Chapter 25

Twenty-Five

Relief was probablythe biggest thing I was feeling at the moment.

When my guard had called me and told me Bel was one of the thieves, my heart had seized in my chest. Not out of anger, but out of fear.

I knew, deep in my soul, that if Bel had broken in, he hadn't done it of his own free will. It hadn't even been a question.

Maybe that made me stupid, but I just… I knew he'd never betray me like that. Not if he had a choice.

On the drive to the museum, I'd thought of every possibility about why he'd done it. And I'd worried that he'd been hurt in the capture or perhaps beforehand when someone forced him into this situation.

When he'd tried telling me what was wrong, things had fallen into place, and suddenly, all the warnings Bel had given me about trusting the fae and about them using favors and promises against you and all of that had made sense.

Because my poor Bel had those same things used against him.

I wished I'd seen it before it'd gotten so out of control, but that didn't matter anymore. I couldn't go back in time to change it, and I certainly wasn't going to hold it against him.

We'd just have to move forward together from here on out.

I was going to fix this for him. I was going to find Luynore and pay him off.

Or take him out.

Depending on how cooperative he was.

But that was a problem for a different day.

Right now, I just needed to cuddle my sweet fae until we could both forget our problems for a little while.

Tomorrow, I'd take care of everything else.

We broke our kiss, and I pulled him against me, holding him in my arms for a long, long time. I honestly never wanted to let him go.

I glanced at Bel. He seemed more out of sorts than expected. Or maybe it was expected, and I just wanted him to feel better.

This certainly had been a lot tonight.

"It's going to be okay."

He jumped at the sound of my voice. "You don't know that. You don't understand. He's—" His words were cut off, and he grimaced as if in pain.

"Shh. Don't try to tell me anything right now. We'll worry about that tomorrow, okay? Tonight I just want to spend some time with you without anything else to worry about."

He sucked in a breath. "Are you sure? Aren't you… scared to have me in your home?"

A growl came out of me before I could stop it, and Bel flinched a little. Seeing that flinch, knowing he expected to be berated or hurt had me closing my eyes and taking a calming breath.

It took a few seconds, but when I was calmer, I opened my eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm not angry with you, I'm angry about the situation. And I'm… upset that you think I'd ever not trust you in our home. It's not just mine, may'ezza. It's ours. It's just as much yours as it is mine."

He shook his head. "No. It's your place. You were just letting me stay here for a little while and?—"

"May'ezza, I put you into the wards. Is that not proof enough?"

He stared at me like I was crazy. "You did that the first time I came over!"

"I did. Because I knew who you were to me even then. I've given you a key, I've added your name to the deed of the building, I've done everything I can think of to make you feel safe here. What more can I do to prove to you that it's your home too?"

He stared at me for a few seconds and whispered, "You added my name to the deed?"

"I… oh, did I not tell you that?"

"No, you didn't fuckin' tell me that."

His response made me grin. "Well, I did. It's your home too."

He stared in silence for several beats, his eyes looking suspiciously wet. "I… haven't had a home since before my parents died."

He hadn't had a home since he was thirteen years old. My poor viramore.

I lifted my hand to cup his cheek. "You have a home now, and I promise you it will never be taken away from you."

He sucked in a breath. "Remi, you can't promise me stuff like that. I'm fae, and I?—"

"Would never hurt me."

He just stared.

"May'ezza, I know for a fact that you'd never hurt me, just as I would never hurt you. We're meant to be together, and our viramore bond won't let promises come between us. You have to trust in our bond."

He stared at me for a long moment before pulling me down to rest my forehead against his. "I don't know how to trust."

"You'll learn."

"And you'll… be okay with that? You don't mind waitin' for me to catch up?"

"I'd wait a thousand years if I had to, as long as I can stand by your side every day."

A small chuckle came out of him. "You are such a romantic sap."

I shrugged. "I have my moments."

He laughed again and brought my lips to his, and I moaned into the kiss as I wrapped him in my arms, more than happy to spend the rest of the night just like this.

Only a few minutes later, Bel had a major adrenaline crash and kept drifting in and out of sleep. I didn't blame him. I was finally getting tired too, but I wanted another few minutes of holding him first.

