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Initially, Zenix had been slated to move into living quarters on the mainland, but his desire for solitude had made the island the perfect alternative. Since the Vyper brothers had already been there terraforming the planetoid, it had been easy enough to ask the Dragon Warriors to build something for him.
He had gotten to know the Vyper brothers when they had been in Zion visiting their sister. Zenix had just finished up his last mission for the Alliance when he’d met them. The Vyper brothers were intimidating as hell, but they were a lot less scary than their older sister, Jade. Not that he would ever admit that out loud. While he’d been surprised when they had invited him to travel around Earth with them, playing tour guide had given him a well-deserved break.
When he had asked them to create a house for him, he’d never expected a freaking mansion. His home was two wide levels built out of glass, black stone, and a shiny black metal that gleamed in the moonlight. Since the place was protected by magic, he didn’t have to worry about storms breaking the windows or pretty much anything else.
Zenix drank his beer as he watched the lights dancing along the waves. Once he’d gotten home, he had kept his promise and had eaten something, opting for a large bowl of noodles in a spicy broth with slices of marinated steak and a selection of vegetables. After he’d finished, he had taken a long hot shower, then he’d fallen into bed.
But the dream had woken him.
As hard as he tried, he couldn’t recall the details. Who she was, what she looked like…it was all a blank. But he remembered the sweet heat of her kisses, and how smooth her skin had felt beneath his seeking hands. She’d felt perfect in his arms…like she had belonged there.
And that thought scared the shit out of him.
Movement down on the beach had him tensing, but he relaxed again when he realized it was just Anissa and Nicolo Artane. Since they hadn’t arrived using the teleporting pad, Anissa had probably been out patrolling the island. Seeing the large Krytos male there so late was a surprise, though.
“I wondered if you would still be up,” Nico said as he walked up the steps to the deck.
“I went down for a few hours.”
“It wasn’t enough,” Nico stressed. “You still look like shit.”
“So, everyone keeps telling me,” Zenix muttered.
Without asking, Nico headed straight for the minifridge that was located in the small outdoor kitchen on the other side of the deck. He grabbed a beer for himself and a bottle of water for Anissa, who had taken a seat on the top step with her back braced against the railing.
Zenix recognized the oversized shirt and shorts as clothing she kept in one of the various packs she had hidden around the island. Since she patrolled in her shifted form, carrying clothes with her wasn’t practical. So, she kept caches all over the island in case she had to shift back. She wasn’t much of a talker, so Zenix greeted her with a nod that she returned in kind.
Nico handed the bottle of water to her, then he took a seat on the swing next to Zenix instead of sitting on one of the lounge chairs off to the side. Since he had made the swing large enough to take a proper nap on, it was wide enough for both big males to sit comfortably. Still, he might have to make another one since visitors always seemed to prefer sitting on the porch swing over a regular chair.
“I keep meaning to ask you to make one of these for us.”
“To fit all four of you?” Zenix scoffed. “I don’t think that’s possible. Not unless we get the Vyper brothers to use their magic to make sure it doesn’t break.”
“One this size will do,” Nico told him. “My brothers and I can fight over who gets the privilege to cuddle up with our mate.”
Zenix snorted out a laugh. “Okay, then. What brings you here this time of night?”
“We had a change of plans for one of our VIP guests. The singer, Ayla D’Nye, requested to stay somewhere a little more private, so I set her up in one of the villas on the other side of the island. Her assistant and some of her protection team are staying with her, while her brother and the rest of the team are in the villa next door.”
“Did something happen?”
“Ayla got swamped by fans when she checked in. Even though we blocked off the floor she and her band were staying on with the other VIP guests, she wasn’t really comfortable. Straight up, there were hundreds of people at the resort waiting to get a picture or vid of her when she arrived. I hate to admit it, but that included some of our employees, as well as other guests. It was fucking madness.”
“Damn,” Zenix breathed out.
They had obviously miscalculated just how popular she was. Hell, he’d known she was famous. Everyone in the whole damn universe knew that. It was hard not to when her songs were always being streamed everywhere. She was one of the true superstars of their era, and her fanbase only seemed to grow with each new song she put out.
“We’ll have to increase her security detail when she is out and about.”
“Xian already did. She also has a personal protection team with her,” Anissa reminded him.
Nico cleared his throat. “But there’s this other thing…”
“What?”
“Stalkers,” Anissa spit out like the word itself was distasteful.
Nico nodded. “Ayla’s got a few of them. There are several individuals who attend every single one of her concerts, but that’s nothing new. However, she has started getting some messages that have crossed the line into alarming. Some of them have even mentioned private details that no one should know. Her brother, who is also her manager, handles all of her correspondence, but some messages and gifts have slipped past him and have gotten straight to Ayla. That has them worried.”
