32. Micah

32

Micah

" T o be honest, I'm amazed Ez celebrates his birthday."

"Oh, he doesn't," I said, my lips twitching in amusement. Nox and I were walking down the path to lift the wards for his friends. Funny how a few weeks ago I could barely tolerate speaking to a demon, and now I was preparing to welcome a group of them into the sanctity of our home. "He hates celebrations of any kind, especially ones where he's at the centre."

"Why are we having a party then?"

"Precisely because he hates it. Anything Ez hates is like catnip to the others. They love to give him shit whenever they can. Don't worry though, he has his ways of getting his own back."

Nox's laugh was rich. "I can imagine."

My mate had only lived with us for a week, but he'd already been a witness to Ezekiel losing his temper once and two fights between the twins.

To be fair, Nox had taken it in his stride, explaining that he and his housemates often needed to step in when Quill and Dahlia went toe to toe. During the second fight, he'd simply put Nate over his shoulder and marched him out the room. When they'd returned an hour later, the two of them were laughing and joking like old friends.

None of the unit had had any issues with our new resident, accepting him into our circle as though he'd always been there. Part of me wondered if it was because he was my mate, but I thought it was more than that.

All of them knew what he'd done to Emilio and why, and because of that, Nox could do no wrong in their eyes.

I tried not to think about it too much; not because of the pain of the memories, but because of the feelings that came with them. If I thought too hard about how readily Nox, the Seraphim, and the other demons had stepped up to defend me, I got choked up.

All this time I'd thought nobody wanted me. I couldn't have been more wrong.

As for how Nox and I were managing living together? Well…it was pretty fucking perfect.

I mean, did he still wind me up for shits and giggles? Absolutely he did. But I could never stay irritated for long, especially when he soothed my annoyance away with kisses.

And sex. There'd been a lot of sex.

My cheeks reddened as I recalled how Ez had handed out earplugs during yesterday's meeting, every one of the angels taking a pair while smirking in my direction. Where I'd been embarrassed, Nox had seen it as a challenge. He'd been determined to make me scream loud enough to be heard through the earplugs.

From the way Ez had cuffed Nox around the head this morning, he'd been successful.

It wasn't just Nox who'd joined our household. Nate and Theo had come back from Heaven carrying the battered bodies of the regents who'd helped Nox and me. While their bodies had recovered fast, the same couldn't be said for their psyches. None of them wanted to return to their former posts, so we'd offered them a roof. It was the bare minimum we could do, considering how they'd tried to defend us.

Arthur, Damon, and Amelia were finding it more difficult to fit in than Nox had, but they were getting there. The Seraphim weren't the type to let people sit on the sidelines. Another week should have them feeling like part of the family.

And if Heaven decided to track them down? Let's just say they'd have nine angels and one very pissed-off demon to get through first.

Jeremiah, Darius, and Dahlia were all standing on the border of the property. Nox sighed as he spotted them. "No Quill."

I patted his arm. "Let's go visit him tomorrow. Even if we can't get him out of the house, maybe just spending some time with him will make him feel better."

I'd met Quill a few times over the past week, bonding with him over whatever craft activity he was working on. I didn't know what he was struggling with, but it was obviously enormous.

Nox nodded. "But if he's building Lego again, I'm leaving you to it. I don't have the patience for all those tiny pieces."

"Patience isn't your strongest suit." I noticed Jeremiah staring at us, so I raised my hand in a wave. After a beat, he returned my greeting. "Good thing you make up for it in other areas."

We stepped over the wards and exchanged hugs with the demons. Jeremiah was strangely stiff, his eyes fixed on something over my shoulder.

"You okay?" I said.

He shook himself suddenly, giving me a smile that was far from convincing. "Yeah. Fine. Are you going to lift the wards or have you done it already?"

Nox laughed, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "You'd know if he'd done it already, trust me, this house isn't one you can miss."

If I hadn't been looking at Jeremiah, I might've missed how he flinched. He covered it fast, smacking his hand on his head. "Shit, I've just remembered I promised to get Quill dinner."

"Quill's capable of ordering takeaway," Dahlia said, frowning. "Or doing what he normally does and eating cereal."

Jeremiah was already backing away, shaking his head. "No, it's okay. He needs something with more substance. I'll be back, I promise."

We all watched in confusion as Jeremiah spun on his heel and full-on sprinted out of sight.

"What the fuck was that about?" Nox said.

"No idea," Darius said. "He was fine until we turned the corner, then he got all squirrelly."

"Oh well," Dahlia said with a sigh. "Either he'll tell us or he won't."

I was still puzzling over it as I lifted the wards, Darius and Dahlia making the expected comments about angels living the good life. As we led them up to the house, I frowned at where the wards started…had we already crossed them when Jeremiah waved? We couldn't have done, but how had he seen us otherwise?

