Chapter Five #2
When he heard footsteps on the stairs, it took him a moment to realize that it couldn’t be Tex because Tex was still in the bathroom.
He jerked up into a sitting position, scrambling to grab the sheets and pull them around his shoulders.
He tried to get out of bed at the same time, which was a bad idea because the only thing he managed to do was get even more tangled in the sheets and fall on his face.
Thankfully for him, the plants cushioned his landing, but by the time he was sitting up, the bedroom door flew open.
Kael stood there, his eyes wide, looking around the room. “What happened?” he asked. “There are plants everywhere. It’s like a jungle. Why did you do that?”
Nymon blinked up at him from where he was sitting on the floor. He didn’t know how to answer Kael’s question. Could he give him an explanation that didn’t include Tex?
Even if he’d tried coming up with one, he would’ve been too late. The bathroom door flew open, and Tex charged out, looking around as if ready to take on whoever the intruder was. He probably was, and it was sweet and sexy, but unfortunately for them, the intruder was Nymon’s best friend.
For a moment, Kael just blinked. Thankfully, Tex stopped before he could hurt him, and they stared at each other. It was very obvious that Tex wasn’t a demon. There was no hiding it, especially since he was completely naked.
Kael pointed a finger at Tex and turned to look at Nymon. “That is—who is—what the fuck, Nymon?”
Nymon groaned and got to his feet. He flopped back onto the mattress, wrapping the sheet closer to his body. “Don’t start freaking out,” he told his best friend.
“How am I supposed to not freak out when there’s a human in your bedroom?”
Nymon grimaced. “About that. Tex isn’t human.”
“Well, he’s not a demon, either. He’s not hiding anything, so I can see he has no demon blood in him.”
Tex cleared his throat and moved deeper into the bedroom.
When he started poking at the plants on the floor with his toes, Nymon realized that he was looking for clothes.
The problem was that he’d come in naked.
The only thing he’d worn had been Nymon’s sweater.
Nymon wasn’t even sure where he’d been keeping his phone, although he had noticed a pouch around Tex’s neck last night.
It hadn’t been there when they’d undressed each other, but clearly, Tex had brought it into the bedroom. He was still holding a cell phone.
“Just take one of the blankets,” he said, tilting his chin toward the bottom of the bed. There were a few blankets stacked there in case he got cold at night.
Tex snatched one of them up and wrapped it around his shoulders, covering most of his body. His legs were still exposed, but at least he wasn’t naked.
“I have no idea what the fuck is going on,” Kael said. “Who is this guy?” he asked, turning back to Nymon. “Why is he in your bedroom?” He raised a hand and rubbed his forehead. “Actually, don’t answer that question. I know why he’s in your bedroom. I’ve seen why he’s here.”
Nymon bit his lower lip. He didn’t want to make fun of his best friend, but the situation was kind of funny, even though Kael was about to freak out. “You should probably sit down,” he said.
Kael grimaced. “I’m not going to like this, am I?” His gaze flickered to Tex again. “Oh, I’m really not going to like this.”
“I should let the two of you talk,” Tex said, already inching toward the door.
“Tex is a wolf shifter,” Nymon said. “I’m his mate, and we bonded last night.”
Nymon understood why Tex had wanted to leave them alone, but he needed his mate here, at least for this. He trusted Tex to be calmer than both him and Kael could ever be in the situation. His presence probably wasn’t helping Kael as much, but Nymon didn’t think anything could.
Kael blinked. “Your mate?”
“Well, technically, I guess that I’m his mate since demons don’t have mates, but yes. We’re mates, and we bonded.”
“He bit you.”
“You know how bonding works. Yes, he bit me.”
Kael stared. “I came here this morning because I wanted to check in on you after last night, when you said you had a headache and you weren’t feeling well. I felt sorry for you. Instead, you’ve been spending half the night banging your mate.”
Nymon grimaced. “I wouldn’t have said it like that, but yes.”
“I was worried about you while you were having sex.”
“Is this something I need to be here for?” Tex said. “I’m sure the two of you want to talk.”
“Your presence is quite distracting,” Kael said as his gaze flickered down Tex’s legs. “I know you’re covering yourself, but I can’t help but imagine what’s under that blanket.”
Nymon frowned. “Don’t ogle my mate, please.”
Kael narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to hearing you say that. You can’t have a mate. Neither of us can.”
