Chapter 26
Twenty-Six
Zephyr
I leaned against a tree as I watched Keoni do what he did best: socialize. It had taken him five minutes to decide he wanted to get to know everyone in the herd once he realized none of them cared about his disability the way his old herd had.
I could stand here and watch him all day. The sunlight sparkling off the lake's surface made his face glow like an angel's, his blond curls like a halo around his head, and I couldn't pull my gaze away from him, not even when I sensed someone sidle up to me.
"How did you two meet, if I may ask?" Tarquin asked, and it took some effort to pull my gaze away from his son.
"I found him a few years ago," I said, then elaborated. "I run a safe haven for supes who can't or don't want to live in the human world, who need help in some way, and my tracking spell led me to Keoni."
I didn't know if Keoni would be okay with me sharing his story, but I also wanted Tarquin to know I wouldn't let anyone hurt Keoni now. He had someone—a lot of someones, if I was being honest—looking out for him, and if Tarquin even thought about hurting him in any way...
"He'd been abandoned by his herd, his mother's herd.
She'd died years before that, but the herd had taken care of him until he reached adulthood, at which point they declared it wasn't their duty anymore.
He wasn't doing well when I found him. He didn't have his cart then, so he couldn't move around.
I took him to the Sanctuary, and he's lived there ever since, though we just started dating. "
"Why wait?" Tarquin asked, though I got the feeling that wasn't what he wanted to ask about.
"When we first met, he lied about his age. He thought I'd take away my offer if I knew he was an adult."
Tarquin shook his head, his eyes on the ground as he tugged at his hair. He really did look a lot like Keoni. There was no doubt they were related.
"I wish I'd known. I really liked his mother.
I wanted her to come with me, but she didn't want to leave her herd.
I wasn't the chief back then, and I had family in my herd, so I couldn't leave either.
I wish I'd tried harder, or that I'd gone looking for her once I became chief.
Even if she was gone by then, I would've at least found Keoni. "
There was nothing I could say to make him feel better, so I stayed quiet, and we both watched Keoni flitter about and win everyone over.
"He's a friendly one, isn't he?" Tarquin murmured, his voice fond, and I hummed. "He reminds me of his mom."
"I'm sure he'd love to hear that. And anything else you remember about his mom."
People approached me every once in a while, sometimes simply to introduce themselves, other times with questions about my magic or Keoni or the Sanctuary.
They seemed to be under the impression that it was a magical wonderland of some kind, and it made me curious what exactly Keoni was telling them about the place.
The herd convinced us to stay for lunch, and there was no way I could decline when Keoni widened his eyes and stuck his lower lip out at me, and so we stayed.
Conversation flowed easily as we ate, as if Keoni and I had always been a part of this herd, and I had a feeling we'd be visiting them often.
Maybe I could place an anchor here and link it to the main door dial so we wouldn't need to use the portal every time. I'd have to discuss it with Tarquin, but I doubted he'd have a problem with it if it meant more visits from Keoni.
The sun was dipping low in the sky as we finally decided to head back after Keoni had gotten measurements of Oz's leg so he could ask Draven to make a prosthetic for him.
He'd made me show Oz my arm and the way it functioned to convince him, then told him and the others about his stockings, though he'd skipped why he hadn't worn them today.
Judging by the look Tarquin had shot my way, at least he had figured out why.
Tarquin walked us back to the portal, and we stopped just outside as he and Keoni glanced at each other.
"Thank you for looking for me," Tarquin said, and Keoni smiled.
"I'm glad I did. This went a lot better than I'd hoped. Can I visit again?"
"Of course. As often as you want. We don't travel as much as we used to, so you'll find us here when you visit again. If we do decide to move, it won't be until I've told you where we're headed."
Keoni smiled, and Tarquin pulled him into another hug. Then, he approached me and embraced me too. I returned the hug somewhat awkwardly, and he smiled at me as he stepped back. "Thank you for taking such good care of Keoni over the years."
"He takes care of me too," I said, shooting Keoni a smile, and Tarquin beamed at us.
"See you soon!" Keoni said as he took my hand in his and, with a final wave at his father, led us through the portal.
I closed the portal behind us, and we stood there for a moment in the empty room. Then Keoni reached back and started unstrapping the cart, and I helped him untie his legs and put the stockings back on.
He checked his phone, then turned to me. "It's almost dinner time. How about I go talk to Draven about Oz's prosthetic, and we'll meet back up for dinner?"
"Sounds good," I said, figuring I'd make sure there was no work pending from my day of playing hooky.
I'd just returned to my office when the door slammed open and Rei hurried in, her eyes wide and downright terrified.
"What's wrong?" I demanded as I jumped to my feet, my gaze shooting to the door as if whatever had chased her would follow her in. Never mind that nothing could get into the Sanctuary without alerting me.
"I'm forgetting it all!" she exclaimed as she hopped up onto my desk, and I sank back into my chair as I gazed up at her, my heart still thundering in my chest.
"Forgetting what?"
"Everything! All my lives! Well, I still remember the first one, the one where we met. But the lives since, I remembered them all before, but now they're disappearing. I don't know why!"
I chewed on my lip as I processed what she'd said, then tilted my head. "Maybe you'd remembered so you'd know you were looking for me? But now that you've found me, you don't need those memories anymore?"
