Gonna smell like me forever.
As we collapse together, the others settling around us in the bed to touch our mate and settle their own possessive impulses, all I can feel is relief. Because now she carries my scentpermanently.She smells like pack. Ours. But most importantly?
Mine.
Chapter 8
Ever
“Think of it like Bluetooth,” Bellamy says softly, a shiver running down my spine as he steps in close behind me and rests his hands on my hips. “Every supernatural has a signal they give off. With other mimics, that signal will be password protected. You can’t latch on, but you can still tell they’re there. We’ll feel like… coming home.” He darts a nervous glance at the guys leaning against the wall of the training arena, thanks to the elemental that helped establish the compound.
Benches are carved out of stone like stadium seating, surrounding a massive training ground. Two-thirds of it is taken up by an intense obstacle course, random flares of magic constantly pulling my attention from the open space we’re currently working in, where everyone is avoiding our group like the plague.
“It should feel familiar; like you’ve met this person before, but can’t quite remember where. You just instinctively know they’re safe,” he finishes, and with every day that passes, I get a better picture of why he originally planned to bring me back here, not realizing he was trapped in a gilded cage until he left.
It’s gorgeous. Magical. And the majority of people are so nice, it’s borderline creepy. But it’s giving off serious ‘drink the Kool Aid and stay forever’ vibes.
Closing my eyes, I exhale a long breath and extend my senses. After what feels like ages, I finally find that feeling he described. It doesn’t matter that there are dozens of strangers in the stands murmuring about us and shooting fearful or angry looks at the guys, and pitying ones down at me and Bell. There’s something in me that’s drawn to that half of the arena, radiating a sense of belonging. Safety. That feels likehome.
Which is the biggest red flag ever, because every place I called home growing up was toxic as hell.
Honestly, it makes me so frustrated, that I rapidly blink back tears.How could my parents ignore that pull and throw me away so easily?
The only thing Idoknow? That feeling can’t be trusted.
It tricks you into trusting strangers simply because you share the same supernatural ability. That doesn’t mean they’re family, it means we can bond over the rest of the world’s apparent hatred of us. But Bell grew up surrounded by this sense of security, being told that everyone outside of this compound was out to kill or abuse him. And hestillleft to come find me.
“I don’t think I ever said thank you, did I?”
“For what?” At the sound of his confusion, I peer over my shoulder.
“For risking everything to find me. You’re the first person that’s ever actually cared about me. I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life, Bell, and I love you too much to find out. So thank you. For not giving up on me.”
He opens his mouth to respond, but is cut off by some guy approaching, eyeing Ledger and Myles with blatant disdain. “Roman’s waiting for you in your office. Apparently there’s somesymbol flashing, but your computer won’t let him access it without a code?”
“Blue one?” At the guy’s nod, he giddily beams. “I can only imagine his face.” Seeing my confusion, Bellamy clarifies, “I set up several bots to sign your ex up for shit. That’s the one for furry porn sites where I disabled the unsubscribe feature, and auto-opens so he can’t ignore them.”
Chuckling, I imagine Adam’s face as he keeps getting blasted by porn pop ups at work. “You’re a genius.”
“Nah, just petty,” he counters. To his friend, he says, “Give me a minute.”
The newcomer nods, but makes no move to leave, looking around warily. “Where’s the demon?”
A familiar cool pressure caresses my jaw before the guy’s feet are swiped out from under him. Arson steps out of the shadow realm, shaking his head in disappointment and staring down at the man sprawled out in the dirt. “You know, for all of you and your buddies’ claims about being more equipped than us to protect a mimic, I’m just not seeing it.”
The stranger’s face twists in a snarl. “Becauseyou’rethe only threat inside these tunnels!”
Arson raises an eyebrow. “You’re right, you aren’t much of a threat at all. Keep proving my point.”
Honestly, it’s a miracle that we haven’t been kicked out yet.
As their argument heats up, Bellamy sighs and shakes his head, refocusing on me. “Never thank someone for the bare minimum, beautiful.” He presses his lips softly against mine, and my heart skips a beat. “I’ve loved you from the moment you saved me from that band of orcs and demanded we partner up for the next raid so you could ‘teach me how it’s done.’ OfcourseI came for you; I always will.”
With a wink, he squeezes my hand once before reluctantly tearing himself away to handle things and grabs his friend by thearm, dragging him away from Arson’s antagonistic taunts. “He’s baiting you. Don’t engage and he’ll get bored and move on to terrorizing someone else.”
Ledger kicks off from the arena wall he was leaning against, nuzzling his cheek against the top of my head and pressing a quick kiss to my temple before following Bellamy and his grumbling friend. “I’ll go with him, you stay with the others. Try not to get into trouble until I’m back.”
“I nevertryto get into trouble.”
