6. Rami
Rami
An hour later, I was sat at the conference table.
We’d recently got a much bigger one to accommodate all the mates who kept popping up.
For once, the presence of Sam, Jeremiah, and Nox didn’t bother me.
I barely noticed they were there. Not with Ethan’s face grinning out at us from the huge screen on the opposite wall.
The date on it said it was from two years ago. There was more weight on him and a healthy shine to his skin. He’d been snapped mid-laugh, green eyes sparkling, his curls as wild as I’d suspected, the red locks being swept sideways by the wind.
He was beautiful.
“Rami?” Nate’s question pierced my bubble. “I take it from your drooling that this is him?”
“Yes,” I whispered, unable to drag my gaze away from his photo. “That’s Ethan.”
Theo gave a low whistle. “You’ve got good taste, man.”
A growl rattled in my chest. “Don’t you even think —”
“I’ve got this,” Sam said quietly, resting a hand on my bicep. He raised a brow at Theo, who was smirking. “If you upset Rami when he’s already this stressed, I won’t make you take a lap.”
Theo’s smirk wavered. “No?”
“Nope,” Sam said. “I’ll send you into a ring with Zeke and tell him to let loose. It’s been ever such a long time since he’s done that.”
Beside him, Ezekiel gave Theo a sinister smile. He rarely let his temper get the better of him these days, but we all knew he’d love nothing more than to unleash it on Theo.
Theo paled, slumping in his seat. “Fine. Sorry, Rami. I’ll behave.”
“Thank you,” Micah said for me. “And thank you, Sam.”
Sam blushed at the attention, sidling closer to Ezekiel. Ez already had his arm raised for him to wiggle under, knowing it’d be needed.
My chest ached. Their ability to read one another’s needs, even before they were bonded, was amazing to witness.
Would I ever have that with Ethan?
“I’m glad he gave you his surname,” Nate said, fingers flying over his laptop. “It’s made this so much easier.”
Indeed. The hardest part about this meeting was how long it’d taken me to open up to everyone. To explain what had happened. What I’d like to do next.
Namely: Find a way to naturally stumble into Ethan’s life that wasn’t too intrusive.
Benji thought this was ridiculous. He’d made a passionate argument about just knocking on his front door and inviting him out platonically. Thankfully, Noah was better than me at explaining how odd that would be. The last thing I wanted to do was scare Ethan off.
Which had us searching for another avenue.
It’d taken Nate less than thirty seconds to locate Ethan on social media. Now that I’d confirmed we had the right person, more and more photos of him were popping up on the screen. Of the life he’d led. Places he’d visited.
But it was the smaller details I paid attention to. How he grinned as he tried to wrap his arms around a giant redwood. The sour face he pulled as he ate a spoonful of panna cotta. His soft smile as he held a fancy camera up to his eye.
I didn’t know if there just weren’t any photos of him with his boyfriend, or if Nate was wisely not showing them. I suspected it was the latter. I’d have to remember that the next time he pissed me off and pull my punches.
“I think he’s a photographer,” Nate said suddenly. “Look.”
My breath caught as a stunning shot of the Northern Lights appeared. “Holy fuck.”
Nox gave a low whistle as more gorgeous landscapes appeared. “I don’t know shit about photography, but this is good.”
“It’s better than good,” Noah said, appraising it with the same look he stared at the art on the walls with. “It’s exceptional.”
My chest swelled with pride. That was my mate they were impressed with. He was exceptional.
“He’s definitely lived in California for a few years,” Nate murmured, still clicking away on his laptop. “I don’t know when he came back to the UK, but he hasn’t posted anything in the last several months.”
I frowned, but Jeremiah was the one who voiced what I was thinking. “I wonder why.”
“I’m going back further to see if I can work out when he moved to the states.” Suddenly, Nate’s fingers stopped moving. “What the fuck?”
My head whipped around. “What? What is it?”
“I don’t understand,” Nate murmured, his eyes wide on the screen. “How is this possible?”
My heart was in my throat. “Nate, I fucking swear…”
He waved a hand. “It’s nothing bad. It’s just…here. Look for yourselves.”
Another photo appeared on the screen. Ethan was in the centre of a sagging sofa, looking much younger than he was now.
If I had to guess, he was about twenty. He wasn’t alone either.
Sat all around him were familiar faces. Faces that were part of our supernatural community, one of them mated to someone who used to sit in this very room.
A dumbfounded silence filled the room before Benji broke it. “How the fuck does Ethan know Lucky, Matty, and Riley?”
Days later, we were no closer to understanding how Ethan was connected to our world. Ezekiel and Noah had argued that we should reach out to Dimitri, the former second of our unit, to ask, but my instincts warned me that wasn’t the right thing to do.
After checking with Nate that there were no recent photos of Ethan with any of them, my decision had been final. “There might be a very good reason why he’s not in contact with them. If reaching out will lead to pain for my mate, then it’s not happening.”
That had shut them both up. With mates themselves, I knew they’d see the logic.
They’d both done crazier shit when it came to protecting Sam and Jeremiah.
We didn’t have answers, but we did have a plan; one I was still unsure about. I couldn’t stop myself from seeking reassurance. Again. “Do you really think this is a good idea?”
“Yes,” Sam said patiently. Again. The human was far too kind for Ezekiel, who would’ve killed me by now if I’d asked him as many times as I had his mate. “I told you, it’s foolproof. Now stop talking so I can powder your face.”
