Page 8 of The Jorogumo (The Sanctuary #2)

Haruto

After Keoni returned with not only Silas, but Zamir and Touya as well, the whole Forest family gathered together—minus Draven, because he was in project mode and probably wouldn't leave his workshop until he was done—in one of the clearings, which rarely happened. I felt so loved in that moment.

Since I had a tendency of spending most of my time cooped up in my house, there were times when I thought I wasn't as close to my fellow supes as I hoped to be, that their bonds with each other were much stronger. Yet the way they'd shown up for me proved me wrong, and I promised myself I'd look back on this moment if I ever started doubting them again.

"I don't think I've read anything about shtrigas," Liam said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Not that what I've read about other supes is anywhere near close to being accurate. "

"Yep, our ancestors got a lot of things wrong," Dustin said with a snicker, making me smile.

"Shtrigas are descended from a species of vampires that originated in Albania centuries ago. Instead of blood, we feed on life force to survive," Zamir explained, and Liam hummed thoughtfully.

"So does that reduce the lifespan of the person you feed on? Or can it be replenished, like blood?" Liam's tone held nothing but curiosity, and I knew Zamir could tell that because he was still smiling. Before he could answer though, Liam's eyes widened and he ducked his head. "Sorry, that's probably an inappropriate question, huh? You don't have to answer."

"Bah, it's fine. I can tell you're simply curious. To answer your question, life force can be replenished, but very slowly. Most humans don't survive being fed on by a shtriga, which is why I only feed from supes."

"Oh," Liam blinked, then seemed to make the connection. "Oh! You feed from the other residents here?"

Zamir nodded, his lips twisting in a frown. I knew that he hated feeding on the rest of us—and he fed just enough to get by—but unlike me, his other form wasn't the least bit humanoid, and while some supes—like the kelpie, Alaric—could handle that, Zamir preferred his human form, and we didn't mind giving him some of our life force.

"That's cool. I'm glad you can get the nourishment you need."

Wow, did nothing faze my mate? He had such a big heart, and I didn't know what I'd done to be worthy of it, but I was grateful anyway.

A while later, everyone drifted off, some to do their chores, others—with protest—to rest, leaving just me and Liam in the clearing .

"Wow. Your friends are amazing."

I smiled at him, adoring the way his eyes sparkled with joy. "So are you."

His cheeks turned pink at that, and he rolled his eyes, glancing away.

"Would you like to see my place?"

Liam's eyes shot back to mine, going wide. "Holy shit, I almost forgot. Yes, please!"

Chuckling, I waved him over, and he hopped to his feet, taking my hand in his like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Holding his hand tightly, I led him through the woods, following the familiar path that led to my house. Mine and Zamir's were the furthest away from the entrance, just the way we liked it.

My place was a two-story house, at least on the outside. The inside was completely different, and I hoped Liam wouldn't be weirded out by it.

Opening the door, I waved Liam in before following after him and closing the door behind us.

"Wow."

I eyed my place, trying to see it from Liam's eyes. There was no need for a kitchen or bathroom—though I'd need to add one now that I'd found Liam—so my whole house was one big room, with my webs making up most of the furniture I needed.

The walls around the upper half were lined with shelves I'd made with finely woven silk, filled with all the comic books I'd collected over the decades.

The lower half contained my sitting area with a hammock on one side that I slept in, and a few smaller benches I'd made by weaving my webs between two walls .

There was also a small kitty corner for Dustin's cat, since she visited often and treated my house like a damned jungle gym.

"Haruto, this might be the coolest house I've ever seen."

"You like it?"

"I love it. And I really, really want a peek at your collection."

I grinned, having expected as much. Liam loved comics as much as I did, so of course that's where his focus went first.

"Are you okay with heights? I won't let you fall."

"I know," he said with a confident smile, then shrugged. "And I'm fine with it."

Nodding, I stepped closer to him, then said, "I'm going to pick you up, okay?"

He gave me a surprised look, but didn't protest, and I leaned down, wrapped my arms around his waist, then stood up straight.

"Whoa, you're strong," he said, and a hint of his arousal teased at my senses, once again, making me hungry instead of uncomfortable. Huh. So Liam liked displays of strength, hmm? Good to know.

Tightening my grip, I made my way up the webs to the platform I'd woven in front of the shelves just for Liam. Not that I'd tell him that.

Carefully, I placed Liam's feet on the platform, keeping an arm around his back in case he lost his balance.

"This feels so cool," he murmured, eyes sliding to mine. "I'm your MJ."

I chuckled at the comparison, then waved at the comics. "I've been collecting these for a while now."

Following the prompt, Liam turned to scan the shelves, pulling a few issues out to examine them.

He whistled softly as he eyed one of my oldest comics, an issue of the Captain America in USA series from the mid-1940s, his fingers careful as they brushed over the cover. "Wow, I don't think I've ever seen one of these."

"It was the first comic I bought when I came to the US."

Liam blinked, then gazed up at me. "The first comic you bought was this old thing?"

"Well, it was new when I bought it," I clarified, even though I was deliberately beating around the bush. I wanted to see if he'd figure out what I meant.

"Wait," he said, and I could almost see the gears turning in his mind. "Wait. Are you saying you bought this when it first came out?"

Liam

He couldn't possibly mean that, right? Haruto looked younger than me, for fuck's sake. How could he have possibly been around in 1947 to buy this issue?

"Yes," he said, then shrugged, though he watched me cautiously. "Most supes here are older than they look. We age slowly, and it varies between species, but all supes age slower than humans, while some don't age at all."

"Oh."

My first thought was that Haruto would have to watch me grow old and die, and that seemed so very unfair. Not that I'd thought we'd spend our whole lives together. I'd hoped, though.

