Chapter 19
nineteen
MERRILY
Grayson texted me while I waited in the parking lot for Darius to come out of the coffee shop.
His shift had just ended, so we were going to pack up more of my things and grab food before the girls' night I was dragging him to.
He wasn't thrilled about it, but the rest of us were going to be there, so he was out of luck.
Maybe we'd get him to talk about his feelings for once.
Grayson
I told them that even if someone important dies, I'm leaving by 6
Dinner together tonight? 6:45 ish? I can cook
Me
Can't, sorry
It's girls' night, and I'm packing more of my house with Dare before, so I'm way over by Fae Row
Grayson
Damn
Me
Liv and I have been planning it for a while, and I need an update on how her and Niall are doing
Plus there will be cupcakes
Grayson
The mini ones you like?
Me
How do you know about that?
Grayson
You let me read the texts
Me
Oh, right
Forgot about that
Grayson
If Niall, Callum, and Darius are allowed to go, I'm going too
Me
How am I supposed to gossip about your sexual prowess if you're in the room?
Grayson
I'll plug my ears
Me
You won't
Grayson
Yeah, probably not
I'm still going
Me
You don't have to
Grayson
I know
I distinctly remember inviting myself though, and I can't refuse my own invitation
See you tonight
Me
I never told you where it's happening
Grayson
I'll track your phone
Added myself to your account the other day
Me
Impressive
Grayson
Yes, I am
You're a lucky woman
I smiled.
Grayson
People are demanding attention, gotta go
I reached out to that sheer, shimmery divider between our minds and pressed up against it a little, feeling him reach back.
"Just use the mental link next time and no one will realize what you're doing," I murmured.
"I'm better at flirting over text."
"Is that what you're doing? Flirting?" I teased.
"It is. Poorly, apparently."
"It's the effort that counts."
He snorted. "One can hope."
"Enjoy the endless meetings."
"Have fun with Scorch. Make sure he knows that I'll have to kill him if you smell like him when I get to the girls' night."
"He'll hug me just to piss you off if I share that warning."
Grayson chuckled. "Alright, keep it to yourself then. Should I bring anything? Beer from one of my breweries?"
"None of us really drink. We usually sip this enchanted cider that puts us to sleep, but I can't say it's that enjoyable."
"Our beer is laced with demon magic, barely has any alcohol in it. You'll like the effects a lot more than a sleeping potion."
I bit back a grin at his label of the cider. It was accurate. "Laced how?"
"You'll see. I'll stop and grab some."
"Alright. See you tonight. If you don't make it, it's not a big deal."
"I'm making it."
When Darius didn't show after a few more minutes, I texted him. He didn't answer, so I tracked his phone. Grayson's location was indeed connected to my account.
After I was sure Dare was still inside the coffee shop, I went in to see if something was happening.
I couldn't have gone in, before. Without Grayson's shadows. They didn't erase my constant overstimulation, but they eased it enough that I could manage a few minutes in a coffee shop without having a panic attack.
Stepping inside the cafe, I took in a deep breath of the coffee smell. Quiet, calm music played in the background, and the conversations going on were all laid-back.
The place was packed. Every seat was taken, and some people were standing. Three particularly brave immortals were sitting on the floor near the door, with their backs to the window-wall and their gazes glued to Darius, who stood behind the counter.
The line leading up to him was pretty long, and he was chatting easily with whoever was nearby as he handed over six different drinks to six different people. He didn't have to repeat their names or look down at the drinks.
He winked at me over someone's shoulder, and that person glanced behind themselves, looking straight at me.
Their eyes widened when they saw me.
I didn't look down at myself. I knew what I was wearing was abnormal for me. I had put a bra on, but decided to pair one of my sleep tank tops with my usual long, wide-legged pants. Now that I had Grayson's shadows, I didn't need to keep my skin fully covered all the time to avoid a meltdown.
The tank top left my arms, shoulders, and neck on display, revealing the many bargain marks I had. I had more than Callum did, but nowhere near as many as Dare.
I released all of my bargains every handful of years, to prevent the soul connections from irritating me, but there was no hiding them in this shirt.
There was no hiding my scars, either.
I expected the woman who was currently looking at me to go pale or step away when she saw me. People did that fairly often.
Instead, she gave me a small smile and turned back to Darius.
Whoever she was, I hoped he had made a bargain with her.
He paid her no attention outside of his usual surface-level charm, and his gaze didn't follow her as she walked away.
I made my way slowly through the coffee shop, fighting the overwhelm that flared slightly as I went further into the building. I continued breathing evenly, keeping it under control as well as possible.
"Sorry, I'll be done in a few," Dare told me.
I slipped my hands into the loose, soft pockets of my pants.
"No worries."
He glanced at the table nearest to us. "Hey, Mike. Mind giving Merrily your chair for a bit?"
"No problem," the man said quickly, moving the chair to the wall near where I was standing. I murmured a thank you, and sat down as he stepped back a bit.
"Congrats on the mate bond," he added, his cheeks red like he was nervous or embarrassed or something. "Your fight with Grayson Darke was pretty epic."
I stared at him a little too long, not quite sure what to say. I didn't really talk to strangers. When I did, it was never in casual conversation. I guess in that way, Darius and I were complete opposites.
