13. Ziggy

CHAPTER 13

ZIGGY

Deadbeat with a Capital D: It has come to my attention that I should apologize for my actions earlier today.

The Token Normie: …typing…

The Mouthy One: Yuuuup. Although it should also come to your attention that apologizing in the group chat is a bitch move.

Deadbeat with a Capital D: Oh? I was under the impression this chat was the ideal stage for a public whipping.

Thing One: Careful, brat.

The Token Normie: …still typing…

The One with the Biggest Dick: He's doing it here because he knows if he comes near Kai again, I'll kill him.

Alien Rambo: Take a number, Ultra Violent.

"ZIG!!!"

Micah's voice may have been muffled from the other side of the bathroom door, but the tone told me in no uncertain terms that Theo wasn't the only Stellarian in trouble.

Oops.

"Sorry—can't hear you!" I shouted in reply, blasting the water in the sink for good measure.

The doorknob momentarily rattled, but I'd locked it the instant I decided to wade into The Rabble group chat.

A merc can never be too careful.

I should have known a locked door wouldn't stop the hero known as Exo-Tech. The sound of metal sliding against metal was the only warning I got before the door was kicked in.

"Ziggy Marigold Andromeda!" Micah stomped his foot, making the mechanical tendrils he'd unleashed flop angrily. "Why are you being a shit stirrer in the group chat? Aren't we here so you can, you know, make amends with your father?"

A visceral reaction shot through me at hearing Theo being referred to as such. "If anyone needs to make amends, it's him, Micah," I snapped. "He fled Stellaria at practically the same moment I blinked into creation—left and never came back."

Left… me.

My mate's annoyed expression softened as he stepped closer, wrapping his extra appendages around me in a move he'd dubbed "Tendril Huggy Time."

Not to be confused with "Tendril Touchy Time."

So ridiculous.

"I know he did, Zig. And I know you were on your own for a long time." Micah's voice wavered as it often did when he got emotional on my behalf. "But against all odds, you tracked him down, like the bad bitch you are… and then you let him go."

"Must you remind me of my greatest failure?" I growled, although my aggravation was entirely aimed inward.

For my first and only failed mission.

Micah stretched up on his tiptoes to kiss me sweetly. "You didn't fail at anything, Space Daddy. You chose to let Theo go… because you're a better man than him."

Oh.

My stellar collision fixed me with a meaningful look, but a knock on the door cut him short before he could say more.

"Be right back." He shot an adoring smile over his shoulder as he left the bathroom. "Unbilled therapy time is not over."

Yes, Doctor.

"Hey, Micah. You busy?"

I froze at the sound of Gabriel Suarez's voice, unleashing various tendrils to investigate whether he'd brought a certain someone with him.

"Nope. Just chillin'." Micah laughed lightly, no doubt picking up on my suspicion through our bond. "You can come in as long as you know who isn't with you. I'm not in the mood for a bloodbath tonight."

How disappointing.

Gabriel laughed, oddly breathless. "It's just me. Dre got called to a meeting with Wolfy, Simon, and Zion for clan leader bullshit, so I'm on my own tonight."

My eyes narrowed at the blatant omission of the third member of the Suarez twins' unholy trinity .

He could be lurking anywhere.

This visit might be a distraction.

I should ? —

"Are you gonna come say hello, Zig?" Micah sweetly called out, compromising my position with niceties. "Gabe doesn't bite."

With a huff, I emerged from the bathroom just far enough to lean against the doorframe with my arms crossed and my glare firmly in place.

"Just because an animal doesn't bite doesn't mean they're not dangerous." My tone was calm, but I remained laser-focused on the deceptively sweet-looking supervillain known as Awe.

"Oh, I bite," the little shit shot back, sparing me a disinterested glance before returning all his attention to my mate. "Cool tendrils, Go Go Gadget . Can I touch them?"

Excuse me?!

"Sure!" Micah cheerfully replied at the same moment I shouted, "Hands only!"

Both supes spun to face me with matching expressions of surprise.

And matching blushes.

Oh, now this is interesting.

I knew Micah found the Suarez twins attractive—and I could appreciate the aesthetic appeal—but I was secure enough in my relationship at this point to not feel threatened.

Even though it appears the attraction is mutual.

Which… I also don't find threatening…

Weird .

To my surprise, I wasn't upset by this discovery. It may have been because of who had come to call. With Andre, I may have felt more threatened, and if it had been Theo…

I may have murdered everyone.

But Micah and Gabriel were friends— "texting buddies," as he called it—and gave off similar submissive energy. Granted, Micah topped me on occasion, and with the way the youngest Suarez was looking at my mate, I assumed he'd also dominated in the bedroom before.

Then again, that's how all supes look at each other.

Constantly measuring their dicks.

Now I was thinking about the two supes before me literally measuring their dicks, and when the idea failed to throw me into a rage once again, I wondered if this skinsuit was no longer acclimated to Earth's atmosphere.

Let's see how this plays out.

