Page 7 of The Jorogumo (The Sanctuary #2)

Haruto

I'd told everyone not to speak about fated mates in front of Liam, and after being faced with everyone's confusion about why I'd decided to hide it from him, I was starting to wonder if maybe it was wrong of me. Liam deserved to know the whole truth, right?

What if I told him later, and he decided he couldn't trust me? The last thing I wanted to do was break his trust.

I liked Liam, and he seemed to like me. I didn't think he'd push my limits, or demand more from me than I could give. Fate wouldn't have paired us up otherwise.

Now that he knew what I was—and didn't seem to mind—there was nothing stopping me from telling him the whole truth. Well, except my own insecurities.

Even though I'd already told Liam about my sexuality, about what I could and couldn't offer him, telling him we were mates felt like I was trapping him. And while my jorogumo side was very much onboard with that, my logical side was not. I didn't want Liam to be stuck in an unsatisfying relationship.

Fucking hell, I was just going around in circles, wasn't I?

Glancing at my phone, I realized it was almost time. I'd promised to meet Liam outside his shop, and Bellamy had offered to go with me.

Bellamy was another human who lived in the Sanctuary, mated to a kelpie named Alaric. They both lived in the Lakes ( then a door opened and closed. I knew Liam lived in an apartment above the store, though I hadn't seen his living space yet.

I smiled when I spotted him through the glass front, and Bellamy leaned down to whisper, "Okay, that's my cue. I have some errands to run. I'm sure you two can make your way back, yeah?"

"Yes, thank you," I said, shooting him a smile. I was sure he wasn't lying about the errands, but I also knew he'd said it to give Liam and me time with each other.

"My pleasure, Haruto. Have fun, okay?"

I nodded, and he took off down the street, whistling under his breath as he went.

Turning my attention back to Liam, I watched as he locked up, then turned to me with a wide smile.

"Hey, Haruto!"

While Liam was big and could appear intimidating if you didn't know him, he had the disposition of a cheerful, excited kid, especially now, and I grinned as he skipped down the steps to my side.

Leaning down, Liam pressed a kiss to my cheek, which made me suck in a surprised breath. Leaning back, he met my eyes, his brown ones warm and sparkling. "Okay?"

"Very much so," I said once I'd found my voice, and he grinned wider as he straightened, then clapped his hands.

"I'm so excited to see your home," he said, then ducked his head, his cheeks warming up. "Sorry. I'll keep myself in check, I promise."

"No," I said with a firm shake of my head, mentally cursing anyone who'd ever made Liam feel like he had to hide away parts of himself to be accepted, to be wanted. I knew only too well how that felt, and I hated that he did too .

"No?"

"You're allowed to be as excited as you want, Liam. It makes me happy to see how thrilled you are."

Liam blinked at me, and his lips curved up in an almost shy smile as he nodded.

"Would you like me to walk at your side or behind you?"

Warmed by his thoughtfulness, I smiled. "Either works, but if it gets crowded, walking behind me would be easier."

"Got it."

We started heading toward the Sanctuary, and Liam told me about some of the more...interesting customers he'd had this week. Liam had a way with storytelling, and some entertaining-as-fuck customers, like the woman who was determined to find some "proper" comics for her very embarrassed daughter. Liam told me he'd promised the girl she could exchange the stuff her mom bought for what she wanted later, as long as she kept the comics in good condition. I wasn't the least bit surprised by that, because that was who my mate was. I felt lucky Fate had thought I was worthy of him. I just hoped he'd feel the same when I told him the truth.

"We're here," I said a few minutes later, and Liam glanced around, his eyes sliding right past the entrance to the Sanctuary.

"Where?"

"There," I waved toward the closed-down-looking building with its large wooden doors, and Liam blinked, surprised.

"I've walked past this building so many times, and I never wondered about what might be behind that door."

"It's part of the headmaster's protection around the place. Keeps people from wandering in," I explained as Liam pushed my wheelchair up the rather steep ramp. Silas had been putting off on improving it, mostly because it might mess with the wards already in place, and with all the things going wrong in the Sanctuary already, it wasn't worth the risk of messing up something else.

Reaching the door, I glanced up at Liam, nervous and excited all at the same time.

"Ready?"

Liam nodded quickly, eyes shining with anticipation, and I exhaled slowly before turning and placing my hand on the doorknob. I turned, then pushed, opening the doors wide into a dark hallway.

Fate, please let everything go well, and I promise I'll tell Liam he's my mate .

Liam

I stepped into the dark hallway, Haruto at my heels, and then jumped when the door behind us slid shut.

There was a moment of complete darkness and silence, the air thick with the scent of damp, stone walls, and then yellow lamps flickered on, lighting the path down the short hallway.

Beside me, Haruto removed the blanket over his lap, and I took it from him, grunting at its weight. Haruto stepped out of the wheelchair two legs at a time, then folded the blanket into the chair and slid it into a closet.

When he stood to his full height, I had to raise my head to look up at him, and it made something warm and fluttery go off in my belly.

"How about you lead the way?" I suggested, and he nodded.

