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I walked to the far end of the apartment, putting as much space between me and the guys as I could before I called the shop’s phone number.
Sophie answered quickly, her voice calm. “Coffee & Toffee, this is Sophie.”
“Hey, Soph. How are you doing?”
“Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you’re okay! I’m fine; the demon’s magic actually felt kind of nice. How are you? What happened?”
“I’m still trying to figure that out,” I admitted. “Are you still good to work tomorrow?”
“Of course! I already heard from Miley, too, and she’s planning to stop by and make sure everything’s going well partway through the day.”
“Perfect. Thanks for being so awesome.” I closed my eyes, leaning the side of my head against the glass. My stomach was starting to ache with hunger, but I really just wanted to collapse in bed and sleep away everything that had happened that day.
Unfortunately, sleeping wouldn’t make Rafael or the mate marking on my hand miraculously disappear.
“No problem. Good luck with your demon issues!”
I laughed softly. “Thanks. I’m going to need it.” Hanging up the phone, I slipped it in my jeans’ pocket again.
I needed time to come up with a plan. Time to think up a way out of everything. Hell, time just toprocesseverything and figure out exactly what I was going to do about it.
Time seemed like something I didn’t have, though.
Rafe was starving. He needed me to feed him before he could go anywhere with humans—and humans were everywhere. I was hungry too, and probably needed to figure out how to eat like a demon did.
On top of that, I still needed to finish perfecting all three of my seasonal candies for Christmas. It was the beginning of October, so I didn’t have much time left.
It was all just… overwhelming.
I turned my head as all three brothers came down the stairs together. Rafael was grinning, dressed in a gray tee that fit him like a second skin and a pair of black joggers. The scruff on his chin had been trimmed to stubble, though his waves were still damp and long. Both of his brothers wore similar expressions.
They all acknowledged me briefly before they gathered in the kitchen and then started putting away groceries together. Remaining where I was, I watched them work.
They moved smoothly, all of them clearly knowing where everything went. To me, that meant they probably spent plenty of time together, and in each other’s homes. Or at the very least, at Rafael’s place.
“Mom called when we were on the way here. She heard about your bond,” the messier one, Zander, said.
“Dammit,” Rafe grumbled. “Is she on a plane yet?”
“I talked her into giving it a week. That should give you enough time to get your act together,” Sebastian said. “I’m sure she suspects it’s fake, but she’s smart enough not to ask questions she doesn’t want the answer to.”
“We’ll sell it,” Rafe said.
Now he expected me to lie to his mom?
Geez, I had managed to get myself wrapped up in agreatsituation.
At least he was still close with his mother, I supposed. According to a few gossip articles I’d read, some supernatural families were at war with each other and had been for centuries.
“I’ll take care of dinner. Zander was halfway through setting up your phone and computer; help him with that.” Sebastian glanced sideways at me. “Or go and make sure your mate knows you can’t hurt her.”
My lips curved downward at his mention of me.
Rafael reached for one of the bags, but Zander grabbed it before he could, hauling it over to the kitchen table. There, he pulled out boxes for a brand new laptop and phone.
Rather than making his way toward me, Rafe grabbed another piece of chocolate from the box.
His brothers noticed the candy, for the first time since they arrived, and both of them beelined straight to it.