For… science?

"You're… okay with Gabe touching my tendrils as long as it's with his hands?" Micah hesitantly clarified, bringing me back to the present. "Not his… tendrils?"

I buried my growing interest in the salacious situation beneath a purposefully intimidating exterior and nodded once.

What babygirl wants…

"Jesus, I forgot you even had tendrils, dude," Micah muttered as he turned to face Gabriel again.

The villain cleared his throat, and I was pleased to note his previous bravado had disappeared. "Y-yeah, I forget too, since they really only come out during…" his gaze briefly flickered to me, "you know…"

Oh, we do.

"Fuck, yeah!" Micah laughed, back to his sunshine-y self as he lowered a mechanical tendril to rest in Gabriel's palm. "Breeding kinks for the win, amiright?"

By Stellaria!

Of course I knew my mate had zero filter. One of my favorite things about him was his oversharing—not least of all because he usually blushed after revealing yet another of his seemingly endless sexual fantasies.

Besides swallowing thickly, Gabriel didn't outwardly react to Micah's outburst. Instead, he staunchly focused on examining the tendril in his hand.

Feeling shy, Awe?

I attempted to taste Gabriel's emotions again but, to my annoyance, he'd managed to bury them out of reach.

Perhaps in retaliation for last night…

One of the twins—probably Andre, based on how he'd been staring daggers in my direction—had attempted to infiltrate my thoughts during ‘family dinner.' However, these weren't the first creatures with psychic abilities to cross my path during my travels, so I knew how to defend myself.

I should probably teach that skill to Micah at some point…

"These tendrils are so fucking cool." The little mind-reader grinned, and I blinked at the genuine admiration in his expression. "No cap, your powers are amazing."

EXACTLY !

I puffed up with pride as Micah blushed deeper than I'd ever seen him blush before, all while gaping at the other supe as if he'd been presented with a prestigious award.

Then, they just smiled at each other like two idiots.

This…

This is actually adorable.

"Why don't you go have dinner with Gabriel, babygirl?" I blurted out, suddenly wanting nothing more than to encourage this mutual obsession. "You need to eat, and I should check in with Astrum Force anyway…"

Go enjoy this perfect distraction.

So I can work.

Micah gaped in my direction this time before blessing me with his dazzling smile. "You don't mind? That would be fun!"

I have a feeling it will be fun for me too.

It wasn't just the promise of a horny—well, hornier than usual—mate returning to my bed that made me suggest it. I now had intel that Andre was otherwise engaged, which left Theo alone and unprotected.

Not that it makes him any less dangerous.

My saving grace was that I'd spent most of the last few hundred years working as a "bad bitch mercenary" while my wayward parent had done nothing but fuck his way through the Earthling population.

Shudder.

Then again, he had massacred his entire Star Unit, albeit for aggravatingly understandable reasons. Not that I was one to talk. I had also annihilated a large number of my fellow Stellarians when one attempted to kidnap Micah during our first mission together.

That had been a turning point in my journey—the moment I started to suspect everything that I'd been told since I was an orphaned nova wasn't exactly accurate.

To say it politely.

It was thanks to Micah I'd even thought to question my purpose—my existence—and even though it was an incredibly painful process, I was thankful for it. Thankful for him.

Even if he thinks I'm a far better man than I actually am.

I wasn't a good man, as evidenced by how I immediately abandoned my Earthling skinsuit the instant the door closed behind Micah and Gabriel. They were just starting down the dirt path together, chattering away as I flew overhead, set on getting a bird's eye view of the entire resort.

The better to find my prey.

My first stop was the raised bungalow I knew had been assigned to Theo and his mates, but when I found no trace of him, I headed for the grand lodge.

It was bustling with activity now that extended family, friends, and associates had arrived on the island, and while it was tempting to lurk and spy on Micah being cute and ridiculous, I couldn't rest until my mission was complete.

And I refuse to fail this time.

Theo wasn't in the lodge, and a quick scan of the infirmary confirmed he hadn't detoured to terrorize The Token Normie some more. Only once I followed the moonlit strip of white sand that ringed the island did I manage to locate my mark.

He wasn't alone .

Why in Stellaria's name is Theo meeting with Lady Tempest?

My dislike for Micah's parents—his mother in particular—nearly matched my hatred for the Stellarian who'd abandoned me to the stars. That they had a sordid history of treachery together only validated my stance.

Is he reckless enough to betray the very family who gave him a second chance?

It was tempting to sneak closer—to gather evidence that would result in my maker being banished from the very planet he'd manipulated into becoming his home. But then I thought of Micah, of the grateful smile he'd not only given me tonight but shared with his slutty little friend. The friend—no, family —who would be devastated if Theo were to disappear.

Do I really wish that pain on anyone else?

With a sigh that would have sounded like nothing more than the wind rustling the nearby palms, I drifted away, appeasing myself with the reminder I wasn't here on business anyway.

Even if it feels like the hardest mission of my life…