Chapter 22

Twenty-Two

As I pulledoff my tie, I called my brother, Delaro, back since I'd missed his call earlier. I put the phone on speaker so I could get ready for the night while we spoke.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Del. I saw I missed your call earlier."

"Hey, Remi." I could hear the smile in his voice, and it made me smile in return. "How are you doing? I haven't talked to you in a while."

I winced at that. Del and I had always been close because I used to love going into his workshop and watching him experiment with spelling different objects and making potions and all kinds of stuff. I followed my big brother around all the time, and he was always patient with me and took the time to teach me how to use a lot of his contraptions.

He ran a magic and apothecary shop where he made most of the products. He sold things to non-magic users, or lower-powered ones, to help them. Whether it was to heal an illness or have an emergency shield they could throw on the ground and surround them in an instant.

I might've been the youngest, but Del was the smallest—by a lot. So we'd bonded quickly over that when I'd actually been smaller than him. I towered over him now.

He was my inspiration for my own company, and Delaro had helped me develop a lot of the systems we still used that mixed the mundane and the magical.

And… I hadn't called him in over a week. Whoops.

"Sorry about that. I feel like I haven't had any time."

He blew out a long breath. "Sounds familiar."

I snorted. His mates—he had two—always accused him of being a workaholic and would have to pull him away from work whenever he lost track of time.

"I have something I've been working on that I wanted to go over with you," Del said.

My brow furrowed. "Okay. What's up?"

"After you told me about Bel, I figured you'd be staying there, if not permanently, then at least for longer than a few months."

"That's true. He has family here."

Thinking about Bel gave a strange twinge in my heart after what happened the other night. I'd never been so scared in my life when I'd realized he was trying to leave.

I still didn't understand what'd happened. I'd thought we were fine—good, even. He acted like we were. He acted like he cared about me. But then he tried to up and leave?

And since then, he'd been acting weird. Sort of clingy—which I didn't mind—but also… scared? Worried?

And then there was that weird pull I'd felt in my chest the other afternoon. It was so random and had reminded me of when I'd first met Bel and ended up with chest pain every time we walked away from each other. It'd made me panic, and I'd texted Bel to see if he was okay, but he'd been fine… or at least he'd said he was fine. I wasn't sure he was, though.

Something was going on that I couldn't see. I just had to try and figure it out.

Del got me out of my head, saying, "Right, so no matter what you guys decide, you'll be traveling back and forth a lot. So I sort of made a… portal."

I blinked. He did what? "You did what?"

He snorted out a laugh. "I'm making a portal door thing. It won't be open all the time, but if anyone pushes their magic into the runes, it'll activate, and boom, you can walk right through."

I groaned and put my face in my hand. "Delaro, please tell me you didn't test this on yourself? You could've gotten killed, or like, chopped into a million pieces or something."

"Well… I didn't test it on myself until I confirmed inanimate objects went through. And then I sent through some plants and bugs and things. And then I went through. And it works!"

I shook my head. Delaro was the quietest of my brothers, yet he was just as crazy as the rest of them. "Why do you do shit like that?"

"What do you mean? I had to test it out."

Shaking my head, I sighed and decided I really needed to get my crap together so I'd be ready when Bel was. "How does it work?"

"Okay, so…" He excitedly launched into a bunch of technical terms that I only understood a third of before he cut himself off. "Sorry, didn't mean to get all nerdy on you."

"I don't mind. I didn't follow everything, but I got the gist." Only because I'd worked with him so often. "So you need to install a door here and a door at home, and they'll connect to each other?"

"Yes! So when you power up one door, the other gets powered up at the same time, and you open the door, walk through to a new place, and when you close the door behind you, it signals for the runes to shut down."

"That sounds fucking amazing, Del. Are you sure it'll work from this far away?"

"I'm positive." If he said that, it was true. Del would never risk anyone else's safety. His own? Yes, absolutely. But anyone else? Not if his life depended on it.

"Awesome. So what's the problem?"

