Twenty
Zamir
"Keoni said all that?"Khush asked, and I nodded.
We'd stayed at the Sanctuary until everything reverted back in the evening. Zephyr had done it on his own, and while I hadn't seen him before I left, I didn't doubt that he'd exhausted himself.
Everyone had a lot of work to do—some areas needed to be repaired, and some people had lost some of their things—so I'd promised I'd visit Khush and Dustin to give them an update.
It'd been too late by the time we got out last night, so we'd waited until after breakfast today to come visit them.
"I wish we were there," Dustin said, then amended, "I mean, not really because—" He waved at his belly, and I smiled. I couldn't wait to meet their child. I'd never been around babies, but I imagined they were as—if not more—cute as the many fur babies I'd taken care of.
"Trust me. Everyone was glad you weren't. You're much safer here, for now."
Dustin nodded, though I knew he wasn't happy about it. He'd only been a part of the family for about ten months, but that didn't matter in the least. He adored everyone, and everyone adored him. That was who he was.
"How are you two doing?" he asked, his brows dancing as he glanced from me to Nolan.
I turned my gaze to my mate, and my lips curved in a smile instantly.
"Awww," Dustin said, and a blush raced up my cheeks as I looked at him. "You two are so sweet."
I shook my head, and quickly changed the subject to Nolan's pets before Dustin could embarrass me further.
We talked about that for a while, then about the baby, who was due to arrive in this world in a few short weeks.
"I hope things will be fixed before that. I want to have the baby in the Sanctuary," Dustin murmured, and Khush squeezed his arm.
"I hope so too."
I hoped Keoni's words—harsh as they were—would have some effect on Zephyr. He needed help, and he needed to accept the help freely being offered to him.
I didn't know what was stopping him, but I knew it wasn't because Zephyr thought he was better than us. He'd never given me that impression, and I didn't want to think badly of him.
No, this was about something else.
We left Khush and Dustin's a little before lunch, and made our way back to Nolan's place.
"You okay?" he asked as we walked inside, and I hummed, then turned to him.
"I want to stop thinking about Zephyr, about the Sanctuary. Just for today. Can we do that?"
Nolan pulled me close, his palm soft against my cheek, and he rested his forehead against mine, his skin warm and smooth.
"Of course. What would you like to do?"
"I want..." I murmured, trying to think of something fun. "I want to try befriending the Murder Triplets."
Nolan chuckled, his green eyes sparkled, and I realized with a slow, floaty feeling in my chest that I was falling in love with him.
I beamed at him, and he smirked, then shook his head as he pulled back. "You're that excited about befriending my chickens?"
I nodded, wanting to keep the realization to myself for the moment.
"I think the first step would be to stop calling them the Murder Triplets," he teased, and I snorted.
"I suppose you're right. Wait. What are their names again?" I asked as the chickens pattered over, their heads bobbing in an eerie sync as they gazed at me.
