LAILAH
SIXTEEN
The next morning, I woke up sandwiched between Parker and Jay, an odd but welcome combination.
What I found even more strange, though, was how my lighthearted prankster was brooding and silent.
A tension hung in the air with the other guys, making my skin prickle with agitation.
They all tried to act like nothing was wrong and kept things light as we headed down to eat breakfast, but I knew better.
By the time we had finished, Hudson arrived with the car that was going to take us to the airport.
Even without the ability to feel Hudson’s emotions, I could tell that last night had not gone well.
He had bags under his eyes, and his shoulders slumped like he was too tired to fight against the world.
The need to comfort and fix what was going on among my men made me fidget.
“Beautiful, if you don’t stop squirming on my lap, we are going to end up with a situation that you are not prepared to fix at the moment,” Jay whispered, his lips brushing along the shell of my ear.
Blushing, I forced myself to sit still. The car didn’t have enough room for all of us, so I was seated on Jay with his strong, muscular arms wrapped around my waist. Parker sat in the front seat, unwilling to be near the rest of the group, and would only speak if I talked to him directly.
So much for a merry Christmas. Seemed I needed to figure out what was going on with two of my men.
Boarding the plane, everyone spread out, but Hudson stuck close to my side, his hand firmly holding mine.
The moment we were up in the air and the pilot announced that we were at cruising altitude, I unbuckled myself and pulled Hudson with me.
I didn’t even look at the other men, knowing I could only fix things one at a time.
Closing the door to the bedroom, hands on my hips, I looked at Hudson sitting on the bed. “What do you need from me?”
Hudson hung his head and shook it slowly, like he didn’t even know what to ask for. Remembering how he craved my direction when we Bonded, I decided to try something I’ve never done before.
I placed my hand on his jaw and made him look at me, his blue eyes raw and lost in emotion that he never showed. “Scooch back on the bed and lay down on your side.”
He looked like he wanted to argue with me, but I raised an eyebrow at him with a slight frown.
Sighing, he kicked off his shoes and did as I asked, looking over at me as if to make sure he was doing it right.
I crawled up beside him and gently removed his glasses before I made him the little spoon in our cuddling.
Knowing how much I loved it, I combed my fingers through his hair and watched his eyes flutter closed.
“Rest. Don’t think, don’t overanalyze. Just listen to the sound of my heartbeat and keep your eyes closed,” I murmured to him.
Within moments, his breathing evened and he fell asleep clutching one of my arms to his chest as I continued to play with his hair.
Talking could happen later. At this moment, he just needed rest and to know he was safe and loved.
When I was sure that he was soundly sleeping, I gingerly pulled away from him to deal with the other matters in the main cabin.
As I walked back out, all eyes were on me as if I had just caught them doing something they shouldn’t have.
“So, who wants to tell me what the hell is going on with all of you?” I asked, crossing my arms.
“Why do you think there’s anything wrong?” Brayden asked, looking slightly guilty.
Shrugging my shoulders, I walked over to the couch. “I didn’t, but now I know there is, and the fact that you have been shielding me from your emotions all day tells me it’s something I’m not gonna like.”
“It’s not something you need to worry about or fix,” Micah grumbled, turning to look out the window.
“Right—like I’m going to believe that,” I commented, managing to stop myself from rolling my eyes. “A fight between you guys is the last thing we need to deal with right now. Or did you all forget that the Dark Lord is building an army of hosts that can get through our wards without detection?”
“No, we didn’t forget, Lailah,” Micah snapped. “Knowing what we are dealing with is part of the problem.”
Jay shot Micah a look, and they seemed to have this odd conversation through their mutual stare-down. Finally, Micah huffed and yanked on his headphones, tuning us all out. Jay got up and sat next to me, waiting a moment to make sure he had my full attention.
“When we get back, things are going to change,” Jay stated. “I know that Beth had a plan for what Elementi education to start with, but the way things are going, we need to fast-track you.”
“I agree. Learning all I can about demons and how we can all work together best is what we need to focus on.”
Jay nodded his head, happy with my answer.
Leaning back, he rested his head against my shoulder and shut his eyes, surprising me with his causal approach to physical contact.
It seemed that the more that Jay opened up to me, the easier things like this became for him to do.
Having had the honor of meeting his father, I knew that outward expressions of love and affection were not something that happened often in his family, if ever.
Moments like these showed me just how much we needed each other to get through this, because none of us were strong enough to do it on our own.