"Of course it was epic, Mike. They're mates," a woman said, gesturing toward me with something in her eyes that was either admiration or jealousy.
I wouldn't have been surprised by either one, but had no idea which to label it.
"Grayson has probably been teaching her how to fight for years. Right?" She looked at me.
I blinked.
Shit.
She'd asked me a direct question.
Should I shut the conversation down? Or would it hurt anything to answer honestly?
I considered what Grayson or Darius or even Liv would've done.
Grayson would've given a quick, charming explanation.
Darius would've told the story, but he would've embellished the truth to the point where the truth of it was debatable.
Liv would've grinned and told them exactly how it went down. Or told them to fuck off. It would depend on her mood.
I guess a short reply wouldn't hurt anything.
"He actually used his shadows to make me fight him," I admitted. "It was just for fun."
The man and woman gaped.
They asked me a few more questions, and I answered politely, without revealing any genuinely important information. Darius finally rescued me from the conversation after a few minutes, strolling over with a smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes.
"Ready, Mer?"
"Yes. It was nice meeting you," I told the people I'd been talking to.
I'd prefer to avoid having another conversation with them at any point in the future, but I did appreciate meeting them. It gave me a chance to experience small talk.
I wasn't a fan. But I never would've known that if I hadn't tried it.
"You're making friends now?" Dare teased me as we made our way to my car. He was leaving his at the coffee shop; Kat and Callum would take him to work in the morning anyway.
"Apparently."
Darius whistled. "The miracle of a mate bond, folks."
"The miracle of shadows, mostly." My gaze brushed the magic dancing lightly over my arms and shoulders, clinging to me because they saw me as an extension of my mate. "Hopefully you end up with a demon."
"I don't care what kind of immortal my mate is. I'll fucking strap myself to them if they try to walk away from me."
"That's the spirit."
He chuckled humorlessly. "Assuming I ever find them."
"You will. Any one of these coffee shop people are going to be your mate. It's going to happen just when you stop expecting it."
"I stopped expecting it a couple decades ago. If there was any lingering hope, it disappeared when Liv found Niall. Fate fucking hates me."
I bit back a grimace.
He slid behind the wheel of my car. "Ready to pack up your shit?"
"Yep."
He was done talking about fated mates. Or at least, he was forcing himself to be. I knew he was struggling with it, and I hated that I had contributed to the difficulty, even if it wasn't really my fault.
"We should plan some kind of celebration after you find your mate," I said. "A vacation or something."
"Family trip to the Honeymoon Hotel?" Darius drawled.
"Sure. We can book one suite and stay together until we're all too annoyed at each other to stay any longer."
He snorted. "We'd be better off at Liv's house. That place is basically a resort."
"I doubt Niall would be on board with all of us staying there. Our scents would be all over everything."
"We could pay someone to clean afterward."
I nodded. "That would work. We can suggest it at the girls' night. A Goodbye Loneliness party, since we'll all have mates."
"Assuming I make it that long."
I smacked him on the arm with the back of my hand.
He grumbled. "Someone has to be realistic here."
"I didn't realistically think I could make it work with Grayson, but he's coming to the girls' night."
Dare flashed me a look. "Darke wants to talk about feelings?"
"I didn't bring up feelings. I didn't even invite him, actually. I mentioned that you, Niall, and Callum would be there, and he invited himself."
"If he's insisting on coming to girls' night, there are emotions involved for him."
"Maybe."
"Not maybe, Mer. I'm glad he has feelings for you. You deserve to be happy."
My lips tipped upward. Just a little. "I've always been happy."
Darius snorted. "None of us have always been happy. We've just survived as well as we could."
"I guess. I'm proud of us for it, though."
"Me too. And I like him," Darius added.
"Grayson?"
"Yeah. If he wasn't your soulmate, I would've—"
"If you say fucked him, I'll kill you," I said calmly.
Darius flashed me a grin. "I was going to say befriended him. He's chill."
"Chill? That's the adjective you're going with? Really?"
"He never actually abducted you, and he snuck into my house to sleep with you instead of trying to kill me or drag you back to his place. So yeah. He's chill."
"Anyone would've done the same."
Dare snorted. "You think Callum would've slept on Jonah's couch with Kat, even before the Liv shit went down?"
I tried to imagine it. "I guess not."
"Not a fucking chance. I can't even see Niall sleeping on Callum's couch with Liv."
"I think he would sleep anywhere she was. He can just shift when he gets uncomfortable.”
Dare lifted an eyebrow at me in the rearview mirror. “But on Callum’s couch?”
"He’s laid-back enough that he didn't kill Jonah or Gwen for manipulating Liv," I pointed out.
"Neither did we," Darius tossed back.
That was... true.
"Why didn't we?" I asked.
"Callum can't really get involved. You were busy with the Darke stuff. I'm waiting to see what Niall and Liv come up with."
"You think they have a plan?"
Dare's lips stretched in a wide smile. “I doubt there’s a plan, but Liv holds grudges like no one else. Niall does too."
"That's a good point. We can ask them about it tonight."
"I was planning on it. Want to stop for food?" Dare changed the subject.
"Food sounds good." I glanced at the clock. We had plenty of time.
I was slightly nervous about how Grayson would handle my family during our girls' night, and whether it would change his view of me, but there was no turning back now.