“It’s by my favorite poet. I like him because he wrote about being loving and kind to everyone. I thought that maybe we could read it together. If you want,” Sage said.
“Yes.” Garridan handed Sage the book andsettled into the couch.
“Oh…um, okay. I guess I get to read first.” Sage put on glasses before opening the book.
Those glasses were the sexiest thing Garridan had ever seen. The frames were black and made Sage’s dark eyes appear even bigger. Garridan saw the hurt and pain. How he missed it before, he wasn’t sure, but he would do anything to take it away.
Sage settled back against the couch beside him, turning slightly so that his back was to Garridan. Garridan frowned until Sage scooted back, leaning against him. “You can put your arm around me,” Sage said.
Garridan wrapped his arm around Sage’s middle. Sage stiffened, making a little squealing sound. “I won’t hurt you.” Garridan felt the need to say it again. He’d say it a hundred more times, if it meant Sage would start to believe it.
“Okay. I’m sorry. I’m trying, I swear.”
“Do you want me to remove my arm?”
“No. I need to get used to it,” Sage said.
Garridan started to move, but Sage held onto his arm. “You don’t trust me,” Garridan said.
“This is a start, Garridan.”
“Fine.” Garridan leaned forward and kissed the top of Sage’s head. He felt Sage relax a little, leaning against him even more.
Sage opened the book to the first page and began to read about singing each individual person’s praises. The author strung words together in an old way, a way that people didn’t talk anymore. The man who wrote the words seemed to talk about equality and non-judgment. The message was before the poet’s time and made Garridan like his words even more.
Garridan tightened his hold around Sage when he began reading about war. The words were dark and the man fighting had little choicein the matter. Still, he found camaraderie with the other soldiers and the land he travelled.
Garridan rubbed his cheek against Sage’s soft hair, reassuring himself that his mate was there, safe next to him.
He had a mate to keep safe. He had failed Bennett. Bennett had gotten lucky and managed to stay safe without him. He would not fail Sage when the war came knocking on their door, and it would come. Garridan was certain of that.
“Do you want me to stop?” Sage asked, his voice breaking into his thoughts.
“No. I like it.”
Sage began again. Sage’s fingers moved up and down Garridan’s arm as he read, as if he were petting him. Garridan was certain Sage had no idea he was doing it. Sage’s body relaxed even more the longer he continued.
Bennett and Lucas came into the room. Bennett sat in one of the plush chairs across from them, pulling Lucas down on his lap. Sage kept reading as if he hadn’t even noticed them. The longer he read, the more the words dug deep, calming him, making it easier to focus. Of course, it probably had more to do Sage’s soothing voice and less about the words themselves.
Garridan lost track of how long they all sat there, listening to Sage read. It was the most comforting thing he ever remembered experiencing, which was the true gift.
Chapter Six
Sage had talked to Dr. Tucker a lot in the last couple of months and so far didn’t think he was getting better, not that he expected an overnight cure. Okay, well, maybe he did expect that. Some would’ve considered sitting with his mate for hours while he read from their book getting better and he supposed it was, but he still felt as if the panic would well up at any given time. There was no sense of peace in his life because of it and peace was what he longed for most of all.
He was on antidepressants that some shifter scientist had designed so they actually worked on shifters. Sage’s DNA was different from a human’s, so that had to be taken into account. Since shifters didn’t get most of the diseases humans got, he figured that was something the drug’s manufacturer had to consider when they made it. Sage didn’t understand nor did he care about the science behind it. They seemed to work, which was the only thing that mattered.
He also was supposed to take some anti-anxiety medication whenever he started to become a snivelling mess, which was more oftenthan he cared to admit. Again, it was shifter-certified, according to Dr. Tucker.
He looked the medications up online and found out that the anxiety medication was addictive. At least for humans it was, and he figured with the amount Sage was taking it would be for him as well. Sage avoided the medication like the plague. No way was he letting those bastard vampires make him into a drug addict. He’d already given them enough control, or so Dr. Tucker kept telling him. He didn’t need to give them that too.
He pulled open the refrigerator door and got a soda. When he popped the top, it made a fizzy sound. Mother Estelle had a green drinking glass that was Sage’s favorite because he liked the color, so he got that from the cabinet. He poured the liquid into the glass at about the same time that he heard voices coming from the office area just off the kitchen.
He thought he heard the Alpha say Garridan’s name, so he took a giant step in their direction.
He really missed his mate, even though he had just seen him a couple of days ago. Sage craved any news he could get.
The mate pull was getting stronger. Sage wished he could bond with him, but that first day had stayed in the back of his mind and wouldn’t let him take the next step. His eyes still hadn’t changed in all the times they had spent together and there was still no desire for the mating bite. Dr. Tucker said he was waiting for Garridan to lose control of himself and once Sage knew he wouldn’t, then he’d get the physical response all the other shifters got with their mate. Sage wasn’t so sure he would ever feel like he wanted the bite, though.
