Chapter Twelve
Lulu
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
I would not wobble.
I would not fall over.
Not even now, when my entire body was still shaking with tiny aftershocks from Zaldi. Not in front of my grandparents. I would never recover. I would have to move far away. Somewhere no one ever recognized me as the girl who fainted from orgasms and aftershocks.
I, of course, would need the sex demon who had put me into this situation to come with me. Because. I mean.
Wow.
Dammit, I still couldn’t think straight.
Fuck. Right foot. Right? I stumbled against the edge of the carpet, my hand flying out and catching on the tall male at my side.
“Are you alright?” I turned, my eyes narrowing at the sexy and sin little smirk that he was wearing.
“Don’t ask stupid questions,” I hissed back, hearing the back door swing open. Before my grandparents could see, I leaned into him with another response, “Of course I’m not okay, I think you broke my vagina.”
Zaldi hummed low in his throat, and somehow, my stupid body responded to it, a seeping hot warmth spreading across my veins once again. “If I had broken you, sweet dream, you would be truly incapable of walking right now.”
I groaned at the visuals my mind immediately began to conjure up. But, then I heard the incoming footsteps and forced myself to walk forward again, meeting my grandparents halfway across the house, a soft breathy laugh from Zaldi brushing over my neck before he stepped back.
“Look at you walking around and everything,” Gigi said, stepping forward and giving me a quick once over. “No more pain?”
“Only my pride,” I said back, my eyes glued to the tall man who stood directly behind. “I’m sorry to upset you both.”
“You fell in the driveway?”
I nodded, “I wasn’t paying attention, must’ve hit it just right.”
Grandpa stepped forward, “And this man, he just happened to be right here?”
I blinked rapidly, noting that while I could see the red pallor of Zaldi’s flesh, my grandfather couldn’t. Moving closer, I held my hands up. “Zaldi had nothing to do with this. He just came to help.”
Grandpa snorted, “Ever since he and his brother got here, things have been off. I don’t like it for the city and I don’t trust him for you.”
“Grandpa, I’m a grown woman; you can’t decide who I am with.”
To my surprise, Grandpa’s hand wrapped around my arm, careful but firm, “Lulu, please. There is more we need to tell you. There are things you don’t understand. Your grandmother… she… we have to stay separate. We have to keep you safe.”
My brow furrowed, but before I could get anything out, Gigi was there, stepping between us a hand on each of us. “Lennon, take a breath. She knows.”
The tension in the room skyrocketed as my grandparents looked at each other, a silent conversation flying between them.
I’d seen it so many times, it had never occurred to me that maybe it wasn’t shared time as a married couple, but something else.
Something more magical that happened during these silent conversations.
Finally, Grandpa looked back to me, but his gaze didn’t rest there long, jumping immediately to Zaldi.
“Does she know what you are?”
Zaldi, to his credit, didn’t flinch. “Deeply committed and completely obsessed?” His mouth curled into a small smile that I couldn’t help but reciprocate. “I believe so.”
Grandpa and Gigi both made noises, but they were quite different from each other.
Gigi had a hand pressed over her heart as she glanced between Zaldi and me.
“I knew it. I just did. She doesn’t have much of the old blood, but she has enough.
And even without it, who wouldn’t see our girl and not fall in love. ”
Grandpa frowned. “I still don’t know if I believe it.”
“You should,” Zaldi said, coming forward, “I mean to stay with her. No matter what the consequences.”
Gigi elbowed Grandpa, then smiled at me, warmth and love shining in her eyes, “Mate bonds used to be far more common. When we were born, they were, but over the generations, they’ve faded.”
I blinked.
Over the generations? Why did that sound so odd the way she said it?
My throat was suddenly dry, remembering the ease at which she’d healed me earlier.
The way she hadn’t reacted to Zaldi’s true form.
I glanced at him, standing calmly at my back.
His love and presence a constant force against my spine.
Even so, it took me two tries to get the words out, “Over the generations? That’s a very strange way to say that. I–I am your granddaughter, aren’t I?”
Both of their faces suddenly sagged in surprise, then Gigi was pulling me close, both of her hands on my face.
“Oh, my love, of course you are. I’m so sorry.
I didn’t mean to confuse you. You are our granddaughter, you are our blood.
But we, well, your grandfather and I have been around for a long time. ”
Tears that I don’t completely understand slipped down my face. Points to my overactive emotional system for suddenly kicking in after this wild morning. “What does that mean?”
