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“So what’s this really about?” I ask. I’ve worked with enough anxious people to know we’re talking about a bigger problem. “Why are you so stressed about her being alone with her mom?”

“I’m not—”

“Son of a—!” Elon curses, staring down at his thumb where the knife slipped. “Fuck.”

I hop off the couch and rush over. “Are you okay?”

“It’s fine,” he glares down at the spot. “It’s just a graze.”

Looking him over, I agree. Not too deep, but still bleeding. I walk into the kitchen and grab a clean cloth, running it under the faucet. Back in the room, I hand it to him and glance up at Rex. “You were saying…?”

He sighs. “What if Imogene does this interview and like they said, the whole world learns about us—about Imogene. Once it’s out, she may want more.”

“You mean she may want normal,” Levi says, finally looking up with his book.

“Fuck normal,” Elon growls, applying pressure to his thumb. “None of us are ever going to be normal.”

“We played in the Secular world a lot,” I remind him, “or have you forgotten the frat parties?”

“Yeah, that’s the thing,” Rex says, dropping into an armchair. “We did frat parties. And clubs. We drove cars and got our licenses. We had money. All kinds of shit. Imogene, she didn’t get to do any of that, and once this is over, once we leave this house, the whole world is going to open up for her.”

And that’s it. Rex is scared. Maybe for the first time in his life, he’s scared.

Levi frowns. “You don’t think she’ll want us anymore?”

“Or,” Elon points out, “maybe she’ll only want one of us.”

My stomach clenches. We haven’t talked about this. About how we want to handle the future. I know she loves us and I’m pretty sure she wants to be with us—all of us—but Rex is right, there are a lot of unknowns.

“Living here made the transition seem possible,” Elon says, toying with the cloth, “but we’ve been pretty isolated. No one knows we’re here. We’ve been able to pick up where we left off.”

“Rex may be right,” Levi says, “From my reading, as her mind clears, and the further we get away from Anex’s control, she’s going to want to live a normal life.”

“Fuck.” Rex deflates in his chair, as if Levi’s statement confirms all his fears. He thrusts his fingers into his hair and tugs at the root. “I don’t know if I can live without her. I love her.”

“She loves you too.” My heart thuds anxiously at the thought of letting her go, but he’s right. They may not be Ordered anymore, but Imogene is loyal and she clearly loves Rex. If she’s choosing anyone, it’s him.

“She may, but that’s not the same as wanting to be with us,” Rex says, then adds, “allof us.”

“Wait,” Elon straightens, “you’d want that? To let us be part of this?”

“Why not? I love you too. You’re my family, the only one I’ve got left.” He frowns. “You know, if that’s what she wants too.”

Hearing Rex put someone’s desires above his own, especially a female’s, is big enough. Big enough to make me wonder if maybe we can make this work.

Elon stands, blood seeping through the cloth wrapped around his finger. Rex rises to meet him, but before he catches his balance, Elon throws his massive arms around his best friend and gives him a tight hug.

Rex looks at me over his shoulder, eyebrows raised. I clear my throat and say, “What Elon is expressing is a thank you. For being our best friend, our brother, and allowing us the chance to be with the woman we love. You don’t have to, even outside of Serendee, you could have coveted her and kept her for yourself.”

“He’s right,” Levi says. “Anex was never going to let us have a mate, but you did, and that bonds us together.”

Elon steps back, clapping Rex on the shoulder. “And if she doesn’t want all of us?” he asks, wiping at his eyes.

“Then we fight for her,” Rex says, looking calmer than he did moments before. “She could maybe say no to me, but all of us?” A grin tugs at his mouth. “She doesn’t stand a chance.”

29

Imogene