"Dad will probably build a little garage or something near the front of the property here and set some wards around it, just to be safe. But I figured you didn't want Dad and Pops bursting into your living room unannounced and at any given time. So we need to find a place to put the door on your side that isn't going to mess with your and Bel's privacy."

This was one of the reasons I loved Del so much. He was not only highly intelligent, he also cared about everyone and tried to think of things from every possible angle.

"Are there any empty apartments on your floor?"

"No. Tan, Sav, and Isa are in them."

"Damn. Hm. What about a closet or something in the hallway? A maintenance closet, maybe? You bought the building, right? So it shouldn't be a problem needing to remodel anything."

"Yeah, I own it. If there isn't already a closet, I'll get a contractor out here and see what we come up with. If one of us needs to lose a bit of their apartment to accommodate, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Awesome. Let me know after you look into it, okay? I'll make Jor, Bas, or Thay bring me to your place so we can set it up. And… maybe we can hang out."

I smiled, hearing his intentions clearly. "You just want to meet Bel."

He groaned. "Of course I do! Can I meet him before dads? Mother, let me meet him first."

A laugh bubbled out. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

"Hell yeah. Thanks, baby brother. I'll let you go since I know you're busy with your man."

I snorted again. "Thanks, Del. Love you."

"Love you too. And don't forget that I get to meet him first!" He hung up before I could reply, and I shook my head with a fond laugh before finishing getting ready.

My friends and I were taking Bel bowling today. After what happened, it almost felt silly, but I wanted Bel to have fun with us. I wanted to make him want to stay.

"You ready to go yet?" I called out toward Bel's bedroom when I walked out of mine.

He'd been sleeping in my room, but he still kept his stuff in the guest room, and that was where he showered and got dressed. I wasn't really sure why, but if it made him more comfortable, then to each his own.

"Coming!" Bel yelled back, and I was beyond happy to hear his voice.

I hadn't been sleeping well at all, even with having Bel in my arms. I was terrified he was going to leave, terrified that he'd disappear into the shadows of this city, never to be found again.

I didn't understand exactly what happened, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it had to do with the guy we ran into at the grocery store the other night. Bel had been distant and distracted for the rest of the night, and the next day, I came home and found him planning on running.

It had to be connected to Purtham Luynore.

I knew that name.

Before we'd even come to this country, my team and I had done endless research on the area and the people living in it. My family had contacts all over the world, and I wasn't afraid to use them. Plus, I'd been building my own name up in the security business.

Which meant I had connections, and I'd used those connections to find out the who's who in the Sedoba Territory. Luynore's name came up several times and never associated with anything good.

He was a bully. An asshole who took advantage of people that needed help, that much was clear. But we hadn't been able to get any specifics on him or his operation.

If he knew Bel's name, well… that didn't mean good things for my sweet little fae.

So I wasn't exactly surprised by Bel's reaction. It had hurt, but I hadn't been surprised. I didn't think he truly grasped what he meant to me or the lengths I'd go to help him… or find him if he ran.

Before I could think further on it, Bel came out of the guest room with an unsure smile aimed my way. I knew it'd take time to prove to him that I was in this thing for good, but it still soured my stomach whenever he seemed hesitant, like he was now.

So I walked over and pulled him into my arms, saying, "You look beautiful."

His breath hitched, but he hugged me back. "Th-thanks. You look great, but you always do."

That made my stomach flip, and I leaned back to meet his gaze. Then I brushed my lips over his and hummed in approval when he pressed in closer. I lingered there, breathing in his scent and cherishing his taste for a long moment before I broke the kiss and then pecked his cute nose.

"You ready?"

He blew out a breath. "Yeah."

"Why are you nervous?"

He grimaced. "Because I haven't been bowling in a million years, and last time I went, we had bumpers up because Ker and I took the girls, and they were little. I'm going to make a fool of myself."

I kissed his lips, my heart fluttering at the fact that he'd actually given me an honest answer. "You're not going to make a fool of yourself."

"Yeah, right." He snorted, then leaned forward with his forehead against my throat. "I'm nervous about your friends."

After resting my chin on top of his head, I said, "You know them. You spend time with them all the time, may'ezza. They all like you a lot."

