Chapter 12
Twelve
Zephyr
I stared at the computer screen without seeing much, my mind still on yesterday. My date with Keoni had been amazing, and it had lasted all the way till dinner.
After lunch, we'd watched another movie, then spent a few hours talking until it was time for dinner.
We'd eaten with everyone in the Dining Room, and only parted ways in the hallway outside at the end of the night.
Keoni had pulled me into a light kiss before disappearing inside Forest, and I had a feeling he'd only kept it chaste for my benefit.
While I had no problem with the others knowing we were together, I wasn't sure yet how much PDA I was comfortable with, and Keoni seemed to sense that. He was strangely good at that, as if I was one of the stars he read so easily.
A knock on my office door pulled me out of my thoughts, and I glanced up as Touya poked his head in. He eyed me for a moment, chestnut eyes thoughtful, then said, "Nolan's here to see you."
"Send him in," I said after a pause as I minimized the window on the screen.
Even after all these years, I still hadn't quite gotten the hang of using computers.
I still preferred the old pen-and-paper method for the most part, but Touya insisted I use the computer for things that we both needed to work on.
Touya disappeared, and a moment later, Nolan stepped into the room. Nolan had a certain presence. Even in his human form, it was hard for him to hide how powerful he was. No supe would be able to look at him without sensing his strength, even if they couldn't tell what he was.
"Hey, Zephyr. Everything good?" he asked as he took the chair across from my desk.
"No new problems," I said, and I couldn't quite hide the relief I felt.
"I'm glad. There's something I wanted to discuss with you."
The serious note in his voice made me sit up straight. "What is it?"
"It's nothing bad," he murmured in reassurance, and I realized I'd unconsciously curled my hands into fists, braced for whatever new trouble he was about to inform me of. I loosened my fingers with effort and exhaled deeply, then nodded for him to continue.
He watched me for a moment, then smiled softly. "I have a friend, Michelle. She's a witch, but she's also a doctor. An OB-GYN, to be precise. I thought it might be a good idea for her to see Dustin since he can't see his regular doctor now. She can help with the birth as well, when that happens."
"That's... that's a good idea." I'd been worried about Dustin having the child here with no doctor present.
While Draven had worked as a birth assistant many times in his past, he'd never supported a human, and he wouldn't know if something was wrong.
At the same time, Dustin couldn't have the child in a human hospital because there was a chance the baby wouldn't come out completely human.
His last ultrasound had shown a human baby, but sometimes babies shifted before or during birth, and we couldn't take that risk.
But a doctor who was also a witch? Someone who could take care of the human complications without freaking out about a half-naga child? She would be a life-saver.
"I thought I'd invite her over today to meet Dustin, and if they click, do you think it would be better for her to stay at the Sanctuary until the baby arrives?"
"Do we have an empty cabin in the Forest?" If we didn't, I was sure Silas would be able to build one. He'd gotten pretty good and seemed to enjoy the work a lot more than his other chores.
"I don't think so, but they can stay in our guest room. Zamir and I don't mind."
"They?"
"She's mated to an employee of mine, a human named Sofia. They've only been together for around two weeks, so I don't think they'll be willing to live apart."
Two weeks and they were already living together?
Then again, it'd only been, what, three or four weeks since Nolan and Zamir met? Some bonds just developed fast, I imagined.
"If you're okay with housing them, I don't mind. Though if Sofia is human, you'll need to ask Silas to make some additions to your bathroom."
Nolan blinked, then nodded as he realized what I meant.
Most supes didn't have bodily functions like humans, unless they were very weak, or magic users—like witches and mages—who refused to use magic.
We could eat—except vampires, who only drank blood—but we didn't digest food the way humans did.
Our magic burned through the food we ate, using it to restock our energy.
None of the food turned into waste, so we didn't need to expel anything.
While mating to a supe gave a human many benefits, this wasn't one of them.
"I'll talk to Silas," Nolan said with a nod, and I hummed. "I'll ask Michelle to come by this morning. Would you like me to introduce her to you first?"
I thought about it for a moment, then shook my head. "I trust your judgment," I said, and tried to ignore the look of surprise on his face. "If our paths cross, I'll be sure to greet her, but you don't need to bring her here."
Nolan nodded, then smiled, making the piercings on the corners of his lower lip glint as they caught the light. He ran his fingers through his orange-tipped blond hair, then dropped his hand to his lap.
"All right, then. I'll go call her," he said, then stood up.
I waited until he'd left before exhaling, my fingers flexing in and out of fists.
Why did I still feel guarded around Nolan?
I'd forgiven him, I'd accepted his help, I'd shared my most precious creation with him.
And yet I couldn't bring myself to relax completely around him, and I knew he could tell.
It wasn't fair to him, but I didn't know how to change that.
