Chapter 17 Simon
SIMON
I vaguely registered the taste of blood as Reno stroked my hair and said something about taking me kayaking. It was weird, but it was better than a lot of dreams I’d had, so I didn’t fight going back under.
I became fully aware all at once, jerking awake and trying to roll to my feet to fight off Marcas. I got tangled in the bedsheets, though, resulting in me only getting to my knees while knocking Reno off the mattress and scattering laptops and cell phones with him.
“Shit, Reno! Are you okay?” I lunged to the side of the bed, reaching over to touch his head, looking for injuries.
He blinked at me as he sat up. “You’re awake!” He smiled, and I felt happiness and relief through our bond. He took my hand and let me help him to his feet. “How are you feeling? Are you hungry or thirsty?”
I sat back on the mattress, tired again. “Um, a little of both, and I have to pee. But tell me what happened with Marcas and Roibeart.” I touched my head where it throbbed. “I guess Roibeart shot me. How long was I out?”
Reno smiled and got to his feet. “About twenty hours.” He gently put his hands on my head and moved my hair to look at my wound. “Marcas and Roibeart are both dead. Nicky boosted my magic, and I sort of crushed their magical cores.”
I leaned back so I could stare at him. “Holy shit! That’s not something even I know how to do.”
He scrunched up his face, confusion coming through our bond loud and clear. “Um, it wasn’t that hard.” He waved this away. “Nicky’s fine. Jackson had their head cut off but it seems to be almost healed up.”
I nodded. “The dèideagan dìon can repair themselves from grievous injury.” I frowned down at my lap.
I really needed to pee, and probably shower, but I felt like my brain wasn’t processing at full speed.
Marcas and Roibeart were dead. Marcas and Roibeart were dead.
I gasped, looking up at Reno. “They’re dead!
They were the last of the luchd-òl fola!
” I smiled into his beautiful eyes. “It’s finally over. ”
“It’s finally over.” He hugged me. I had no idea what kind of emotions I was sending through our bond.
My brain was bouncing around with a thousand thoughts.
I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the wonderful sensation of his arms around me, and the affection and happiness coming through from him. Our bond was—
My eyes flew wide, and I put a hand on his chest. “The bond! It’s whole! How?”
His mouth fell open, and he also looked down. “Wow. It must’ve happened overnight. I—” Then his face turned red, and a wave of guilt and embarrassment came through the bond.
My eyebrows went up. “You...?”
He sat down on the mattress next to me and lifted his chin. “I decided I want to stay mated to you. I don’t want to sever the bond.”
My fuzzy brain tried to process this. “Are you sure? What changed your mind?” I couldn’t bear it if he didn’t actually want to be mated.
He exhaled loudly and gazed to the side.
“A bunch of different things, but mostly... it was you.” He gave me a small smile.
“I didn’t react well when you said we were mates.
” He rolled his eyes. “Understatement. And I’m sorry.
” He cupped the side of my face. “But you didn’t try to change my mind.
You... let me be me. And you showed me who you were, every minute.
You helped me with all my shit, even though you had your own crap to worry about.
You were supportive and wonderful, and—” He choked back a sob and put his arms around my waist and his head on my shoulder.
I gathered him close, exulting in the feeling.
He squeezed me tight. “When you were shot, the only thing that kept me going was our bond. It was still shining bright, so I knew you were alive.”
He gave a small laugh. “I’m not gonna lie, it still took me a while to let go of what I thought I wanted and see what I’d already been given.” He peered up at me. “I’m sorry, Simon. You didn’t deserve me rejecting you like that.”
I smiled down into his stunning brown eyes.
“My mate, I was never going to give up on you. You needed time to get to know me and get used to the idea of being mates. My plan was to seduce you slowly, get you to see what it could be like to be mated.” I grinned.
“Once you’d had a taste of me, I knew you wouldn’t be able to give me up. ”
Amusement came through the bond. “Oh, yeah? Well, why don’t we get you showered and fed, and then you can show me?”
I kissed him. It wasn’t the all-consuming seduction I wanted and he deserved, but I’d been unconscious, and I could smell the dried blood in my hair. Seducing Reno would have to wait.
He helped me out of bed as I was a little unsteady yet. As we walked to the bathroom, he cleared his throat. “Soooo.”
“Yes?”
“I snooped through the photos on your computer.”
Oh. “You found Davi’s video.” I didn’t care about him looking through my files. I didn’t have any secrets from my mate. But Davi’s video was an emotional punch he might not have been ready for.
