With a trill of pride, Hemersyn high-fived him. “I believe a ‘boom’ is in order, correct?”
“Yes! Fucking boom!” Dex bellowed.
“Fucking boom,” Hemersyn echoed.
Flipping both his middle fingers, Toni waggled his black tongue obscenely. “Fucking boom, baby.”
Quin pinched the bridge of her nose. “Boom, I suppose.”
Clearly still in shock, Cya did not boom. They could only gawk, mouth moving wordlessly as they stared at Hemersyn, then Dex, then their parents. Equally lost for words, their parents wore matching expressions of indignation, and it pleased Dex greatly.
As he kissed Cya’s brow, Hemersyn addressed Dex over their head. “Go help them pack. I’ll be taking them home now.”
Not comprehending the plan but fully on board with leaving, Dex nodded and tightened his grip on their hand. “For sure. C’mon, Cy.”
As Dex half-led, half-dragged them toward the house, Mr. Vysov tried to block their path, but Toni intervened. “Take it easy, pal,” he said with another sharp grin. “Like Quin said, the kids are coming with us.”
“This is unacceptable. I want these strangers out of my house this instant!” Mr. Vysov roared, but the conversation faded behind them as Dex hauled Cya into the house, through the halls, and up the ramp to the second floor.
Inside their bedroom, Dex threw open the closet doors and started tossing their clothes onto the bed. “Do you have a suitcase?” he asked, but Cya didn’t answer. “Cy, baby, do you have a duffel or something?”
“What are you doing?” they asked, voice devoid of any inflection, and Dex paused.
Dropping the clothes in his arms, he approached the stunned Sypent carefully. “We gotta go now.”
“Where? This is my home. I can’t just leave.” They picked up their gold-encrusted hairbrush. “All of my things are here, and I—I have nowhere to go.”
“That’s not true.”
“I can’t just leave,” they repeated.
Gently, he took the brush out of their grasp and cradled their hands in both of his. “You really wanna stay here? After everything they said and did to you?”
Lost and hurt, they searched his gaze for answers he didn’t have. “But… this is my home.”
“No, baby, it’s not. It’s just a house.” He pressed their hand to his chest over his racing heart, then he did the same to them, their pulse beating against his palm. “This is home.Packis home, and your pack is waiting for you. We howled for them, and they came for us, because that’s what pack does. That’s what pack is.”
He kissed them, and their mouth trembled against his lips. “You’re not alone, and you never have to be again. Though, you may have to sleep in my bed and share my sister’s toothbrush for a while.”
A wet laugh punched from their chest as they fisted the fur of his chest. “That’s gross.”
“Okay, fine, we’ll bring your own toothbrush.” He smiled sadly as their face crumpled.
“They’ll disown me.” Cya backed away, shaking their head. “I’ll lose my trust fund, my inheritance. Dex, I’ll have nothing.”
“Yeah, Cy, maybe you will lose that stuff, but that doesn’t leave you with nothing.”
“I don’t know how to live in the real world.” They gestured vaguely out the window. “I can’t pay my own bills or—I don’t even know how to buy toilet paper.”
Despite the stressful situation, Dex laughed. “It’s easy. I’ll show you.”
“You know what I mean. I can’t survive out there.”
“Firstly, yes, you can. Secondly, why did you get a job and save the money in a secret bank account all this time, if it wasn’t for this?” He cupped their face, thumbing away their tears. “You’ve been preparing for this for two years.”
Their chin trembled as tears dripped onto their tunic. “I’m scared.”
“I know, baby. I’m scared too.” He pulled them into a hug and kissed their temple, speaking into their damp hair. “But destiny brought us together, and it’s not gonna fail us now.”
