Chapter 22 #2
Zane smirked, catching my eye with a knowing look. I shot him a warning glare that promised pain if he mocked her, and he mimed zipping his lips shut and throwing away the key. Good.
“I’ve gathered you here because I’ve identified a critical mission objective that requires immediate attention,” she continued, her voice gaining confidence.
“As you know, we’ve been without an estate manager since April, which has led to various logistical failures, most notably the toilet paper incident. ”
Foster’s eyebrows shot up, but he stayed silent.
“Don’t remind me.” Zane groaned. “My ass still hasn’t forgiven any of you.”
“Zane,” I warned.
“What? It’s relevant context!”
“I propose that we recruit Foster for this position,” Seri declared. “The duties would include ensuring the staff perform their jobs, ordering supplies, overseeing their delivery and dispersion…” She looked up from her notes and turned to me. “Dispersion?”
“Distribution might be more common, but dispersion works, too,” I assured her, and she nodded.
“Dispersion, and maintaining inventory.”
Foster’s face remained blank, but surprise shone in his eyes.
Seri seemed to anticipate his thoughts because she quickly added, “I know it might not seem like a full-time position, which is why I’ve developed a comprehensive role that would use all of your abilities.”
She flipped to another page in her notebook, and we all held our breath when we saw the array of glitter on it.
“In addition to managing the estate, you would be an asset to our training squad. You’re the right size to spar with Koko,” she observed, making both Ko and Foster glance at each other with hidden humor.
“You could also help with Brummy. Not only with his communication, but with training him and helping Addison learn to train him.”
The wolf pup in question, who had been staring up at her adoringly through the sunglasses, thumped his tail against the floor.
“And finally, you could assist with missions since you are strong, fast, and obviously capable.” She emphasized this by gesturing vaguely to his formidable physique.
“At first, you could get your feet wet by working with me in my command center, examining surveillance footage, assisting with research, and planning hunts.”
Foster listened with a funny little smile on his lips, one that seemed caught between amusement and something softer, more touched than he’d probably admit.
“However,” Seri’s voice suddenly grew serious as she closed her notebook. “If you agree, there are three promises you must make.”
This was news to me. I hadn’t seen this part in her notes.
“These promises matter more than any job description or contract with full terms,” she explained, her face grave. “They’re what really count. Non-negotiable.”
“What are these promises?” Foster asked a little warily.
“Promise one: You won’t hurt Brummy, Addison, or me in any way.”
“What?!” Zane squawked from his chair, nearly falling over as he jerked upright. “What about Fosterino hurting us?”
“You three can take care of yourselves.” Seri rolled her eyes.
“What about Mrs. Wentzel?” Ko’s lips twitched.
“She can take care of herself, too,” Seri replied, and I had to agree.
“Cruor! I’d pay to see Fosterificus go toe-to-toe with Mrs. Wentzel!” Zane cackled.
“I think I can handle promise one.” Foster’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “What are the others?”
“Promise two: You have to follow the infinity rule.” When his brow furrowed in confusion, she clarified, “It means no quitting ever. You don’t give up. You fight until the end.”
“So I have to be the estate manager forever?” His tone suggested this might be a deal-breaker.
“No, but it means when you commit to something, you see it through. I’ve seen you keep fighting while literally on fire. You already know how to follow this rule.”
“And the third?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Never let Evermere run out of toilet paper again.”
The absolute solemnity with which she delivered this final condition nearly broke my composure. Nearly. Ko and Zane, however, broke down in laughter. Foster, to his credit, didn’t even blink. He simply nodded and extended his hand.
“I think I can manage that.”
Seri didn’t take his hand immediately. Instead, she looked up at me, seeking my permission or approval, a habit I hoped would eventually fade as she grew more confident. Still, I had to admit that warmth flooded me at her trust in my judgment.
I gave her a sharp nod, and she shook Foster’s hand. Then, not really to my surprise, she grinned and flung her arms around him, her whole body shimmying with happiness.
“Thank you, Foster! You won’t regret it!”
He looked awkward as hell, his large hands hovering in the air for a moment before one came down to pat her back with all the grace of a bear trying to comfort a butterfly.
