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He’s wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt, and while he looks breathtaking in his human form, I miss the black markings that normally stretch across his skin. Without his horns and tail, I hardly recognize him.
I stand on my tiptoes to peer inside and find the last of the knickknacks from my bedroom.
“It should be,” I say. “I’m going to do one last walkthrough to make sure.”
“Okay, love. I’m going to put this in the car.” He leans down and presses his lips against mine briefly before heading toward the front door.
Cara, who is standing in the tiny kitchen with a mug of coffee in her hands, smirks at me over the rim of the cup. Her red hair is tied messily on top of her head, and she has bags under her eyes from where she hasn’t slept. Final exams are brutal.
She was a little hurt when she found out I was moving to Florida with my new boyfriends, but she understood. It also didn’t hurt that Azarius and Elio paid her rent for the remainder of the year, so she doesn’t have to stress about bills.
“Where can I find me a man like that?” she asks, wagging her eyebrows at me.
My cheeks warm as I think of the monster realm, and I suppress a smile. “Uber driving.”
She laughs. “I guess I’ll be considering a side gig.”
The front door opens again, and Elio slips inside. His dark eyes find mine and he smiles, revealing perfectly white teeth. My knees go weak the way they normally do when he looks at me. Like Azarius, he’s wearing jeans to look normal, and a black shirt with a band logo stretches tight across his muscles.
“Are we almost ready to go?” he asks.
I nod. “I’m just going to double check everything.”
“Perfect. The car is loaded.”
Sliding my hand in his, I interlock our fingers and drag him down the short hallway to what used to be my room. Now it’s unrecognizable. Aside from a twin bed and a dresser, the room is stripped bare, and the closet is empty aside from some hangers.
This room has been my security blanket for the last few months while I’ve been in the monster realm. I always knew at the back of my mind I could come back here if things didn’t work out. If things got too dangerous and I needed to escape, I could come home.
But now, there is no security blanket.
I’m trusting Azarius, Elio, and Rafe to keep me safe in the monster realm until they get the Malevs under control. Until then, I’m not coming back.
“Are you excited?” Elio steps in front of me and grabs my other hand, pulling me against him.
“I am.”
“Nervous?” He leans down, but not close enough to kiss me.
Up until this moment, I’d been a little anxious.
Moving to an entirely different realm is a big life change after all.
But when Azarius and Elio started packing my things and talking about our future together, the anxiety melted away. I’ve never been so sure of something in my entire life.
“Nope,” I say confidently, stretching up on my toes to kiss him.
The things I thought I was certain about in the past seem silly now, because being in the monster realm makes so much sense.
It’s my home.
It’s where I belong.
