Page 21 of Curse of Ancients

Dad: Your mom and I will be there when you return. We don’t have to stay at the house if you don’t want us to considering you just found your mate, but we don’t want you going through this alone. We can bunk with your sister.

June: Christina is staying with me for the time being, but you can take my room since I will be at C’s. Juni is my namesake after all.

Harlow: C, I have already passed off all open jobs to Nik and Mads, and I informed them you and I will not be taking on anything else until we figure out who the fuck this Black Lotus is.

June: Also, Jon and I are on the way to your place now to start moving furniture out of Juni’s room. He said he has an empty bedroom where he can take it so you don’t have to worry about storing it somewhere.

Dad: Does Juni have enough clothes? Or should your mom and I go shopping? If so, what size does he wear? What else does he need? You ordered furniture, but did you get bedding too?

Carleigh handed her phone to Bayu so he could read the messages. “Do you mind my parents staying with us? Or would you prefer they stay at Juniper’s? We aren’t going to have much privacy these first few days regardless.”

“I do not mind. I look forward to meeting them. As for clothes, let me look at the sizes on the ones in the bag. If they will not be offended, tell them I will pay them back.”

“Oh, they’ll be offended. For all intents and purposes, Juni is their grandchild. You might as well get ready for him to be spoiled rotten. He is the first grandchild in our generation, and they are going to be bragging to anyone who will listen.”

Bayu shook his head, but he was smiling. “Let me check those sizes.” Bayu went back to the bag, which he brought to sit in front of them. He replaced the journal in the box, placing it at the bottom beneath the clothes. He told Carleigh the sizes, then he pulled off the boy’s shoes so he could look inside. Juni never stirred. Carleigh wondered if it was because he was a heavy sleeper or if he was worn out from the day he’d had, being handed off to someone he’d never met.

Carleigh: Dad, you and Mom can stay with us if you’d like. I did order bedding, so that’s taken care of, but if you would get him some clothes, we would appreciate it. Here are his sizes. Also grab a car seat for a three-year-old who weighs about forty pounds. My car is at the airport, so we’ll need someone to meet us there. Low, please start a search on The Council of Shen. They either wrote the journal or started it. Also see if you get any hits on this Black Lotus group. Maybe reach out to the witchy twins and see if they have any ideas on how to break a curse. We’re pretty sure they used Kiki’s blood. June, tell Jon moving the furniture to his house is perfect, and I appreciate his help. I appreciate you all. This is going to be tough on everyone, especially Bayu. You’re all welcome to stay with us, but remember we need one bedroom for Silas.

Bayu read the screen as Carleigh typed. When she finished, he placed his hand on her thigh. “I cannot thank you enough.”

“No thanks needed. I will warn you now that my family, not just those I’m chatting with, are going to swarm the house. If you need time away from the chaos, feel free to hide out in our bedroom or the library. They can be a lot, especially when a little one is involved.”

“Our bedroom?”

“Unless you prefer to have your own. I should have asked.”

Bayu drew circles on her leg with his fingertip. “No. We are mates, and I would prefer to sleep with you. I will need to get more clothes from my apartment at some point.”

“Do you want me to send Jon and Harlow to get them for you? Since you’re hiding, I’m not sure if you should go back there.”

“How will they get in?”

Carleigh placed her hand on his that was still drawing circles and driving her crazy. “They’ll pick the locks. If you have an alarm, you can give them the code.”

“Your family is scary. I do not have an alarm. If Juni and I are to live with you for now, I would like to pack more than clothes. I have enough in my luggage to last a couple of weeks, so maybe once we get Juni settled, we can get your cousins to help pack up the apartment so I can move out? I will need to either continue paying rent or break the lease.”

“Which one would be cheaper? How much longer on your contract?”

Bayu flipped his hand over and slotted their fingers. “A few months. I’m not worried about the money. I have been saving for a long time.”

Carleigh had already told Bayu her money was now his, but it might take a while before he came to terms with sharing bank accounts. “You let me know when you’re ready for that.”

Juni snuffled and wiggled before shifting to his tiger cub. His little paws kneaded Carleigh’s arm, but thankfully, he kept his claws retracted. Within seconds, he was purring.

Bayu released Carleigh’s hand and stroked Juni’s fur. “He sure has taken to you.”

“Did Gemi say why he was with her and not at home?”

Bayu sighed. “He came to live with her about a year ago as a precaution. My father somehow caught wind that the Black Lotus were sniffing around. That doesn’t make sense considering only the firstborn becomes Nuhuala, and he didn’t send Kiki away. I wish she’d taken more time to speak with me instead of running off. I have so many questions. She did describe what she found when she arrived at my parents’ home, and it wasn’t pleasant. I do not wish to speak of it yet.”

“If he lived with her, then he’s probably comfortable with me because I’m a female. That, or he can feel how much I already love him.”

“He’s hard not to love, yes?”

Carleigh looked Bayu in the eyes and said, “Yes, he is.” Hopefully, he would know she wasn’t only speaking of Juni.

The cub slept for several hours, and Carleigh didn’t move the whole time, even though she desperately needed to pee. When he did wake, he let out a big yawn before shifting to his skin. He rubbed his eyes, then flopped back against Carleigh’s chest. “Do you need to potty?”