Chapter 14

Taylor

“Here’s some oatmeal,” Julie said as she ladled a healthy portion of sweetened oatmeal into my bowl.

“And here is some spiced rimieri meat,” Orsu said with a smile as he handed me a rustic pastry filled with delicious smelling meat.

The two of them looked just as happy today as they did after announcing their mating. A pang of sadness flooded my heart at the thought that I wouldn’t have what they did. Despite my best intentions, I was not only getting used to being with Brexl, but I was enjoying it.

Last night I woke to him mumbling in his sleep, but once I laid on his chest he relaxed. It would make more sense for me just to start out that way instead of falling alseep on opposite sides of the bed, but would that be too much? Would me falling asleep on him cross some invisible line between us from friends to more?

Brexl stood next to me as he received his breakfast as well. I looked over my shoulder at him and, he gave me a sleepy smile. Damn him, why did he have to be so sexy? Even when we first woke up, his tousled long hair only added to his appeal instead of detracting from it.

“Over here!” Fatima waved me over to a table with her and Beatrice. I took a step in her direction before I stopped and looked back at my fake mate.

“Do you mind sitting with Fatima and Ashley? I know you usually eat breakfast with Rhaz and Axon.”

“I do not mind. We sit together more for the silence, than the conversation.”

“Oh.”

Why did that make me so sad? This cavern was filled with people Brexl grew up with, and yet he didn’t seem to be close with any of them. I was going to put a stop to that. I knew Brexl thought of himself as a monster, which was probably why he had distanced himself from everyone, but he wasn’t, and over time I’d prove that to him.

We made our way to the low table and sat on the floor cushions.

“Good morning you two.” Fatima gave us a warm smile as we sat down.

“Good morning,” I greeted them both.

“What was it like being with the other dekes?” She immediately started peppering me with questions which brought a smile to my face. Fatima was a no nonsense eldest daughter who liked to get right to the point and I loved her for it.

I opened my mouth to begin when Tarak walked by and put a hand on Brexl’s shoulder.

“May I have a word with you, my friend.”

Brexl nodded and followed our Savrix to his table where Gabby was sitting.

“It was pretty scary, to be honest.” I forced myself to turn my attention back to the conversation. Brexl was still in the same room as me, and yet having him so far away felt wrong. I...missed him. Get a grip, Taylor! I only felt that way because I’d relied so heavily on him for survival these past two weeks. No you didn’t. You helped him survive as much as he helped you. That little voice inside my head whispered.

Ugh! I will not develop a crush on Brexl. I will not develop a crush on Brexl!

“The other dekes has some nice people, but a lot of them are assholes,” I rushed out my words as if I were trying to chase my own thoughts away.

“Including the guy who kidnapped you, right?” Fatima asked looking disgusted on my behalf.

“Yeah, I wish I could say he was the worst of them all, but that award would have to go to Dameron, the Savrix.”

“What was he like?” asked Beatrice.

“Awful,” I laughed to myself. “He had a slimy personality and was arrogant to boot. Did Kayla and Drovo tell you about how they had Brexl and Drovo tied up most of the time?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t imagine,” Beatrice shivered.

“Hey girl, glad to see you’re back,” Ashley waived as she walked by our table.

She sat down at the far end of the room with Anusha, and Fatima curiously tracked her movements until she got there.

As soon as Ashley sat down Fatima leaned in and whispered, “did you hear about her and Axon?”

“No, what happened?” God, I loved being back home. The gossip here is so good and there was an endless supply of it in our little community.

“Well, we were all outside at the far end of the clearing, planting bulbs for the spring, when all of a sudden, Axon shifted into his spider form.

We all panicked and thought we were in danger. The guys all shifted and stood shoulder to shoulder with Axon ready to face down whatever predator was approaching, and poor Ashley was standing in front of all of them with her jaw hanging open looking as baffled as a person could be.

“What made him shift? Were there jagwa’s nearby?”

“Nope,” Beatrice added with a shy smile.

“That’s the best part,” Fatima continued. “There were no predators.”

"What made him shift then?”

Axon was well known for being able to detect predators from the farthest distance away. His milky eyes made his vision blurry in the day, but at night, he could see everything. He was also super sensitive to sounds, which also made it easy for him to hear anything that was approaching.

“Ashley did,” Beatrice whispered.

“Neither of them would say what happened,” Fatima added. “But she started apologizing, and he kept saying it wasn’t her fault. When the guys realized there was no threat, they shifted back, and Ashley walked back inside the mountain with everyone watching wondering what the hell had happened.”

“Poor thing. It was like a walk of shame, but it seemed like whatever happened had been an accident.” Beatrice looked forlorn as she retold that part of the story.

“Axon was left standing there, watching her go. He looked like he wanted to run after her, but he ran into the forest instead.” Fatima said as she glanced over at Axon.

“Then we all went back to planting our bulbs until dinner time,” Beatrice sighed.

“The gossip here is better than a Bravo reality TV show,” I laughed.

“Did anyone talk to her afterward? Did she seem okay?”

“I saw her and Anusha talking outside on the ridge that evening. She seemed to be doing better by then,” Fatima added.

“Did I miss anything else while I was gone?”

“Sarah started wearing pants,” Beatrice added.

“Oh my god, how did I not notice that?” I looked over to where she was sitting with Talia, Jax, and Sozu and sure enough, she was wearing pants instead of a skirt.

“Did she say why?”

“Nope, she just came to breakfast wearing pants one day and went on like nothing had happened,” Fatima clarified.

“We all got the vibe that she didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, so no one said anything,” Beatrice explained before taking a bite of her oatmeal.

“Except for Jax who wore that big ass smile on his face when he saw her,” Fatima laughed. “She turned three shades of red when she caught him looking at her.”

“They’re so cute,” I added.

“Right?!” Fatima agreed.

I looked over at Brexl again and wondered if we made a cute couple too. I didn’t think anyone could be as cute as Sarah and Jax, but Brexl was cute in that shy guy kind of way.

He turned his head in my direction and our eyes locked for the briefest of moments. That familiar pang of longing worked its way through my soul, but I pushed it away as best I could. I couldn’t miss a man that was sitting twenty feet away from me. I couldn’t, and I wouldn’t, and that was that.