Page 42 of Five to Love Him
I let the massage and feeding go on for longer than I probably should have, but the hiveling across from me looked downright giddy, his smile brightening whenever I ate another piece of cake.
“Should we get you another slice?” he—they asked when I was done with the first one.
I shook my head. “No. And I should figure out if there’s anything that needs doing here. Other than that contract, but I’ll tackle that tomorrow. Today was long.”
My shoulders were squeezed while the hivelings in my field of vision nodded.
“Yes. We should go home. To your house.”
They sounded ridiculously eager when they said the last bit as if I were the catch I knew I wasn’t. As a result, there was a tiny little part of me that wondered what would happen if they were to find out, if they realized that I was, well, me. With no life achievements to my name, other than maybe gardening.
“Yeah,” I said and cleared my throat. “Do you need to stop by your place and grab some of your stuff?”
There was generalized head shaking. “We can do that after our shift. Unless you want to go and see our place? It’s in the underground, and we worry you won’t be comfortable there.”
I opened my mouth to say going directly to mine was fine, but then I snapped it shut.
The underground. My first trip there had gotten me suddenly mated, sure, but at the same time, the underground was fascinating and unlike anything I’d ever seen, a second world right beneath our noses taken straight out of a fantasy story. I felt a little giddiness myself at the thought of going back there.
“You know, I wouldn’t mind seeing where you live. Besides, the underground is amazing, and I could explore more.”
The hivelings nodded. “Then we’ll take you. But not too much exploring. You need rest. And something more than cake to eat.”
I chuckled. “You sound like a mother hen.”
The one who’d been giving me the massage leaned forward. “A mother hive if anything, Leo.”
***
We made our way back, walking the darkened hallways of St. Auguste. The hive was carrying all of my stuff, including the school rules Headprincipal Farrow wanted me to memorize. They were also holding my hand, and whenever I caught their profile or they looked at me, they seemed happy.
“The school is very big,” they said.
I nodded. “Yeah. When they first told me to go here—I was taken to an office building in the city after my tentacle encounter, Hawthorne central, I guess—I got lost, or I thought I got lost. I ran into Instructor Arick, and yeah. I stared at his second head, totally rude, but he took it in stride.”
“Chimerae don’t have a lot of interactions with humans not in the know.”
“Right. When I started—really early on—and when I learned about how many types of supernaturals there are, I felt bad about that. It’s unfair that those who can’t really pass for human have to hide out of fear. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the underground is the coolest place, at least what I’ve seen of it, but you should be able to go where you want to go, do what you want to do, just like anyone else. And what if you have a second head? There’s really nothing wrong with that.”
Arms came around me. “You are kind. This city and the entire area are a very good place to live, even if it’s in the underground. Hawthorne has done a lot to make life good, better than in other places. We’ve never had to hide, not like chimerae or others, but we’ve heard the stories of loneliness and pain. There is less of that here.”
I looked at the floor, smooth and clean in this newer part of the building where the hallways widened and the echoes haunted us.
“Do you think supernaturals will ever come out to people as a whole? Honestly, I can’t believe this hasn’t happened yet. It’s like how there used to be white dots on maps, but these days, no one thinks there are great big unknowns out there, and yet, werewolves exist.”
“We don’t know.” “We’d be worried for safety, for your safety, but also for others.” “What if the werewolf children did run along a jogging path and were hunted for it?”
I sighed. This was what Instructor Arick had told the class on more than one occasion, and it was what the Hawthorne people had impressed upon me.
“I don’t want to argue. I don’t think I have the right to. I just want you guys to be happy, you know. To be able to go where you want to go, live like you want to live.”
The hive stopped me. They wrapped me in their arms, hugging me closely, but also being careful not to tighten their hold.
“You are so kind. We don’t know what to do with your kindness. There’s so much of it.”
It was sweet of them to think that, and I lifted my arm to pat one of them. “Oh, come on. You’re being a little dramatic. Tate would totally agree with me, except he’d want legislation to protect the oceans for all those who live there.”
“We’re not dramatic, we’re happy.” “And legislation that protects the oceans would ensure the orca shifters stop going after yachts. Probably.”
