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Raven takes my hand. I’ve still been running it through his hair this whole time. He strokes his thumb back and forth across the back of my hand, then kisses my knuckles.
“We’re with you.”
“I know,” I assure him. I don’t doubt Raven’s loyalty.
And even if the men weren’t invested in me, I know they’re invested in protecting our people. We all are. Even with my distance from the magical community, I don’t want to see the fae die out.
At least I’m not terrified about how I feel for the men the way I once was. I was so scared of feeling anything for them, or for anyone, and now I’m feeling more at peace with it. How can I not be? When they’re literally around me, protecting me, looking at me with such warmth and determination? How could anyone feel bad or scared about caring for men like them?
“We have some contacts,” North says. “We can reach out to people.”
I shake my head. “No. Not just that.”
“Not just that?” Cain echoes.
That man attacked me and tried to kill me. He probably would’ve tried to kill my guys too, in another minute. I grit my teeth. Nobody wrongs me and gets away with it. Just ask my ex-boyfriend.
“I’m going to take himdown.”
CHAPTER8
The men all stare at me for a moment in silence. I can’t quite tell what they’re thinking.
Will they say that this is stupid? That I shouldn’t do this?
North nods. “All right. You go after him, so will we.”
Raven nods.
“We’re with you,” Cain says.
If I wasn’t already lying down, I would collapse in relief. I’m glad to hear it. The men have done nothing but stand by me. I have no reason to be so scared of their abandonment. But going after someone like Roanac is huge. And I can’t shake the habit of feeling alone, and being used to doing this all on my own.
“You guys don’t have to do this,” I point out. “If you think that you still have to prove you’re my mates, you don’t. I get it. But you shouldn’t put yourselves on the line like this for me. You’ve already done far too much. You gave up your Immortal Key for me, you nearly died, and I’m sure you’re on Roanac’s shit list too. You should do what’s best for you.”
Cain looks at me like I’m crazy.
North takes my face in his hands and kisses me. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to help you.”
He sounds like the thought didn’t even occur to them to be anywhere else.
“This isn’t because we’re trying to prove that we’re your mates,” he adds, once he pulls away. “We are your mates. It’s as simple as that. You know it. And even if you don’t know it, that’s fine. We know it. And that’s why we’re doing this. Because we’re going to stand by your side, now and forever.”
That is the sweetest thing that anyone’s ever said to me. I kiss him again, and then Raven, and then Cain. They might not have said it out loud, but they’re letting North speak for them and declare it for all of them, and that’s just as well as if they’d said it themselves.
I want to do more. We have to make a plan and we have to talk about this further. We should probably discuss the mate thing more. And after that affirmation from all of them, I want to fuck them again. I want to feel them inside of me and against me once more.
But I’m also fucking exhausted. It’s been a long couple of days. I don’t even have the energy to eat the food that Raven was preparing. I can deal with all of that tomorrow.
I curl up with the men, and I pass out.
* * *
Iwake up the next morning with a new sense of purpose: I’m going to stop Roanac.
My whole life, I haven’t had a purpose like this. After my parents died, I just wanted to be on the run, away from the magical world. Away from vampires. I wanted to live as a human, but it wasn’t like I had any strong purpose. I wasn’t super passionate about cooking, or ready to give my life as a firefighter. I was just exploring and living.
And being a thief.
