Chapter 27

Twenty-Seven

It had beenover a month since Remi had spoken to Luynore and then hired two security guards for me, and so far, we hadn't heard a peep from him. I couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad one, but whatever it was, Remi and I needed to move on with our lives rather than sitting in the apartment, waiting for an attack that might never come.

And since I had guards following me around all the time—they were actually very discreet and seemed like good guys—I'd started leavin' the house and even going to busk. Remi insisted that I didn't need to busk anymore, and while I appreciated that, I still wanted to be able to buy him groceries and things every now and then. Plus, I loved playin' for people.

And… yes, I believed he was my viramore, but it wasn't like I was goin' to suddenly just… use his money all the time or something. That was ridiculous.

But on the coldest days, I didn't have to be out all day with freezing fingers because I knew I had a hot meal and a warm bed waiting for me.

So I'd also spent the last few weeks lookin' into teaching music lessons. After teaching Tan so many times—he wasn't half bad—I realized how much I liked doin' it.

The biggest obstacle was whether anyone else would actually hire me, a fae, to teach them or their kids. But one of Remi's older sisters—Niya—had visited a few times and was helping me with my branding or something. She had a lot of energy, so I decided to just let her do her thing, and if it helped me out, great. If not, well, at least it made Remi's sister happy.

Since Delaro had set up the portal door in the closet in the hallway, we'd had regular visits from Remi's family members, coming to meet me and help with security things or whatever else they all came up with to keep me safe. And holy shit, were there a lot of Ellwoods. So freakin' many.

Honestly, if he would've taken me home to meet them all at once, there was no way I would've remembered them all. And I didn't think I'd even met everyone yet either.

We hadn't traveled to Brinnswick through the portal yet, but Remi wanted us to go to the next family movie night, so it looked like I'd be going in less than two weeks… which was terrifying.

And maybe a little exciting.

If anyone would've told me six months ago that I'd be traveling to the other side of the world, I would've laughed in their face.

So despite the threat of Luynore, things had been goin' well.

Now that Remi knew everything, I felt like I could truly be with him without the fear of bringin' him into my shit. Because he was already in it.

And somehow he and Ker had convinced me it'd be safe enough for my cousins to go to the bookshop. I wasn't sure how the two of them had wound up ganging up on me, but they had, and I ended up agreeing.

I was introducing my family to my friend. Finally. Ker had been dyin' to meet Anton for years, and I finally felt ready. Kind of.

But I was still a little nervous. I suppose because my little cousins were such a huge part of my life, but I'd always kept them a secret. I'd always made sure they weren't seen with me because I didn't want anyone to use them against me.

I suppose pulling my two worlds together was going to make me a jittery mess and take some gettin' used to. But one look at Ker's face, and I knew it was worth it. He looked so happy, so excited, that I wanted him to meet my friend.

I shoulder-bumped him without letting go of Remi's hand. My sweet wolf wanted to come today to support me because he knew how hard this was for me.

I gave his hand a squeeze that he returned, and when we reached the door, I released him so he could hold the door open for everyone. I ushered my family through, then reached out for Remi's hand again as soon as he came inside. That move got me a big smile from my wolf boy. He was easy to please, it seemed.

I pointed to the side alcove where a group of kids were already gathering and said, "That's the kid reading and craft area."

Ker nodded. "Let me get the little ones situated. I… I don't want to go far, but I want to meet your friend."

"You can stay over there with the other parents." I knew for a fact that Ker wouldn't want the little girls out of his sight, so I'd prepared for this. "I'll show Alsira and Gemma where the books they'll like are, then I'll grab Anton and bring him to you."

The relief that crossed Ker's face made me reach over to pat his shoulder. He gave me a strange look before nodding and draggin' the little ones with him since he still hadn't let go of their hands. He was definitely overprotective when it came to his sisters.

When I turned back around, I found Remi talking to the older girls already, and my heart melted at the sight. We were still holding hands, but I hadn't even noticed him moving to face them.

Remi seemed to notice my attention on them because he glanced over at me. "Ready to find Anton?"

I blinked. "Don't we need to show the girls where to go?"

Alsira rolled her eyes. "I think we can figure out a bookshop, Bel. We do know how to read, you know." She grabbed her sister's hand and tugged her along. "Come on, Gem. Let's get away from these old people."

"I heard that!" I called after them.

The little squirt looked over her shoulder and threw out, "You were meant to."

Remi laughed loudly, and when he saw the expression on my face, he pulled me into a hug. I went without complaint, playing up being hurt since it was getting me what I wanted—his arms around me.

He kissed my temple and whispered, "You're not old at all, may'ezza. You're just right."

I snorted and leaned back to look at him, but I didn't pull away. "You know I don't actually care that she called us old, right?"

He smiled and kissed the tip of my nose. "I'm aware, my lovely may'ezza. I just wanted an excuse to hold you."

"You never need an excuse for that."

He hummed in contentment and placed a soft, sweet kiss on my lips, then nudged my nose with his. He opened his mouth to speak, but something behind me caught his attention, and Remi said, "Hi, Anton. Nice seeing you again." They'd met a few weeks ago when I'd needed out of the apartment for a bit. The two of them had hit if off better than expected.

