Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
A heavy weight on his chest made Elijah groan and flail.
It didn’t matter that Helios woke him in the same manner every morning since Elijah adopted him.
It was still shocking to be woken by the feeling that he couldn’t breathe.
And no amount of flailing dislodged the stubborn cat until Helios was sure Elijah was awake and would feed him imminently.
“Okay, okay!” Elijah cried, gasping when Helios finally jumped off his chest. He knew better than to think he could roll over and go back to sleep since Helios would switch to using claws and teeth if Elijah didn’t do as he demanded, but he still took a moment to allow his mind a chance to wake up.
It was only when Helios yowled in his face that he sat up.
“You’re evil, you know that?” Elijah asked. Helios didn’t look the least bit repentant, giving Elijah a look that said get moving or else.
Huffing out a laugh, he threw his legs over the side of the bed, bracing himself as Helios jumped onto his shoulder like he always did.
It was cute when he was a kitten. Now that he was fully grown, the weight of him made Elijah grunt.
The maine coon was twice the size of the average cat, and Elijah felt every pound.
“Maybe you need to go on a diet,” Elijah commented as he pushed to his feet, snickering as Helios batted a paw at his face in response.
He grabbed his glasses, shoving them onto his nose as he headed for the stairs.
He’d attempted at one point to train Helios to wait until he’d had time to use the restroom and brush his teeth, but the amount of yowling drove him mad, and eventually, he caved and stopped trying.
He’d long since accepted his place in the hierarchy of this household.
Helios was the king, and Elijah was his faithful servant. There would be no changing that.
After setting out a bowl of fancy cat food and cleaning and refilling Helios’s water dish, Elijah headed back upstairs to get ready for the day.
It was Friday, and he made a mental list of everything he needed to get done during the weekend, including picking up a new cat tree for Helios.
He’d had his since he was a kitten, and Elijah wanted something new to better suit the space in the living room.
Maybe something a little wider so he could enjoy the sun longer as it streamed through the front window.
He started the shower and backtracked back downstairs when he realized he’d bought new bodywash and left it on the dining room table with the rest of the cleaning supplies and non-perishable groceries he’d not bothered to put away earlier in the week.
Just another thing he needed to get to this weekend.
One more work day, and he’d finally make the time. Hopefully.
His thoughts were interrupted by a disconcerting groan that startled him and made him jump a few inches. He looked around, confused. There weren’t any ghosts in the house, he’d made sure this wasn’t a shared space when he bought it. So then what–
Another groan had Elijah lifting his head slowly to look at the ceiling. That sounded bad…
With growing horror, Elijah watched as the ceiling above him bubbled and sagged.
He backed up until he was near the door to the hallway, eyes wide.
That wasn’t something he’d ever seen a ghost do.
He looked around for something to do to stop it, but nothing came to mind.
He had the stray thought that he needed to move his groceries, but he was a little afraid any sudden movements would cause the thing to burst.
It was when Helios came in to inspect what was happening that Elijah reacted. He raced into the room, scooping his cat up and covering him with his body just as the ceiling collapsed on top of them.
BAM!
Water and plaster rained down on them both, Elijah taking the brunt of it while Helios panicked and his claws dug in as he shoved away from Elijah and took off.
For a long moment, Elijah stood frozen, eyes wide.
He only snapped out of it when he heard his phone ring from upstairs.
He moved on autopilot, too shocked to react, and when he picked up his phone, his voice sounded relatively normal.
“Hello?”
“Ah, good morning, Elijah,” Brennus greeted calmly. “My wife was wondering if you wanted her to send me with extra food. She made too much last night.”
Brennus’s wife’s food was delicious and Elijah was always grateful when she sent some along for him, but he couldn’t think on that right now.
“Um…”
“Elijah? Is something wrong?” Brennus asked, his voice filling with worry.
“Depends. Do you know anything about plumbing?”
Several hours later, Elijah was in the office with a bag of spare clothes and Helios’s cat carrier hidden under his desk.
The plumber, who had refused to speak with him directly and only spoke with Brennus, said the pipes in the house were old and rusted through in some places.
That caused a leak that had slowly been damaging the ceiling.
Elijah hadn’t noticed a thing, having spent little time in the dining room unless he was passing through or using the table as a temporary storage area.
He was just glad he hadn’t been in the bathroom when the pipes burst. He could see straight through the ceiling into the bathroom, and there was the potential he could have been seriously hurt if he hadn’t forgotten his bodywash and had to go downstairs to get it. Fate worked in funny ways sometimes.
He sighed heavily, staring at the paperwork on his desk.
He had plenty of new hire interviews to do, as well as check in with one of the department heads on issues they didn’t feel they could handle themselves.
