Damien carried me through the doorway and into the house as I tried to wake myself up. I was groggy and wanted to slip back into sleep, but the shock of cold air that had hit my bare legs when they opened the car door had roused me enough that I was aware we were home. Home. It felt good to think of it as such.

When the door shut behind all of us, I wanted to laugh, or drop to my knees and kiss the floor while I cried—nevermind that I wasn’t sure I would be able to stand due to the amount of blood that damn nurse had taken. My foggy mind briefly wondered if she had taken so much blood out of some misguided vengeance or if they had truly needed that much to run the tests they wanted.

The relief over getting to stay together, albeit ‘for now’, was palpable and Damien leaned down to kiss my forehead as he swiftly carried me up the stairs and into my room. I was going to claim it as mine now that I was going to be staying here. I needed to talk to Rini. I hoped that the Council would take care of the problem with the school administration as they had promised. It was the last coherent thought I could form as my head swam and I reached for sleep.

* * *

“Nix,” A light shake roused me from my sleep. “That’s it, wake up, sweetheart.”

“Good girl,” Hiro added, and I tried my best to open my eyes.

Sunlight spilled through the window at the end of the room, bouncing off the white walls and brightening the room around me. Scooting up in bed, I groaned. My body felt like it had been through a war. I felt weak—like I couldn’t make a fist even if I wanted to—and exhausted.

“You’re still recovering from the blood loss. I trusted her not to take too much, but you’ve been solidly asleep since we left the island yesterday. Rebecca and I will be having words.” The steel behind Hiro’s statement was unmistakable.

“No, don’t.” I croaked. “It’s not worth pissing off the Council. I agree that she took too much, but we finally have some peace. Please. Don’t rock the boat.”

Smoothing a hand over my hair—which I was sure looked like a hot mess—he gave me his assent. The grey shirt he was wearing accented his dark eyes, which looked resigned after agreeing to my request.

“Good morning sleepyhead.” Ryder burst into the room like another ray of sunshine wearing a beige knit sweater, light brown pants that hugged his ass perfectly, and a pair of sharp brown dress shoes. His purple hair styled and his signature scent—coffee and caramelized sugar—followed him into the room. The scent matched his personality perfectly—sweet and energetic with dark undertones. He carried a tray of food, and I must have pulled a face because he immediately pouted as he placed it over my legs which were cocooned under the comforter.

“Oh, ye of little faith. I didn’t make it if you must know. It was all Damien.” He threw me a conspiratorial look, apparently already over my lack of faith in his cooking skills, “You can thank me for the drink, however.” I eyed the large glass of orange juice and lunged for it. My mouth felt like cotton. The citrus soothed me as I gulped it down but I quickly felt foolish for chugging so much so fast.

“See D; she likes it. We should keep OJ in the house more often.” He nodded at me with a goofy grin as he used me as an excuse to fuel his sugar habit. Truthfully, I didn’t want to disagree with him. I did like juice.

The sugar must have helped wake me up because I suddenly remember that Damien had met with his father yesterday while I was going through medical hell. My heart constricted as I worried over the guys getting in trouble for hiding my existence.

“Damien,” I sought him out. He was standing near the head of the bed, and I had to look way up to meet his face. The strong contour of his jawline was sharper from this angle, and I had an excellent view of the way his white t-shirt stretched across his chest and accented his muscular abdomen. His hair was left natural; a bit messy instead of styled, just adding to his appeal. “What happened with your Dad? How much trouble are you all in?”

The gentle smile on his face helped me relax and calm as he spoke, “We’ve been reprimanded but not punished, per say. It could have been much worse, but I believe that the Council’s excitement over having you among our ranks lessened their wrath.”

“They’ll be monitoring us a little more closely as it pertains to our jobs for the Council, and I’m sure they’ll be checking that you’re well taken care of, provided for, and that you’re safe. Otherwise, we got off scot-free.”

