Chapter 6

Six

While getting ready this morning,it took everything in me not to leave early without my friends, go down that alley, and see if Belryn was okay. And if he got the blanket I'd left for him. The woman, Olnor, had promised, so he should have, but I would rest easier if I knew for sure.

Trying to sleep had been rough last night. I kept tossing and turning, my thoughts never straying far from Belryn. He haunted my dreams like a beautiful fiend coming to steal me away to a faraway land where only the two of us existed. And it wasn't any better when I was awake. He was all I could think about.

Savelle must've yelled at me twenty times yesterday to focus while we were ordering furniture and whatever else we needed for the office.

I only wished I had a way to contact the young fae.

Did he even have a phone?

With a sigh, I rubbed at the ache in my chest as I met my friends in our shared hallway outside our apartments.

"What's wrong with you?" Savelle asked as soon as they saw me. Ugh. I couldn't hide anything from them.

"Nothing."

They bumped my shoulder with theirs. "Rem, I've known you for how many years now? I've never seen you this distracted when it comes to your work. Are you missing home? Missing your family?"

I sighed. "No, that's not it."

When I didn't elaborate, they huffed and waved their hand. "Then what is it, my friend?"

"I…" I hesitated. Part of me didn't want to tell anyone about Belryn, but a big part of me really wanted to talk to someone about him and everything I was feeling because I was confused. So confused. "I… the other night, I sort of met this… guy."

That stopped them in their tracks, and they grabbed my arm and pulled me over to the side of the hall, nudging me until I was leaning against the wall. "Tell me everything, Rem. Every single thing."

Of course, Isa and Tan noticed that we weren't walking toward the elevator with them anymore, and they sidled over, Tan asking, "What's going on?"

Savelle said, "Remi met someone."

"It's not like that," I said automatically, but of course, no one listened to me.

"Who is it? What're they like?" Tan asked.

"How did you meet?" Isa added. "And when? We've only been here a few days."

For fuck's sake. I covered my eyes with my hand and groaned. "Guuuuuyss."

"Tell us." Savelle poked me in the stomach. "Now."

I sighed, knowing if I didn't talk, they'd all badger me until I caved anyway. "Fine. I saw him walking the first night we were here. He dropped a coin, and I returned it to him."

They stared at me for a beat before Isa squawked, "That's it?"

"I mean, yeah. That's how we met."

"But there's obviously more to the story." Now she poked me in the stomach.

"Stop with the poking!" I laughed and batted all three of their hands away when they came in for another attack. "Oh my Mother, stop it."

Savelle lifted their hands with a smile playing on their lips. "Not poking. As long as you continue your story."

"Ugh. Fine. I found the coin in my pocket later that night, even though I swear I handed it to him. He did a sort of… sleight of hand thing, so I thought that maybe he'd slipped it back in my pocket without me noticing. But it wasn't my coin, so I… walked around yesterday looking for him when I told you guys I forgot my notebook."

"I knew you were lying." Tan pointed at me, and his tabby cat, Orangelica, jumped from his arms to his shoulders, wrapping around his neck. "Didn't I say he was lying?"

Isa sighed. "Yeah, yeah, you're awesome, Tan. Let him finish his story."

Tan grunted. "We thought you maybe just needed a minute alone."

I shrugged and winced. "I'm sorry. I just felt… silly for walking around searching for a random guy on the street. I thought you guys would tease me."

He grinned. "We totally would have."

Isa punched his arm. "Stop talking, Tanyl." She pointed at me. "You, keep talking."

Tan and I shared an amused look before I continued, "I had the impression that maybe he was, you know, homeless or something, so I started looking down alleys. The coin slipped from my hand and rolled down this one alley that had a bunch of people sleeping in it, and I… found him."

All three of them looked so invested in my story that I couldn't help but snort at them. "You guys are ridiculous."

"Oh my Mother, don't leave us hanging," Isa said.

I rolled my eyes. "I talked to him, gave him my card with my cell on it, and… last night, after work, I took a bunch of blankets with heating charms over to the alley and passed them out. But Belryn wasn't there. Another fae promised to give him a blanket, and… that's it."

"Belryn, is it?" Savelle asked, a cunning smirk on their face.

"Yes, Belryn. That's literally all I know. So… you guys can stop staring at me like that."

"You like him," Isa said. "Like really like him."

"I barely know him. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't even like me."

"What makes you say that?" Tan seemed really invested in the answer, even as he looked ridiculous with Orangelica now on top of his head, sitting there like a hat.

I shrugged. "I don't know, but I just…" I sighed. "I don't know what to do. Do I go down that alley again and ask him on a date?"

Isa bounced on her toes and clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh my Mother, you want to date him. I'm so excited. I can't wait to meet him. When can we meet him?"

"Chill out, Isa. I don't know if he'll even want to date me, let alone meet my friends."

"He will."

I rolled my eyes. "You don't know that."

"I do."

I stared at her for a long moment, wondering if she was just saying it or if her fae magic was telling her something. "You… think so?"

She nodded, her face turning serious. "I really do, Rem." She leaned in, went up on her toes, and kissed my cheek. "Now, come on, let's get some work done today so we can leave early and help you find your man."