Blowing out a breath, I woke my computer and forced my attention back to the calendar I'd been working on.
Keoni
Michelle was a sweetheart. She had amber eyes, long red hair, a beautiful French accent, and she was tall, but not in an annoying way.
Sofia, on the other hand, was loud. I wondered if it was a side effect of working in a bar every night, or if she was just naturally like that.
She was a sweet woman, though, with a round face, dark brown hair, and kind brown eyes.
She was also my height, which I liked. There were very few people around here with whom I could talk without bending my neck in some way.
Zamir had told me Michelle and Sofia had just met a few weeks ago, but they looked like they'd been together forever. They had an easy familiarity between them that I envied. I wanted to be that close to Zeph someday.
"Where's my patient?" Michelle asked once the introductions and chitchat was over, and Nolan led her to Khush and Dustin's place, with Sofia and Zamir trailing after her.
I couldn't follow them, of course, so I stayed back, and Silas found me a moment later. He shifted back to his human form, probably for the sake of my neck since he was eight feet tall as a troll, and beamed at me.
"You and the headmaster looked pretty cozy last night," he teased, waggling his thick brows, and I grinned, pleased.
"We did, didn't we? We had a really great first date," I confessed, and his smile softened as it lost the teasing edge.
"I'm glad. You deserve it, both of you."
We chatted about Zephyr, about our chores for the rest of the week, and whatever came to mind, until Zamir and the others came out of Khush and Dustin's place about an hour later.
"I think it would be a good idea for me to stay here until the baby arrives," Michelle was saying as they walked toward us, "but like Khush said, it would make more sense to stay at their place. They have enough space downstairs, and their house is already equipped for a human."
"I still can't believe you guys don't have to poop. That's so unfair!" Sofia grumbled to Zamir behind them, and I snickered. I remembered Dustin saying something similar to me once, when he first found out.
"Okay, that works too. Will you need help moving your stuff?"
"Nah, we'll just pack a couple of bags. I would need some medical equipment though, just in case."
I stepped closer at that, giving her a smile. "Can you make me a list? Zephyr will get whatever you need."
"Of course. Give me your number, and I'll send you the list."
We exchanged numbers, and then they left with a promise to be back first thing tomorrow morning. Michelle worked at the local hospital, but she'd had vacation days saved up which she'd used so she could stay here, though I heard Nolan say he intended to pay her for the duration she stayed.
Michelle sent me the list just before dinner, so I made my way to Zephyr's office.
"Ah, some of these things are only sold to hospitals, I believe," Zephyr murmured as he read through the list. "But it doesn't matter. I'll get them."
"Are you planning to steal them?" I asked, and he shook his head, his blue eyes sparkling.
"I thought I'd borrow them, probably from the seller, though. I don't want to put any hospitals at risk," he murmured, and I shook my head.
"It's not like we'll need them once the baby's here, so I suppose it's okay as long as we return them."
"Exactly," he agreed with a smile, and I chuckled. He looked way too excited at the idea of stealing—forgive me, borrowing things.
"Come on, let's go have dinner first. You can plan your heist later."
I took his hand as soon as he walked around the desk, and he glanced down at me, looking pleased.
In the Dining Room, Zephyr sat at my usual table with everyone from the Forest—except Khush and Dustin who now ate in their room for Dustin's sake, much to his ire—while I stood beside him as I chatted away with everyone between bites of my food.
I pulled Zeph into the conversation every once in a while, and watched as he slowly relaxed into the meal.
After dinner, I walked all the way back to the office with Zephyr, not ready to let go just yet.
Yesterday was wonderful, and I couldn't wait to spend time with Zephyr again.
I knew he had responsibilities, though, duties that he couldn't ignore, not even for me.
I didn't mind—at least not when I was thinking rationally—but sometimes I wished we could just portal away somewhere far away from here so he could be all mine for a while.
I'd miss our family, though, and that was the only thing that kept me from saying it out loud.
I stopped Zephyr before he could go in and tugged him closer.
I leaned up as much as I could, and he seemed to get the message because he lowered his head immediately, meeting my lips with his.
I kissed him deeply, pressing him against the office door with my hands on his hips.
We kissed until we were breathless, and as he pulled away with a gasp, I rested my head against his chest, smiling as I felt his heart beating wildly. I'd done that to him.
With a soft sigh, I stepped back and gazed up at him. His blue eyes were dark, his salt-and-pepper hair messy, and I reached up to cup his stubbled cheek. I ran my thumb over his wet lower lip, then took another step back as I let my hand drop.
"Sleep well, Zeph. I'll see you tomorrow," I said, then turned around and walked away.
Just before I stepped into the Forest, I heard a soft, murmured, "Good night, Keoni," and I smiled all the way to my cabin.