“Except that I do have a mate,” Nymon said gently.
Tex cleared his throat. “I’m gonna go downstairs, maybe get some breakfast ready.”
He stepped out of the room quickly enough that Nymon didn’t have the time to stop him. That was okay. He suspected that Kael felt more comfortable without Tex there.
Sure enough, Kael started talking as soon as the door closed behind Tex. “What the fuck were you thinking?” He asked. “You bonded with a shifter?”
“What else could I have done? He’s my mate.”
“When did you even meet him? Why is he here? How did he get here?”
Those were all good questions to ask, but Nymon wasn’t sure what he could tell Kael.
It was probably safer not to tell him about the network of demons hurting people using their magic.
“He’s always been curious about demons,” Nymon eventually said, going with the lie Tex had told him initially.
“Apparently, his boss knows a few demons, and one of them gave him the location of Starhaven.”
“And he decided to, what? Cross the shield and poke around our town?”
“Pretty much. Honestly, if I’d realized it was something I could do, I would have left Starhaven to explore a while ago.”
Kael’s expression fell. “You are going to do that, aren’t you? You’re going to leave.”
Well, shit. Nymon had known he’d have to explain all of this to Kael, and soon, but he wasn’t sure where to start.
He couldn’t lie to Kael, though. “Yeah. I’m going to leave.
Tex doesn’t belong here, and I don’t think he’s going to be allowed to stick around.
Even if he was, I don’t want to stick around.
I want to see what’s out there, and now, I have a mate to do it with. ”
Kael nodded. “I get it.”
Nymon wasn’t sure he did. He didn’t have a mate, and he might never get one. It would be nice if he did, though. Even with all the new complications in Nymon’s life, he’d never been happier, and he wanted his best friend to have the same.
* * * *
TEX WAS HAPPY TO LET Nymon and Kael talk. He was curious about Nymon’s best friend, but now wasn’t the time to introduce himself. Kael was freaking out, and Nymon needed to give him an explanation, while Tex had his own things to do.
He hadn’t even left the bathroom before the information Gregory had promised to send him had landed in his inbox.
He’d been looking over it when he’d heard someone come into Nymon’s bedroom, so he still wasn’t sure what all of it was, but he suspected he had enough to get out of the house and find out more.
That would give Nymon and Kael the opportunity to talk.
It would probably be easier for them without Tex hovering there, watching them.
Tex knew that Nymon wasn’t going to be happy about him sneaking out.
Unfortunately, it was non-negotiable. Tex couldn’t allow Nymon to get involved, even though his mate would want to.
He wasn’t trained. He knew demons better than Tex ever could, but he’d never had to fight one.
Tex hoped things wouldn’t come to that today, but just in case, he didn’t want his mate anywhere near where he was going.
Because he was going somewhere. Apparently, Gregory’s analysts found an address.
Tex wasn’t quite sure how he’d get there because people were bound to notice a wolf hanging around town, but he’d find a way.
From what he’d seen of Starhaven these past few days, no place in town was far from the forest. It was probably one of the reasons the people who’d built Starhaven had done so here.
Not only was it hidden under a magic shield, but it was also protected by the forest it was in.
There was a lot of nature here, and it would be a lovely town to visit if the demons who led it weren’t so focused on keeping everyone out and isolating themselves.
His phone vibrated as he walked into the kitchen, headed for the back door.
He looked down, surprised to see Orlando’s name on his screen.
He answered right away. Orlando wasn’t a council assassin or an enforcer, and Gregory had said he wanted to send someone he knew he could trust but who wasn’t official.
Besides, Orlando was Tex’s friend. “Hey.”
“Tell me why I just got a call from Gregory telling me you need help?” Orlando asked.
“That’s probably because I do need help. Did he tell you what’s going on?”
“Yes, he did. He mentioned that you met your mate?”
“Yeah. Apparently, I had to visit an invisible town full of demons to find my mate. You had a lot of luck, stumbling on Liam the way you did.”
“I did have a lot of luck when it comes to Liam,” Orlando agreed. “All right. Tell me what you need. Gregory already mentioned a few things, but I want to hear it from you.”
Tex was happy to tell Orlando everything. He wasn’t sure what he would need beyond a few people, but there was one thing that would make all of this easier. “I think Seymour needs to come.”
“Of course he does. He’s a Nix.”