"They do?"

"Yes."

He leaned up to stare at me for a moment before giving me a nod.

I couldn't help but kiss his nose again, and he let out a small laugh.

"You're obsessed with my nose."

"It's cute."

As he backed away, he rolled his eyes. "Let's go, wolf boy."

With a smile, and a bit of hope in my heart, I followed him out. Maybe one of these days he wouldn't keep one foot out the door.

I just had to show him what it was like to have a home, friends, and perhaps… a family in me.

Bel wasn'tbad at bowling at all. In fact, he was beating all of us.

After he got another strike and whooped, I snagged his hips to pull him down on my lap, saying, "You totally got in my head. That's the only reason you're winning. I felt bad for you."

He snorted, and I was so fucking happy to see him carefree, if only for a few hours. "Likely story. I'm, apparently, just this awesome."

I nuzzled his cheek with my nose. "Yes, you really are."

He shot me a grin and pecked my lips before sliding off my lap. I frowned, and when he saw my face, he chuckled and patted my arm consolingly.

I knew he was getting used to public displays of affection, so I only frowned for another few seconds before shooting him a wink.

About halfway through the second game—Bel won the first—my may'ezza started frowning, fidgeting, and glancing around like he thought someone would jump him at any moment for no apparent reason. I watched him for a few seconds before he sat beside me.

He sent me a strange smile. "Did you finish installing security systems at the Magical History Museum?"

I raised a brow because he didn't usually ask about my business. But maybe he was making conversation. "Yes. It's a pretty cool place. Have you been?"

"Yeah, a few times. I always liked learning the history of some of the other magical creatures in Gauhala."

"Maybe we could go sometime. I didn't really get to study the exhibits, and they seem cool. I'd love to take you."

"That'd be fun." He picked at his fingers, and I didn't miss the way he grimaced before speaking again. "You mentioned before that you're using a new system or something, right? You and Tan developed something new with a regular surveillance system and magic? With witch, shifter, and… what other kinds of magic?"

"Wolf, shifter, fae, and kelpie. All four of us"—I circled my finger, indicating Tan, Savelle, Isa, and myself—"helped with the magic installation ourselves on all of the king's properties. We're trying to help with all our clients, at the moment. Once we have more, we'll have to rely on other employees, but we're still figuring things out."

He nodded. "Does that mean you have to have magic to deactivate it?"

I tilted my head. I wasn't really sure why he was asking, but it wasn't like I had anything to hide. "There's a code, but you also have to be keyed into it with your magical signature, so not just anyone can turn it off. There's only a handful of people who can, other than the four of us."

"Gotcha. So… like the guards are keyed in?"

"Yes." Talking about work reminded me of something. "Oh, can I order more of that plant food stuff from Keryth? I swear, we're having the damndest time getting our greenhouses up and running. Even the supposed plant specialist I hired is having trouble."

His eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah. I think we're going to have to bring in someone else."

"You're lookin' to hire someone new?"

"I think I'm gonna have to soon."

He nodded, then nodded at Tan when my friend said, "Your turn, Bel."

Bel got up to bowl, and Tan took his vacated seat, leaned in close, and whispered, "What was all that about?"

"Not sure."

"Maybe he wants to work for you or something."

I was pretty sure that wasn't it—pretty sure Bel's pride wouldn't allow him to accept a job from me; that was the only reason I hadn't offered one yet—but I hummed. "Maybe."

Bel got a spare that time, but some of the excitement from earlier had dimmed from his eyes. When he came over, Tan scooted out of his seat, and Bel sat heavily beside me. I draped my arm across his shoulders and kissed his temple.

He leaned into my side, seeming lost in his head.

"You alright, may'ezza?"

He sucked in a breath. "Yeah, of course." He shot me a smile. "You mentioned somethin' about gettin" food a little while ago. Do you want me to come with you to the food counter?"

"Sure." I gave his temple another soft kiss, then turned to my friends to find out what everyone wanted, determined to get Bel back into the happy mood he'd been in earlier.

Determined to give him a million and one reasons to stay.