Chapter 6 #2
Kyrie turns on her heel and grabs a takeout container, shoveling mounds of chicken into it before stabbing a fork into the mess and waving it in my direction.
“Eat this before you pass out. I’ve spent enough time around TacTeam operatives to know what hangry looks like, and I'm not going to be picking you up off of this floor anytime soon. Hell, I don't think I could manage it.”
Oli giggles and ducks out from underneath my arm to free it up, and I scowl at Kyrie for taking her away from me. But as the smell hits my nostrils again, I can't deny that I need it.
I clear the entire tub in under a minute.
Felix's eyebrows hit his hairline, ever the physician as he starts mumbling to me about indigestion problems and the ramifications of scarfing this down so quickly. Sage pretends to make gagging noises behind her hand.
“At least take a breath in between bites,” she grumbles.
I barely listen to any of them as I stalk back over to the buffet and refill the takeout container.
Oli laughs along with something that Kyrie has said and walks over to join me, as though she can't stand to be any further away from me than I want her to be, grabbing more to-go containers and filling them up for the rest of our Bonded Group and our friends.
Felix grabs bags to start packing away the containers in, but all I can think about is shoveling more food into my stomach, the sickness finally easing away. When I get to my fourth helping, I finally start slowing down a little, still eating but taking breaths in between each forkful.
Kyrie raises an eyebrow in my direction. “Do I need to go and put another flock of chickens on for you? Or are you almost full, kid? Who would have thought that eating the enemy could make you hungry instead of filling you up?”
I shrug and take the bottle of water that Oli offers me, draining it in one go before I answer. “It was probably the two-day nap I took that cleared the mountain, but really, who's counting?”
When we get back to the Benson's house, I notice the tension in the air straightaway coming from Sage’s newest Bonded.
I don't remember Wick growing up near us, but he was one of the Lower Tier families anyway, so it makes sense.
My parents weren't particularly concerned about where people ranked in our society, but the fact of the matter is that if you weren't invited to the same parties and your kids didn't go to the same schools, there just wasn't much opportunity for mingling.
He's polite enough to Oli, though he looks at Atlas and I just a little too calculatingly for my liking, as though he is assessing our every move.
He's lucky he's doing it behind Oli’s back or her bond would have come out by now to shut that shit right down.
I share a look with Atlas, but he only shrugs, unconcerned about doing anything about it right now.
He's right though, if it's not affecting our Bonded, it's just not worth chasing.
If it was affecting Sage, she would have told Oli by now, I'm sure.
Sawyer and Gray both come to the table to thank us for bringing them food before getting enough for their Bonded and the small boy sitting on the couch and heading back down there to eat.
There isn't enough room for all of us at the table anyways, and they all seem very comfortable in their little bubbles.
I suppose sharing a house like this has taught them how to live in close quarters without being involved in every little thing together.
I am so fucking grateful we don't have to deal with that.
Oli reaches out through the mind connection to see if any of the other Bonded wants something to eat, to join us or to have her deliver to them.
North and Gryphon both answer her almost immediately to say they will meet us back at the house for dinner later instead.
Nox doesn't reply.
When Oli doesn't seem too concerned about it, I guess that he did so privately with her instead of to all of us, something I assume he does more often than not.
Things might be going well enough between the two of them now, but Nox has never been one to be open about where he is and what he's up to. I doubt that will ever change.
For once, Atlas doesn't seem so worried about it either.
We sit through the meal together, Atlas and I watching Oli as she watches Sage who is watching Wick and Felix bicker with one another.
It’s exhausting just to see.
Riley had grabbed a plate for himself and then disappeared into one of the bedrooms, still looking like a corpse, but everyone else seems less worried about it now, so I'm sure he's not about to drop dead.
We make it through the entire meal and are about to start doing dishes when Nox's voice cuts through our heads.
Don't react. Don't panic or make a scene. Excuse yourselves and slowly make your way over to North’s offices.
I place my hand on Oli's back as I take her plate, putting it in the dishwasher with my own as I try not to look concerned or rushed. Atlas meets my eye with a nod, moving over to Oli as we smile and make excuses for leaving already.
He checks his phone and quietly moves Oli out of the room after she gives Sage a quick squeeze and promises to call her later.
We do all of this in a matter of minutes, but it feels like hours before I'm able to take a deep breath and shoot Atlas a look without worrying that anyone else will see it. Oli ignores us both completely, reaching out to Nox within all our hearing as she finally lets the panic she’s feeling show.
What's happened? I know no one's hurt, but what is it?
North sends through a soothing feeling to her, but it's Gryphon who answers the question.
Someone has arrived at the gate.