“Should we sit?” Grandpa said suddenly.
But, before they could usher me away, I shook my head, “No, please. Just tell me. We can sit after I’m done freaking out.”
Grandpa nodded, his face downcast as he put a hand on Gigi’s shoulder. “Do you want to?”
Gigi patted my cheeks, “You start, Len, I want to be sure she’s looking right at me. She needs to understand nothing has changed.”
My tears had made my throat feeling thick now, “You are all scaring me.”
“I am your mother’s mate,” Grandpa said then, the words quick and sharp. “I was born human but met her and couldn’t stay away. She was among the first families to come to Salus Glen.”
I blinked back the tears, staring down at her. “And that makes you…”
“A witch, a hedge witch more specifically. Which basically means that I’m very good with nature and very bad at battle magic.”
I stared at her, “And you’ve always known?”
Gigi nodded and Grandpa spoke again, “Magic was more common in those days. Like mate bonds, it wasn’t uncommon for humans and Other to interact on a fairly regular basis.
There weren’t many marriages, but it did happen.
Especially among the witches and humans since their worlds were so close together. ”
I raised a hand, wiping away at my cheeks. “Wait, when was this?”
Gigi shrugged, “We’re not even quite sure. But, your grandfather is not just the editor of Salus Glen. We were founding members.”
I thought back to the city sign I’d driven past thousands of times in my life. Established in 1898. I swallowed. “How?”
Gigi released me, stepping back to wind her around through Grandpa’s. “Hedge witches have an unnaturally long life, part of our magic keeps us young if we so choose. As he is my mate, the bond also ties him to me in that way. His life force to mine.”
I stared. “You are Other? Like Zaldi?”
Gigi nodded, so much love still shining from her face. “I’m sorry we couldn’t tell you. Not until you were ready.”
I pressed a hand against my chest, feeling Zaldi’s hand on my lower back as he made sure I wasn’t going to fall over. “How have you stayed here? I’ve been here my whole life?”
“We moved around when your father was young. We changed names, locations several times to be sure,” Grandpa Lennon offered, his stern face locked onto me. “We only came back a few years before you were born.”
“We couldn't stay away,” Gigi said, “It really is home, even with all the new Others here.”
“Out of all of the Others in the entire world, you had to choose a sex demon?” Grandpa asked, his voice almost a whisper. “Why not a nice minotaur or one of the guardians?”
I laughed and his face immediately morphed with mine, obviously relieved I’d seen the humor in his question. “Mate bonds don’t seem to work like that,” I said looking up at Zaldi, “Not that I’m an expert.”
Gigi snorted a laugh, “They aren’t. But, why don’t you come sit. We will talk more and, maybe, if your head doesn’t hurt after that, you can tell us a bit more about why the Lord of the Underworld is suddenly sending incubi to our little town.”
Zaldi’s body at my side stiffened.
Grandpa Lennon moved first, ushering my grandmother forward as he tossed another final statement over his shoulder towards us, “And then, we can talk about how long you’ll be allowed to stay in the living world.”
My heart sank.
***
Zaldi
I should not want to hurt my future in-laws, correct? But, at the same time that thought flickered across my mind, I found myself sitting at my mates side, facing her grandparents.
After everything that had been revealed, I was quite certain that this may be the final straw holding Lulu’s strange calmness to the news that her grandmother was a witch and her grandparents had been married for over a hundred years instead of just fifty.
Yet, my beautiful human remained quiet, silent as we stared at them and they stared back.
They were mates, too, surely they understood that even bringing up the idea of being separated from my mate so early in our relationship was making me feel murderous.
Wait.
My head cocked.
That’s exactly what they were doing.
“I see what you’re doing, Mr. Yale, but I’m not going to stride out.”
Lulu flinched at my side, turning her face to look up into mine. I could see the confusion there. “Some members of my kind, demons in general, can be a little reactive,” I looked pointedly at Mr. Yale, “Especially, when being separated from their mate is brought up.”
Her mouth made a tiny O as recognition dawned on her. Lulu turned from me to glare at her grandfather, “Stop trying to start a fight, Grandpa. We are here to talk.”
“You are here because he couldn’t keep his hands to himself,” Mr. Yale huffed, he pinned me with another sharp look. “My Lulu will not be held back by a demon who is only around part of the time.”
That surprised me. “What do you mean?”
“We know the incubi serve Lord Arafel,” Gigi said gently, “They always have. Which means you will not be in the living world often.”