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Arden’s growls rocked Gamble to his core and shit he wasn’t getting hot for this! He was seriously messed up in the head as of late.
“I will say what’s important,” Arden said.
“Yeah, probably, but you have the interview tonight and Shen North is already here and waiting.” Gamble took in a breath once he got all his words out. But apparently he wasn’t done. “So maybe put whatever is happening here aside and get to that. I have to go man the front. We are opening in less than forty-eight minutes.”
Gamble turned on his heels and flew down the remaining stairs.Shit shit shit.He was a dead man now.
“Oh Gamble,” Spooky's voice made Gamble pause on his way back to the front.
“Was that Arden on the stairs you were talking to?”
Gamble should have known. He gave Spooky a bored look and shouldered him as he walked past. Now he was even more annoyed. How was that even possible? But for a split second there he’d stupidly thought the cat familiar had been looking for him and for what? Gamble wanted nothing to do with Spooky and Spooky wanted everything to do with Arden. There shouldn’t be any issues and yet there was a pang in Gamble’s chest he couldn’t ease even as he rubbed at it.
How much longer could hedeny it?
Gamble, Spooky, Eldon, Micha; all of them were going to be the downfall of him and he knew he couldn't stop it. He'd gotten "the talk" when he was a young man that one day someone would come into his life and he would know they were meant to be mates. That they would be there for him forever and he would be there for them.
But he never expected that bond, the lure to protect and possess, to be aimed at not one but four different people. He groaned as he wiped a hand down his face. Porter had been the same, coming in and stealing all of his best hosts. He'd always thought the boy was crazy, but now that it was happening to him? He was lost.
His mind wandered to Gamble. The interview had taken precedent, so he didn’t deal with the illusionist then. Nor had he tracked him down for the past few days. If he was anyone else, Arden would have tossed his ass out, but Gamble was different…
Still, he would need to deal with him soon.
Arden's phone rang and he scooped it up. Just in time, there was Porter. He always called on Saturdays to check on Arden and like clockwork, he was there to hover.
He stabbed the answer icon and pressed his phone against his cheek. "Porter."
"Hey, Arden!" Porter said and he could hear the joy in his voice. "How are you?"
Arden pressed his lips together tightly. "Perfectly fine. I've told you a thousand times you don't need to call and check up on me, I'm a grown man."
"I know," Porter said quietly. "But I worry that you'll be lonely without us there."
He let out a short laugh. Only Porter would be worried about him that way as if he was some delicate thing that would break without the company of others. But Arden had been alone for a long time, he could take it. Besides, it wasn't as if he was ever left to his own devices now anyway, not with the chaos that everyone around him brought on.
"I'm fine," Arden repeated.
"Okay," Porter said with a sigh. "How's Spooky? He's sent me a few text messages, but he says he's been busy."
"Spooky is fine. He's been helping out a lot when he's not being a pain in my ass," he grumbled. "I can't believe you left me with that troublemaker."
"He wanted to stay!" Porter protested. He hesitated. “Are you sure you’re okay? You know you can talk to me the same way you told me that I could talk to you,” he sighed. “Jaygen’s been worried about you too. We all have. I guess we miss you.”
Arden’s heart squeezed. They missed him? Something like warmth spread in his chest and he gazed away from the people filing into the host bar. Maybe, deep down, and he would never admit it, he missed them too. They were crazy, but they were friends at the end of the day. Now? Well, things were different. He had to be Arden; the boss, the leader, the fierce one. But sometimes he longed to sit around and watch them interact before he was pulled effortlessly into one ridiculous debate after another.
The loneliness that he swore he didn’t feel came roaring back.
“Is that Arden?” a familiar voice called. “Hey, big Daddy!”
Cyrus. Arden smiled despite himself and quickly wiped the expression away. The little incubus was always barking up the wrong damn tree.
“Stop it,” he heard Oz lecture. “You know he doesn’t like that. Hello, Arden. Hope you’re well and that you’re eating,” the daywalking vampire chimed in.
“Big fucking steaks!” Foi yelled. “I want one of those good ones from-”
“Enough,” Jaygen growled. “Arden has better things to do than listen to all of you prattle on. Porter, the guests are arriving and it seems someone overbooked.”
“It wasn’t me!” Foi argued.