"Please don't leave me," Bel muttered. I'd thought he was asleep, but apparently, he was at least half awake.

My brow furrowed. "What are you talking about? I'm not leaving you."

"Maybe not now." His words were barely understandable, so he definitely wasn't fully awake.

"What's that mean, may'ezza?"

"When you go home… I'll be alone again."

I blinked at that, then stared at him for a few seconds as worry and pain surrounded my heart. "Bel? Bel, my may'ezza, I need you to wake up."

He groaned a little and turned farther into me, clinging to my t-shirt as he stuffed his face into my neck.

"This is important, may'ezza. Please wake up. You can go back to sleep afterward."

"Can I use you as a pillow again?"

"Always."

He snorted, groaned, and leaned back to blink up at me. "What is it?"

I needed to make myself absolutely clear. "I'm not going to leave you."

He stared for a few seconds before his brow furrowed. Quickly, he turned on the couch, sat cross legged, and stared at me. "What are you talking about?"

Okay then. He didn't even remember bringing it up. "You said something about me leaving, going back to Brinnswick."

"Oh." He looked down at his lap, picking at his nails.

When he didn't say anything else, I reached over to stop his picking so he didn't make himself bleed, then used my other hand to tilt his chin up at me. "I'm not leaving you."

He swallowed audibly. "When you're done with the office here, you have to go back to Brinnswick, back to your family."

I shook my head. "I'm not going back."

He jerked back in shock. "What? Why wouldn't you? Your family's there."

I sighed and forced myself not to shake some sense into him. "This is where you are, so this is where I'm staying." He opened his mouth to protest, so I put my finger on his lips, getting a glare in return. I couldn't help but smile at him. "I'm not willing to part with you, and I'd never ask you to leave your family for me."

He smacked my hand away, but instead of letting it fall to the side, he grabbed it and laced our fingers together. That simple action blew me away. A few weeks ago, he never would've reached for me like that at all.

He asked in a soft voice, "What about your family? They're all in Brinnswick."

I shrugged. "We can visit them whenever we want, and they can come here."

"But that's not fair. You say you won't ask me to leave my family, so how can I ask you to do the same?"

I couldn't help but lean in and place a kiss on the tip of his nose. He huffed in annoyance but didn't pull away, and I said, "My family has the means to travel. My brothers can bring people over through Faela. My family can travel other ways too—a dragon ride or a plane or whatever."

"I don't want to ask you to leave them, Remi. I know how important they are to you. I?—"

I cut him off with a kiss to the lips this time. "You're not asking, may'ezza. I'm offering. I refuse to be separated from you. You are who and where I want to be. The rest of it is just noise."

He stared at me for a few seconds, and to my surprise—and horror—his eyes started to water. "You really mean that, don't you? That wasn't a lie."

"I would never lie to you, Bel. Especially about something like this."

"This is real." He gestured between us, waving our connected hands. "Y-you want t-to stay with me? This is real."

Oh, my poor, sweet Bel. How could someone so confident in everyday things be so damn unsure about relationships?

"Of course this is real. I'm already falling in love with you."

His eyes widened for a moment before he launched himself at me, wrapping his arms around my neck and burying his face there. He was lucky I was a shifter and prevented us from flipping over the end of the couch. I felt his tears hit my skin, and I couldn't help but hold onto him a little tighter than before.

"I'm not going anywhere without you, love. Never."

He sniffled. "You better not, wolf boy, or I'll have to hunt you down."

"You won't ever have to do that because I'm going to be stuck to you like a fly on?—"

His laugh cut me off. "Don't you dare finish that analogy."

I snorted, pleased I was able to get him to laugh. I loved his laugh. Bel hadn't had enough laughter in his life. I planned on changing that.

He let go enough to look at me, and I dragged his lower body closer so he'd straddle my lap. Smiling up at him, I pulled him down to kiss his soft lips, giving the bottom one a small nibble.

"Am I going to wake up one day with you nibblin' a bite out of me?"

"Maybe."

He snorted and ran his fingers through my hair. "You know you're never allowed to leave me now, right? Like… you just sealed your fate."

