Page 93 of Rhuyin

“You’re not asking, I’m offering. Insisting, actually,” I said, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. No way was I letting my sexy fox out of my sight.

Bossy,Rhu signed.

“You know it,” I responded with a grin.

“And he’s not even the worst of them…” Helios added, grinning at his Bonded. I blushed because I wasn’t used to most people understanding me when I signed. Elex punched Hel’s shoulder, but Hel just grinned at him before leaning in for a quick kiss.

“Whatever it is, we’ll do it together,” I said. Elex and Helios nodded in agreement.

“I’d like to help, also,” Allard added.

“This is touching and all, but I have plans for you,” Erix said, pointing at Allard.

“Me?” The older man seemed genuinely shocked. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What kind of plans?”

A wicked grin spread across Erix face.

“Oh, you’ll see,” he said.

***

The Omada headquarters was not what I had expected. It was bright. Almosttoobright. There were a variety of plants and flowers everywhere and it was more than a little overwhelming. Rhu and Hel both seemed particularly bothered by them as both began sneezing as soon as we arrived.

“You guys okay?” I asked after about the third time Rhu sneezed.

“Yeah,” he said as he snagged a tissue from a box on the table in the waiting area then pushed the box over to Elex who handed it to Hel. Elex had covered his hair with a cap with a long bill that he kept low to cover his face.

“Something about these flowers just messes with my sense of smell.”

We were only there a few minutes before a man came out of one of the hallways leading into the complex. He spotted Rhu and walked over to him, touching him on the shoulder.

As soon as he saw him, Rhu was on his feet and saluting.

“Dekaneas Katastrofis,” he said.

“Commander O’Fallon,” Rhu acknowledged.

“Come with me.”

When we all stood a frown appeared on O’Fallon’s face.

“Who are you?” O’Fallon demanded.

“We’re—” I began.

“We’re his family,” Elex surprised me by growling.

O’Fallon’s eyebrow shot up as he took in our motley crew.

“It’s—a long story, sir,” Rhu said.

“I look forward to hearing it,” O’Fallon responded crisply.

He led us down a hallway to a conference room. My respect for the man increased when I noticed he made sure he was seated directly opposite of Rhu. It made me believe he was already aware of Rhu’s hearing issues.

After we were all seated he began flipping through pages on an e-reader.

“I thought we had discussed this, Katastrofis. You told me you didn’t have any family.”