"Does that make you uncomfortable?" Haruto asked, brows furrowed as he stared at me. I couldn't very well tell him I was imagining our future, not when this was our second date, so I shook my head quickly, and tried to hide whatever look I was sporting.

"No, not at all. I was just surprised."

He stared at me for another long moment, then shrugged. "I'm not that old compared to some of the other supes here. I was just twenty when I moved to the States."

He was twenty in 1947, which meant he was almost a century old. Wow.

"You know, I always thought that if I was ever in an age-gap relationship, I'd be the older partner," I mused with a smile, wanting Haruto to know his age wasn't a problem for me. It was my own mortality that had me feeling depressed.

"To other humans, you will be," he reminded, making me smile. Yeah, that would be just another secret no one else would know. I liked it.

We spent quite a bit of time talking about comics—as we tended to do—and I was in love with Haruto's collection. It had to be worth millions, not that he'd ever sell them. He'd been collecting them since the '40s, and I was surprised he didn't have more. Of course, I couldn't help myself from asking about it.

"Oh, I do. I have a storage unit in the human world where I keep my, hmm, less-favorite issues," he said, which I translated to mean the ones he didn't have space for here. "I'll show it to you someday, if you want."

"That would be great."

The sound of a bell clanging interrupted whatever Haruto was about to say, and I glanced around curiously.

"That's the lunch bell. Would you like to eat in the dining room with everyone? Or here?"

"By everyone, do you mean all the residents of the Sanctuary?"

Haruto pursed his lips thoughtfully, then shook his head. "Almost all of them. Shade can't leave his area, and some of the others prefer to eat in their areas. But you'll meet most of them."

Excitement sparked through me at the thought of meeting more supes, and I smiled widely. "I'd like to eat with everyone then."

Haruto smiled, then wrapped his arms around my waist. "Hold on."

I grabbed his shoulders, then grinned as he carried me back down effortlessly. Seriously, I loved how strong he was. I'd met very few people who could match my size and strength, and none who were stronger than me. At least none I'd been interested in romantically.

But Haruto? He was everything I could've ever wanted in a man, and I tried really hard to keep him from seeing exactly how much I liked being carted around by him.

Once we were on solid ground again, he released me, and I slowly stepped back, meeting dark eyes that seemed to see more than I wanted to reveal.

Haruto didn't say anything, just held his hand out, and I took it quickly, allowing him to lead me out of his house. He didn't lock the door behind him, which, fair. He knew everyone here, and obviously, no one was going to try to rob him.

We left the Forest area, then walked down the hallway, and I saw the doors to the other areas Haruto had mentioned before. Darkness was pretty self-explanatory, and Haruto had said only one guy lived there, Shade, and he couldn't leave. I wondered how he didn't get lonely. He must, right? I could not imagine spending my life trapped in one place and no one to share it with .

Haruto pushed open a door labeled 'Dining Room,' and sound burst out as if the door—with the help of some magic, surely—had been the only thing blocking it.

I followed after Haruto, then jerked to a halt as I took in the large room. I knew I shouldn't stare, but was that a green horse with invisible legs talking ? And that was very much a dwarf.

I spotted Dustin, who waved at me, and finally managed to stop myself from gawking. At least until I waved back at Dustin and followed Haruto to the counter, where a buffet was set up.

And where a being stood behind the counter, filling plates with food with their many, many limbs. Octopus limbs. Tentacles. They had tentacles .

"That's Jacinta. They're a cecaelia."

As if they'd heard Haruto's whispered introduction, they glanced up, sharp blue eyes pinning me to the floor as they took me in.

Then they grinned, showing off some very pointy-looking teeth, and waved me over. "You're Haruto's boo. Liam, right?"

My cheeks flushed at being called someone's boo , but I nodded, which made their grin widen.

"I was a bit annoyed when humans started joining the Sanctuary, but I've realized it adds a certain... flavor to our group that we need."

Before I could even begin to figure out what they meant, a man—a human, I thought—with a scar on one side of his face came over with two empty plates, rolling his eyes at Jacinta.

"Stop with the human-eating puns, J. They're never funny."

He glanced over at me, and I realized he was the guy who'd dropped Haruto off at the shop earlier today.

"Bellamy," he introduced himself, and I nodded, giving him a smile .

"Liam."

Humming, he turned back to Jacinta, who filled Haruto's, my, and both of Bellamy's plates all at once before waving us off with a fifth tentacle, and I watched Bellamy walk through the crowds to the horse with invisible legs, pressing a kiss to his cheek as he placed their plates on a table before them.

"Are those two..."

"Together? Yeah. Alaric is a kelpie."

Kelpie? I might've read about them. Horse-like beings who lived in lakes and lured humans to their death. According to the humans, anyway. Wow. Did I really just think that like I wasn't also a human?

I followed Haruto to the table where Dustin, Khush, Keoni, Touya, Silas, Zamir, and the dwarf sat or stood, and Haruto stood to one side as I took the empty chair beside him.

"Oh, Liam, you didn't meet Draven earlier because he was working on something," Keoni said, gesturing toward the dwarf. "Draven is the genius who made my cart and the wheelchairs, among other things."

I smiled at Draven, who had pointy ears, a thick braided beard, and a long braid that reached his lower back. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," he replied in a growly voice, then frowned at Keoni. "I'm still working on one for you. I will make it."

Keoni gave him a soft smile, then reached over to pat his arm. "I know, Dray. I can be patient."

Khush snorted at that, and Keoni went "Hey!" and the table devolved into good-natured arguments as I started in on my—very human and very delicious—meal.

Haruto's friends were one of a kind—more so than anyone I'd ever used those words to describe—but I had a feeling that if I gave it the time and effort it deserved, they might become my friends too. I'd like that.