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Priest stiffened against him. “Not like that.”
Remi felt himself laughing, feeling floaty as he rolled his eyes. “I know. I can feel that. It’s different. It’s nice. I never… I mean, I have my parents, and they love me. But I’m a disappointment to them.”
Priest’s expression went sad. “Is that really what you think?”
“Dunno what else to think,” Remi said, then yawned so hard his jaw cracked. “Sadie and Percy are better than me. Stronger. More… everything.” Gods, words were getting hard now. “M’only crown prince because I was first.”
“Your parents adore you. All three of you. I wasn’t there very long, but Remi…” Priest sighed. “All they do is worry they haven’t been good enough. And they want you to be happy.”
Remi’s chest ached, and suddenly, he missed them with a fierceness he hadn’t felt since he was a scared child. “I want to go home.”
“Soon,” Priest told him. His voice rumbled a little deeper in his chest, and Remi couldn’t keep his eyes open. “Sleep for a bit. Things will be better when you wake up.”
* * *
Before Remi opened his eyes, he tried to find it in him to be pissed that a Demon essentially cast a sleeping spell over him like he was some damsel in a fairy tale. However, he felt a little more clearheaded and refreshed, so it was hard to be angry at Priest for knocking him out.
He was on the couch, but he could hear members of the Alpha Team talking not too far away.
“You’re up?”
Remi forced one eye open and saw Storm lounging in a chair near his feet. With a yawn, he stretched his arms above his head and sat up. “How long was I out?”
“Just a few hours. Looked like you needed the rest.”
Remi wanted to say he’d only slept that hard because of Priest, but he wasn’t sure if that was true or not. The bonding had drained him; then losing Jeremiah not too long afterward to the human police had ruined what should have been all-night cuddles with his mate. So there was every chance his body had decided to just shut down.
“You want some coffee?”
Remi looked over at the Dragon, who had dark circles under his eyes, and he had to wonder if the team had been getting regular sleep. “Has anyone heard from him?”
Storm leaned forward. “Yes. We’re going to head over there in a bit, but Knight said you might want the chance to clean up. You, uh… smell a bit.”
Remi flushed hard. He knew it wasn’t offensive body odor from working up a sweat. He’d been marked by Jeremiah and probably smelled like raging pheromones. “Yeah. I’m, um… gonna shower.”
Storm shot him a small grin and shook his head. “For the record, it didn’t bother any of us. We’re really happy for you two.”
Remi wanted to say he was happy too, but it was hard to feel like the world wasn’t falling out from under him now that he was bonded and immediately lost his mate. He wanted to trust that the team really had taken care of matters, but what if this was that one time they couldn’t solve it?
What if whatever evidence they had wasn’t enough?
He didn’t want to let that thought cloud his head too much, and as he reached for the shower knob, he felt a sudden pulsing in his chest. It was like a steady second heartbeat, warm and comforting, and he realized it was Jeremiah calming him down.
Remi felt his eyes grow hot with tears. Fuck, he needed him.
I know, the heartbeat seemed to say. Soon.
He jumped under the spray and washed just enough to water down his scent, then immediately hopped out to dry off. He didn’t really give a shit if he looked a mess. He just wanted to be with his mate. He wanted to call his parents and demand they figure out a way to free him.
He also needed to tell his parents about him and Jeremiah, but he didn’t think they’d be anything other than happy for him. Even if he decided to also tell them that he was going to abdicate and leave room for his siblings to rule. He no longer felt like he wasn’t Siren enough, but he would be the worst liar and an even worse ruler if he tried to say that his loyalty to Midlona came first.
He had a feeling Jeremiah wouldn’t survive ruling at his side. He was not the sort of person who could be caged by a crown, but he also knew his Hellhound would do it for him. The moment Remi gave himself permission to think about a life alongside his mate and free of royal responsibilities, he felt… at peace. He just hoped if that’s what he decided, it wouldn’t be the one thing that his parents couldn’t get over.
Throwing on a fresh pair of jeans and a shirt, Remi dragged his fingers through his hair and then headed for the living room. There was a strange mood shift when he walked in, and after a beat, he realized why.
Ozias was there, staring at him with an odd expression. “Remi,” he said after a beat.
Remi swallowed thickly. “Hey, I—” Before he could finish his sentence, Oz was on him, hugging him tightly. It was more affection than the Nephilim had shown since the end of their relationship, and Remi heard a soft hiss coming from one of the team members.