"Good."

He snorted but stared at me for a long moment before whispering, "Truth."

I nodded at him and gave him another slow kiss. "Once things settle down at the office some, I want to go house hunting."

He lifted a brow. "Why? You don't like your apartment?"

"Our apartment, and I love it here." If only because it had Bel in it. "But I'd like to find a more permanent home that maybe has a yard I can run around in." I shrugged. "Plus, only having two extra bedrooms here is going to become a problem when my family starts visiting."

"Two extra bedrooms, huh? I guess I'm officially out of one of them?"

I growled. "You moved into my room weeks ago, may'ezza. Don't act like you don't know this already."

He snickered, and I couldn't help but smile at the sound.

"Promise me something, Bel."

He froze, his body going completely stiff. "You can't make promises with the?—"

"Stop it." My nostrils flared in annoyance and frustration. The way promises and obligations had ruled his life was incredibly frustrating. It wasn't his fault. It was society's. But I really wish he would learn to trust himself a little better. "Bel." I kept the growl out of my voice, but just barely. "Not all promises are bad. Sometimes?—"

"They can be used against you. You can't go around doin' favors or making promises for people without horrible consequences?—"

"I promise to never leave you, Belryn Bixidor."

He sucked in a breath, his head shaking back and forth a little as his eyes searched mine. When he spoke, his voice was raspy and barely above a whisper. "You can't promise me that."

"You're my viramore. I can fucking promise you that."

"What if you're not actually my?—"

"I am. We're viramores, may'ezza. And I promise I'm going to spend the rest of my life falling more and more in love with you every single day. You're mine, Bel. And I'm yours."

"My Remi," he whispered.

I smiled. "Yes. I'm your Remi, and I?—"

"Stop provin' your point already, geez. I get it."

It only took me half a beat to realize he was joking with me and trying to lighten the mood, so I retaliated by digging my fingers into his sides. He screeched and wiggled and tried to get away, almost kneeing me in the balls, but he was laughing loudly, and so was I, so I didn't stop.

The next morning,Bel and I spent a long time cuddling in bed, and it was the best feeling in the world. I found my viramore. Holy shit, I found my viramore, and he was the sweetest, most adorable person in the world.

"Remi?" he whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I heard that."

My smile came fast and large. "Our bond is growing." It had to be if we were picking up stray thoughts now.

"Yeah, I think you're right." He snuggled into me and placed a kiss on my throat, making me hum in contentment and pull him tighter to me.

I wanted to stay there all day, but there were things we had to do, so we'd have to get up soon. Unfortunately.

But I was hoping Bel would help ease my wolf a bit, so I asked, "Would you mind if we both shared our locations on our phones? It'll make me feel better."

My protective instincts were in overdrive. This wasn't a perfect plan, or even a very good one, but it was at least one small step in the right direction. I was terrified that the second Bel stepped foot outside our apartment—our wards—Luynore would come for him. And as much as I wanted to just lock Bel away in our apartment, I wouldn't do that to him. He'd hate losing part of his freedom, and he would resent me for it.

I'd much rather attach a tracking spell to him, but that was something I'd have to build up to with him.

Bel stared at me for a moment, then gave me a nod. "Yeah, okay."

I kissed his lips, happy he agreed to the phone tracking. "Just in case. You don't think Luynore's just going to let you go, right?"

"I don't think it. I know."

I gave him a nod. "Then we need to take every precaution we can to make sure you're safe."

He sent me a small smile and a nod. "Okay." Then he headed for the bathroom to shower. I thought about getting in with him, but there were a few things I needed to do first.

I'd texted my friends earlier, and they came through and found Purtham Luynore's phone number. So while I made breakfast, I decided to give the sleazeball a call.

I'd wanted to do it in person, but according to Tan, the asshole had gone to ground and no one knew where he was hiding. We'd tried to track his phone, but he had some kind of blocker or spell on it to prevent it. So for now, I had to hope he'd answer his phone.

It rang five times before the dickhead answered with a, "Luynore."

I clenched my teeth and inhaled sharply so I didn't end up just growling at the guy. Doing it over the phone was probably a good thing because if I saw this little dickhead in person again, I'd ring his neck.

