Page 8

The sound of an old-fashioned awooga car horn woke Cassi from a deep, dreamless sleep.

Recognizing her mom’s ring tone, she sat up, or tried to.

Her back was snuggled against Reed with Silas facing her.

Both had their arms draped over her with Idris locking the three of them together with one of his big arms.

“Make it stop,” Reed groaned, and tightened his hold on her.

“Up!” Cassi demanded urgently, tapping Reed’s arm locked around her belly. “Up now!”

“Idris, please lift your arm,” Silas ordered at the same time he gripped Reed’s wrist and lifted the shifter's arm off Cassi. “Are we panicking you? Sleeping in a puppy pile can take some getting used to.”

“Phone,” she said, pointing to the bedroom door. Even though it was still in her room, she could hear it through the open doors.

“I’ll fetch it for you,” Idris said, his voice rough from sleep.

He rolled his big body off the bed and stood up.

Yawning, he scratched his muscled chest as he strode naked out of the room.

The ringing stopped just as he reappeared holding her phone.

By now, she was sitting up with Reed’s head in her lap.

Silas sat up and rested his head against the headboard.

He looked exhausted, as if he hadn’t slept at all.

“Mornings are hard,” he grumbled. He rolled his head to smile at her. “I won’t be myself for a few more hours yet.”

Oh, right, vampire!

She nodded her head, then snatched the phone from Idris as the big man settled back down in the bed. “Thanks.”

There were dozens of text messages from her mom and dad, all of them basically saying the same thing: Andi was home and safe!

Her hands were shaking as she returned her mom’s call.

“Cassiopeia!” Nanc answered the phone with a happy whisper-shout. “Andromeda is home! She’s sleeping right now, but she’s home.”

“What happened?” Cassi asked.

“A nice Officer Chavez brought her home an hour ago. The police raided the compound and found a bunch of people locked in a basement. The cult leader was doing all kinds of illegal things and using the people in the basement to keep everyone else in line. The officer who brought her home said the cult leader was arrested and will be charged with a lot of things including human trafficking. That’s why Andromeda refused to leave and pretended she was happy.

She’d made friends with one of the girls there.

When Andromeda tried to leave, they put her friend in the basement. ”

Cassi sucked in a shocked breath. “Is everyone okay?”

“Everyone in the basement was taken to the hospital to be checked out, but Officer Chavez said they mostly looked physically fine but that they probably all had PTSD. He suggested finding Andromeda a counselor and also said she should join his pack. That they’d help make her feel safe. Do you think he was a wolf shifter?”

The magical world was so new to all of them that it was taking some adjustment to find out about someone through a casual comment.

“He is a wolf shifter and a member of the Red Desert Pack,” Silas said.

Idris made a sound of agreement. “They’re a good pack. If Andromeda wants to be a human among wolves, they’d do a good job of taking care of her. She could also live here. There are lots of rooms for her to choose from and no one could get to her.”

Despite trying to whisper, Nanc was talking at full volume, so Cassi wasn’t surprised her lovers heard everything.

“Cassiopia, I hear voices. Who was that talking?” Nanc asked. “Where are you? Who are you with at six in the morning on a Saturday?”

“Th-th-that’s Silas, Reed, and Idris. I’ll explain it all l-l-later,” Cassi said. “Tell Andi I l-l-love her and to call when she wakes up. Love you, Mom!”

She hung up before Nanc could demand answers. Setting the phone in her lap, she looked at Silas. “D-d-did you make this happen?”

“It wasn’t hard,” Silas assured her. “If I hadn’t been able to involve the police, I was going to go myself. I thought this way would be cleaner because the cult was entirely made up of humans so the human authorities should take care of it.”

“But y-y-you had to have done this before I slept with you. Before the twenty-four hours w-w-w-were up,” Cassi protested. “What about our bargain?”

Idris snorted. “Bargain. As if we’d ever make you bargain for the safety of your family.”

Reed nuzzled against her lap. “We’d do anything for you, sweetness. Silas was just trying to make it so you’d give us an interview.”

“Interview?” she repeated, confused.

“As a flock,” Idris said. “Reed could smell you were his mate when we met, and I knew you were mine when we touched. That meant you were destined to be part of Silas’s flock.”

“Most humans don’t feel the instant connection,” Silas said. “I had to tread carefully or risk scaring you away. You came to me with a problem that I planned to solve even if you turned down my offer. By accepting, you gave us an entire night and day to show you what life with us would be like.”

This whole time had been a date! The previous night made more sense now.

Tears burned the back of her eyes. She twisted around so she could cup Silas’s cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered, trying hard not to cry. “I’ll owe you forever.”

“You owe me nothing,” he responded. “Flocks don’t work like that. We aren’t about debt or keeping score. We are everything to each other. How could I sit back while my flock suffers?”

“But I’m not flock,” she reminded him.

“Yet,” Idris rumbled. “Give us time to show you everything we have to offer. You don’t even have to work if you don’t want to.”

“Don’t be takin’ away her job,” Reed said from her lap. “I think she likes what she does. It’s important work.”

“I do,” she agreed. “I get to help a l-l-lot of people.”

“Then you can continue to do it for as long as you find it enjoyable,” Silas agreed. “I’m afraid you're always going to have an escort now though. Unless you fully reject us, neither Idris nor Reed will let you out of their sight.”

“Humans are so fragile,” Idris grumbled.

“You want me to be part of your flock?” she clarified, ignoring Idris’s fragile comment. Compared to him, concrete walls were fragile!

