Chapter 8 #2
“You remember me,” Teddy choked.
“You helped rescue him. Of course he remembers you,” a soft voice mumbled from the sheets.
Teddy’s wet gaze moved up to meet Wren’s hooded one. He looked exhausted still, but his gaze was sharp.
“I saw him with you during Hart’s case, and at the PUMA station.” Teddy was desperate to just keep talking about something that didn’t drive them further apart. “But I wasn’t sure…”
“It’s him,” Wren confirmed. “He wouldn’t be talking to you if it wasn’t. You were the only other person he was allowed to talk in front of.”
Teddy swallowed and nodded, reliving those days of danger and adrenaline.
Wren’s righteous anger and determination to save every creature Nexus brought in for demonstrations and practical use.
The rage and frustration of their instructors as animals went missing consistently.
Teddy had seen what Nexus was doing in a whole new light thanks to Wren.
He found himself smiling slightly. “Our most daring escapade.”
The corners of Wren’s mouth turned up as well. “But we got away with it.”
Teddy smothered his instinctual flinch, feeling a phantom ache in his shoulder. He smiled again, looking down at Blu, who was everything to Wren. “It was worth it.”
Everything was worth that look of relief in Wren’s eyes. The happiness Wren felt at making a difference. It was one of the main reasons he had fallen for Wren so hard and hadn’t found a way back yet. His goodness shone brighter than the mark around his eye.
Not wanting to break the moment but needing to know, he met Wren’s gaze again. “You’re here.”
Wren pushed himself up on his arms, looking reluctant and like it pained him. Teddy wanted to soothe him immediately.
“I have some information about the case,” Wren said. “Which I could have sent you over and not driven all the way here.”
Teddy heard the unspoken question Wren wanted him to ask, reading the intent and expectation in his eyes as he dared him to do it. Mouth dry, Teddy spoke. “So why did you?”
Wren held eye contact bravely. “Because I want to talk about it.”
Teddy’s heart pounded and his vision swam. “The letters?”
“All of it,” Wren whispered. “Without me running away.”
“You needed space to process—”
“And you needed to talk it out.”
Teddy looked down at the floor, feeling guilt squirm in his stomach. “I was the one who left…”
“Because of them.” The words were filled with venom—they always were when he spoke about Nexus. “You said you would never have left. You said you wished we had gone together.”
Teddy closed his eyes. “Yes.”
“Who was it that made the decision? The person you mentioned in your letter.” Teddy looked up and Wren immediately knew, face darkening. “Kellan?”
“He always had his suspicions about us and what we were doing,” Teddy said. “He found out. He saw me kiss you. I could either accept my placement early, or he would be revealing it to Gwen.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Wren growled, teeth bared. The jaguar grumbled next to him.
Teddy reached forward to grab his hand to calm him, only realizing the second their skin touched and Wren released a quiet gasp that this wasn’t the past. Teddy shouldn’t be reaching for him and Wren shouldn’t be turning his hand up to meet his.
But they did. Their fingers slotting together like they’d never been apart. Wren’s skin felt like all of his dreams coming true at the same time. Like all of the ink from his journals had seeped out and shaped the Wren from his memories right in front of him.
He squeezed, running his thumb over the back of Wren’s hand, wanting to use it to pull him close. To wrap him in his arms and never let go again.
He wanted…
“Teddy!” Saint’s voice was a hushed shout as he burst through the door. “I ran the number plate on that vehicle and it belongs to—”
Teddy sprang backward, too trained.
“—Wren,” Saint finished, eyes as round as saucers. “And he’s…in your bed…”
Teddy rushed to his feet, the panic filling him so visceral that he felt physically sick. He stepped forward to block Wren from view. “He’s here for the case, that’s all. He’s here—Saint…”
Please don’t take him away, he wanted to beg on his knees.
“Woah,” Saint said, noticing his panic. “It’s cool. He’s here for the case, you said? That’s all I need to know. It’s just business.”
“Yes,” Teddy croaked, even though he knew Saint was placating him and didn’t believe any of it.
The facade was made of paper, but Teddy needed the screen of it to hide behind before his anxiety made him collapse.
Saint looked from Teddy to the space behind him, then back. “Let’s talk outside quickly,” he said.
“No,” Wren said immediately.
Teddy didn’t want to be out of sight of Wren either, but he looked over his shoulder at Wren. “I’ll be back in a second.”
He followed Saint from the room, allowing the door to close and stepping away from it, knowing Wren would no doubt be on the other side trying to listen in.
