Page 52 of Galen

Home. He’d said it so effortlessly too, as if he thought I belonged with them.

“That can be dangerous, Gray,” Raiden said, his usual goofy smile turning sad. “You remember what happened the last time a human lived with us. Demons tortured him for information, and Daman and Castor nearly died because of it.” He looked down at the half-eaten waffle on his plate, then pushed it away. “It was all my fault too.”

Alastair peered out the window over the sink. “That was prior to the protections we have in place now. We learned from that mistake.” He turned to me. “But still. Raiden’s correct. Phoenix knows what you mean to Galen. He suspects anyway. If he learns you’re still living here, there’s a possibility he’ll track you down once you’re outside of our protection and use you to get to us. Either you leave and we cut off all ties to you, or you stay here behind the protection of the veil. There’s no in-between.”

“That’s not fair,” Gray whined, resting his head on the table.

It was hard to breathe all of a sudden. Of course I wanted to return to my shop, to my life. But if it meant never seeing Galen again? Tears stung the backs of my eyes.

“What if I stay by his side?”

I flipped around to see Galen standing beneath the archway, his abs on full display and his skin glistening a bit. What happened to his shirt?

“As in, you’ll act as his bodyguard when he’s outside the veil?” Alastair asked. “I’m not completely opposed to the idea. You’d be putting yourself at risk though.”

“Demons rarely attack in the daylight,” Galen said. “Including Phoenix. I can stay with Simon while he’s at his shop, then escort him back here before nightfall.”

“Wait, wait.” I waved a hand around. Galen’s gray eyes moved to me. “You really don’t have to do that. You’ll be bored out of your mind. Plus, you patrol at night. If you watch me all day, you’ll never get any rest.”

“And what other choice do I have?” he growled, coming closer. My gaze landed on his rippling abs, and I swallowed the sudden tightness in my throat. I stood from my chair, and he slid a hand to the side of my neck. “Watch you leave and never get to see you again? Or watch you stay here and wither away within these walls?”

“You guys, I’m melting over here,” Bellamy said, resting his chin on his hand. “Go fuck and make up now. Even better if I can watch.”

Galen glared at him.

“Simon?” Alastair asked. “Under normal circumstances, I’d erase your memory, send you on your way, and be done with it. But you’re a special case. Galen has marked you, which tells me how strongly he feels for you. Which is theonlyreason I’m even considering this alternative. The choice is yours.”

“I…” I returned my gaze to Galen. The hard lines around his eyes smoothed as he stared down at me. “I don’t want to say goodbye to you. To any of you.”

“It’s decided, then,” Alastair said. “You’ll continue staying here for the time being.” Then, he left the kitchen.

“Lovely,” Daman said, standing from the table and taking his mug of coffee with him. “We have a new member of the family.”

“Don’t be a sourpuss,” Raiden said, throwing an arm around Daman’s shoulders.

“Get off me, you big ape.” Daman shrugged out of Raiden’s hold and walked away.

“I need a moment to process things,” I said, bracing a hand on the table for support. “I can really go back to work?”

Galen nodded. “With me, yes. And you’ll live here at least until it’s safe for you to be outside these walls at night.”

So, a temporary living arrangement. I could handle that. Better than my other choices. It was too dangerous for me to be away from the mansion at night, not unless I wanted to be ripped apart by shades. Again.

“Where’s Gray?” I asked, not seeing him at the table. He’d been sitting there not even ten seconds ago.

Castor looked around before grinning. “Over here.” He bent down and came back up with a sleeping Gray nestled in his arms. “He was curled up on the floor like a little kitten.”

Could he be any cuter?

“Go to your room and get dressed,” Galen said.

I cocked my head at him. “Why?”

“You want to go to your shop, don’t you?”

Excitement buzzed in my veins. “Yeah.”

“Then stop blabbing and go upstairs.”