Page 19 of Enchanted

“Nothing would have.” Benji’s smirk shifted into a frown. “You look like shit, Rami.”

“Thanks.”

“You smell like it too.” His nose wrinkled. “When was the last time you showered?”

“Did you just come in here to nag me about hygiene?”

“No, but if I’d known you were lying in your own filth, I would’ve come in to do that sooner,” he said, shoving off the wall. “I’m turning your shower on. We’re not having this conversation until you smell better.”

“That’s rude, you know.”

The sound of the shower starting filtered through from the en-suite as Benji reappeared with a shrug. “Probably. I don’t give a shit if it is though. Politeness is a social construct created for a neurotypical human society. Doesn’t make sense that we, as angels, adhere to it.”

I thought about pointing out that humans had been made in the image of angels but decided against it. Knowing Benji, he likely had a list of every argument I’d make complete with counter-arguments. Instead, I got to my feet and stretched. “Fine. I’ll get in the shower.”

Benji let out an alarmed bark, his hands flying up to cover his face. “For fuck’s sake. Where’s your underwear? I don’t want to see that.”

I grinned for the first time in days as I swept past him. “Why not? Shame surrounding nudity is also social construct created by humans.”

Itook my time in the shower. Not just because Benji was right—I really fucking needed it—but to pull myself together. I organised my thoughts.

Being mated wasn’t a possibility three weeks ago.

It’s not a possibility now.

Nothing has changed.

Nothing has changed.

I could repeat the lie as often as I wanted, it didn’t make it true. Because meeting Ethan had changed everything. How was I meant to ignore the fact that my mate was nearby? That he shared his heart and his bed with another?

Theo was the one I should be speaking to. Maybe he could explain just how he was able to ignore the existence of his mate without going crazy, because I had zero idea of how to do that.

When I’d finally dragged myself out of the shower and into a pair of joggers, I found Benji in the living room. He was flicking through the book I’d been reading before everything had gone to shit. “This looks interesting.”

“It is.” I took the chair opposite his. “One of the better ghost stories I’ve read recently.”

One of his brows rose. “As good as Susan Hill or Michelle Paver?”

“Eh.” I shrugged. “Not really, but when are they ever?”

Benji grumbled, laying the book on the table beside him. “Feel like we’ll be chasing that high for a while.”

Reading horror stories as angels might have seemed weird, what with our knowledge of how the paranormal truly worked, but with all the horrors we experienced in the real world on a daily basis…escaping into the fictional version was exactly what was needed.

“Tell me what happened,” Benji said.

I grunted. “You know what happened.”

“Are you being facetious to piss me off?” Benji asked mildly. “Because that won’t work with me.”

“Sorry.” I sighed, rubbing my face with my hands. “Don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Well, if I had to guess, your mood is being impacted by whatever happened. Given you arrived home covered in blood that wasn’t yours, claiming to have found your mate, I’m going to assume it was in traumatic circumstances.”

Ethan’s prone body rose to the surface of my mind. The image hadn’t left for a second, just lurked in dark corners, ready to terrify me at any given moment. “Yes.”

“He was injured. Dying?”