A slap on the hand was not what I expected, but I also didn’t appreciate the extra eyes that may be prying into our lives now. The Council wasn’t a governing body that necessarily made me feel safe. Terrified was more like it. Those guys were worse than the monsters you worried about under your bed or in your closet at night when you were little. Thank God humans didn’t realize what was really out there. I wasn’t sure I appreciated knowing about all the evil in the world. I winced and glanced at Damien as he caught my thoughts. Fuck, I’d forgotten to put my walls in place.

“They’re not that bad.” He ran a hand over his messy hair.

“Your dad’s great. Please don’t think that I don’t like him. It’s just that the Council was intimidating as hell and half of those guys are scary as fuck. I don’t want you to think I hate your family or anything, and I know you grew up there, so maybe you’re close to the other dudes who make up the ruling body, but coming from an outsider's perspective…”

Damien cut off my nervous rambling. “No, it’s ok. I understand. They’re all dangerous, dominant males. They’re on the Council for a reason, and one of those reasons is because they’re powerful and most are deadly. I’m glad you don’t feel that way about my father though.”

“Oh, he’s definitely powerful, but he worked hard to make me feel more comfortable in what felt like a room full of predators.” I softened my voice, “I thought he was great, Damien, and I can see how close you are.”

The small lift in his lips was genuine. “After the dust has settled some, I know he’d like to meet you in a less formal setting. My mother would love you.”

I had planned to watch my thoughts and emotions throughout the rest of this conversation, but I didn’t have to do that now. The idea of meeting Damien’s family in a more relaxed way was genuinely something that I wanted to do. I knew Damien’s family, was close and I wanted to meet the people who had made and raised such a wonderful son. A son I happened to be very interested in. The way his face warmed told me he’d been listening in to my thoughts. Good. He should know that he meant something to me.

“Do they live in the Council’s headquarters?” I tried not to flinch at the thought of going back there.

“They have a residence there, but they prefer to have their own home. I spent my childhood bouncing between the two places.”

“And every time he would show up, he’d be dragging me into trouble.” The narrow-eyed look Ryder shot Damien had me laughing. I almost forgot that the Council raised Ryder. How had he turned out so joyful when such darkness had surrounded him? I wondered what his childhood was like.

“Are you sure it wasn’t the other way around?” I took a bite of my eggs, which were now cool. I didn’t care, and neither did my stomach. I was starving.

“Don’t let the Gargoyle fool you… he was a rebel rouser in his younger days.”

“You make me sound old.” Damien scoffed.

Hiro looked on approvingly. “Eat up, Nix. You need your strength, and your class starts in…” Hiro checked a rather expensive looking watch fastened to his wrist, “… one hour.”

Nodding, I shoveled food into my mouth graceful behavior be damned. I didn’t want to be late, which meant I needed to leave in half an hour to make sure I had time to make it to campus and walk to class.

“Ryder,” I addressed him with my mouth full, covering my mouth to at least keep some of my decorum. “Aren’t you supposed to be in a lab right about now?”

“I finished it early, and the professor let those of us who were done leave early. I walked in just in time to serve you, princess.” He gave a playful little bow. I just shook my head and scarfed down more food.

“When’s your next class?”

“In about two hours. My lab is usually a longer class.” I knew that Damien and Killian didn’t have classes until the afternoon and Theo was taking a few online courses during his Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. Hiro didn’t have any classes on Mondays.

Turning to my Kitsune, I asked, “Are you escorting me to class today?” I was hopeful. While I didn’t want to feel like I needed a babysitter, I did enjoy having that extra time with whoever was taking me to class. The guilty look that crossed his face told me I had assumed wrong.

“I wish I could, but the Council wants me to in the freshmen dorm more than I have been. That doesn’t mean that I won’t be here too, just that I need to make sure I’m covering my shifts as the resident advisor. Today, I need to be in the dorms. I’m getting ready to leave, but I wanted to see you first, make sure you were feeling better.”

“I understand.” The look on his face told me I needed to elaborate. “Don’t look so down; I’m fine. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be under the Council’s thumb.”

