Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Apollo
I’m trying to figure out a way to ask Seraphina to stay with me. I need to talk to my parents first because I live with them. But now that I have my mate, we’ll choose a house on the property or if she wants, we’ll build.
“Are you sure we don’t owe anything for the hotel? I feel really bad because the rules said we had to pay if we didn’t cancel at least twenty-four to forty-eight hours before,” Seraphina asks as we’re getting dressed.
“Astéri mou, please don’t worry about it. We own the hotel. It’s okay,” I say as I kiss her. This is my new favorite thing to do.
Seraphina wrinkles her nose at me. “I still feel bad, though. That’s a room that they could’ve rented out.”
“We can go and stay in it if you’d like.” I chuckle.
“Holy crap. I just realized I don’t know where we’re staying.”
“You and your brothers can stay with us,” my mamá says. “We have a few open rooms. And you can stay with us as long as you need to.”
“Thank you so much. We really appreciate how much you’ve all done for us,” Archer says.
“That’s what we do for each other. Even if Seraphina wasn’t Apollo’s mate, we would still help you. No one deserves to go through what you went through.”
“I wish my parents were here. They wanted to come here and see if there was anything they could do to help. We were hearing stories about shifters being taken. And Lake Renegade kept coming up.”
“Ever since we rescued Sakura, we haven’t stopped trying to take all of them down. After we talk about what you remember, it’s up to all of you if you want to help. No one will look down on you if you choose not to.”
“I can’t speak for my brother and sister, but I want to help. I want to make sure no one has to go through what we did. Watching our parents and siblings die was the worst thing I’ve ever gone through,” Oliver says.
“I definitely want to help save anyone else who’s in the same situation we were in,” Seraphina says as Archer nods.
“We can start tomorrow. You should get settled in and we’ll all have dinner. I’ll get one of my prospects to throw some steaks on the grill,” Giacomo tells everyone.
“Mmmm. Steaks,” I say as I take Seraphina’s hand.
We walk back to my parents’ house and I take her to my room.
“I think this is someone’s room. Your mamá said to pick a room.”
“This is my room. And it’s your room now too.”
“Y-you want me to stay in your room?”
For a second I start to panic.
“Yes? Are you saying you don’t want to stay with me?”
Seraphina stares at me…then breaks out into a smile.
“I’d love to stay with you. But I have to say that I’m not sure if I’m ready to take the next step in our relationship.”
“We can wait as long as you need to. I’ll be happy to just have you in my arms every night.”
She takes a step towards me and I hold her. Both of our stomachs growl at the same time and we laugh. She’s definitely my mate.
“I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you’re hungry.” I chuckle.
“How’d you guess? By the way, my snake wants to know if she can nibble on your polar bear.”
My polar bear gasps and shakes his head no.
“Um. How exactly does she nibble? I know how my polar bear can nibble. But a snake?”
“Well, you’d have to let us do it to see.”
My bear is still saying no. And now he’s facing his ass to me.
“My bear is saying no to the nibbling. He remembers you telling us about your venom and he’s concerned about that.” I laugh.
“I’ve actually been wondering if my toxic venom would work the same on an animal as big as your polar bear and the tigers. We’ve only bitten humans or small animals.”
“I’m not sure my bear wants to be your guinea pig.” I laugh. “Let’s get back to the clubhouse. I’m sure they’re already getting the steaks on.”
“The last time I had a steak was with my family,” she says sadly.
I hug her tight. I can’t wait to take all this pain from her and replace it with new memories. We head to the clubhouse and we spend the night eating good food and getting to know the newest members of our Lake Renegade family.
Seraphina
Last night was the best night I’ve had in a long time.
For a few hours, I didn’t miss my parents or siblings.
When we got to bed, Apollo was the perfect gentleman.
He held me all night and waking in his arms was something I dreamed about.
I always wished to find my mate, fated or chosen.
But I never knew how strong these feelings would be.
My parents were chosen mates and they loved each other so much.
They never fought in front of us and they were always holding hands or kissing.
That’s what I dreamed of and now I have it.
Today we start looking for the ones that are responsible for the deaths of my family. I’m excited and scared. My tummy growls as we lie in bed.
“I finally found my hunger partner.” Apollo chuckles as his tummy grumbles too.
“I want to try one of your pocket sandwiches.”
“Sure, my mamá makes them. I’m sure she won’t mind making some today, but we’ll need to go to the bakery.”
“Going to the bakery is dangerous. The smells that come out of there make me want to eat everything in it.”
“It’s a struggle and now with the cafe, it’s not just pastries. Adonis almost got thrown out of the bakery before. He’s Robin Marini’s bodyguard, she’s a baker there and he kept eating pastries. So the mamás threatened to make him sit outside.” He laughs.
“That’s so funny. Did he stop eating the pastries?”
“I doubt it. I think he tries to be sneaky about it now. But we all know they see him doing it.”
I giggle as I listen to Apollo, I can hear how much he loves his brothers. I love it because I know he understands my closeness to mine. I smell food cooking and my tummy grumbles again.
“We should get downstairs and eat.” He laughs more.
We get dressed and head downstairs. Eros is in the kitchen cooking, and it smells delicious.
“Morning,” Apollo says to him as he grabs a cup of coffee. He hands it to me and then makes himself one.
I’ve never been with anyone who thought of me first. All the guys I’ve dated were nice, but there was always something missing.
“Baba said to meet him at the clubhouse. He’s making sure the council and whoever can help is there,” Eros says to us as my brothers join us in the kitchen.
“Damn it smells good in here. Reminds me of home, our mom used to make us breakfast every morning,” Archer says to us.
I walk over and hug my brother. We really did have the best parents.
Even at twenty-one years old, I could always count on a hot breakfast and dinner every night.
My mom always said she loved to cook for all of us, even though she did teach us to cook and bake.
Even my brothers can do it. But I have to admit, we were spoiled.