Chapter Thirty-Four
Roman
Ilanded on the tower’s rooftop landing pad before Oakley did. I had to admit, I’d been a tiny bit worried that Garrick had somehow taken me out of the wards so I would’ve crashed into an invisible barrier and hurt myself.
But either he’d come to his senses, at least a little, or Tan hadn’t let him go that far.
I dropped two duffel bags from my claws and quickly shifted back to my bipedal form, shaking myself out as I got used to not having wings again.
It was always a strange sensation, and sometimes I wished I could do a partial shift of just my wings.
I probably could, but my wings were so big that they’d look ridiculous on my human-looking body, and they’d probably make me lose my balance.
As I slipped my shirt over my head, I heard—and felt through our growing bond—Oakley’s approach. They landed beside me, and I watched them lower themself so Terrell could climb off.
The gargoyle headed in my direction. “All was quiet on the way over.”
“Thank you, Terrell. I appreciate your help.”
“Anytime, Rome.”
I offered a grin. “I’ve got it from here.”
He nodded and headed for the door that led inside with a little finger salute at me.
Oakley hadn’t shifted yet—probably wanting to wait until Terrell was gone—and they moved their head closer to me. I couldn’t help but brush my hand over the scales of their snout.
“You’re so beautiful,” I whispered in awe as they nuzzled me. I wanted to hug them and shift back so we could fly together and cuddle up in my nest the way we had the other night.
In response to my compliment, Oakley stuck their tongue out and licked a huge stripe up my arm to my neck and along my face.
“What the hell?” I spluttered with a laugh, trying to move away.
Oakley laughed in that dragon way, and I heard in my head, “Tastes as good as I thought he would.”
Well… I supposed I couldn’t complain about that. “You done licking me?”
“Never.”
That made me laugh, and I walked closer, petting their snout again. “You can lick me anytime you want in any form.”
They made a noise that sounded like purring, and we stood there for a few breaths. I wished we could stay this way forever, but there were things we needed to do.
They gave me another nuzzle before pulling away.
Their body seemed to shimmer, almost like I was looking at them through a lens, and it went blurry for a moment.
And then their body shrank, changed shape and color, so quickly, it was like one moment a dragon was standing there, and in the blink of an eye, it was Oakley.
Without looking down, even though I really fucking wanted to, I walked closer and handed them their duffel. “Clothes and things are in there.”
“Thanks.” They sent me a soft smile, then went about getting dressed.
Since I didn’t want to be a creeper, and Oak hadn’t invited me to watch them, I turned around, closed my eyes, and tried to push the image of all of that gorgeous skin out of my head.
“I’m decent,” they said quietly, and I turned around to find them with pants on and a shirt in their hands. They sent me another soft smile as they pulled on their button-down and started on the buttons.
I almost offered to help, but my mouth was dry, and I was too tongue-tied to get any words out before they finished.
They slipped their socks and shoes on, then walked over to me, and I couldn’t help it. I had to touch them.
As soon as they were close enough, I gently, giving them enough time to pull away, guided them into my arms. To my surprise and delight, they melted into a hug without hesitation.
After a few seconds, they murmured so quietly I almost didn’t catch it, “I missed you.”
My heart sang at that. They really were feeling our bond as much as I was, weren’t they? “I missed you too.”
They sighed, somehow relaxing even more into my hold. “It’s silly. We were only apart for like four hours.”
I nodded. “Fair, but that doesn’t make it less true.”
They sighed and gave me a squeeze before pulling back. “We should head down.”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “We’re meeting Gar and Tan in their condo.”
“What? I thought we were here for a mission update and to find out what happened?”
“We are, but I think Garrick wants to clear the air between us before we head down to the meeting room.”
“Fine,” they said with a huff. “Let’s get this over with. But I’m warning you now, if he tries to throw you in a dungeon again, I’m gonna… well, I dunno what I’m gonna do, but I know I won’t let him take you from me like that.”
My heart flipped, and I couldn’t help the wide grin that spread across my face.
