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“I’m going to go shower; I just wanted to see what all the yelling was about.” He presses a soft kiss to my temple, and butterflies explode in my chest.
“Oh, wait!” I grab his arm.
He cocks his head. “What is it, love?”
“There’s something I need to tell you about—about the—” The thought slips away, and I blink. What was I about to say? It was important, I’m sure of it.
“Quick!” Vae whispers-shouts as he runs past us. “Let’s get inside before he comes back!” He races for the door, yanks it open, and disappears before I’ve even processed what he said.
“Idril? You had something you needed to tell me?”
Was there something I meant to tell him? What the heck was it?
I shake my head and grimace sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I don’t—I can’t remember what I was saying. It must not have been very important.”
His expression smoothes and his eyes soften. He reaches out, cradling my face in his palms. “It’s alright. It’ll come back to you. You’ve had a lot going on; your brain is probably working overtime trying to keep up with all of it.”
“You’re probably right,” I sigh.
“Don’t stress, alright? I’m going to go take a shower, then we’ll get something to eat.”
He leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead and waits for my answering nod before jogging off. Branwen and Dax follow, but I stay, unwilling to leave until I’ve seen Shade one more time.
“Are you coming, Omega?” Daxen asks, holding the door open for me. His eyes flick to Soren, who’s lingering off to the side, waiting for me.
“Uhm… in just a second,” I reply, wrapping my arms around my stomach, feeling awkward.
I’m pretty sure this is the first time Daxen’s ever spoken to me normally, and he apparently finds my answer lacking because he lifts a single brow in response.
“I don’t want Shade to think we just abandoned him.”
I brace myself for a cruel remark, the way I used to brace myself for my father’s fists.
But the cruelty doesn’t come. Instead, Daxen’s eyes soften just the smallest amount. After what feels like an eternity, he inclines his head in acknowledgment.
Soren’s eyes catch mine, and he gives me a questioning look, tapping the back pocket of his jeans.
I know what he’s asking—do we tell him what we’ve found now?
I nod. I’d rather do this as soon as possible. I’m getting antsy for answers.
Soren turns to Dax. “Can you grab Caelan and Vaelenor and meet us in the lounge of your wing in twenty minutes?”
Daxen’s eyes narrow. “Why?”
“Idril and I went on a little mission this afternoon—searching through Cage’s things,” Soren answers nonchalantly. “We found some things that might be of interest.”
A muscle feathers along Dax’s jaw. He scrapes his hand through his hair and forces his muscles to relax.
“I’ll let them know,” he replies before disappearing into HQ.
Shade appears, loping out of the forest and across the training yard. I grin when I notice the ball he was playing with is suspiciously absent.
He comes straight to me, rubbing his large body against my legs and purring up a storm. I laugh, kneeling and wrapping my arms around him.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
He swipes his prickly tongue up the side of my face, then butts his head against mine.