It was a full day, and he still had to find a hotel that was pet-friendly and catered to supernaturals like him.
It would need to be a long stay since the plumber said he’d have to check the entire house or risk a repeat of this morning.
He wished he could stay in his home, but not only would they be shutting off the water, maintenance workers never allowed him to stay home while they worked.
They were uncomfortable spending long periods around a telepath, and he was always subtly, or sometimes not-so-subtly, asked to leave until the work was done.
He always had to call his father to watch over the work since he was a psychic and not considered a threat.
He pursed his lips, the familiar pain bubbling up whenever he thought too hard about how people thought of him.
He wasn’t a threat, nor was he dangerous.
He didn’t invade people’s privacy merely because he was a telepath.
He was even strong enough and had enough control of his powers that a handshake or brush against him wouldn’t cause him to immediately delve into their mind.
But no one ever believed him when he said that.
Most wouldn’t even look him in the eye. It was…
lonely, having powers like his. And not for the first time, he wished he’d been born something different.
A knock on the door drew his head up. He tried to smile when Isaac walked in, a few files in his hands, but it felt more like a grimace. Isaac came to an abrupt stop, his mouth falling open in shock. “What happened to you?”
“What do you mean?”
He’d changed his clothes before he left and cleaned up as best he could. It was possible he missed something, they had to shut off the water so he couldn’t wash up properly, but he thought he’d done a decent job of it.
“You’ve got streaks of white in your hair, and you look like someone kicked your puppy. What the hell happened?”
Elijah wrinkled his nose. “Rusted pipes lead to leaks, apparently. I was going to shower at the company gym downstairs, but I have a meeting in thirty minutes, so I thought I’d come up here first.”
Clearly a bad idea. He hadn’t noticed any streaks, but he’d been in a hurry. The plumber had not been happy about him still being there when he arrived. Even though it was Elijah’s house.
“Shit,” Isaac breathed, looking stunned.
They’d come a long way since the first time they’d met.
Isaac had been just as standoffish as anyone else when Elijah came to interview his mate and only lowered his guard after Elijah proved he had good intentions.
He was friendlier now and didn’t shy away from him like most people did.
He still didn't touch him, but Elijah wasn’t expecting that from anyone.
No matter how badly he could use a hug right now.
“Do you have somewhere to stay?”
Elijah shook his head, then shrugged. “I’ll make calls to the hotels I’m familiar with that cater to telepaths. It’ll be fine… As long as they allow cats, that is.”
Helios let out a pathetic yowl from his carrier in response. He didn’t appreciate being stuck in there. Elijah would have let him out in his office if he wasn’t worried he’d wander off. He kept his door open in case someone needed him, and Helios didn’t appreciate being confined.
“For how long?”
Again, Elijah shrugged. “A few days, at least. Maybe a week. It depends on if they find more rusted pipes during their repairs.”
Isaac shook his head, expression determined. “No. Absolutely not. You aren’t staying in a hotel for an entire week. You can come and stay with me and Maverick. We’ve got plenty of space. Unless… The cat wouldn’t have a problem with the dragon, would it?”
Warmth spread through Elijah’s chest, eyes burning just a little. He’d never had someone who trusted him enough to offer him a place to stay. He had to clear his throat to be able to get the words out to respond.
“Not to my knowledge. Most shifters get along well with animals. Something about their animal sides being kindred spirits. Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
Isaac scoffed, giving him a look that said Elijah was being foolish.
“I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it. Maverick’s place is enormous.
We have plenty of room. My brother is staying with me as well, and there are days we don’t even run into each other.
” His expression softened. “You don’t deserve to be stuck in one of those hotels that is more like a jail for ‘special supernaturals’.
” He growled the last part, making air quotes with his fingers.
“You can come stay with us, or I’ll tell Avery what happened and you can stay with him and Ozen instead. ”
Elijah’s eyes widened, and he shook his head rapidly. He’d spent some time with Avery since meeting him, but he wouldn’t be comfortable staying with the CEO and his mate. He’d be walking on eggshells the entire time. He’d much rather stay with Isaac.
“You. I’ll stay with you.”
Isaac looked smug, nodding once. “Good. I’ll see you after work, then. We flew in today, but my brother works in the city and can give you a ride.”
He opened his mouth to protest but closed it again after a second. He didn’t have a car. He rode his bike to the train station and took the train to work each morning. And what little he knew about Maverick’s home, it was well outside the city. He’d have to ask for a ride anyway.
“Alright…” he finally conceded. “Thank you, Isaac.”
Isaac met his eye when he smiled and another wave of warmth wrapped around Elijah. “You helped my mate when he was struggling. We’ll do the same for you. That’s what friends are for.”