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“You can’t just keep him. There are authorities who handle situations like this!”

Raised voices. Not the way Enda preferred to wake up, but it wouldn’t be the first time. It was the anger and concern in the female tone that had him clutching at the blanket covering him – the one that smelled so strongly of the man who saved him. His instincts were warring between looking for that man and staying as still as possible until the danger was past.

“It’s not safe for anyone else to know he’s alive right now. The same goes for me and Mitchell.” Keeping his eyes closed, Enda let the warmth and confidence from his savior’s deep tones wash over him.

“He’s barely more than a child.” The woman’s voice got closer. “Can’t you see the impropriety in having someone like him, in his circumstances, remaining in your care? You saved his life, admittedly, but he’s going to feel obligated to you because of that. He’s isolated, cut off, likely suffering from immeasurable trauma after what he went through – at least from what you described to me. He needs counseling, family, and people who know him to support him in this time.”

“Sarah, I understand your concern more than you can know.” The man had gotten closer, too, and he’d lowered his voice. “More than anyone in this room, I know how shitty people can be to other people, and sometimes the only thing that keeps me going is that I know where they’ll end up. Enda asked me to protect him. I vowed to him I would. I am not going to let him go into a system that doesn’t understand how unique he is.”

“The best way to help him is to contact the authorities. Giorgio, I’m not saying your heart’s not in the right place because it is. But think about how this is going to look. I can understand how someone small and cute like this is going to spark protective instincts. Hell, I want to hug him and protect him from the world’s meanies just as much as you do.

“But he’s been traumatized. He almost died. Can you imagine how he felt laying on those wires and explosives, knowing any movement would kill him? He’s going to need years of therapy, and that’s without knowing how or why he got taken in the first place, or from where. The best way you can help him is to let professionals handle this. Giorgio, don’t you understand? He’s a kid.”

Enda had heard enough. The woman Giorgio had called Sarah – he had no idea why she was in the room, or who she was – but she was trying to separate him from Giorgio, and that frightened Enda more than any killer or explosive. “I’m not a kid!” Enda flew out from under the blanket, wrapping his arms around the big man – Giorgio’s – waist. “Full adult. Twenty-five. I got my wings. This magical beast is my mate. You can’t make me leave.”

“Mate? Fated mate? Enda, are you sure?” Giorgio touched his shoulder, causing Enda to look up. He was speaking in Japanese.

“Yes. Didn’t you know?” Enda understood English and could speak it, although when he was tired or stressed his brain struggled with the translation process, and it was easier for him to talk in the language he learned from his grandmother. “That’s fine. I know that happens sometimes, but yes, I knew when you saved me. My bird told me you were safe for us and that you were mine.” Enda checked the light in the room, sniffed, and then added, “Is it breakfast time? I haven’t eaten in days. If that’s not an imposition.”

“I cooked a fry-up earlier when we got up, and I saved you a plate. But if there’s something specific you want, I can get it for you.” Giorgio was looking at him as if seeing him for the first time.

“Bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast with butter?” Enda grinned as his stomach grumbled.

“Soft toast or crispy toast with butter?” Giorgio’s lips twitched.

“Soft toast, dripping with melted butter. It’s the only way to eat toast,” Enda said firmly. “It’s the bacon that has to be crispy.”

His big savior actually chuckled. “It’s good to hear you’re clear about what you want. Hellhounds like me aren’t good at picking up cues, we prefer straight talking.” Then his face turned serious. “Our mating – there is a process we have to go through that I’ll explain to you later, but I do believe you, and I’m very happy about it. I… my hound is already so protective. But this business from last night affects my friends as well and we do need to talk about it.”

Enda swallowed the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat. “Can I eat first?”

“Definitely. Come on through to the kitchen.”

Sarah followed them into the kitchen. Enda couldn’t help but keep an eye on her. Non-paras had trouble understanding mating and the bonds that formed so quickly between those who were fated, but Enda knew what he said was true, and Giorgio would know in time. He definitely didn’t seem averse to it, although Enda wondered what the “process” was that he’d alluded to.

