Chapter 39
RAINBOW PARADISE AND OTHER SURPRISES
NELSON
I didn’t always enjoy Jeremy’s company. He was too loud and nosy most of the time. But I had to hand it to him, the clothing was apparently just what Morgan needed. My mate hadn’t stopped smiling since pulling some garishly bright and colorful clothes from the pile Jeremy had brought.
Morgan never would have found anything like that in my closet, that’s for sure.
I had stayed close through the whole ordeal, in case Jeremy or any of the others tried to ask Morgan any uncomfortable questions, but that hadn’t happened. If they’d tried anything like that and made Morgan cry again, I couldn’t be sure how I’d react, but it wouldn’t have been pretty.
Luckily, I didn’t need to find out.
“What do you think?” Morgan spun in a slow circle with his arms up, modeling his borrowed clothes.
I had no idea what to say. Absolutely none.
I’d never seen someone, not even Ogden or Mercer, wear so many different colors all at once.
He was like a walking rainbow—every single color was represented.
His black shoes were the only semi-neutral things he wore, and I suspected he’d kept them because Jeremy hadn’t thought about bringing shoes too.
Morgan looked ecstatic.
I would have been mortified to wear butter yellow socks, Kelly green pants, an electric blue belt, a royal purple shirt, a pastel pink tie, and a cherry red blazer all together.
I thought the only color he was missing from the color wheel was orange, until Jake tucked a pumpkin orange pocket square into his jacket pocket.
It was a lot.
But Morgan looked so damn happy, I couldn’t help but smile.
“It suits you better than the black.”
“Right? This is amazing.” His happy laughter erupted on a wave of bubbles as he brushed his hands down his chest, as if eager to touch as many of the colors as he could.
“That’s so cool,” Jeremy muttered under his breath as he watched the bubbles drift across the room.
“Okay,” Jake said. “Is that all? Because I really need to get down to the pub. Alice is on her own, and I think we’ll have a big crowd tonight.”
I sighed. I tried to think up some excuse for why we’d need to skip the pub tonight, but I couldn’t think of a damn thing. Besides, Morgan was looking excited. And after today’s shock, he could use a little happiness.
“Are you ready?” I asked my mate.
Morgan’s gaze rolled over me from head to toe. His forehead scrunched up, showing his confusion. “Aren’t you changing too?”
“Uh, no?” I glanced down at what I was wearing: a black sweater, black pants, black shoes, and a black belt. Even if I changed, it would be more of the same. Black, black, black.
Morgan shook his head as if disappointed, but thankfully he didn’t try to wrap a neon purple scarf around my neck or get me to switch my belt to something that was lime green. I would have, though, if he’d pressed the issue. I would do anything for him.
It was a frightening thought, but it was also the truth.
The pub was packed when we stepped inside.
The men who’d been helping Morgan went directly to their mates.
Jake only stayed with Gage long enough to brush a kiss over the demon’s lips before hurrying over to the bar where Alice had a row of shot glasses lined up ready to pour. That looked dangerous.
Several round tables had been pushed together at the far side of the pub, and that’s where our friends were. There were two open seats at the table, and I knew they’d been left for Morgan and me. As if I couldn’t figure that out for myself, Jeremy waved us over.
“Are you okay?” Morgan asked when I didn’t jump at the chance to sit beside Jeremy. “Do you not what to be here?”
“I want you to meet… uh, everyone.” I almost said my family.
I mean, I knew they were. Sort of. Re-classifying them as such, even in my head, would take some time.
I guided my mate over to the table. The place was mobbed, so it’d probably take a bit for someone to come around to collect our orders.
It’d be faster if I went up. “What do you want to drink?”
“I don’t know…” He glanced at the bar, as if hoping it’d have a big menu hanging over it like they had at fast food restaurants. “I don’t usually drink alcohol…”
“You don’t have to drink alcohol if you don’t want to. No one is going to care.”
He shook his head. “I think I want to try something. But nothing with bubbles. No pop or beer or champagne.”
I doubted the Willow Lake Pub had champagne, but I got his point. “How about I surprise you?”
I was rewarded with a huge smile as Morgan shimmied in his seat. “Thank you.”
“Are you okay here for a minute on your own?”
Morgan glanced around at the others seated at the table. “I’m not alone.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll be right back.”
I didn’t want to leave him—even to walk across the room to get drinks.
It was ridiculous. But until I understood why so many people were after Morgan, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this little moment was the lull before the storm.
