“Honestly? I’m not 100% sure. Sitting on his face probably helped. No time to attack people if you’re busy drowning in pussy.”
“Got that right,” Zayd agrees as he walks into the kitchen, rubbing sleep from his eyes as I slide into my seat at the table.
He walks straight up to me and swivels my chair to the side, dropping to his knees between my legs and tucks his face in the crook of my neck. “This helps,” he murmurs against my skin, making me shiver at the tickling sensation. “Your scent makes it easier to fight against the fog.”
Meeting Stryker’s shocked gaze above his head, I smile smugly, running my fingers softly through Zayd’s wild hair. “Good to know. I’ll make sure to leave you with one of my shirts or something when I go to work. Though it’ll be a lot easier to take snuggle breaks now that we’re moving into the clinic.”
“About that,” Stryker says, serving up the rest of our plates. “Now that I've invited myself to move in, what if we start looking at houses instead?”
“Zayd?” I ask softly.
He mumbles against my neck, “I go wherever you do, doesn’t matter to me. Easier to fortify one location than split our attention between two. With Stryker and Devlin, though, we can make whatever you want work.”
With one final, deep inhale, he extracts himself slowly, as if he’s not fully confident that he won’t slip back into feral territory the second he’s away from me. But one step turns into two, and he sighs in relief. Still, he drags his chair as close to me as possible before taking a seat and thanking Stryker for breakfast before giving it his full, enthusiastic attention.
Stryker stares at him like he still can’t believe it, not even taking a bite yet. He shakes himself out of his stunned stupor. “Agreed. Is there any reason besides saving money that you want to stay at the clinic, Kiara?”
I take a few bites of hashbrowns and mull it over. “Pride? I know it’s not a sustainable long term plan, but I really need to get this place cleared out in the next couple of weeks and would prefer sleeping at the clinic while we figure out our next move instead of jumping into the first house available because of the bad timing. But I don’t want to make you guys suffer if you’re not on board with it.”
Zayd swallows his last mouthful, eyeing his empty plate longingly. “You found me sleeping naked behind a dumpster; I don’t give a shit where we stay as long as I’m with you.”
My heart warms as Stryker slides his plate across the table for him before grabbing another for himself. “Same. My time in the military was a hard lesson in appreciating the basics. After enough nights surviving off of cat naps at the mercy of the elements and choking down whatever was available to survive the trek back to base camp, I’m thrilled with access to a bed and clean water. So it doesn’t matter to me.”
Guilt has me pushing my food around with my fork. “I’m not trying to make you sleep on the floor indefinitely. I just need some time to figure things out, and-”
Zayd slides his hand beneath my hair, palming the back of my neck and stroking his thumb over my skin, steady and soothing. “No one is upset, little goddess. We’re happy so long as we have you by our side; the rest will fall into place.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Laying it on a little thick there, Z.”
His low chuckle hits me right between the legs, his thumb continuing its comforting path across my sensitive skin. “My people would lose their minds if they met you, swearing your abilities were gifted from Bastet herself. You’re amazing, my sweet mate; embrace it.”
Well shit, why couldn’t I have been born there instead of my village? Sounds way more fun. Well, until they spotted the black veins and decided I was an abomination and sacrificed me to their gods for brownie points.
Closing my eyes, I take a beat to put myself in their shoes and reframe the way I’ve been looking at the situation. They’re grown men and can make their own choices. Heck, they don’t even have to stay there with me, if they don’t want to. I don’t technically need to be out of my house for a few more weeks, and there’s always the bed and breakfast Stryker’s been staying at. Not to mention, if he doesn’t want to wait for me, Stryker could visit Ellis himself and get a house assigned to him. Zayd may not have as many options available in his current state, but he could always stay here a while longer. So if they decide to help me drag a couple of mattresses into one of the exam rooms at the clinic, who am I to stop them?
Though I really don’t like the idea of being alone after last night. Whoever I rescued Yukina from must have figured out I was involved if they were looking formespecifically. Rentown is far enough away from Mercy Ridge and nobody knew I wasgoing to the fundraiser as my brother’s plus one, so it must’ve been a fluke that somebody there recognized me and told their boss. Or hell, maybe it wasn’t about Yukina at all, and someone just clocked me as a center and thought when they showed up to crash the auction, they’d grab a few women along with whatever items they planned to steal.
Regardless, the wards around Mercy Ridge are impressive enough that I’m not too worried, so long as I don’t leave town until the heat dies down. The invisible barrier may not be perfect, but it ensures no humans can pass through; mystics only, even if they’re powerless. After the shitshow Ever went through exposed the loophole in the intent of the barrier, supposedly the gargoyles added another layer of protection for anyone that slips through the cracks, but they’ve been tight-lipped on that to keep the element of surprise against potential threats.
They couldn’t outright ban violence as a layer to the wards when people need the ability to protect themselves and their families. Not to mention the technicality glitches of things like accidentally getting a papercut from something someone handed you and the wards misreading that as hurting someone and ejecting them from town. It’s worked well enough, though, since the majority of people that come here are escaping dangerous situations or are in hiding and genuinely just want to live in peace.
Mercy Ridge isn’t perfect, but it’s the closest mysts have come to creating a safe haven that still values individual freedom.
“Then yeah, I’d like to pack up the house and stay at the clinic for a while. At least until the check clears from the sale of the house and I figure things out with Havoc. No point moving if he’s going to throw a wrench in things.”
Stryker finishes up and takes our empty plates to the sink. “It’s settled, then. We can move over the important things today, I just need to unload my stuff out of the backseat first. Then I can haul over the mattress while you and Z box things up here.”
“I feel guilty making you do all the hard work, especially if we’re just going to turn around and move somewhere else in a few weeks.”
Z and Stryker both snort, Zayd massaging the back of my neck and calmly declaring, “It’s our privilege to care for you, Kiara. Mates are a gift from the gods; only a fool would take that honor for granted.”
Yes, the supreme honor of dealing with my broke ass and carrying my shit for me. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance?
“He’s right, pretty girl,” Stryker agrees. “You’re not in this alone anymore. It’s our job as mates to provide for you, but a self-serving one. I don’t think you realize how satisfying it is to know that anything you need, I can handle. Knowing you trust me enough to come tomewhen you need help? Really does it for me, if we’re being honest. Is that a kink? Doesn’t matter, I’m into it.”
His teasing does nothing to prevent the rock forming in my chest, making everything tight and hard to breathe. “But what if you leave? If I rely on you to take care of me, if you ever change your mind, or worse,die, I’m screwed.”
Stryker sets the dishes aside, giving me his full, undivided attention. “Is that really something you worry about?”
