Page 155 of Aryn

We park, and I’ve barely stepped out of the van before we’re swarmed. Ego flings herself into my arms and Sakane joins the hug, muttering about how he thought he’d never see me again. Bash and Xeni stand a little further back, and once the others release me, Bash pulls me into a tight embrace. His arms are like steel bands around me, and I choke out a laugh when he lifts me off the ground.

“You reckless son of a bitch. I thought I might never see you again.”

I laugh and hug him back just as hard. “Missed you too, big guy.”

Aryn is suddenly at my side, shoving a hand against Bash’s chest. His tail curls possessively around my waist to yank me closer.

“That’s enough,” he says, posture tense.

Bash’s brows shoot up. “Whoa, Aryn. What the fuck?”

Aryn doesn’t let go of me, just sets his jaw. I can tell his instincts are fighting his logic. Most of him knows Bash would never be a threat, but the other part clearly needs to stake his claim.

“Hey,” I say softly.

Aryn stares at Bash for another long moment before his eyes climb to mine. He swallows roughly and shakes his head, trying to snap himself out of it. His pupils are wide, though, and his tail squeezes tight around my middle.

I huff a quiet laugh. “This is going to take some getting used to, isn’t it?”

Bash openly gawks while the others glance between us, unsure of what’s happening. I can’t say I blame them. My past is littered with revolving doors and no repeats, never even bringing a hookup back to my place in case they got attached.

But right now, the only thing that matters is the uncertain, confused way Aryn is looking at me, like he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

“Hey, darlin’,” I say, using the pad of my thumb to smooth away the worried crease between his brows. “What’s got that pretty face all puckered up?”

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs.

“For what?”

He tosses his head again, eyes helpless in a way that’s so unlike him it hurts my chest. “For being—”

I yank him forward and pull his lips to mine. The tension in his body loosens as he melts into my arms, kissing me back like we’re the only two people in existence. When we separate, he’s calmer, if a little sheepish.

“I’m sorry, Bash,” he says, holding my eyes. “For as long as we spent studying it, I wasn’t ready for how territorial the bond would make me.”

The group is silent as we turn to face them. Xeni’s eye widens, moving over our bodies until it lands on the red mark peeking out of my sleeve. “Wait…”

Sakane’s eyes get even wider. “You?”

“Hey, fuck you too,” I retort with a scoff.

Ego only stares, then bursts out laughing. “You two? Finally? Can’t say I didn’t see this coming a mile away.”

My face heats, but I lean into Aryn’s side, letting him pull me closer. “Yeah.”

Bash passes me a look that says a hundred things I understand without words. There’s the concern he always carries, laced with worry about whether I’ll be able to handle this. I give him a tiny nod, and whatever he sees in my expression makes him relax. The smile that tilts his lips is genuine, and a touch relieved. It softens the guilt that he feels about leaving me behind once Xeni came back into his life.

Bash’s eyes move to Aryn. “You’ll take care of him?”

“I swear it,” Aryn responds solemnly. Reflex pushes me to argue I don’t need to be taken care of, but the emotion in Aryn’s voice makes me fight the urge. Instead, I pull him closer as he rests his head on my shoulder.

Bash nods and glances at me again. “Did you behave?”

“Not a chance,” I say with a laugh.

Xeni crosses his arms and tosses his hair. “Okay, if the love fest is over, we need details. Surely this isn’t the most exciting thing that happened. You’ve been gone for almost a damn month.”

The rest of the village has gathered, and Sovran’s low conversation with Elas flows over the space between us. Just as I open my mouth to snap back and tell Xeni to be patient, the second van pulls through the clearing.