Page 16 of A Touch Of Death

Spencer suddenly smiles the biggest smile I've ever seen on him, and Zayn blushes but whispers, "You're more than welcome, Novia."

And there I am, being a jealous brute again because I know he just had a glimpse into the woman's mind and shared it with Spencer. My glare finds itself planted on Zayn. Why the fuck didn't he drag me shopping with him instead of Spencer? He knows I'm the best man suited for that kind of job. They all rope me into clothes shopping, so why not this time? Better yet, why do I even care?

Because I want her, and if this mating bond is real, then I know she won’t ever be only mine no matter how badly I want her to be.

Chapter 9

Novia

Theybought me new clothes. I'm sitting here, seconds away from breaking down all over again, because in all the years I'd been a prisoner, I hadn’t had one thing of my own other than the cage those bastards kept me in.

I try to tell them both how grateful I am, but I'm afraid that if I open my mouth, nothing will come out other than a wail and a mess of inconsequential gibberish. Instead, I let Zayn take a peek into my brain and send him a thought.

Thank you so much. You're all going above and beyond, and I can't tell you how grateful I am. I'm so glad it was the four of you who found me.

A shy smile graces the vampire's mouth, and Spencer gives me the biggest smile I've seen from him yet, letting me know that Zayn passed on the message. Removing my hand, I offer them a watery smile.

"Come. We'd like to show you what we bought for you." Zayn stands from his seat, followed by Spencer, who holds out a hand for me to take so he can pull me from the couch. I accept, sliding my hand in his, and he tugs me from my seat until I'm standing upright. He lets go of me, but the opposite hand goes to my lower back, guiding me through the living room to a room I've not yet seen with Zayn leading the way.

The room is immaculate, not a thing out of place. There's a wall lined with books to the left, a king-sized bed on the far wall opposite the door, and a desk with a closed laptop on the right that sits under the window. The walls are painted a pale grey, completely bare besides the minimalist clock that hangs on the wall opposite the bed.

Set atop the bed is a plethora of bags and boxes, labelled with places and brands I've never heard of before. They all range in different sizes and colours but take up the entire bed. Surely they didn't buy all of thisfor me? Maybe only a couple of them are intended for me to own? I really hope that's the case because I don't have the money to pay them back for it all, and I'm not sure I can accept such generosity.

"They're all yours, and they're gifts. We don't expect payment for them," Zayn tells me as he walks to the bed and stands beside a stack of three boxes.

Spencer nudges me gently, making my feet move until I'm standing at the end of the bed, wide-eyed and baffled. Spencer steps up beside Zayn and says, "Anyway, it's mostly everything you need. Clothes, shoes, and things you'll use daily. We may have gone a little overboard, but we want you to have it all."

Quietly, Zayn mumbles, "We've failed you once. We'd be failing you again if we didn't provide you with things you need now that you're free."

Before I can respond, Nix and Ezra make their way into the room.

"I've never been one to enjoy feeling left out, so we're gate-crashing this party," Nix says, grinning at us all before making his way over to the chair that's tucked under the desk.

Ezra doesn't say a word, simply walking further into the room, sliding a few things across the comforter, and dropping onto the bed with all the grace of a dancer. Not a single thing falls or jostles.

"Alright, now that we're all gathered in the same room, dive in, Novia. I want to see what these two bought you considering they're almost allergic to anything related to clothes shopping." Nix smirks at the vampire and mage, the latter directing his middle finger in Nix's direction.

I'm suddenly feeling incredibly awkward. I don't want to rifle through bags upon bags, boxes and boxes of whatever it is they've bought. I appreciate that they've gone out of their way and spent a great deal of money on me, but I can't quite shift the uncomfortable feeling of having things bought for me.

"That's not the intention. We don't want you to feel awkward," Zayn says, his voice soothing and calm. "How about we rifle through the bags and pull out whatever lies in them. That way you can pick what you like and what you want to keep. Does that sound better?"

In a strange way, it does. My discomfort ebbs away slowly, leaving only a flicker of uncertainty. "Okay, sure, yeah. We'll do that."

Nix leaves the room quickly before returning with a deep wine-coloured bean bag and ushers me to sit in it. I fall into the cushioned seat with no finesse, but the others only find amusement in it when the bean bag almost swallows me whole.

As soon as I'm comfortable, all four of the guys dive into the bags and boxes. Somehow, they’ve pegged my sizes, save for a few of the sweaters and shirts being a few sizes too big. They're the ones I've opted to keep because there's something to be said about a comfy oversized shirt or sweater. We've added chucks, ballet flats, snapback hats that match the ones Spencer wears on his head, and various other things, some not essential at all.

After some time nodding my head to a variety of other items, I feel myself relaxing. Nix becomes more playful, holding up garments to his body and twirling every now and then.

"Do you think this is my colour? Would it suit me?" he asks, his voice a higher octave than normal. He holds the soft pink sundress up to his chest and grips the bottom, lifting it until it fans out. He bends one of his legs and stands in an awkward pose, pouting his lips towards me, and it's all I can do not to topple out of my seat with the body wracking laughter that leaves me.

Spencer shakes his head, looking deeply troubled. "That's definitely not your colour, bro. Try this one." He throws a baby blue coloured dress in his direction, and Nix poses all over again. With an amused grin, the mage says, "That's the one. That's definitely your colour."

We go on like that for a while, joking and adding various things to the pile of clothing I've accepted, albeit somewhat reluctantly. It was only when Ezra pointed out the obvious to me that I decided having clothes of my own might not be a bad idea.

"Wouldn't you like clothes that fit you instead of having to wear ours?" he asks, although there's something in his gaze that tells me he might not be completely opposed to me wearing his clothes. That, or I'm delusional.

I was more lenient to allow things onto the ever-growing pile of clothes Spencer and Zayn bought me after Ezra’s comment.

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