"Nice to see you too, Remi. Belryn Bixidor."

I turned in Remi's arms, making sure to keep his arm around my waist and said, "Well met, Anton Orsova."

Remi snorted. "What's with the two of you always using your full names?"

Anton and I stared at each other for a long moment before we looked at Remi. Neither of us said anything for a moment, and Remi snorted and held his hands up in surrender.

"Fine, fine. Don't tell me. You two can keep your secrets."

There were no secrets. Anton and I had no idea why we did that. We just… did.

Remi kissed my temple and continued like nothing happened. "Want to find Keryth?"

I patted his arm and stepped away, but I snagged his hand and laced our fingers together to keep him close as we walked to the other side of the bookshop with Anton trailing behind us. Since I'd accepted that he truly was my viramore, it seemed like I couldn't stop touching him. I just wanted to be near him at all times. Remi wasn't complaining, so I figured he felt the same.

Ker was standing on the outskirts of the children's area because the area was filled with young kids. The bookshelves here were short so adults could see over them and kids could easily reach the books, so there was a big ring of adults standing around and keeping an eye on things.

I tapped Ker on the arm, and my cousin turned to me, smiling when he saw it was me. "This is so great. The girls are having fun already. Even Zellya was singing along earlier."

"That's great, Ker." I sent him a grin. "Come here for a sec so I can introduce you."

He nodded and stepped over, turning in a way that allowed him to keep checkin' on the girls while facing us. Because he was staring at his kids, it took him a moment to take Anton in.

I didn't miss Anton's loud gasp when Ker turned around.

And then Ker's eyes widened, and he sucked in a huge breath as he stared at Anton.

Neither one of them moved, seeming like they were going to stand there forever, staring at one another. I didn't think either of them would move voluntarily at this rate. What the actual hell?

So I cleared my throat and said, "Ker, this is my friend, Anton. Anton, this is my little cuz, Keryth."

They both seemed to shake themselves out of it, and Anton sucked in a deep breath and held his hand out. "Nice to finally meet you, Keryth." The way he said it made me narrow my eyes. What the hell was he doing? And why was he offering to shake his hand? That was a human custom, and Anton hadn't been human for a very long time.

Keryth stared at Anton's hand for a few beats before sighing and taking the proffered hand. They both gasped loudly when they touched, and then they just stood there, holding hands and starin' at each other.

I leaned back toward Remi and spoke out of the corner of my mouth. "What the hell are they doing?"

He leaned down to kiss my temple but spoke in my head. "Pretty sure they know each other already." We were still gettin' used to that, so I kept speaking out loud.

"Yeah, I gathered that, but…" I waved my hand at the two men stuck in a weird position and staring at each other. "Okay, this is weird, even for me."

Remi said, "Wait. Don't?—"

I stepped forward and waved my hand between them to snap them out of it. That seemed to do it because they both pulled away as if the other had burned them. Anton squeezed his hand into a fist and held it at his side, but Keryth cradled his hand against his chest and glared daggers at Anton.

"You don't know me, vampire," Keryth said, and I was surprised by how angry he sounded.

Anton seemed surprised too because he blinked and jerked his head back as if Ker had slapped him. "That doesn't matter. I?—"

"Of course it matters," Ker whisper-yelled. "It always matters." His eyes looked suspiciously wet. He turned on his heel and stomped across the area until he reached his girls. Then he sat on the ground and pulled Zellya into his lap, effectively ignoring the rest of us and cutting us off from responding to him since none of us were willing to interrupt the kids' activity.

I turned to Anton, and my friend whispered, "What in the world just happened?"

I released a sigh. "I was hoping you could tell me."

He shook his head, still starin' at Ker with a look of wonder, confusion, want, and… hurt. What the actual fuck?

After the kids' storytime and crafts were over, Keryth ran out of there like the bats of hell were chasin' him. He left the two older girls with me so I could get them home after they finished pickin' something out.

Anton shut down after that. He practically ran away and locked himself in the office he had upstairs. I felt helpless because I didn't understand what was going on, and I was honestly a little pissed that neither of them would talk to me about it. Rude. So damn rude. Ugh.

My noseylittle heart was dying for some useful information.

"I'm sure Ker will tell you about it after he collects himself," Remi said as we were gettin' ready for bed.

I sighed. "I just don't understand. Ker's never been to that bookstore before, so how did they even meet? And when? And how didn't they realize who they were to each other? I never brought them around each other before, but I've talked about them both a million times. I hate that they don't like each other, Rem. My two… best friends or whatever. How can they not like each other?"

Remi walked over and cupped my cheeks, brushing a kiss across my lips. "I don't know, may'ezza. But I think you need to stop worrying about it for right now. I'm sure one of them will talk to you."

I knew he was right, but it was still annoying. "Will you help me forget?"

A smirk appeared on his handsome face. "With pleasure."

Then he captured my mouth with his, and I melted into him, happy I wouldn't be comin' up for air anytime soon.