“You need to be much more careful,” Saint said in a low voice. “If it had been anyone else in this house…”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Teddy let the depths of his soul show through his eyes. Lonely. Miserable. Pained. “Trust me, I know the consequences.”
Sympathy filled Saint’s face. “It can be worse than that, Damir. The things people say…”
“I know that too.”
“Okay then.” Saint sighed deeply and ran a hand over his face. “I suppose all those years of being the only functioning, upstanding member of our team had to end sometime.”
“Everyone has their baggage,” Teddy joked hoarsely, even though he didn’t have it in him to laugh. “I need him.”
It was as simple as that.
“And are you happy to leave it there?” Saint whispered. “To have him in your life but not cross that boundary to keep you both safe?”
“Yes,” Teddy said shakily, not knowing if he was simply lying to himself.
Saint didn’t seem sure either. He pursed his lips. “We should introduce him to the team. Make it seem like it’s a proper official meeting and he didn’t just crawl in through the window.”
Teddy winced, blushing slightly.
Saint’s eyes bugged. “He climbed through the window! I thought you snuck him in here?!”
“He was already in my room when I got back, asleep on my bed.”
“I’m ignoring how romantic that is. I don’t find it cute at all, you hear me?” Saint said, pointing a finger in his face. “It’s a recipe for disaster. Stop making googly eyes.”
Teddy looked down at his own feet.
“He’s just here for the case and will be staying a while,” Saint said. “That’s our story.”
“He is here for the case,” Teddy mumbled. “He said he has new info.”
“Well why didn’t you lead with that?”
Saint walked back to the door and opened it, jumping in fright to find Wren on the other side already, glaring at him from the confines of his hood.
“Oh, uh, hello again,” Saint said. “Sorry for barging in.”
“It’s fine,” Wren said but Teddy knew that voice, and it wasn’t his fine voice at all. “I have case information.”
“Damir said.” Saint nodded. “I’ll round everyone else up.”
He flounced off and Wren shrank into himself, shuffling on bare feet.
“You okay?” Teddy asked
Wren nodded. “Sure. Is everyone working on this case?”
“We have been treating it like a group project,” Teddy joked. “It’s mostly Saint and me, although the others have offered opinions. But since you’ll be staying here for the consult…”
“Right,” Wren said. “They do need a heads-up.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Come on. They’re a decent bunch.”
He led Wren out of his room, regretting having to share him but knowing he had to at least pretend this was all purely professional for them both.
“Everyone…” Teddy said as he walked into the living room to find his team slumped around the couch, glasses in hands and disgusted looks on their sleepy faces.
Echo had been on a rampage lately, getting them up early, making them juices to do a cleanse, having them meditate and do a short yoga session before starting their days. They were thriving. The rest of the team hated it with a burning passion.
But it beat witnessing Echo researching the best burial spots in Arcstead for when they died of neglect.
“Who’s that?” Heir asked, pointing at Wren, and for whatever reason that made him acutely aware of the fact Wren…his Wren was standing behind him. In his house. Surrounded by his team and the echoes of a decade of Teddy’s life.
The world of Teddy and Wren had collided with the world of Teddy without Wren and he wasn’t sure he could handle it.
“I was about to get to that,” Teddy said, motioning for Wren to come stand by his side.
He did so reluctantly, Blu perched on his shoulder, head rubbing against his hair as if soothing him.
“Well…get,” Eerie said, head tilted, the feathers on one shoulder of his blouse making him look like a curious bird. He was in heels already and dawn had barely broken. He made a little swishing motion at Teddy with his fingers to get him going.
“This is Wren. He’s a cursed animal specialist from Slatehollow’s team.”
“Oh?” Heir asked. “And what brings a Slatehollow cursebreaker to Arcstead?”
“He’ll be consulting on one of my cases,” Saint said, sitting next to Eerie and scrunching his nose when Eerie smoothly pushed his glass of green juice into his hand. It was unnerving how similar they looked while being completely different at the same time.
“Wren,” Teddy said, “This is my team. Eerie, our bonds specialist. Heir, nuisance curses; Echo, objects; Trace, deadly curses. And you’ve already met Saint.”
“Hi.” Wren looked at each of them warily. Teddy knew that look. He was memorizing their faces, their names, and their jobs. He was making sure all the information stayed in his mind in case he ever needed it. It was a safety measure for him. He’d always done that.
Always aware of his surroundings. Always careful of those around him. Just in case.
“Why would you need a consultant on a case?” Heir asked Saint, not looking away from Wren, barely blinking. “I thought you had a million leads.”