“Of having a council office here?” Dean asked.
“Yeah.” He stuffed a gooey piece of heaven in his mouth.
“I trust you guys,” Dean said. “I know that Leo would never do anything to hurt his brother. His brother is part of our family. I might not trust what the council stands for but maybe this will not only change my mind but those of the paranormal community that we encounter.”
That was a good point. “You think that’s possible?” He asked once he’d swallowed. Immediately, he shoved in more.
“I have hope. We need paranormal communities to feel they have someone to turn to. I fought against my old coven alone for a very long time,” Dean said.
Noah cleared his throat loudly.
Dean rolled his eyes and grinned. “With the help of my trusty familiar.”
“Damn straight,” Noah said.
“As I was saying,” Dean continued. “I didn’t have anyone to turn to until I moved here. Even after meeting Axel and the family, I still tried to do everything on my own. The way I see things is the council is too secretive, not available for average paranormals, and so they don’t know where to help.”
Bastian agreed. His team had been sent on missions that mainly revolved around rescues. By the time they knew about a problem, it was often too late to save everyone. Failure didn’t sit right with Bas. While Bas believed that his team had been good and helped people, too often he’d also felt like a failure. They needed the information sooner than the council usually called them. That and with the shadiness of the council collecting young paranormals like him, Leo, and Aaron, the council didn’t have the best reputation. Leo was determined to change all that.
Bastian trusted his team leader. Leo was one of the best men that he’d ever met. That didn’t mean that this was the only way to move forward. There had to be a better option.
He finished off his breakfast and downed the rest of the cooling coffee before he patted his stomach. He’d do some thinking as he settled in for his daily nap.
“Nap time?” Logan asked with a grin.
“I think so.” Bas glanced out the front window back toward the new park. He loved his time spent there. “Can I use your restroom to shift?”
“Use the office,” Dean told him, waving a hand toward the swinging doors. “You can leave your clothes on the desk. We’ll crack the door for when you come back.”
“Appreciate it,” Bastian said. He stretched his arms over his head. “Anyone want to join me?”
Logan shook his head. “We’re portaling over to see Lucifer and his mates. Dean is training Cary today. Gage and Noah shift and play. I must watch them, so they don’t cause too much trouble.”
Noah rolled his eyes. “Is that what you call napping in the garden? Keeping an eye on us?”
Logan lifted his chin. “Yep.”
Bastian chuckled. It had been an eye-opening experience meeting Lucifer and both of his mates. Not that Bas believed everything said about Lucifer or that he was evil or anything. He still had never believed that he’d meettheLucifer or that he would be such a loving and kind person who very obviously thought his two mates hung the moon.
Being surrounded by so many couples and throuples wasn’t something that Bas had been prepared for. He was part of the generation that hadn’t put much stock in fated mates.
Watching Dean kiss the top of Logan’s head as he held the boy tight to his side pulled at something inside him. Bastian hadn’t considered finding the person, whether human or paranormal, that was his perfect match. Mates was just a word that was thrown around but not anything that Bas took seriously.
He shook his head, getting his thoughts back to the possibility of shifting. “If you’re going to be in another realm, you shouldn’t leave the door cracked for me.” As much as Bas wanted to check out the park, he was security focused, primarily.
Dean grinned. “That’s what magic is for.”
“What do you mean?” Bas questioned.
“Dean is the most powerful mage around,” Noah said. “If he puts up a barrier that will only allow you to enter, we can leave the door wide open and no one will notice.”
“Awesome.” Bas rocked back on his heels. His experience with magic, while limited, had always interested him. “I appreciate it then. I’ll make sure to lock up when I leave.”
“It’s no problem. Enjoy yourself. We’ll see you at dinner tonight,” Dean replied.
Family dinner. That was right. The entire family would be in attendance, including those that lived in other realms.
“Go on back.” Noah waved Bas around the counter.
