Chapter 10
ten
EVEREST
Rathyn absolutely refuses to let me go back to my place on my own, and it’s the only reason I’m glad Zane isn’t home because he would get arrested for assault right now if he were.
Or he’d be goo under Rathyn’s massive, clawed feet.
Either way, it wouldn’t be good.
Walking in, I realize I haven’t seen or even bothered to look for my phone since last night after work, and I know there’s probably a barrage of panicked texts from Zane asking me where I am.
The shitty part is that he’s going to find out what’s going on in the worst way.
I have no way of breaking this to him gently, and the only thing that’ll save me from any of it is knowing that the contract is already signed and there’s nothing he can do about it.
It’s not a great feeling. He’s going to be hurt, and it makes me feel like a shitty friend.
But I also know he’d never understand.
Rathyn is right behind me as we walk inside, and he sniffs, grimaces, then looks from side to side. “Is there more to these quarters?”
“My bedroom,” I point to the door on one wall. “Zane’s room is through there,” I point to the other.
“And this is it? You work at the meat factory—”
“Hot dog stand!”
“—for this closet?”
“Excuse you, but these are pretty sweet digs for someone my age making the crap money I do.” I don’t tell him that most of the rent is covered by Zane’s trust fund. “It’s comfortable.”
He says nothing, but I get a sudden flash of an image behind my closed eyelids. Wide, open fields and in the daytime sky, four pale moons ten times the size of ours.
“Was that Erethar?”
Rathyn nods. “It is.”
I take a moment because I feel something else, too. Something like longing, and I realize he’s sharing that with me.
“You miss it?”
“The human world has something we need, but it is not home. It is nothing like home.” He goes quiet after that, and I don’t try to comfort him because I get it. Going from that to this?
It can’t be fun.
“Well, I don’t have a lot,” I tell him as I walk over and open my bedroom door. Fuck, it’s a mess. I have clothes on the floor and covering my chair, a book open on my unmade bed, and a few dirty dishes on my desk.
He takes in a breath. “This place holds your scent.”
“Yep. This is where I live.”
He pulls me back against him with his tail and cups my limp dick, which quickly starts to thicken. “It smells like you,” he repeats, then his long fingers begin to massage my balls.
“Fuck,” I whisper, then stiffen. “Dude, not here. If Zane comes home and sees you sucking my dick, he’s going to eviscerate me.”
“He can try,” Rathyn repeats again. “I will not allow him to harm you. Treaty or not, if another human attempts to cause you harm, that is motive for termination of life.”
“Relax, Jesus. I’m not being literal.” Mostly, but I should probably warn Zane about Rathyn’s possessive temper. “Anyway, uh…I think I have a suitcase here. And there are some trash bags I can pack the rest of my shit in.”
“You will not.”
I turn and stare at him. “I’m absolutely taking my stuff.”
“I will send for your things,” he tells me.
Yeah, I don’t think Zane is going to vibe with a bunch of Vyastil pawing around our apartment—his apartment now, I guess—and packing up my stuff.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Rathyn’s lips turn down at the corners. “He does not care for monsters.”
For some reason, I hate the way he says monsters. “He’s not a huge fan of the Vyastil.”
“Then I will send humans.”
It’s…a compromise, I guess, and one that means I don’t have to pack my entire room in just a few minutes. “Alright, fine.”
He tugs me against him again and peers over my shoulder. “All of this is yours?”
“Everything but the dirty dishes.” I flush slightly, embarrassed at being such a slob. But fuck it. I’m twenty-one with a crap job. I’m allowed to be in my messy era.
“I’m just going to grab a few things, so I don’t have to wear these pants anymore.”
Rathyn’s eyes flicker down to my groin, and his ears flutter slightly.
“I enjoy how these fit you.”
“Yeah, because you don’t need to wear them.”
“You will not need clothes when you are with me.”
“Yeah, fuck off. I want clothes. And my toothbrush.”
I grab a bag and stuff a few items inside, making sure to grab the framed picture of my parents and me, then gesture toward the front door. “We need to stop by the gym next. I need to let Zane know what’s happening.”
Rathyn nods and takes the bag from me. It looks so small in his large hand, but he walks out of the apartment with an air of authority, and when we make it to the hired car, he gestures for me to tell the driver where to go.
As we head toward the gym, Rathyn’s tail wraps around my calf, and he leans toward me. He’s so warm that I feel suddenly comforted by the immense change happening in my life. It’s…a lot. Terrifying in some ways, but only because I never saw myself doing any of this.