“Have a seat, Enda. This is Mitchell,” Giorgio indicated to the man pouring over a shiny phone at the kitchen table. “He and Sarah are long time partners. You might remember seeing Mitchell last night when we…removed you from the situation you were in.”

“Thank you.” Enda nodded in Mitchell’s direction and then quickly sat down. Seconds later, Giorgio brought him over a plate full of steaming food. “I’ve made some fresh toast, and the butter is on the table,” he said, putting the plate in front of him and then handing him a knife and fork. “Did you want water, juice, coffee, or tea?”

“Just water, thank you. Please excuse my eating.” Not waiting for a reply, Enda quickly started into the meal – he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten something substantial, and it was beautifully cooked. Picking up a slice of bacon, he grinned at Giorgio, who had sat opposite him, tapping the crispy edge with his fingernail before crunching it between his teeth.

“There is something seriously wrong with this scenario.” Sarah had sat next to Mitchell, and Enda could feel her eyes watching his every move. “You’re telling me this boy was buried under a pile of bodies just a matter of hours ago, and here he is, hoeing into bacon and eggs like nothing happened?”

“Sarah, let Enda eat, please. We can answer questions afterward,” Giorgio said firmly.

“No. This is not right.” Sarah was pointing at him. Enda took another mouthful of scrambled eggs. They were never nice when they got cold. “If this was any other kid in existence, and the scenario you described is true, then he’d be in a sniveling heap under the blankets, crying for his mom.”

Enda lowered his fork and asked slowly. “Are you upset because I’m not upset? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes!”

“Aha. Thank you, but there’s no need.” Enda nodded and put the eggs in his mouth.

“No need? No need to what? Get upset? Because nothing has gone normal at all since last night, and now for some reason we’re supposed to be hiding out because someone tried to kill you all last night, and here you are…”

“Sarah, that’s enough. Please.” Giorgio did firm so well. “Let Enda finish his meal. He doesn’t need your aggression on top of everything else.”

“It’s all right, Giorgio.” Enda swallowed his mouthful. “It’s understandable that Ms. Sarah is upset. She has suffered hearing very bad news. Her partner is more concerned with his phone than he is with her. I bet she hasn’t even had a hug since she arrived, and I am sure that’s what she needs, but she doesn’t mean any harm to me. She’s just trying to make sense of a difficult situation. For future reference, my mom is dead. No point in me crying for her.”

He picked up a slice of toast and bit into it. There was something so decadent about the soft bread and the ooze of melted butter coating his tongue. Then, as he was swallowing it down, he noticed the other three at the table had gone silent. “Did I say something wrong? My English is not that good.”

“No, you said everything right.” Giorgio rapped on the table. “Mitchell, put your darn phone down.”

“Me?” Mitchell looked up and then put his phone on the table. “It’s different to mine, and I can’t work out all the settings. What’s wrong?”

“How about you take Sarah into the living room and spend five minutes with her while Enda finishes his breakfast,” Giorgio suggested. “Without your phone.”

“Sure.” Mitchell looked at Sarah and then did a double take. “Hey, are you all right?”

“No, I’m fucking not.” Sarah burst into tears.

“Oh, shit, babe. You never cry. Come on.” Mitchell put his arms around his partner, helping her from the chair. “Let’s go through into the living room for a few minutes.”

Enda hummed quietly as he finished his eggs and bacon, pushing his plate aside when he got to the last piece of toast. “Thank you,” he said to Giorgio, who was watching him. “Ms. Sarah is clearly a strong woman, but everyone needs a hug at times. So I’ve heard. The breakfast was delicious. I am very appreciative. Thank you.”

“If you ever feel you need a hug from me, you should always know the answer is yes. You don’t have to ask.” Giorgio was being so impossibly grave. “It is told, among other members of my pack, that hellhounds are not very good at knowing the nuances of romantic or affectionate behavior. Some of my packmates have completely changed their thinking since finding their fated one, which is a very positive thing. But we could all do with lessons.”

“I have never met a hellhound,” Enda said, biting into his toast. Speaking around his mouthful, he added, “I have so much to learn, too. That will be exciting, don’t you think?”

“We can learn together.” Giorgio smiled, and when he did, Enda felt safe in a way he never had before.