Rei thought about it for a moment, and her shoulders slumped. "That makes sense. I don't care about most of it. There were some yucky memories I'd be glad to be rid of. But I had some good ones too."
"Why don't you tell me the ones you don't want to forget and I'll write them down for you?"
Her eyes lit up, and she settled on the desk, apparently ready to narrate. "Really? You'll do that for me?"
"You looked for me for centuries. It's the least I can do," I murmured as I patted her head, and she gave me a sparkly-eyed look.
"Okay. Let's do this!"
Keoni
While getting to know everyone in Tarquin's herd had been fun, this was where I felt at home. This was my family.
"Please stop crying," Khush begged as he rocked little Reign in his arms, his hair in disarray and his tank top covered in spit-up stains. Babies were messy. And loud. Also, freaking adorable.
"Want me to take her?" Dustin asked as he stroked Aspen's back, who was calmly hanging around his dad's neck as Dustin ate dinner.
"Nah, you need to eat. We'll be fine. Won't we, Reign?"
I smiled at the sight of my once grumpy and gruff friend. He looked absolutely besotted as he gazed down at his daughter and talked to her in a low voice. I was so happy for him.
Everyone from the forest except Silas and Touya were at the table. They'd gone out for a date night since Touya had to take care of Zephyr's work as well as his own during the day. They'd probably be home late at night.
My eyes slid to Liam and Haruto, who sat with their chairs pressed together. They were practically in each other's laps, their hands linked on the table as they ate with one hand and chatted in a low voice, completely unbothered by the chaos around them.
Diego and Shade were the same, lost in a world of their own.
Shade could be in a light a lot longer now, and he'd started having dinner with us more often now.
It was nice having him here, and I knew he loved being here with everyone, even if at this moment, he was busy trying to suck Diego's soul out from between his lips.
Though that was more Zamir's speed, who leaned against his mate as he chatted with Draven on his other side. Nolan and Zephyr were discussing something about the Sanctuary, though his arm was wrapped around Zamir's waist, his fingers hidden under Zamir's shirt.
And Zephyr? Zephyr's side was flush against mine, his focus split between his conversation with Nolan and me, so much so that he'd been ignoring his food for the last few minutes.
I speared a piece of chicken on my fork and held it up to his mouth. He took it automatically, and a moment passed before he glanced over at me, a sheepish look on his face.
"You don't have to do that," he murmured, and I shrugged.
"You looked like you were talking about something important, and I didn't want your food to go cold. And I kinda like it."
Zephyr's cheeks went a little pink at my words, and he quickly glanced away, making me smile.
I proceeded to feed him the rest of his dinner, and he didn't complain once, showing me he liked it too.
After dinner, Zephyr asked me if I could check on Sagar and see if he needed anything.
I grinned when I spotted the siren at the Ocean table and made a beeline for him. He was nodding along to something Mira, the other siren who lived in the Ocean area, had said, and he glanced up when I approached the table, his lips hitching up in a smile.
"Hey, Sagar. I just wanted to check in. Are you doing okay?"
Sagar gave an exuberant nod, his eyes flicking to the phone in his hand. He typed something, then showed me the screen.
Everyone has been very helpful. I'm learning ASL on my phone so I can communicate more easily. Liam worked it out for me.
"Oh, that's wonderful! Find me if you ever need help practicing, okay? Though most people here know ASL, so you can ask any of us."
Sagar nodded, and after telling him to let me know if he needed anything else, I lingered for a while before deciding I was ready to turn in. Today had been a big day. A good day, but an exhausting one, and I was ready for some cuddles in bed with my mate.
Zephyr was getting ready for bed when I reached our bedroom, and I washed up quickly, then ditched my shirt and climbed into bed, patting the mattress beside me as he walked out of the bathroom.
Turning down the lights, Zephyr climbed in beside me, and I wrapped my arms around him, tucking my face into his chest.
"Thank you for today. You were wonderful," I murmured, and Zephyr's arms drew tight around me.
"I'm glad I could help. Your father seemed like a good guy."
"He did, didn't he? And the rest of his herd too."
Zephyr hummed into my hair, then pulled back to say, "Do you wish you'd grown up in his herd instead of your mom's?"
I sighed. I'd been wondering that since I met them, but I didn't have one final answer.
"I don't know. I mean, on one hand, it would've been nice, but on the other hand, how much longer would it have taken for us to cross paths?
Would I have become Khush's best friend?
Reign and Aspen's uncle? I don't know. My past may have been less than desirable, but I love my present, and I'm really fucking excited for my future. "
Zephyr was quiet for a moment, and then I felt a soft press of lips against my scalp. "Well said. I love you, Keoni. I'm so glad I met you when I did."
"I love you too. And same. Who would've knocked sense into you if I wasn't here? When you think about it, I was the one who saved the Sanctuary. Not you or Nolan."
Zephyr chuckled. "I can't argue that."
"Of course you can't. Nobody can argue against facts," I joked, and he chuckled again, then gave a sleepy hum.
"Time to sleep," I decided, and he hummed again as he nuzzled into my hair, his legs tangling with mine, not at all minding the fact that mine were covered in a hairy coat and ended in hooves.
Tomorrow, we'd wake up in each others' arms and start our day together, and then at night, we'd end the day together too, only to repeat it all over again the next day, and the day after that.
Could life get any better?