LAILAH
TWELVE
After sneaking into the bathroom and sharing the shower since neither one of us wanted to be far from the other, we finally had to separate so we could get dressed and find the others, knowing that we all needed to talk after this happened.
I only hoped that the power surge didn’t affect the rest of the house and we didn’t need to make something up for Hudson’s siblings.
As I was headed out of the room, I caught what I was wearing in the mirror.
It just so happened I grabbed my I just want to cuddle, eat cookies, and drink chai tea shirt.
I thought about changing it but decided against it.
Eventually I would be cuddling with all of these boys, and we all needed to get comfortable with it.
Taking a deep breath, I made my way to the upstairs sitting room, where I guessed they would be waiting.
This was not a conversation that anyone else should be overhearing.
“Did you two have fun?” Parker asked as he sat up from where he was sprawled out on the couch, patting the seat next to him. “Have a seat, I would love to hear all about it.”
Ignoring Parker, I went over to Brayden in one of the armchairs and sat on his lap.
He wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled his face against my neck.
The other two were already here as well but were wise and didn’t say anything.
Moments later, Hudson came up the stairs, taking a seat on the furthest end of the couch from Parker.
I could feel his embarrassment even though his face was carefully blank.
Oh, this was going to come in handy.
“If you guys are trying to find a way to not make this awkward, I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Parker pointed out.
For once, Parker was right, but I wasn’t going to say that out loud. Instead, I shifted so I could see Brayden better. “Did you notice anything change after we Bonded?”
“Yeah, nothing too exciting, but I can feel where Hudson is now. Like, if he left here and didn’t tell us where he was going, I would know right where to find him. I can’t feel his emotions like I can yours, but I know that he is fine and not in danger,” Brayden explained.
“I have to say, that makes me feel better,” Hudson interjected. “Having one person who can know everything about how I’m feeling is going to take some getting used to, but having all of you would have been overwhelming.”
Brayden gave me a squeeze as he rested his head on my shoulder. “How are you feeling? Notice any differences now that you are Bonded to two of us?”
I paused for a moment and took stock of myself.
The one thing I did notice was that in the space that my power resided, I could see a small ball of blue energy had joined the orbit around my power with the green one.
Then again, I hadn’t seen any change after I bonded with Brayden until I had to use my powers, so it might be the case this time as well.
“Nothing is sticking out to me, but as we have learned, that can always change,” I answered, looking at all the others with a smile. “Is there anything else we need to talk about, or can we move on to other things?”
Parker raised his hand, making me smile as I nodded for him to ask his question.
“Can we revisit you sleeping alone? I mean, we all know Jay found his way into your bed at some point—not that I care,” Parker said, holding up his hands to ward off the others, who were glaring at him. “I’m just curious is all.”
“If you five can come up with some agreed-upon system, then I’m open to the idea,” I answered with a smirk, knowing if I didn’t they would all be trying to sneak into my bed.
Hudson cleared his voice, drawing everyone’s attention. “How is everyone doing with the employee files?”
Jay grabbed his tablet from the side table and started to tap away at it. “I have ten possibilities with another fifty to go through. Since the Elementi have a base of operations here, we should send our findings to them and confirm the information.”
“Wait, you want the Elementi to go door to door and check to see if they are really gone or that they are really the people they say they are?” Brayden asked.
“Both,” Jay said, pausing to look up. “You can put anything down in your employee file; there is no way to tell if any of this information is correct or not. Feet on the ground is the best move, but it will be done more efficiently if a trained team does it.”
“So what happens after we are done with this part?” I questioned.
Jay held my gaze as he answered. “We go back to Ryevick.”
“What? Why?” I blurted. “That doesn’t make any sense. Any clues we have are here.”
“True, but we are not the right people to take this further. We will be needed elsewhere,” Jay countered. “The serum is out there, and it’s going to be used. When that happens, it’ll be up to us to deal with it.”
I wanted to argue with him, fight for us to stay here and see this through to the end, but I knew he was right.
None of us had the training to take this further than we already had.
We had discovered many things that other Elementi wouldn’t see the same way we did, but now it was crossing over into the normal world, and none of us were prepared to deal with the legality of it all.
