Nic finishes healing Jax with the help of Jeremy’s blood before collapsing back exhausted. He’s staring at me, taking me all in, before realizing I keep looking at all the people.
“Relax, they all love you already. They came to help us get you back because you’re our mate,” Jay says as he settles into the spot next to Kiran. He grabs my hand and kisses the back.
They might like the idea of their sons’ mate but not the actual version of me. Especially considering I’m a hunter, their sworn enemy.
“Do they know what I am?” I whisper, not wanting them to overhear. I’m also worried to see my guys’ responses. I have no idea how they feel about my race, but they did come for me. And they’re surrounding me and holding me tight right now.
“They know, and no one cares. It’s not your race that matters, it’s you,” Nic says firmly.
I relax back into Kiran who still has his arms wrapped tight around me, that’s good.
Twelve
Nic
Aly finally relaxes back into Kiran’s arms and I feel her anxiety recede some through the mate bond. She has nothing to worry about, we would never reject her because she’s a hunter. She’s our everything. We were completely lost without her.
I hate to break up this moment of us finally all together but it’s not safe to stay here. The hunters could be on their way here now.
“We can’t stay here,” I say.
Jax sits up some, drawing my attention. “Actually, my parents have offered us their safe house, the cottage, while we recuperate and plan.”
A huge weight lifts off my shoulders knowing we have somewhere safe to go. I thought we would be running from hotel, to hotel, to stay off anyone’s radar.
Kiran raises his eyebrows in shock, so they must have only told Jax, and recently. I’m sure he wouldn’t have kept it to himself long.
“That sounds great,” I tell him.
“I didn’t even think about the fact that we can’t stay here. What about Brickstone?” Aly asks.
She looks so sad. She’s probably been dreaming about getting back here and now we are pulling her away.
“We’ll come back to finish as soon as we can,” Jay says, sensing her sadness just like me.
Aly steels herself before nodding, “okay.”
I’m so proud of her. She’s taking this like a pro. I’m going to give our parents a few minutes to meet Aly then we all need to leave. I can feel Aly’s hunger and exhaustion, the urge to take care of my mate is strong and I can’t do that here.
I stand up before helping Jax up as well. His leg is fully healed but it might still bother him for a few more minutes. Jeremy lifts Aly out of Kiran’s arms as he and Jay stand up.
I turn to face our parents who are all staring eagerly. They’re probably trying to be welcoming but it comes across kind of creepy.
“Aly, these are our parents.” I go through the list naming each of our moms and their multiple mates, except the twins who only have one dad. I think it’s good for Aly to see how normal this is for all of us.
Mona, Jeremy’s mom breaks away from the group and pulls Aly into a tight hug. I stiffen, thinking about her stab wound but I know it’s fully healed. I won’t feel completely better until all the blood is gone.
“It’s amazing to meet you!” Mona says enthusiastically to Aly.
Aly smiles and hugs her back. “It’s nice to meet you too.”
I glance over at my own parents and my mom has a proud smile on her face that warms my heart. I want our families to get along and this is a great first step.
They could be meeting under better circumstances but honestly what’s a better way to bond than a rescue mission?
“We should go,” I say, breaking the moment.
Our parents nod, staring at Aly as they gather themselves together. Most of them will leave in cars to head home, having driven here to meet us.