Even with my desperation to leave the confines of my aunt and uncle’s house, I’ve never really felt free. I had my own place, but I was trapped by circumstance and by being broke. I had no relationships to speak of. No real friendships outside of Zane.
And now I was a monster’s companion. Signed on the dotted line.
“When we arrive home,” Rathyn says, startling me out of my thoughts, “I would like to begin collecting on our contract. We have many orgasms to get through today.”
“Oh, hell no. Fifteen orgasms in a few hours? You’re out of your mind.”
The car swerves slightly, and I blush wildly. Oh my god, I should not say that out loud. It makes me seem like some kind of cum slut. Or blow job slut.
Or shit. Maybe I’m just a slut for monsters.
“No. Not in a few hours. I would like to collect all of them at once.”
“Yeah, no. I may die if you do that.”
He growls deep in his chest. “Dying is not allowed.”
“That wasn’t in the contract. I am human, after all. We’re fragile and die young.”
He looks slightly upset by this, so I huff and then turn my gaze out the window. “Ugh, whatever. We’ll discuss it when we’re back at your place.”
His tail tightens slightly and then loosens when we pull up to The Anvil, and I hop out before he can stop me.
“You can wait here,” I start, but he’s already moving to get out behind me.
Rathyn’s lips curl down as he freezes halfway out the door. “No.”
“Seriously. I need to find my roommate and talk to him in private. I don’t need you looming over me.”
He sits back in the seat, but his tail flicks out toward me and then retracts. “My job is to loom. You are my companion.”
“I know, but I have to have a chat with my friend. Alone. Be right back.”
And then I rush off, slamming the door behind me so he can’t protest anymore.
With a little too much oomph, I fling the gym door open and rush inside, my eyes immediately clocking Zane, who is on the treadmill, his skin glistening with sweat, his cheeks red from exertion.
He must be really upset because he never runs this fast. He usually prefers a nice, stable trot.
I wave at Quilliyn at the front desk, and he gives me a small smile.
“Your friend is upset,” he says when I’m close enough to hear him.
“Yeah,” I grimace, “I can tell.”
Quilliyn leans a little closer, as if to tell me something, but then his gaze flicks behind me, and I see that Rath is in the doorway. Oh, for fuck’s sake. But there’s no time to tell him off because Zane is slamming down on the emergency stop button and rushing over to me.
He looks absolutely frantic. “What the fuck!” he shouts, stumbling toward me and grabbing on to my arms. “I thought you were dead.”
Rathyn huffs at that. “My companion will not die.”
Zane’s gaze moves to the monster behind me and then back to me, and his brows fly up as if to say, “What the fuck?”
My eyes close, and I sigh heavily. Honestly, this would have been so much better without Rathyn right behind me.
“What the fuck does that mean? His companion?” Zane asks when I don’t explain, his voice cracking slightly.
Quilliyn leans forward, his elbows on the desk, his chin cradled in his hands as he listens intently, a tiny smile playing at his lips.
“What’s going on, Ev?” Zane asks. His stare pings between Rath and me, his fingers digging into my shoulders so hard it makes me wince.
Rathyn steps up beside me, and his tail moves up, flicking Zane’s hands from my shoulders.
Zane stares at him with wide eyes. “Excuse you.”
I glower at Rathyn and then turn my attention back to my roommate. “I’m sorry. I got caught up with stuff. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t come home! I thought…” His words choke off, and he swallows loudly. “I thought something bad happened.”
“I’m sorry. I completely lost track of time.”
Zane’s gaze moves toward Rathyn, and his fists clench. “Is he the reason you lost track of time?” I nod, and Zane huffs. “Fine, you can tell me all about it, but I want to hear it without that creep looking over your shoulder.”
“I am not a creep. I am the commander of armies.”
Zane just flips him off, making Quilliyn laugh softly while Rathyn murmurs something in his language to him. It’s a low, questioning hum, and I wonder if maybe he’s asking what the middle finger means.
I hope Quilliyn isn’t totally honest. I don’t want Zane and Rathyn to hate each other forever. Not that we’ll be together forever, but still.
While Rathyn is distracted, Zane grabs my arm tightly and leads me away from the two monsters, guiding me into the locker room. It’s much quieter in here, and I take a moment to breathe in the silence.
“Seriously,” Zane says after a long moment. “Tell me what the fuck happened last night? Do you need me to sneak you out of here? I have money. We can totally flee the country…”
I shake my head, cutting him off. “No, I’m good. I promise. Just…well, Rathyn…the monster…he offered me a position working for him.”
God, what a terrible lie. But I mean, I am being paid for it, so…
“What does that mean? What kind of position? Is that what the companion thing was about?”