Unless …

No. It couldn't be possible.

All thoughts of Jeremiah were shoved out of my mind as a body flew out of the living room window, sending glass in every direction. Nate followed out after his twin, snarling as he landed on top of him.

"Oh for fuck's sake," I sighed as the front door flew open, various Seraphim flowing out. "Welcome to the madhouse, I guess."

Darius smirked. "I feel at home already."

T he party was well under way, but the birthday boy was nowhere to be seen.

"He can't hide away all night," Theo huffed. "Not after we went to all this trouble."

I eyed the cake he was pointing at. It was one of those giant sheet cakes that you could have a photo printed on. Naturally, they'd chosen the most unflattering picture of Ez possible. It had been snapped in the gym while he was mid-lunge and then Photoshopped so it looked like he was about to jump off of a cliff.

"Can't think why he doesn't want to take part," I said mildly. "Especially after he walked in and you and Nate let off those confetti guns."

"Wasn't like he got hurt," Nate said.

Nox's arm draped over my shoulders. "I have to say, adding the glitter in with the confetti was an awesome touch."

I looked pointedly at the carpet, now sparkling like a rainbow had vomited on it .

"About that…You two are on clean up duty." Both of them started to protest, but I held up a hand. "Nope, don't wanna hear it. You made the mess, you clean it up."

The twins rolled their eyes in unison before drifting off towards the regents. Breann and Grace had taken Amelia under their wing, while the twins seemed to have adopted Arthur and Damon.

"You're awfully attractive when you're being all bossy," Nox murmured, pressing his lips to my neck. "Makes me want to spirit you away upstairs and do wicked things to you."

Benji appeared before I could respond. "Nope. There will be no sneaking away to fuck. Micah, you need to go and find Ez before the twins or Rami do. It'll only lead to a fight."

I sighed, reluctantly pulling away from my mate. "You're right, I'll go find him. Keep an eye on things here?"

Benji nodded, his attention drifting past us to Darius and Dahlia, who were beside Rami's aquarium. "Why is the fish tank bubbling?"

"Oh Satan," Nox said, striding off swiftly. "Can't take the fuckers anywhere."

Chuckling, I left them to it and set about tracking down my second. In the past week, Ez had really stepped up to the plate. It had made me realise that he'd been willing and capable of doing it all along; I'd been the problem. I'd been too focused on carrying everything myself to look around and realise there were others who wanted to help me bear the load.

Ez hiding now wasn't a surprise—it was how most of these events went. With the size of our compound, it would take too long to search each room. Instead I let my power unwind, seeking under doors until it pinged back. I frowned. What was Ez doing in the library? Benji, Rami and Grace were the only ones who tended to use it.

I flung the door open to find Ez sprawled in a chair, his thumbs furiously flying over his phone. Wedged in the chair beside him, was an open bag of Jelly Babies. Since when had Ezekiel started eating sweets?

The angel in question was so engrossed in his phone that he didn't hear me enter. "Um, Ez?"

Ezekiel jumped, his face flaming red as he fumbled his phone. It went sailing through the air. I caught it reflexively, glancing down at the screen to see what had captured my seconds attention so thoroughly. It was some sort of messaging app, with a tiny game window in the upper corner.

"Are you playing a game? And… chatting with someone? Who's Sam?"

Ez hurriedly got to his feet, sending multicoloured sweets flying in every direction. He strode over and plucked the phone out of my hand. "None of your business, that's who."

Shame washed over me as Ez glared at the carpet. "Shit, I'm sorry, Ez. I shouldn't have looked. That was a dick move."

"It's okay." He still wouldn't look at me. "It's just some stupid game I've got into. Decided that if you were making some changes, then maybe I should too. Thought I'd give this a go and then I'd have something to say at our next meeting when you ask us what's made us happy this week."

I squeezed his shoulder. "I think that's fantastic, Ez."

"It's just a stupid game."

"It doesn't matter what it is," I said quietly. "If it makes you happy, then who gives a fuck? Grab it with both hands and don't let go. "

"Thanks." Ez's phone pinged and he winced. "Ah, I should answer that. I don't want Sam to…I mean, it's rude to just disappear offline without saying anything."

I bit the inside of my cheek to contain my grin. When had Ez ever worried about being rude? I had no idea who Sam was, but clearly, they already had Ez running in circles. "No worries, take your time. Not too long though. I can only hold back the twins for so long."

"Noted," Ez said dryly before chewing on his lip. "Hey, do you mind not mentioning this to the others? I mean, the game stuff is fine but…"

"My lips are sealed." If Ez wanted me to keep the fact that he was chatting to someone quiet then I'd take that to my grave. "Just know, I'm here if you ever want to talk."

"I know." Ezekiel smiled, a rare sight on him. "You always are, Micah. And we're so fucking grateful for it."