“You’re already sexually harassing your newest staff member, bubbles!” Zane’s tone was faux-scandalized. “I’m pretty sure that violates five HR policies. Section 3, paragraph 4 of the employee handbook clearly states—”
“HR policies?” She released Foster and blinked up at Zane in bewilderment. “What’s that?”
“Human resources,” he continued with a stern expression even as his eyes sparkled with mischief. “Sexual harassment in the workplace is a serious offense, bunny. Now get your adorably clueless ass over here before I file a grievance.”
“I can hug my new friend if I want to!” She planted her hands on her hips, which made her look like an indignant kitten trying to be a fierce tiger.
“Foster might not like being hugged, baby.” Ko stepped in, his voice gentle as always with her.
“It’s all good. She can hug me anytime,” Foster smirked.
“That won’t be necessary.” Even though I knew he was only taunting us, my voice dropped several degrees.
“Yeah, in case you missed the memo, Fosterfly, she’s taken.” Zane flashed his wedding ring with exaggerated flair. “Very, very taken. As in, already has three husbands taken.”
“Relax, Z,” Foster held up his hands in surrender, amusement dancing in his dark eyes. “I got it. No hugging Little Boss.”
“We’ll finalize the details of your employment in the morning,” I said, redirecting the conversation. “That’s all for now.”
As the others filed out, I caged Seri against the library’s oak panels, my lips finding the pulse at her throat.
“You,” I growled against her skin, “are a tactical nightmare.”
Her laugh filled me with golden light.
“But my victory was absolute, commander.”
#
Seri’s idea worked even better than I’d anticipated. Within days, Foster had settled into the rhythm of the estate seamlessly. Supplies were ordered, inventories managed, and for the first time in months, I didn’t have to worry about the mundane details of running our home.
Seri made sure he knew he was welcome to ask for meals he liked or anything else to make Evermere feel like his home, and Zane set him up in the master suite in the east wing with orders to decorate it however he wanted.
“I’m doing him a favor,” Z smirked when Seri asked why Foster’s room was on the other side of Evermere from ours. “Unless you want him to hear us ravishing you every night, wife.”
I’d rolled my eyes. Foster’s wolf hearing, while not quite at dhampir level, probably picked up more than he would prefer, but we were newlyweds.
What did he expect? Still, the symbolic separation was important.
Foster might be part of our household, maybe even our family, but he wasn’t part of our intimate circle.
That distinction needed to remain clear, not that it had ever been in question.
It was Seri’s “command center” that truly cemented his place among us, although I suspected it was less about the technology and more about the way our beloved lit up the room with her enthusiasm.
The security room was a sleek, windowless space filled with monitors, servers, and enough processing power to hack most government systems. Over the past few weeks, Seri had claimed a corner as her own, transforming her workspace until it looked like a collision between military-grade technology and a teenage girl’s bedroom, complete with sparkly pens in a unicorn-shaped holder and a padded gaming chair with pink cushions.
“This,” she gestured to the holographic display table with the pride of a general showing off a new weapons system, “is where the real magic happens!”
Foster stood beside her, his expression caught between amusement and interest as she walked him through her process.
“When the boys are on a hunt, we can see everything they do.” She tapped commands into the console with surprising confidence. “Ko installed these amazing 360-degree cameras on their helmets. They feed directly into this table, so I can see and hear everything in real-time.”
She picked up the VR headset with reverent hands.
“This is the really cool part. I can put this on, and it’s like I’m right there with them. I can warn them if something’s sneaking up behind them or if I notice something they don’t.”
“Smart setup.” Foster nodded.
I could have corrected some of her technical explanations—the cameras weren’t actually capable of full sensory integration, and the alert system had a sixteen percent failure rate in environments with high electromagnetic interference—but there was no tactical advantage in dampening her enthusiasm.
Besides, the pure joy radiating from her was worth more than being accurate.
“And now,” she hopped up and down a little, “we can each watch through a different helmet cam! You could monitor Ko, and I could watch Cas, and we’ll have Zane on the main display. Or however we want to configure it. That means twice as many eyes looking out for them!”
Her pride in this arrangement made my chest tighten with adoration for her protective instincts, gratitude that she cared so deeply about our safety, and a fierce desire to shield her from ever witnessing the true horrors we sometimes faced.
“And what are those?”