I groaned. "You guys are not helping me."

Tan grinned evilly and grabbed my arm, tugging me along. "Oh, I beg to differ."

I sighed, resigned to my fate.

Savelle, ever the observant one, stepped in front of Tan and me, stopping our progress. They asked, "You're feeling out of sorts, aren't you?"

I sighed. Seriously, how did they do that? "Yes."

"Why don't you shift and walk to the office in your wolf form?"

I stared at them for a few seconds. "You don't think that'll be a problem? What if people are scared?"

"Who in the world could be afraid of such a cute little puppers?" Tan asked with that smirk I always wanted to smack off his face.

I flipped him off, making him laugh, and Isa smacked his shoulder as she said, "They have no laws prohibiting shifters from walking around in their shifted forms. I saw a polar bear walking down the street yesterday."

"What? When?"

"When I grabbed lunch. I totally forgot to tell you guys."

Tan threw his arm over Isa's shoulders, pulling the small fae into his side. "They're shifter sympathizers here. They consider you guys victims of the fae." He kissed Isa's hair. "Sorry, Isa."

"Not your fault." She sent him a shrug. "We all knew the fae were treated badly before we got here. I'm prepared."

Tan sighed. "I know, but it still sucks."

"It does."

I added, "I didn't know how bad it really was until we got here. Nearly all the people living in that alley were fae. I think, out of the twenty or so people, there was maybe one other species—a human."

"Are you serious?" Tan's eyes were wide.

I nodded, and Savelle sidled up to me, putting their hand on my arm. "Rem, we really need to get going, so if you want to shift, you should do it now. I'll carry your clothes."

Luckily, since it was only the four of us at the office for now, and we were setting things up and painting and everything, we were all wearing sweatpants and t-shirts and not anything fancy. We had all left nice clothes at the office last night in case a potential client meeting came up, but I wasn't too worried about that since we weren't officially open yet.

Quickly, I stripped out of my clothes. My friends were used to seeing me naked, if I was being honest, because they'd been around me while I shifted a million times. And Savelle was a kelpie, which meant they had two forms as well—Tan and Isa got to see lots of skin on the regular. I watched in amusement as Savelle wrinkled their nose at the underwear and socks I dropped into their bag.

I couldn't help but laugh. "They're clean. I've only been wearing them for fifteen minutes."

"Still gross."

I leaned in to kiss their cheek, then went down on all fours to shift. It only took a few seconds and didn't hurt—because I shifted regularly so those muscles were well worn in. The shifter magic in my body and soul made the act feel natural, because it was.

Once I was in my wolf form, everyone gave me a good pet, which I appreciated. My wolf form loved pets, and I'd never been shy about asking for them. My best friends weren't shy about giving them either. Even if Tan liked to tease me all the time.

"Oh man, I forgot to pick you up a bone when I ran to the pet store yesterday! How could I have forgotten?" Tan whined, but the shithead had a smirk on his face.

I let out a small growl and nipped at his fingers, making him yelp and pull his arms up to his chest.

"Hey! I thought we agreed—no biting."

"I don't think it counts as biting unless he draws blood," Isa said, giving Tan a push.

I yipped and wagged my tail in agreement.

The two of them started bickering, and Savelle leaned down to kiss the top of my head. I was big enough in this form that they barely needed to bend down at all. I gave them a nuzzle in the belly, and they said, "We'll find a time to go down to the gym, okay? I need to shift soon anyway."

I yipped again, letting my tongue hang out the side of my mouth to show my excitement at the idea.

This building had a gym with a big pool—big enough for Savelle to shift in, which was a necessity since the nearby lake was frozen over at this time of year. And I'd had a big treadmill, big enough for my wolf form, delivered here before we'd even moved in. Again, since it was too cold out and there weren't really any trees around. I was sure I'd find a place I could run outside, but I wanted the treadmill as backup. And so I could keep Savelle company when they wanted it.

We'd only peeked in at the gym so far, but they were right, we'd need to go for a visit soon.

They smiled at me and gave me a nudge, keeping their hand in my fur as we caught up to the other two who were waiting by the elevator, still arguing about what was considered a bite.

If I was in my bipedal form, I would've been snickering at them.

As soon as we were close, Orangelica leapt from the top of Tan's head and landed on my back.

"Orangelica!" Tan yelled, then immediately calmed when he realized she was only seeking a ride on my back.

I turned my head as far as I could, and Orangelica headbutted my snout affectionately. I gave her a lick before looking at my friends.

Orangelica on my back honestly wasn't anything new, so they were already ignoring me. Well, everyone but Tan, who was staring at his Bonded with affection.

I nuzzled his legs, then followed my friends onto the elevator, feeling a little lighter now that I had a plan—or at least the start of one.

Now that they knew about Belryn, I had no doubt that they'd be relentless in their search for him. I didn't really want their help, but I'd take it if it meant finding that lovely fae man again.

When we passed the alley, I tried to peek down it. The people living there were far back from the end, and Belryn seemed to stay all the way at the opposite end. My eyes were better than the average person since I was a wolf, and even I couldn't see him.

Dammit.

Today was going to be a test of patience. I already couldn't wait until work was over and I could hunt down Belryn again.