“Of course,” Silas said. “I want to exchange souls with you and bring you fully into our flock. You don’t need to answer now. I don’t want you to feel pressured. We could spend the day answering your questions and—”

“Yes!” Cassi said, cutting him off.

Silas lifted his head, blinking in surprise. “Yes? Are you sure?”

“Don’t question,” Idris said, sitting up. “Take the yes, Silas.”

Silas frowned at the gargoyle. “It needs to be for the right reasons. If Cassi joins because she’s afraid or feels forced, it’ll poison the flock. It would hurt her as much as it would hurt us.”

“I d-d-don’t feel forced,” she insisted. “I’m not some helpless girl!”

“No, of course not,” Silas agreed. “But soul exchanges are for life. Once you're bound to me, that life will be very long. You need to be sure.”

“I’m sure,” she said, finding his hand and gripping it in hers. Reed sat up and scooted around so he was sitting facing her and Silas. She was surrounded by men and had never felt so safe or cherished in her life.

“We don’t mind courtin’ you,” Reed insisted. “We could take you out to shows and dinner. Then we’d treat you good every night.”

“I’d still like to go out on dates, but I don’t need more time, or, um, c-c-courtin’?” she stumbled over the unfamiliar word.

“It’s another term for dating,” Silas explained. For the first time he looked hopeful. “You’re honestly sure?”

She looked at all of them before answering so they could see the truth in her eyes. “Yes. I l-l-love all of you. I know it’s fast, but it feels right.”

“That’s what we wanted to hear,” Idris said. “I love you right back.”

“Same,” Reed said. “My wolf wants out in the worst way. He wants to lick you all over your face.”

“I want to meet your wolf too,” she said, curious to find out what Reed’s animal looked like.

“That can happen later,” Silas said, tightening his hold on her hand a little. “I’m having a hard time holding back my instinct to share souls now that you’ve agreed.”

“Will it hurt?” she asked. “I still want to do it even if it hurts, but I’d like to know.”

“No pain. It will feel a little strange, but that’s all,” Silas promised. “You’re going to close your eyes and think about how much you love us.”

She nodded her head once and closed her eyes. She felt the bed dip and then Idris’s large body was pressed against her back.

“I won’t let go,” he promised.

There was more movement, and Reed’s head was back in her lap. “It’ll feel amazin’ after it’s all over.”

Even though she believed Silas, she was still a little scared and appreciated the men’s reassurance.

“Shhh,” Silas shushed them as she felt an odd pressure slip inside her chest. It was as if something was being tugged out of her. As Silas has said, it felt strange.

When the tugging stopped, she sucked in a breath. It felt like there was a hole in her and something was pouring out. Then something warm was being pushed into her. Heat spread out from her chest and the hole disappeared.

Nothing was pouring out of her anymore. She was overwhelmed with the new sensations pouring in.

Sound filled her ears: birds chirping outside, cars on a far-off street, trash trucks, and a timer going off in the kitchen downstairs.

It wasn’t only her ears that were affected. Her sense of smell had never been great, but now the spicy masculine scents of the men filled her nose.

The most prominent of the new feelings were the ones flowing across her mind.

She knew they were coming from the men but couldn’t parse out what was originating from who.

Maybe she’d learn who was who later, but right now, all that mattered was the clear message she was getting: love, caring, and adoration.

“It’s done,” Silas murmured, leaning close to kiss her closed eyes. Tears slipped free as she opened them to find Silas still right in front of her.

“I can feel the three of you,” she whispered. “I never thought I’d feel so much love. I’m glad I didn’t wait a second longer.”

A swell of happiness hit her. “We’re gonna make you s-s-so happy,” Reed said, stuttering slightly. She didn’t feel any mocking coming from any of them, only curiosity. With a puzzled expression, Reed sat up and tried again. “S-s-s-so h-h-h-appy? What’s g-g-g-oin’ on?”

“You sound like Cassi,” Idris said at the same time Cassi came to a horrible realization.

“I g-g-g-gave you my s-s-s-stutter!” she said with a gasp, tears pouring from her eyes. “I’m so s-s-s-sorry! Please don’t hate me.”

To her shock, a huge smile formed on Reed’s face. “I l-l-love it! I g-g-get to have p-p-part of you in me!”

She felt happiness from everyone and amusement from two.

“We don’t see your stutter as anything but charming,” Silas said.

“Now Reed gets to be even more adorable,” Idris said.

Reed rolled his eyes. “I’m s-s-sexy, not adorable.”

“You’re both,” Idris said.

Cassi was astonished. “You’re really not mad?”

“Of course not,” Silas said, slurring his words a little.

Worry for Silas consumed her. “What’s wrong? You don’t s-s-sound right.”

“It’s daytime, and he expended a lot of energy sharing souls,” Idris said as Silas slumped forward on top of Reed.

“I’ve g-g-got you,” Reed murmured as he caught Silas’s shoulders and held him. “He’ll be fine tonight after the sun goes down.”

Idris moved from behind her to stand next to the bed.

Leaning over, he pulled the vampire from Reed’s arms and laid him out on the bed.

Reed sat up and urged her to lie down next to Silas.

It was only then that she realized how tired she was.

She used Silas’s chest as a pillow and stretched an arm over his stomach.

“Let’s all sleep a little longer,” Reed said as he snuggled up against her back. “Tonight we’ll visit your family so everyone can meet, and you can see Andromeda.”

“Thanks,” she whispered as Idris moved to take a spot behind Reed and lay his arm over all of them.

Warmth and love surrounded her both physically and mentally. She fell asleep to the gentle humming of the men's happiness in the back of her head. It perfectly matched her own.