I bit out, "How much do you want for Belryn's obligation?" Apparently, I was incapable of being subtle when it came to the safety of my viramore.

He was silent for a moment, and his voice sounded amused when he spoke again. "Remington Ellwood, how nice of you to call me."

"How much?"

"I'm afraid Mr. Bixidor's obligation isn't for sale."

"Everything has a price tag, Luynore. Tell me yours."

He barked out a small laugh. "Did our sweet Belryn?—"

"He isn't your anything," I growled out, sounding more wolf than man. I closed my eyes in frustration because if Luynore hadn't already known how much Bel meant to me, he sure as hell did now. Fuck.

"Did Belryn tell you what I did, and continue to do, for him? I suppose not since he's unable to speak about it." He paused, as if for dramatic effect. "When his human aunt died, his cousins' landlord was going to kick them out because they're fae. Belryn did everything he could to make the landlord let them stay. He even sold his… services to him."

I was well aware of the things Bel had to do to survive in the past, and this guy was a real shit for trying to rile me up over it. I held in my growl.

He continued, "But after a couple of months, the human would no longer make deals with him. That's when he came to me, hopeless and desperate, and we made a deal. I handled the landlord and ensured that Belryn's cousins weren't kicked out of their home, and Belryn owed me big.

"And he owes me for every single month that those cousins of his have lived in that apartment, so his obligation just keeps growing and growing. Do you know how much having a home truly costs, Mr. Ellwood? I suppose you don't, not where you come from. I don't mean the money aspect, but the safety, the security, the care and love one puts into a home. That's what Belryn owes me for. Not just money, but for keeping his cousins in a loving home. I'm afraid there isn't a price tag I can put on that, Mr. Ellwood."

My jaw clenched. "I'm sure you can think of a number."

"That isn't how an obligation works. It's magic, not an exact transaction. You cannot simply throw money at it and expect the magic to listen."

"If you tell Belryn to give you a million dollars to pay off his debt in full, then his obligation can work exactly like that."

He paused for a beat or two. "Now, why in the world would I do that when it seems I'm getting a two for one deal?" His voice turned cold. "As long as I have Belryn, it seems that I have you as well." And then the bastard hung up.

"Fuck!" I yelled and squeezed my cell phone tight in my grip for a second before forcing myself to let go so I didn't break it. I dropped the phone on the counter and buried my hands in my hair, the food on the counter long forgotten.

Tears threatened to leak out because I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to help. How the fuck could I fix this for him?

I dialed my best friend's number, and Tan picked up on the second ring. Before he could say anything, I said, "Can you find out who owns Keryth's apartment building?"

There was a short pause. "Bel's cousin?"

"Yes. I want to buy the building. I don't care what it costs."

"On it. You alright, Rem?"

"No."

"What do you need from me?"

I closed my eyes and took a breath. My chest felt tight with the need to protect Bel, and maybe Tan couldn't do anything at all to fix it. But it did help knowing he had my back. "Nothing. Buying the building will help." It wouldn't take away the obligation, but it would stop it from growing every month Bel's cousins were living there.

Mother of All, I wasn't even surprised the thing Bel owed Luynore for was something so selfless. He was keeping a roof over his little cousins' heads, and I would bet everything that Keryth had no idea about it.

"Okay," Tan said. "Call me if you need anything else, yeah?"

"Will do. Thanks, Tan."

"Anytime." He hung up.

I stared at my phone for another minute before making another call.

"Hello? Remi? Are you okay?"

I knew why he was asking. I never really called him out of the blue like this. He was family, but it wasn't like we chatted on the phone or anything. "Talon? I think… I think Bel's in trouble."

"What do you need?"

There was no hesitation at all from him. He wanted to help. And who better to help with an asshole fae than an old-ass fae who wielded a fae war hammer and was always ready to protect his family?

And maybe he hadn't met Bel yet, but Bel was mine which meant he was already a part of my family. I had no doubt that Talon and the rest of the Ellwood coven would be here in a heartbeat, ready to kick ass and take down any and all of Bel's demons.

I just needed to figure out how to do it without causing some kind of international incident.