We went through another doorway that led into a brightly lit hallway lined with doors, the scent of cold stone dissipating. Each door had a plaque on it informing people of where it led, and from where I stood, I could see Office, Forest, Lakes, and Ocean.

"This is where the headmaster and Touya work. He's the headmaster's assistant, and helps with the daily running of the Sanctuary," Haruto explained, waving at the office door.

"Forest is where I live. Each area is named after the landscape inside, and houses different types of supes. Over there are the Desert, Mountains, Arctic, and Darkness. There's also the Library, and the Dining Room."

I nodded, absorbing everything he told me. There wasn't a single person around, but I got the feeling that was intentional. Whether it was because Haruto had told them to give us a moment or because they were wary of me remained to be seen.

"Come on. I'll show you around Forest."

Since that was where Haruto's home was, I nodded quickly, following after him as he opened the door and stepped inside.

Warmth and the scent of freshly cut grass greeted me as Haruto closed the door behind us, and I glanced around, stunned.

I felt like I'd just stepped outside, and right into a forest. Grassy plains led into a highly wooded area, with trees of all kinds growing in a disorganized order the way they only did without human involvement.

We really, truly were in an honest-to-God forest. Wow.

"Haruto! Is this him?"

I turned my gaze to the light, lyrical voice, and blinked. The kid was probably still in his teens, and I could tell at a glance what he was: a centaur.

He galloped closer, the cart supporting his back half clattering after him, and stopped paces away from me, peering at me curiously. Even though he looked tiny beside Haruto, he was eye-to-eye with me, and he didn't seem the least bit wary as he stared, which made me feel instantly at ease.

"Hello. I'm Liam. You must be Keoni." Haruto had told me a little about all his 'neighbors' in the Forest area, and I'd made sure I remembered everyone's names so I could make a good first impression.

Keoni smiled widely, then stepped right up to me and wrapped his slim arms around me, hugging me tightly. I blinked, too stunned to do anything but stand there.

I got my head out of the clouds quickly enough, though, and hugged Keoni back, feeling like I'd needed it. I couldn't remember the last time I'd hugged someone, and wasn't that just pitiful?

"Liam! I'm so glad to meet you. I've been wanting to since Haruto told me about you, but Draven hasn't figured out a way to make the wheelchair work for me yet, so," Keoni shrugged as he pulled back, but I could see that disappointed him immensely. I couldn't imagine not being able to go out. As fascinating as I found this place, I imagined it could get boring sometimes too, especially when you couldn't leave.

"I hope they figure it out soon, then. I'd love to show you around my store."

Keoni smiled, his blue eyes shining brightly. "Come on! Let's introduce you to everyone. You've already met Dustin, right?"

I nodded, then glanced over at Haruto, who was watching us with a small smile. Meeting my gaze, he waved me on. "Go ahead. I'm right behind you."

I let Keoni tug me deeper into the Forest, nodding along as he told me random things about the Sanctuary that he thought I should know. He was acting like I was moving here, but I waved it off as a quirk of his. He seemed like a friendly guy, so I figured he was just excited about having a new face around.

"Dustin! Liam's here!" Keoni called out as we stopped in front of a single-story house. Well, it looked like a single-story house, but the second floor seemed to have something on it, with flickery walls that I could see through out of the corner of my eyes but not when I tried to look at them head-on.

Haruto leaned closer, and he must've noticed my confusion because he explained, "Their bedroom's upstairs, and there's a shield around it to keep anyone from seeing in."

Why their bedroom was out in the open, I didn't ask, because there must've been a reason, and it wasn't my business.

The door opened, and Dustin stepped outside, smiling widely when he spotted me.

"Hey, Dustin. You look good!" At five months pregnant, he was showing, but he also had that healthy pregnancy glow, and he really did look stunning.

"Thanks. I never thought I'd see you on this side of the world," he said with a grin, and I smiled.

"Right? Neither did I. This is all mind-boggling."

Just then, a thick, scaly green tail wrapped around Dustin's legs as a man appeared behind him, his strange yellow-brown eyes scanning me from head to toe. Ah, the naga boyfriend. Haruto had warned me about him. Apparently, he'd grown a little overprotective since the pregnancy.

"You must be Khush. Nice to meet you."

"You too," he said with a nod, then turned his eyes to Dustin. "You should come lie down."

Dustin gave him a very brittle smile, and I winced in sympathy. "Khush, I've been lying down all day. So help me if you drag me back to bed, I'll tie you to it and leave."

Khush's brows shot up, and then he huffed. "I'm just worried about you. "

That seemed to soften Dustin, because he turned around—both of them had clearly forgotten they had an audience—and cupped Khush's face. "I know, sweetheart. But I'm alright, okay? I just want to hang out with everyone for a bit."

Khush stared at his boyfriend for a long moment before relenting with a nod. Dustin smiled widely, then pressed a kiss to Khush's lips before turning to us.

"Let's sit down somewhere and we can talk. Keoni, go find Silas, or he'll whine about it later."

Keoni snickered, then took off, and I followed the others, taking Haruto's hand in mine. He shot me a surprised look, then tightened his hold, like I'd pull away if he didn't.

Smiling, I inhaled deeply, and thanked my lucky stars for making that ladder break. Without it, I wouldn't be here now.