We didn’t have all the answers yet, and that made us—Morgan—vulnerable.
Yes, I trusted my family to keep him safe, and I was only going as far as the bar, but…
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to move. The sooner I had our drinks, the faster I’d be back at Morgan’s side.
Even standing at the bar, I had to wait a moment for Alice to take my order. When it was my turn, I was at a loss as to what to get for Morgan. I drank dark ales, porters, and stouts. He would hate those. Alice poured mine without my even having to ask for it.
“And… something sweet that doesn’t have pop in it.” Alice cocked her head as if my words didn’t make sense to her, then her gaze darted to the table.
“Oh! For your mate. Of course.” The little brownie rubbed her hands together in excitement. “This is perfect. I’ve been waiting for someone to come along who wants something different. It seems like all anyone ever wants is beer or something spicy. But sweet… Now that’s fun.”
“So you can make something? It doesn’t have to be fancy. I guess a vodka and orange juice would do…”
“Pshaw,” she scoffed. “Leave it with me. I’ve got it all under control.”
Then without another word, she pulled out a tall curvy glass and proceeded to make what looked like a rainbow in a glass.
As a brownie, Alice dressed in shades of brown and beige, so seeing her create something so colorful took me by surprise.
I stared at it when she pushed it across the counter to me.
“What is that? It looks toxic.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s a Rainbow Paradise. If he doesn’t like it, come back and I’ll make him something else. I have ideas. So many ideas.”
The drink could have been a neon sign, given the way everyone watched as I carried it across the room.
It wasn’t every day someone ordered what appeared to be rainbow paint in a glass.
If I was Adrian, I could growl at them all and make them look away.
Unfortunately, shadow jumpers didn’t have that luxury.
But the discomfort was worth it when I set the glass in front of Morgan. His face lit up like I’d ripped a rainbow right out the sky and presented it to him.
“If you don’t like it, I’ll get you something else.”
He took a tentative sip and sighed in delight. Then he took a bigger sip. “This is amazing.”
“Don’t drink it too fast. I think there’s a bunch of alcohol in it.”
He shrugged.
“I thought alcohol didn’t affect supes unless it was magically enhanced.” Jeremy leaned forward so he could talk to me around Morgan.
“Usually it doesn’t,” I admitted.
But what if Morgan was different? I was sure he’d be cute when tipsy, but I didn’t want him to get a hangover. Besides, getting drunk wasn’t going to make everything that’d happened over the last several days better. It never did.
Paws wove through the sea of pints and bottles on the tables as he approached us. He sat in front of me and narrowed his eyes. His tail flicked back and forth.
“What?”
“Day and time,” Paws said without any other context.
“This is about the pub bet, isn’t it?” I should have expected this.
Morgan grinned and wiggled in his seat. “So the pub bet is about you! I knew it was when you wouldn’t talk about it. What was it?”
“There are a few bets going on. If you want in on them, let me know. I’ll hook you up later,” Paws said. “But first, we need to settle the ones about Nelson. When did he find you?”
“Cool,” Morgan said. “So, day and time when he found me? That would be Friday at…” He glanced at me. “Say four?”
Paws might have the body of a cat, but the damn supe had very human facial expressions. And right now, he looked smug.
“Ash!” the cat commanded in a voice that reverberated through the pub. “Bring me the calendar!”
Ash rolled his eyes. “Really? Why can’t someone else get it?”
Paws narrowed his eyes at the fire mage.
“Oh fine,” Ash grumbled.
He got up to retrieve the calendar where all the bets were stored.
His mate followed at his heels since Ash was too short to actually reach where it was secured to the wall.
I sometimes wondered if Paws asked Ash to get the calendar all the time just because the fire mage was too obstinate to admit he was too short to reach it easily, and Paws got a kick out of tormenting him.
As soon as Dillon had the calendar down, Ash flipped to Friday.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he muttered. Then he marched back to the table and threw the calendar at Paws.
“I take it Paws won again?” I asked.
“Of course he did,” Ash said, returning to his seat.
Morgan picked up the calendar and flipped through it.
“What’s this other bet? Something about a vision?
” He looked at me. When I didn’t say anything—because what the hell was I supposed to say to that—Morgan bumped his shoulder against mine.
“Nelson? You said one vision was of me in that cage and the other showed me with you. Both of those things have happened. Why are you upset?”
Shit.
Gage put his elbows on the table. “If you want, we can show you the paintings later… Then you’ll understand.”