Chapter 34 #3
Krys didn’t realize how difficult it would be to admit everything he feared deep in his heart—that someone he loved could deny him because of who he was. But that was exactly what his father had done.
“Losing you,” he said. “You’re all the family I’ve got. I didn’t know if this would change things between us.”
Despite only having one arm, Archer hugged him fiercely.
When he leaned away, he gripped Krys’s shoulder.
“First of all, you’ll never lose me. We’ve been through hell and back, and you’re family.
Secondly, all those people inside are your family too.
It’s not just you and me against the world anymore.
” He grinned like an idiot. “Of all the guys, you choose the nudist with the cat tattoo?”
“He’s my wolf. When you know, you know.” Krys put his arm around Archer’s shoulders and led him to the door. “Besides, you’ve never seen that beautiful man on a stage. If you did, you’d fall for him too. He also has a great ass. Try to deny it.”
“Can’t.”
“He shined a light on my heart and showed me I had one. He’s my best friend, and he makes me feel whole again. I can’t imagine life without him.”
“That sounds familiar.”
Quinn and Salem bustled out with Hope and Joy in the rear. Jasper was fast asleep, whereas Violet was at the tail end of a tantrum, tears filling her sleepy eyes, snot running down her upper lip.
“Leaving already?” Archer brushed Violet’s hair away from her eyes.
Hope gave Krys a warm hug with Jasper under her arm. It gave him relief to feel the love that only a pack mother could give. “Have you two figured out a ceremony date?”
Krys drew back. “We don’t want to do all that. We talked about heading to Austin or San Antonio to celebrate after signing the papers.”
“If you need a driver, I’m overdue for a vacation,” Archer hinted while heading inside.
Krys was relieved that everyone seemed cool about everything.
He figured that once they got home and thought about his relationship with Virgil over the years, it might make sense why they belonged together.
He didn’t care about how the locals would react, but it felt damn good to have his family’s support.
Now that they didn’t have to keep their love a secret, Krys found it remarkably easy to be affectionate with Virgil in public.
He never imagined he could be that way with anyone, but it had felt natural to put his arm around his man during dinner earlier and express his love the way other couples did.
The spark between them never faded. Every glance held a secret, every touch a promise.
Krys approached the bar for a beer on tap.
Calvin served up a tall glass. “I don’t know what the hell everyone’s making a big deal about. I knew when I caught you two fornicating on my desk.”
“Dream on, old man. You wish you saw that.”
Calvin laughed before filling drink orders for Mercy.
Their group had spread out after Cleo’s celebratory dinner. Robyn and Montana were hugging each other by a pool table, where Bear seemed to be showing Cleo how to line up a difficult shot.
Krys passed Lucian and Eden. “Get a room,” he quipped, startling them out of their private whispers.
Virgil twirled a Mexican lady before showing off a move that should’ve been illegal. Krys chuckled and headed for the horseshoe-shaped booth in the back. Tak was dead center, flanked by Lakota and Melody.
Krys slid in beside Atticus on the left and set his glass down. After a minute, Archer and Cecilia joined them. Whatever conversation they were having had ceased, so that only meant one thing.
“What are you guys saying about me?”
Tak finished his tea. “We were wondering when you were going to move in together and into which room. Virgil’s across from Cleo. She might hear things.”
“Yeah, I thought about that. But she keeps that TV going all night.”
“Can I ask you something?” Tak folded his arms on the table. “How does your wolf behave with Virgil? Your animal’s loyal but marked with pain.”
Krys shook his head, still not believing himself how much his wolf surprised him. “Little did I know they were already hanging out. Even Cleo.”
Tak’s brown face turned ashen. “Cleo?”
“It’s cool. From what I hear, they’ve been friends all along. Who fucking knew? And he already knows Virgil’s mine.” He scratched his head, uncertain how to articulate what he was feeling. “Maybe he’s figuring out who he can trust.”
“Or maybe it’s you figuring things out,” Tak suggested.
“Our wolves are connected to our fears, our joy, our pain—but they’re not the cause of them.
When we’re afraid to love or trust, it confuses our spirit animal.
I’m still never going near him while he eats,” Tak said with a grin. “Made that mistake once already.”
Krys lifted his drink. “I can always sleep with a collar if you’re afraid I’ll attack my own mate.”
Tak adamantly waved his hand. “Don’t. Keeping him down only reinforces that fear. He’s good with the children and women, and if your mate trusts him, that’s all that matters. I wanted to ask because I wasn’t sure if you were planning to sleep in the coop with the chickens,” he said on a chuckle.
Tak always had a joke.
“Cleo can take your old room,” Atticus suggested.
Krys almost spat out his beer. “Maybe you need to move back into the main house and see what it’s like to be across the hall from these two,” he said, gesturing to Lakota and Melody.
Atticus rubbed his chin as if that required deep thought. “There’s always the cave.”
“Sure. And some rabid bat will attack Virgil.” He leaned back on the bench seat. “In case you haven’t noticed, nature doesn’t love him.”
Everyone laughed.
Krys searched for Virgil, but he was still dancing. “There’s something we need to talk about before we head out.”
Tak crunched on an ice cube. “And what’s that?”
“Virgil has special needs. We’ve been ignoring the fact he’s a crossbreed and, well…
dismissive when he’s struggling with dead people.
Everyone’s understanding about what Quinn goes through as a Sensor.
When we go out, we ask if she’s okay or if she needs her gloves.
Nobody ever checks in with Virgil. I was guilty of it too.
Seeing the dead takes a mental toll on him, but he never shares that with us because he doesn’t want to be a burden.
It’s not bad everywhere he goes, but imagine a flood of pissed-off ghosts threatening your life and family if you don’t do what they say.
Meanwhile, he tries like hell to ignore them while having a meaningful conversation with his pack.
Think of them keeping you up all night and entering your dreams. Hell, I can’t even imagine it.
” Krys took another swig of beer and sighed.
“What are you suggesting?” Lakota rested his elbows on the table, his hands clasped. “I mean… what can we even do about it? Quinn can protect herself with gloves, but he can’t shut out the dead.”
“But he has. With sensory drinks. He still wants to have a good time when we go out, but he doesn’t want to rely on Sensor magic—and he shouldn’t.”
Virgil would never bring up this topic because he was too proud. He worried his problems might change how people felt about him. Being a crossbreed was hard enough, but asking for help was harder.
Krys rubbed his thumb against his wolf pendant.
“He knows all the ghosts in town and how to handle them, but sometimes new ones show up with outsiders. Going out of town is tough, so we picked a code word, and I think everyone should be in on it. He won’t use it unless it gets bad and he has no way to leave on his own.
If he says the word, we split. No questions, no discussion.
When we go out of town, we can’t compromise his identity. ”
Tak nodded. “I like that idea. What’s the code word?”
“Let me guess,” Archer cut in. “Peanut butter.”
Melody snorted. “As much as he says that phrase, we’d be leaving all the time. Is it Chastity, his tattoo?”
“What about Chastity?” Virgil said, sauntering up to the table. He scooted next to Cecilia and put his head on her shoulder. “Don’t be haters. She’s my lucky charm.”
“We were trying to guess your secret word,” Tak said.
Virgil smiled across the table at Krys, and it was as if they could read each other’s minds. Krys smiled at some of the crazy words they’d come up with before Virgil settled on one he’d grown fond of.
Tak narrowed his eyes. “It better not be a sex word.”
Virgil rested his arms on the table and gave a wistful smile. “It’s a word you’ll never hear me say in conversation but one I’ll never forget: Darcy.”