I grunted but did as he asked. I wouldn’t argue, even if he weren’t doing me a massive favour. This had been his idea in the first place—a way for Ethan and me to spend time together that appeared completely coincidental.
It had all started when Nate happened across Ethan’s website advertising his photography services.
Nate said it was only a couple of days old, which seemed odd.
Why did he need to advertise? His work was exquisite.
Noah had said so. Whatever the reasoning was, it worked perfectly for us.
Sam, being an author PA and cover designer, had had the genius idea of hiring Ethan for a photo shoot.
I smiled as I thought about the email it had taken several hours and all of us to craft.
Hi Ethan,
My name is Sam Clark, and I’m a cover designer for romance authors. I came across your website, and I have to say, I’m extremely impressed by your work.
I have a slightly unusual request. I have a shoot arranged in three days. One of my authors wants photos of a particular model for their next cover. However, the photographer I hired has unfortunately had to pull out due to a family emergency.
I know portrait work isn’t your usual forte, but I’m really in a quandary. This shoot was extremely difficult to set up due to the model’s schedule, and I’m loath to cancel the booking.
Is there any chance you have availability to step in?
I’ll happily pay double your usual rate as it’s such short notice.
I understand you’re based in Clapham. The shoot is taking place in a country home in Kensington, and I will of course send a driver to bring you to and from the destination.
Alternatively, if you’d prefer to take a taxi, I can reimburse you.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I hope to hear from you soon.
Best wishes
Sam
I tried not to think of how many lies we’d told. I concentrated on getting Ethan here, and safely. I’d added in the offer of a lift after remembering that Ethan had been waiting to be picked up. My instincts told me there was a reason for that.
It’d been a risk to only give one date. If Ethan couldn’t make it, we were fucked.
But Sam had reassured me that we’d figure something out.
After eyeing Ez for a long moment, he’d decided it was better to have it happen sooner rather than later.
“We all know you angels get a little…unpredictable when it comes to your mates. Best we get the wheels in motion as fast as possible.”
He wasn’t wrong there.
“Keep breathing,” Sam reminded me, checking the time. “He’s on his way.”
I inhaled and exhaled out of politeness. I could go a long time without breathing. But Sam was doing me a huge favour. If this went well, I’d do whatever he told me to do for the rest of eternity.
My mind drifted away from the present once more, this time recalling the response we’d got from Ethan, sixty-seven nail biting minutes later.
Hi Sam
Thank you for reaching out and for your compliments regarding my photos. You’re right that portrait work isn’t what I usually do, but I have done it in the past. I’d be happy to provide some portfolio shots if you’d like?
I have an opening in my schedule and would be delighted to fill in for this shoot. Do you have a particular vibe in mind? What genre is the book? Are there any props you’d like me to bring along?
Thank you for your kind offer, but there’s no need to send a driver. I’m happy to take the bus. You also don’t need to pay me double; my usual fee will suffice.
I’ve attached a copy of my contract. Please let me know if you’d like any of these terms changed and we can discuss it.
Kind regards
Ethan Routliff
Oh, there were terms I wanted to change alright, namely regarding the fee. Sam had already scoffed at it, claiming that Ethan was charging well below market rate. Even doubling it only just pushed it over the line of what he deemed acceptable.
He’d been confident in arguing that point with Ethan, but not over him taking the public transport.
I’d attempted to stand my ground, hating the thought of my mate on one of London’s buses.
It’d taken Noah gently explaining that insisting otherwise would come across too strong and might scare him off to have me backing off.
It’d only been Nox’s idea that had me letting it go completely. “If you hit it off, you can offer to drive him home. Spend some extra time with him that way.”
I liked the idea of that enough to relent.
Thankfully, Sam had argued his case so politely that Ethan had accepted the higher rate without too much more of a quibble. He’d also sent over the portraits as Sam requested. Not that we needed to see them, obviously, but Sam had said it’d be weird not to ask.
They were as wonderful as his other work. My favourite was of an older couple, sat side by side on a bench, holding hands. They were caught in a moment of laughter, eyes only for each other, as the wind whipped through their hair.
How had Ethan been able to capture their love? The commitment that shone through every pixel?
He was an artist. It was as simple as that.
An artist who was going to be staring at me for the next several hours through a camera lens. “Are you sure I should be topless?”
Sam snorted. “Yes. Even if shirtless models weren’t the biggest commodity on the market, don’t you want to bring every weapon in your arsenal?”
“What do you mean?”
He shook his head with a laugh. “Come on, Rami. You might not do it for me, but you know you’re hot.”
Theoretically, I knew I was. All supes were physically attractive, it was one of the ways we lured humans in when needed. But in reality? It had been so long since anyone had looked at me twice that I wasn’t too sure.
Ethan called you hot.
“Trust me, your mate will be happy.” Sam swept a critical eye over me. “All you need to do is flex your ridiculous muscles and flash him that cheeky grin, and he’ll be putty in your hands.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” He laughed again. “Wow, I thought Zeke was bad.”
“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “I just want him to like me, you know?”
“He will.” He patted my arm. “He’d be crazy not to. Everyone likes you, Rami. Now, you go out there and show him why, okay?”
I nodded, Sam’s pep talk once again hitting all the right notes. “Got it.”
Just then, the bond tugged. Ethan’s emotions came through clearer than ever. He was nervous. Excited. And a little bit…sad?
My muscles tensed. Why was he sad? I didn’t like that. Not one bit.
I took a deep breath. “He’s almost here.”
Sam beamed and clapped his hands. “Then let’s get this show on the road.”