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Zayde looked over at him, still feeling a little dazed from the intensity of their lovemaking. “That was amazing,” he said softly.
Denali pulled Zayde down to him, curling his large body around Zayde. “You’re the one who’s amazing. You held yourself together through a crisis, and I couldn’t be prouder of you.” He kissed Zayde’s temple.
“I was scared shitless the entire time,” Zayde confessed.
Denali nodded and kissed his forehead. “But you didn’t run. You faced it head-on. You didn’t have to do that alone. I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.”
So far Zayde had taken comfort in Denali’s presence, but with demons after his mate, he wasn’t so sure everything was going to be okay. They still had a huge hurdle to overcome, and from what Zayde had learned so far, beating Kalin wasn’t going to be easy.
Chapter Eight
What Denali hadn’t told his mate was that he felt the scars. The wounds were healed, and he was back on his feet, but there was a low, simmering pain where the whip had touched his skin.
He had a feeling the low pain was permanent, but Denali could live with that. The pain wasn’t as intense as it had been before, and he was just grateful to be alive.
Leaving Zayde alone in the world had been one of his many concerns when he’d been floating in and out of consciousness. The world could be a harsh place when you had no one in your corner. That special someone who was there for you.
Denali wanted to be that person for Zayde. He wanted to protect the human and keep him safe. He wanted to be Zayde’s partner, in every sense of the word. He wanted to be his strong and supportive mate.
He glanced over at Zayde as he drove, his heart swelling with love and admiration. Despite his fear, Zayde had been brave and loyal throughout the ordeal. He’d risked his own safety to help save Denali. Who in the hell couldn’t get down with that? At least Denali knew that, in a bind, Zayde would be there for him.
They pulled into a parking spot in front of the diner. Zayde was hungry, but Denali was famished. Getting your ass handed to you by a whip-wielding demon took a lot out of a guy. Healing took even more. It felt as if his stomach was trying to eat its way out.
After they took care of food, Denali planned on taking his mate to the vet clinic to try and smooth things over since Zayde had missed work without letting his boss know he wasn’t going to be there.
Denali also wanted to drop by the station and talk with his coworkers.
As soon as Denali got out of Zayde’s car, he glanced around. It didn’t feel as if anyone was watching him. Then again, Panahasi had said that Kalin could be invisible, so trying to sense someone watching him seemed a bit useless.
When they walked into the diner, Denali saw Dominic and Julian in one of the booths. He also saw Gage sitting at the counter. Shouldn’t the guy be at work at Wild Tiger?
“Welcome to my place,” Roman said from behind the counter. “Where the food is good…if you can get the servers to work.”
Denali chuckled. “I can serve myself if they’re busy.”
Roman frowned. “They’re not busy.” He looked toward Julian. “They’re just too busy sucking face to get anything else done.”
Denali dipped his head toward Gage. “I’m assuming Mason is saying the same thing.”
“Nope,” Gage said as he got up and made his way toward them. “Mason and Elijah are heading off for a weekend trip, so the restaurant won’t be open all weekend. I have all the time in the world to harass my mate.”
The way Roman looked at Gage made Denali see just how much the snow leopard shifter loved his fairy.
“I’m glad to see you on your feet,” Gage said. “I’m really happy to see that, but how?”
Denali leaned in close and said, “Panahasi.”
“Man, that demon leader has some wicked powers,” Gage said. “And here I thought the only way to defeat Kalin was to kill him or take away his toys.”
Thankfully there weren’t too many people in Deep Dish. It was after the lunch rush. So far as Denali could see, there were only six humans there, all sitting toward the back.
“I’ll serve since Julian is busy getting his tongue sucked out of his mouth,” Gage said. “What’ll you have?”
“You don’t have one of those fancy ordering tablets,” Denali pointed out as he and Zayde sat in a booth by the door.
Gage tapped his temple. “I have an excellent memory.”
“I’ll have some meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and corn, with a few biscuits,” Denali said.