Brayden reached out and took my hand in his, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand.
“Angel, I need you to know that I’m not keeping secrets from you.
If I felt like you needed to know what was going on, I would tell you.
There are some things, as men, that we need to work through ourselves.
Sharing a significant other with four other people is bound to result in some disagreements. ”
Letting out a sigh, I leaned my head back and turned so I could look at him.
“I understand that, I do, but working as a team is the only way that we will survive this. When we have that split second to make a choice, knowing that you guys will trust me to do as I ask is everything. Can you say without a shadow of a doubt that if Parker called to run, or freeze, you would trust that he is making the right call?”
Brayden looked at me, and I could see him truly taking what I was saying to heart.
He didn’t answer me, but somehow I knew he wouldn’t, because I already knew the answer—he wouldn’t listen to Parker.
While they had been making their plans for when we got back, so had I.
They only saw things from the standpoint of protecting me and keeping me out of harm’s way, but they needed to know other people’s lives were at stake too.
The Dark Lord had made it clear that he was going to do whatever he could to pull me to his side, even if that meant breaking me in the cruelest way possible.
Not to mention, the whole serum and venom issue.
I couldn’t even guess how this was going to turn out.
The rest of the flight back to school was quiet, and Hudson slept soundly, to the point that I had to go back and wake him up when it was time to land. He looked much more himself, and the lost look he’d given me had left his eyes.
When we de-boarded the plane, I was almost knocked over by a speeding dart of lime green hair. “Lala,” Cami yelled as she wrapped her arms around me. “You can never leave me that long again. You get into way too much trouble to be trusted with just these idiots to watch out for you.”
Laughing, I hugged her back just as tightly, having missed her just as much. “I think you might be right.”
Giving me a broad smile, Cami linked arms with me and pulled me towards the car that was going to take us back to school. Cami refused to leave my side, so she sat in the very back of the SUV with me and made one of the boys drive.
“I’ve had to go weeks without seeing her, so you all are just going to have to deal,” Cami grumbled.
The boys didn’t really argue and loaded into the vehicle heading back to the Manor. As much fun as it had been to travel, I was so very ready to be back in my own space. Cami chattered as we drove, filling me in on all the happenings of the school and her break thus far.
“So now we need to go shopping,” Cami declared.
“Wait, what?” I blurted.
Rolling her eyes at me, Cami pouted. “I knew you weren’t really listening to me, Lala. I was saying that we need to go and get outfits for the New Year’s party in town. Everyone goes. It’s the highlight of winter break.”
“You can’t take her, you little gremlin. I already asked Trouble to go with me,” Parker announced.
Snapping my gaze to his, I blinked. “You did?”
Parker gasped and clutched his heart. “Trouble, I’m wounded you can’t remember. I asked you before you left for Brayden’s.”
“I’m sorry. With everything that’s happened, it must have slipped my mind, but since no one else has asked me to do anything, then I will happily go with you to the party,” I answered, knowing I couldn’t turn Parker down.
With everything going on, he was the one person I hadn’t spent that much alone time with, and that needed to change. Knowing him and his love for attention and parties, this sounded like something he would really enjoy doing.
“Is this like prom? Do we need to coordinate colors?” I asked, having limited experience and never having gone out on New Year’s Eve.
Cami burst out laughing. “Lala, you kill me, you sweet, innocent thing, you. No, this is a time to knock ’em dead with your killer looks and guarantee you get a kiss once the clock strikes midnight.”
Micah whipped around in his seat, glaring at Cami. “You better not let her buy anything that would make her look like a hooker. I know you, Camilla.”
Cami lunged forward, forgetting that we had a row of people blocking her from getting to Micah. “I dare you to fucking call me that to my face, buttmunch. Do you really think that I would let my darling Lala out of the house like that?”
“Just know that I will hold you personally responsible if it happens, and then we will see just how tough you are,” Micah challenged.
Parker’s mischievous grin was back in full force for the first time today. “I say we have a match between the two of you and finally let you guys at each other, settle this once and for all.”
“I like the sound of this,” Cami said, perking up at the idea. “Remember, no fucking powers allowed with the normal human.”
Micah gave her a smirk before he turned back to the front. “Don’t worry, I won’t need them to beat your ass.”
“Big words, flame boy. Better hope they don’t bite you in the ass when I win,” Cami taunted, winking at me.
Shaking my head, I looked out the window as we pulled back onto the school grounds, letting this happy moment wash over me and knowing it wouldn’t last.