didn’t care much about returning. I hadn’t had any nightmares since I met Nolen either, which was the biggest reason I was so happy. A full night’s rest would do that to anyone, and here I was having it nightly now.
“I’m happy,” I announced, shrugging my shoulders as if it wasn’t that big a deal. But it was. I had never been happy before, but if I told Nolen just how much those words meant, I feared I would break his heart, because how sad was that?
“I’m happy, too,” he said, his voice low and a smile forming on his handsome face.
Chapter Twenty
Nolen
Juno and Remi came over an hour after we’d finished breakfast. It was like a switch was turned and as soon as Remi and Derek’s eyes met, they both started crying and turned to each other in a long hug.
Juno and I had watched each other with worry, and since neither of us knew what to do, we’d just waited them out. When their hug ended, they’d walked into the living room together, both seemingly content to just sit in silence while their tears dried up. I’d taken Juno into the kitchen and together we made us some snacks. It felt like the only thing I could do.
“Isn’t this a bit much?” Juno asked, eyeing the plate filled with strawberries.
“Not at all,” I assured him, placing the bowl of melted chocolate next to the strawberries.
“If you say so,” he muttered and then grabbed the grapes we’d washed and pulled them from their stems.
I had some cookies I’d made while I made the waffles at breakfast, so I added those to a plate as well, not knowing what types of treats Remi preferred.
