“Does Colmar live with anyone?”
“Yup. He’s mated to a Mercurian. She’s real hot stuff.” She noticed my mouth twist uncomfortably. “The relationship is open, Faeryn. He wasn’t trying to make you a homewrecker.”
The chime of the pub door was a welcome sound. I was exhausted from the day, but ready to rally my energy for day two on the job. It felt good, comforting, normal even to come into work. I could feel my sense of routine building already. I found the coat rack in Theo’s office, helped myself to some snacks in the back, and took a deep breath. A smile spread on my face on its own accord. I couldn’t wait to get home to a hot home-cooked meal, a cozy bed, and the comforting embrace of my “partner”.
Graysen
I wiped down the counters as quickly as my arms would allow. “Closing would go quicker if I had more hands,” I thought to myself as I enviously eyed Theo, who was putting four bottles away at once. The last patrons of the night wouldn’t take a hint—or a direct request—and clear the fuck out when we said we were closed. It added just enough delay to my return home to antagonize me. I missed Faeryn. Between her social outing and busy shift yesterday, she had no time or energy to tell me how her day was before she passed out for the night.
I didn’t think it was possible to crave Faeryn’s presence more than I already did, but her decision to consummate our pairing the other night had made me voracious. She had given herself to me fully without any strings attached.She was mine.Whether or not I deserved that, or if it was advisable, didn’t matter any longer. She had chosen to dedicate herself to me despite everything spoken and unspoken hanging between us.My mate. I have my mate.We were going to make a life together. I wouldn’t let this gift of redemption slip through my fingers. She would be safe, loved, and supported. I would make sure of it. Tonight, I’d go home and promise her the world whileburied inside the temple of her body. The thought only made me scrub the damned bartop faster.
“Can I ask you a question about Faeryn?” Theo asked, his back still to me while he worked.
“Is everything okay?” I tensed instinctively.
“Of course. I’ve just been curious about why you wanted her working here, given…” He trailed off, the unspoken implication hanging in the air.
My jaw clenched, and my palms tingled. There’d been some comfort in that Theo hadn’t inquired about Faeryn in the past. Despite that lack of context, he'd conveniently said “yes” to giving her a job without any questions about her relevant experience. I'd expected as much. Mykie was ambiguous about her history with him, but it was clear it pre-dated the bartender-customer relationship. I suspected he knew more than he was letting on about my situation, and had for some time. Still, I didn't want him involved. Theo had many strengths, but a comforting lack of morals wasn't among them. I didn’t need concepts of “right” and “wrong” introduced to the gray area that was my situation with Faeryn. There was only “safe” and “unsafe”, “happy” and “unhappy”, “living” and “alive”.
I pretended not to hear him, scrubbing harder at the offensive stain.
“I was surprised when you asked.” He ignored my silence, clearly not planning on dropping the topic.
“She wanted to work,” I said, a little more gruffly than necessary.
My Little Fae wanted to be busy, and so she would get that. She deserved to have a life after what happened. Of course, Theo would reach the same conclusion Mykie had, that this was a bad idea. It didn’t matter. Images of her bare and vulnerableunder me, letting me claim her, flashed through my head. Howdareanybody question my ability to protect her? Especially Theo, who I’d explicitly avoided discussing it with.
“Weren’t you worried about the potential consequences?”
“What is this, Theo?” my voice growled through sharpening teeth, finally betraying just how sensitive I was about the topic.
His head barely glanced over his shoulder in response to my venom. “You know I don’t mean any harm. I just can’t stop wondering why you’re keeping her here, and not…somewhere else.”
“Theo, something I’ve always valued about our relationship is our mutual appreciation of privacy.” I fought to remain in control of my breathing.
I’d been patient every time Theo disappeared for days, sometimes an entire season, for oddly explained “hiking trips”. Mykie had encouraged me to avoid exploring the topic, and I complied. Hell, I didn’t even mention it when he came home from his excursion the other day barely able to walk. I just pretended not to notice. The weight of secrets was not lost on me. I suspected he had been intentionally offering me the same decency for some time. Why was he choosingnowto prod my most raw nerves?
“I’m just worried—”
“I have it handled.”
“I was just thinking. Maybe if she were in the field—”
“Don’t you think I fucking know she should be there instead of with me!” I roared through clenched fangs, tossing my rag onto the counter and stomping towards him. “Yes, okay, I should have built her a house in that fucking field and left her there where she could be safe. But I didn’t. I am spendingeverywaking momenttrying to make up for what I’ve done, and part of that is giving her the life she wants. The life that she deserves. Spare me your fucking questions and your goddamn judgment.”
He turned towards me, not backing down as I nearly rammed into him. “I didn’t say I was judging you.”
“You didn’t have to.”
This. This is why Mykie could be my ally in this struggle, but not Theo. Theo’s moral compass wouldn’t allow him to accept the situation I had put Faeryn in. He would drive me insane with questions of why I did or didn’t do any one thing. How could I tell him, when I knew deep down, he would’ve done the right thing from the start? He would’ve left her alone. He wouldn’t have let himself put someone in this situation in the first place. He wasn’t foolish, emotional, and impulsive like I was.
“I’m sorry this happened to you.” Theo’s voice carried all the weight of a loving brother. Four arms embraced me. That gentle empathy that Mykie struggled to express threatened to shatter me. I didn’t want softness. I wasn’t the victim here.
“How long have you known about her?” I whispered. My eyes threatened to pool with tears as I pulled free from the hug. The tension that had been building for over an hour had snapped, and I felt exhausted. I just wanted to go home to Faeryn.
“Shortly after you filed the report.”
I nodded in understanding.