“Then I propose that we push and try and finish tonight so we can enjoy Christmas Eve without this lingering,” I said, pushing myself off of Brayden’s lap to find the tablet I’d been working on.
We all managed to finish the task and send off all the suspicious files to the Elementi here in France.
It took us late into the night, but we wouldn’t have to worry about it and could enjoy the last few days here in Nice.
Heading off to my room, I changed into my pajamas and settled into bed.
Grabbing my phone, I double checked the time back home and saw that it was six-thirty in the morning, so my mom would be up.
Lailah:
Merry Christmas Eve! Hope you guys haven’t been snowed in. We had a small change of plans and I’m in France, of all places. Hudson’s parents live here in Nice.
Mom:
Merry Christmas Eve to you too, Ladybug! Oh, how exciting is that, you little world traveler you. Have fun with your friends and send me some pictures. I’ve always wanted to go to France.
Lailah:
I will! Love you guys, miss you tons!!
Mom:
We love you too. Can’t wait for summer when I can have you home. Then I can finally meet these friends of yours.
Since I’d moved into the Manor, my parents had video chatted with all the boys and Beth, wanting to make sure that me moving in was an appropriate option for me. Of course I couldn’t tell her it was the only option just yet, but I was working on a way to figure out how to do that.
Just as I was going to turn my light off, Hudson walked in wearing just a pair of sleep pants.
I tried to keep my emotions in check as I took him in, but the blush on his cheeks told me that I didn’t do a very good job.
Lord, it was like we were both little kids, embarrassed about seeing a little skin when only a few hours ago we were both completely naked.
“How did you manage to get first dibs on staying here tonight? Figured they would have objected since we already had cuddle time,” I teased.
Hudson slid into bed and took off his glasses before rolling over to face me. “They put up a fight alright, but I had logic on my side.”
“Are you going to tell me what that means?” I asked, having not a clue what he was talking about.
He reached out, grabbed what he could of my pajamas, and pulled me close to him. Snuggling in, I tucked my head under his chin and hitched a leg over his hip. The koala hold was my favorite way to sleep, I’d discovered.
“Well, you explained previously that you consider yourself married to Brayden after being Bonded. So if that is the case, then tonight would be our wedding night.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, I’ll bet they hated that argument.”
“That may be, but I’m still here with you wrapped around me, so I see this as a win—don’t you?”
“Well played, Mr Lacy. Well played,” I murmured as Hudson kissed the top of my head and I drifted off to sleep.
The next morning found us all at the breakfast table, but this time everyone was chatting and the mood was much more relaxed.
It was Christmas Eve, after all, and we would all be heading to Mr. Lacy’s house.
Ben and Grace were much more interactive and told us all about what the plan for the day was.
“The most important thing we have to do today is get the Christmas tree!” Grace told us as she clapped her hands.
“I wondered why you didn’t have one up already,” I mentioned.
Grace paused at this and gave Ben the side eye before she seemed to deflate a little. “Oh, well, Mother doesn’t really like to have one in the house. She says it’s too messy and we only have it up for a week or so anyway, so it’s not worth it.”
I was a little shocked at this, although I’m not sure why. Since Hudson’s confrontation at the office, we hadn’t run into his mother. I wasn’t sure if she was avoiding us or if this is what they meant by her being gone a lot.
“When is your father expecting us?” Brayden asked, ever the one to need to be on time.
“If Grace has anything to say about it, the sooner the better,” Hudson said, giving his sister a look that made her smile.
Just as Grace was going to add in her thoughts, Isabelle walked into the room. “Grace and Ben will not be going with you. They will be staying here.”
I gasped as I felt rage rocket through me, and I knew it was coming from Hudson even as his face showed none of it.
“Why would that be?” he asked.
“They cannot afford to take the time away from their studies,” Isabelle offered, crossing her arms. “I may not be your mother, but I am theirs, and what I say goes.”
“You’re wrong. According to the court’s ruling, Father is entitled to spend time with them on Christmas Eve. Just like he has to make sure they are back on Christmas day for you to be with them—or did you forget those details?” Hudson shot back.