“Oh honey, we were under the Council’s thumb long before you got here. We had to sell our souls just to form our own group because they wanted us to spread our mythological around.” Ryder, who often spoke with his hands, was mimicking a circular spreading motion as he explained.

“No, what they really want is for us to mate.” Damien didn’t sound happy about the idea. Did he not want to settle down? Why did that thought bother me?

With the right person, I do. The smolder in his eyes said more than any spoken words. I blushed and turned my face down to my tray.

“Our friend James will be here shortly to escort you to class. I think you’ll like him.” Hiro leaned down to kiss my cheek, and I closed my eyes, taking in the sensation. As he pulled back, he elaborated. “He’s a bird shifter.”

“What kind?”

“Just ask him. He likes to show off.” Ryder rolled his eyes and I giggled. From the horse’s mouth.

“CER-AP-TOR! Good grief! I’ve downgraded to horse now? What have I done to deserve such a demotion?” Ryder pouted as he flailed his arms.

An inelegant snort bubbled out of me at his mini-outburst, and everyone chuckled in the room. I wasn’t even mad at Damien’s invasion into my head; it was worth it.

Hiro waved from the door as he stepped from the room. Ryder leaned down and kissed my cheek as well. “I’m going to go grab some breakfast. A man can’t live on sweetened coffee drinks alone.” He ducked as Damien tried to slap his arm.

“Where are you getting this stuff?” He demanded as Ryder fled the room. Turning back to me with an exasperated look on his face, I laughed. “I don’t keep this stuff in the house.”

I knew about the guys’ secret stash of sweets and coffee but my lips were sealed, so I just smiled serenely and finished off my orange juice so that Damien couldn’t swipe it from me and dump it down the nearest drain.

“You’d think as a med student he’d eat better.” He shook his head and grinned down at me. It did funny things to my stomach as butterflies took off.

Looking at my robe clad arms, I realized that I was dressed and I couldn’t remember getting into such a state.

Holding up his hands, Damien denied his involvement as he read my mind. “Don’t look at me. I didn’t touch you. Not that I don’t want to.” His grin turned into a smoldering look as he raked his eyes down my body. I was in a tank top but quickly realized that I had no bra on as my nipples pebbled under his attention. Shit! I pulled the robe closed in front of me, but a quick look at the Gargoyle told me he’d already noticed. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, he brought his eyes up to mine. “Rini came over and did the dressing part after we returned home. Hiro had wrapped you up in a robe and a blanket before he carried you out of the medical building.”

Nodding, I couldn’t help the relief that swamped me. I didn’t want to admit the violation I’d have felt if it was one of them. They knew me though and knew the demons I still struggled with. It was one of the reasons I was so comfortable around them. They never made me feel stupid about my issues. Instead, they made me feel validated and let me work through my emotions as they sprung up, always helping and never pushing.

Shoveling the last of my food, I sprung up and grabbed some clothes. “I’m just going to shower, and I’ll meet you downstairs. When does James get here?” My unspoken question was the more important one: Are you sure you trust him?

“He should be here by the time you’re done getting ready. I trust him completely. He’s a good friend of ours, mated to a wonderful girl, a mermaid.

The little girl inside of me squealed. “Mermaids are real?” The excitement in my voice was off the charts. Who didn’t want to be the little mermaid when they were growing up? My Phoenix huffed, clearly thinking we were the better mythological. I mollified her. Don’t worry girl. I’m happy to be a phoenix! We’re pretty damn badass.

I knew my inner monolog was amusing Damien because he covered his mouth to hide a smile as he tried his damnedest not to laugh.

What, you seriously never talk to your Gargoyle? Poor batman must be bored to death in your head.

Batman?

His name. Your wings look like a giant bat’s… get it? Batman? I told you I was going to name all your creatures. It’s happening. It’s just a work in progress. I shrugged as I headed out the door.

But Batman is already taken. You should pick something else.

Hey now, Batman is badass and cool. You should be thanking me. At least I didn’t call him Rocky. Swinging my hips I walked into the bathroom as I heard him rumble through the mental line as he watched me walk away.