He nodded and stopped walking to put his arms around me. “I’m glad you were able to be there for him, and I’m glad he could be there for you.”
My throat tightened as I leaned into him. “I wish you could’ve met him. He would’ve loved you.”
Neither of us were dry-eyed as we continued to the bathroom.
Reno had to support me in the shower. I wished I could’ve taken advantage of our nakedness, but I didn’t have the energy. I did make sure to send frequent bursts of happiness and love through the bond, and Reno didn’t stop smiling.
When I was clean and wrapped in a towel, I examined my head wound in the mirror. It was behind my ear, so I could mostly cover it with my hair, but there was a definite hole. “It’s waiting for the bullet to come out.”
Reno made a face. “Um, will the bullet just sort of, pop out?”
I grinned. “Pretty much.”
“Great.” He helped me sit on the side of the bed, then he went to the closet and produced one of the plastic bins I kept my clothes in. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to hang anything up.”
I beamed at him. My mate was so wonderful. He’d gotten that bin from the guest room and brought it in here. He wanted me to stay. He’d said so, but actions were important too.
Reno offered to bring me food from downstairs, but I wanted to see Nicky and Jackson with my own eyes. Plus, even though he’d assured me the bond was allowing us to separate now, I didn’t want to let him out of my sight.
He insisted I keep one hand on his arm as we went down the stairs. Nicky and Tucker were sitting on the floor next to Jackson, who was unconscious in their panther form. Cal was at the kitchen table with his laptop. “Hey, everyone.” I waved.
No one commented on our bond, so Reno must’ve already told them he was keeping me. I squeezed his arm and sent over how warm and fuzzy that made me feel.
I checked on Jackson first. Their magic was severely depleted, but it wasn’t gone. “They’ll wake up soon.”
“I hope so.” Nicky stroked their fur. “They were protecting me, and all I can think of is how Hooch died protecting Tom Hanks in Turner and Hooch.”
I decided telling him Jackson had been created to protect him wouldn’t be a comfort right then.
Tucker must’ve seen my inability to form a response, because he jumped in. “Um, well, it’s a good thing instead it’s really like how, in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Will got shot protectin’ Carlton and lived.”
Nicky’s face brightened, and he relaxed. “You’re right. Thank you.”
I sat at the kitchen table with Cal while Reno made breakfast. I didn’t feel any need for blood, so my dreams of tasting it must’ve been true.
Cal grinned at me. “Everyone on Discord is excited to hear you’re feeling better. Levi’s having trouble keeping track of all the volunteers to donate blood for you.”
“Oh, shit.” I grimaced. “I should probably call him.”
Reno turned around and pointed his spatula at me. “Please. He’s been texting me every couple of hours.”
I ended up calling him then and there. I had a feeling I’d be sleeping for a while after we ate, and I didn’t want to forget.
Levi alternated between yelling at me for risking my life and telling me how glad he was that I was okay.
“You bring your mate up for a visit, you hear? Because if you don’t, I’m gonna show up on your doorstep. ”
After breakfast, or it might’ve been lunch, Reno helped me back upstairs. My eyes were heavy and I was half asleep by the time he got me in bed. As he was trying to pull the covers up over me, I gripped his t-shirt “When I wake up, I’ll seduce you, I promise.”
He cocked his head and smiled at me like I was adorable. “I’ll look forward to it.”
However, I did not get to seduce Reno until much later.
When I woke up, he was sitting in bed beside me with his reading glasses on, glancing between his phone and my laptop. I rolled over and threw my arm over his legs. “So sexy.” He ran his fingers through my hair, and I made a purring noise.
“You think you’re up to going out to dinner tonight?”
I lifted my head to stare at him. Wouldn't he rather stay in bed and celebrate our bond becoming whole? “Like in a restaurant? Um, when?” I blinked and looked around for a clock.
“At 7:30. It’s a little after 3:00 p.m. now.”
I pushed myself up to a sitting position and shoved my hair out of my face. “I guess so.” I took inventory of my body. My energy was up, and my head wound itched more than ached. “I’m feeling pretty good, so we can go out if you want. But you don’t have to wine and dine me.”
He smiled and leaned over to kiss me. But before I could take it where I wanted it to go, he pulled back. “Unfortunately, it’s not that kind of dinner. We’re meeting some people.”
I raised an eyebrow. This was getting more and more disappointing. “Okay?”
He pointed at the laptop. “Remember how you responded to Alyssa Laurent, who wanted to tell her boyfriend about the campaign?”