Page 57 of Guarded (Hopeless Blessed #3)

SIX MONTHS LATER

L ooking back now, I couldn’t believe I’d ever run from Noah. That I’d truly believed being mated would feel like being trapped.

It was laughable, really. My freedom came from being Noah’s mate. From choosing to love him every day. From exploring the world with him at my side. From loving him.

Noah was on my lap as we watched the sunrise. Our legs dangled over the edge of the Colosseum, the streets empty of the thousands of tourists who would descend later in the day.

We’d be long gone by then. When Noah’s schedule kept us too busy to travel for a prolonged period, this was what we did instead. At least once a week, we’d get up in the middle of the night and fly somewhere new.

Then, we’d watch the sunrise.

However, like on most of these trips, I wasn’t watching the sky.

I was watching my mate.

Sunrises would always hold a special place in my heart, but they weren’t my reminder to have hope any longer. That came from Noah.

I also didn’t need them to remind me that things would get better, not with how my life was now.

In all honesty, I wasn’t certain it could get better.

I was happy. Content. Not just with Noah, but with my whole life.

I loved living with the Seraphim. I’d slipped into their organised chaos without skipping a beat. Having Nox there was an added bonus.

Sometimes, I’d be sat at dinner, just absorbing the atmosphere.

The table would be groaning from the delicious food that Ez, Sam, and Rami had prepared.

Nate and Theo would invariably be bickering, with Noah attempting to referee.

Micah and Benji would be deep in discussion about something the rest of us didn’t fully understand.

Grace and Breann would alternate between being lost in each other and snarking with the others.

During those moments, Nox and I would catch each other’s eye, and I knew we were thinking the same thing. Neither of us could’ve predicted that we would end up here. Making it out of Hell had been too much for us to hope for.

Finding this happiness? This family?

It was a dream come true. No, it was better, because this life was beyond anything either of us would’ve dared dream of.

All we wanted now was for that happiness to extend to our friends.

Dahlia and Darius didn’t seem to be making much headway with their mates.

Dahlia was away for periods of time, but Darius was spending longer at the house.

I’d say it was for Quill, but Nox and I had repeatedly offered to stay there so he could go off and do whatever he needed to.

His answer had been that there was nothing he could do.

That was all he’d tell us. I had no idea what had, or hadn’t, happened with his mate.

Whatever it was though, it hadn’t been good.

My chest ached for him. I wanted my friends to find the same happiness I had. It didn’t seem fair that fate wasn’t smoothing the way for them as it had for me. Because, let’s be real, it had been my fuck-ups that had slowed Noah and me down. Fate had had nothing to do with it.

In a way, it made our love more special though.

We hadn’t fallen in love because fate demanded it, but because of each other.

Sure, the tugging ache had played into it, but it had nothing to do with how we made each other laugh, or our conversations during the long weeks apart.

The way we both wanted the other to be happy and to protect each other in every possible way. Fate had no part in that.

But love? That had everything to do with it.

While Dahlia and Darius were struggling, at least Quill was doing better now. He’d yet to leave the house, but he was back to his cereal days and being a general nuisance around the house.

The first time he’d pissed Dahlia off to the point where she killed him, we’d all breathed a sigh of relief, Dahlia included.

Quill still wasn’t close to being okay, but he was getting there.

Inch by inch, he was reclaiming his life.

It was a slow and difficult journey, but he wasn’t making it alone.

The rest of us were right by his side, every step of the way.

Noah sighed, leaning back against me as the sun cleared the horizon. “Guess that’s our signal to go home.”

Home. Once, thinking of the compound as my home would’ve terrified me. But that was because I hadn’t understood what it would mean.

Noah is my home.

It was another addition to my list. I’d kept it going, scribbling down any new titbit I discovered about my mate. I suspected it might be several centuries before I ran out of things to add.

“Yes,” I said, leaning down to kiss his neck.

My hair brushed against my cheekbone as I did so.

I was growing it long again. Truth be told, I’d hated having it short.

Knowing how much fun we had with Noah’s hair during sex, I’d decided I wanted to get in on that action too.

With how Noah kept obsessively running his hands through it all the time, I knew it was a decision he approved of. “Let’s go home.”