Oak stopped, turned to face me, and pointed at my lips. “Wipe that smug smirk off your face, Mister.”
I laughed, grabbed their hand, and kissed the tip of their pointed finger. “Can’t help it. You like me.”
They sighed and pulled their hand away as they began walking again. “I guess so.”
That made me laugh again, and I nudged their shoulder with mine. “You do. I can tell.”
They waved me off. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stop it.”
With a chuckle, I followed them down the spiral staircase to Garrick’s front door. Oak took a breath before knocking.
The door swung open immediately, and Tan said, “Thank the Mother you two came. Garrick’s driving me nuts.”
Oak snorted, and Tan pulled them into a hug, then me, and I was happy to know he truly was okay with Oak and me being together. He’d been really supportive so far, but I wasn’t sure how it’d be in person.
Now we just had to get through… Garrick.
The biggest and grumpiest pain in the ass in the universe.
Why the hell was I best friends with that butthead again?
When I stepped inside, I stood next to Oakley, and I was a little surprised when they reached out and held my hand in theirs, but I didn’t pull away. I’d never pull away from them. Not even in front of Garrick.
Garrick stood up from the couch and stared at us for a long moment before he met Oakley’s eyes and said, “I’m so sorry, kid. I really… I, uh… I’ve missed you.”
Oakley swallowed thickly, and after a few seconds, quietly admitted, “I’ve missed you too. But, Dad, you can’t… you have to… you—”
“I know. I… I know.” He turned to me, meeting my eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted that way. I… I’m happy for you. Truly.”
I could tell those words were difficult for him to say, but I took him at his word. “Thank you.”
Garrick walked over, and when he was close enough, I gave Oak’s hand a squeeze before dropping it and pulling Garrick into a hug.
He hugged me back tightly and whispered into my ear, “I’m truly happy for you, my dear, dear friend… but you know I’ll kill you if you hurt them.”
That made me snort. “That’s the very last thing I’d ever do.”
“I know. But… good.” He hugged me tighter. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too.”
After he released me, he moved over to Oakley, and the two stared at each other for a long moment, before Oak asked, “You’re really okay with this? You’re not going to lose your mind again and be a jerk to my viramore?”
Garrick sucked in a breath. “Nope. I’m… happy for you, Oak. You deserve happiness and all the love in the world, and I know… I know Roman will give that to you.”
A slow smile spread over Oakley’s face, and they launched themself into their father’s arms, the two of them hugging and crying and whispering.
I couldn’t help but smile at them, relieved and happy that everything was okay.
The last thing I wanted to do was come between them.
I knew exactly how much Garrick loved Oakley, and Oak loved him back.
They’d missed out on so much time together already.
They had so much time to make up for, and I definitely didn’t want to mess with that.
Tan came over to stand beside me, looking up from their short height. “I’m glad they’re okay. Gar’s been a nightmare since you two left.”
“I’m glad they’re okay too.”
We shared a smile.
The meeting room was filled with way more people than I’d expected. I’d thought we were meeting with the sole survivor of the mission, not him and a billion other people. At least most of them were friends and family, including half the vampires we’d been staying with for the last week.
“Jed?” Oak said as they filed into the room behind me. “Shiro? Phae? What are you guys doing here?”
Jed shrugged and fanned out his hands. “Tan called us, so here we are.”
Before anyone could say anything else, Garrick loudly said, “Take a seat, everyone. We have a lot to go over.”
Everyone sat, and I was pleased when Oak made sure to sit beside me, and even more pleased when our thighs touched, and they didn’t move away.
Garrick began. “We’ve suffered a massive blow.
Of the eight people sent to follow up on leads in regards to the ongoing trafficking case, only one came back alive.
” Some of the others looked surprised, and most gazes shot over to the survivor, a fellow guard I recognized, Kharis Phiwenys—a merman, not to be confused with a siren, who was a fierce fighter and a good man.
“I’ll let Kharis tell his story before we plan our next steps. ”