Chapter 31 #2
By the time I finally set down my fork, the rest of the table is done eating. The guys are chatting and laughing amongst themselves, seeming far more relaxed than they normally do. Even Azrael is joining in on the bantering.
Maybe it’s being on their home turf that puts them so at ease. Whatever the reason for it, I like seeing them like this.
“So, you ready to finally find out what you are?” Hal asks.
I give him a droll look. “You know I am. I would’ve been happy to skip breakfast and find out sooner.”
He rolls his eyes. “Nah, you needed to eat to refuel. But we can go now, as long as you’re done.”
“Yep. I’m good to go.” Pushing up from my chair, I turn around to take my plate to the kitchen to rinse it off.
Rook stops me before I can get more than a few steps. He takes the plate from my hand and piles it on top of his. “I’ve got it, dove. Just sit while we clean up. It shouldn’t be more than a few minutes before we’re ready to go.”
Already knowing it’s no use to argue with him, I wander over to their living room and plop down on the navy sectional. I curiously inspect their house as they clean up breakfast.
I can see little touches of each of them everywhere.
Colorful Post-it notes are stuck on a few random surfaces.
Empty Skittle wrappers are crumpled in an open trash can.
A few tennis balls, like the ones Remy carries everywhere, sit on the walnut entryway table.
A bag of baseball gear hangs on the hooks next to the garage.
The only one I don’t see little parts of is Azrael, but I’m not really surprised. He’s a hard man to get to know, and I doubt he’s leaving little reminders of himself anywhere.
“You mind walking?” Colt asks, breaking me out of my thoughts. I hadn’t even heard him approach the sofa. “It should only be about twenty minutes from here.”
“Nope. I’m good with that.” I hop up and follow the guys out of the house and down the driveway.
We pass through their front gate and begin walking through the woods. At this time of year, the trees are a riot of color, with some of them beginning to lose their leaves. It’s breathtaking.
The walk through the forest and back roads passes in a blur as I get lost in my thoughts. The guys are similarly lost in their own minds as we complete the trek in relative silence.
Azrael stops our procession when we come to an unassuming gray-stone outcropping.
Instead of pressing a button or something to open it, he pulls a wickedly sharp knife out of the waistband of his slacks and slices his hand. He lets a few drops of blood trickle down his palm and onto the rocks before putting the blade away.
I manage to swallow down my gasp at the unexpected blood ritual that doesn’t seem to do anything for a moment. Then the stones creak and groan before they start moving and reveal a small opening.
Ducking his head, Azrael walks into the pitch-black abyss without any hesitation. Hal follows him, and Colt nudges me to go in next. Blowing out a breath and hoping I’m not going to get murdered or eaten by a cave monster, I reluctantly follow after them.
Stepping over the rocks and into what I assume is a cave, I’m surprised to see a clean, open cavern.
It has to be at least a couple of stories tall, and it’s dimly lit by some torches ringing the roughly circular space.
Gray stone forms the walls, ceiling, and floor, and symbols of some sort are carved into it and scattered throughout.
Once all six of us are through the doorway, Azrael places his still-bloody palm against a symbol etched into the wall, and the stones grind closed, sealing us in.
I don’t love being trapped in here with no way to get out, but at least it’s free of spiders, millipedes, and other creepy crawlies. That’s something, I guess.
Colt takes the lead and starts walking down one of the many tunnels that branches off the main cavern. “So, which one of us is going to show her?”
“I will!” Remy excitedly volunteers before anyone else can.
Hal snorts. “He is probably the least intimidating out of all of us, so that’s not a bad plan.”
“Hey,” Remy objects. “I’m plenty intimidating when I want to be.”
Colt rolls his eyes as he glances over his shoulder at his twin. “If you’re so intimidating, then you shouldn’t be the one to shift for her.”
Remy groans. “I’m not saying that. Hal already agreed that I’m the best choice, so we’re going with that. We can argue about how badass I am at another time.”
We then walk into another cavern, this one taller and wider than the last. It has to be at least four stories tall and is wide enough to fit a couple of houses in it.
In the center of the space is a pool that glows a soft blue in the dim light.
The surface ripples with a gentle current, so the water must be trickling in from somewhere.
Remy jogs over to the other side of the cave, unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans as he does so. I idly wonder why he’s getting so far away as I watch him come to a stop on a rock platform. Once he’s facing us, he strips off his black hoodie and undershirt.
I feel like I should be getting used to seeing muscular shirtless men, with how often the guys strip in front of me, but I’m not. I still about swallow my tongue in surprise when I see Remy’s eight-pack, toned pecs, and colorful tattoos winding playfully along his chest and arms.
“You ready, love?” he calls across the cavern once he’s standing in front of me in his birthday suit. It takes everything I have not to let my gaze dip below his waist to see if he’s really as endowed as I think he is.
I give him a small smile as my heart pounds loudly in my chest from the anticipation. “I’m ready when you are.”
He returns my grin before closing his eyes and letting the change wash over him. It takes a long moment before Remy is fully shifted into his magnificent other form.
I have to blink a few times, not really believing what I’m seeing, before I blurt, “Holy shit. You’re a dragon.”