W e hadn’t made it past the hallway before the door slammed open. It hit the wall with such force that I instinctively shoved Noah behind me, my shield springing into place.

Hilarious really, given Noah was definitely the more powerful of the two of us. I couldn’t help it though; my instinct would always be to protect him.

A massive figure stumbled over the threshold, blood covering his hands and face. His eyes were wild, his chest rising and falling as though he’d run a marathon. He was shaking from head to foot, power crackling around him.

“Rami?” My jaw dropped. “What the fuck?!”

Just then, his knees gave way. I swooped forward to catch him, taking his weight. Noah was at my side, helping me hold him.

“Help,” Noah hollered, panic ringing in his voice. “Foyer, now! ”

All around the house, doors opened and running footsteps sounded.

“Here, I’ve got you,” I said. We lowered Rami to the floor carefully, and I crouched beside him. I’d got to know the big angel well over the past few months, and never once had I seen him without a smile on his face.

Noah shot me a worried look before addressing Rami. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

Rami shook his head numbly. He kept staring at a fixed spot in the distance, gently swaying on the spot.

Micah appeared, his eyes widening in horror as he took in Rami’s state. He shot Noah and me concerned looks before crouching too. “Rami, my god. Whose blood is this?”

Rami held a wobbly hand up in front of his face, like he hadn’t realised it was there. Tears filled his eyes. “My mate’s.”

The shocked silence that followed those words was almost deafening. The twins had appeared in the doorway, their stunned expressions mirror images of the ones we all wore. Every Seraphim, Sam, and Nox had gathered in the foyer, horror-struck by what was unfolding.

“Is your mate alive?” My heart broke at Micah’s question. If Rami had found his mate, only for him to die…

“He is,” Rami whispered. “He’s alive. He shouldn’t be, but he is. I saved him. Not that he’ll remember it.”

“You compelled him?”

That question came from Sam. There was no judgement in it.

During one of my many laps with him, I’d learned about how compulsion had almost killed him before he was mated to Ezekiel.

I’d immediately demanded to be added to the training sessions Ferry was doing with the Seraphim.

Thanks to those, we were all able to tell whether it was safe to compel a human or not now .

“I had to.” Rami hung his head in shame. “I had no choice. He can’t be mine.”

With that ominous pronouncement, Rami lunged to his feet. Without looking back at us, he stormed off towards the stairs. A second later, we heard his door slam, the lock clicking immediately afterwards.

Those of us gathered exchanged bewildered looks, but it was Benji who broke the silence. “Is this one of those situations where I’m just not understanding, or is everyone else confused as fuck?”

“We’re all confused.” Micah pursed his lips as he stared up the stairs. “Until Rami’s ready to speak, I suspect we’re going to be confused for a while.”

After discussing a few theories and getting nowhere, everyone dispersed. Like me though, I knew they were listening for the click of Rami’s lock. For any evidence that he was ready to open up.

But the sound never came.

NOAH

None of us knew what to do about Rami.

Micah had spent an hour talking to him through his door, but he’d only been met with silence. Ez and I had tried too, but it hadn’t made a difference.

Rami wouldn’t talk until he was ready. It was shit, but he couldn’t hide whatever had happened forever.

One of us would get it out of him eventually .

It was later that night and I was in our suite folding washing. After Jem had shrunk his fourth T-shirt, along with three pairs of my expensive lace panties, I’d banned him from this particular chore.

It wasn’t something I minded doing. In fact, I was humming as I did so. It was domestic. Normal. I was putting Jem’s clothes away in our shared dresser. His toiletries had joined mine in the bathroom. Signs of him existed all over our rooms. Reminders that this was our life now.

One we shared.

It made me so fucking happy. Looking back, I couldn’t believe I’d settled for anything less. That I’d kept to dark corners and hidden my heart away in the shadows. In a way, I was glad I had. It made me appreciate the love I had with Jem all the more.

There was no hiding for us. We lived in the sunlight, letting everyone witness what we shared.

On the day we’d met, I’d resigned myself to never being chosen. Jem had run from me, and I’d thought that was it.

Fuck, I’d been so wrong. Not only had Jem chosen me and this life, but he’d continued to choose it every day since.

I’d thought I wouldn’t have a happy ever after. Turned out I was getting one better than anything I could’ve hoped for.