Page 19 of Encore
Merlin groaned and rolled over.
“We’re all fully functioning, grown-ass adults in this apartment. Something to think about if you’d like to upgrade us from minions to coven members. I’d personally like to subscribe to that newsletter.”
Shit. This was really happening. I could see how happy Ripley and Ravyn were with theirs. They had accomplished some pretty amazing things because each of the men brought something to the table. They kept telling me it would happen to me one day, but I didn’t believe them.
If my parents were part of a coven, I didn’t know them. It was always just my mom and dad. After my magic kicked in and Kaine swooped in, the first thing he taught me was how to tell supernaturals from humans after he informed me that he was a dragon.
I thought he was full of shit, so he had to prove it to me. I thought it was pretty badass when he partially shifted his face and blew smoke out of his nose. I didn’t know why my parents would have kept something like that from me. At their funeral, I checked every one. Kaine and I were the only supernaturals there.
So, I got what Ripley and Ravyn told me. I could see how happy they were and how well everyone worked together. I would love to be able to ask my parents why they went to such lengths to make me think I was human, but they were still amazing parents.
I had a wonderful childhood with tons of glorious memories. They had been nothing but supportive of my love of ballet. I’d auditioned and attended several summer intensives with their full support. They took me to seeThe Pperform because I loved ballet so much, even though they were trying to keep the supernatural hidden from me. They were going to let me go to their residential school, even if it would have blown their secret.
I didn’t think it would happen to me like it did with Ripley and Ravyn. I could see how they made it work, but my parents raised me just fine with just the two of them.
This was just supposed to be a case. Get in, hopefully prevent some dancers from dying, and then go home. I thought I’d get to see what my life would have been like if I had pursued a ballet career. I’d seen it now. And aside from all the drama, Ilovedit. I felt whole again.
And these guys? They were perfect. I kept telling Ripley and Ravyn I’d probably never meet one guy I trusted enough to settle down with, much less the number of men they had. They’d just laugh at me when I said that. I probably should have listened to them. They were both married to a different god, and it wouldn’t have shocked me if they abused that to look into my love life.
“Fuck. We’re a coven now, aren’t we?” I asked.
“For what it’s worth, I would have happily stayed your minion until you were ready to put a name on it,” Merlin said.
“Does this mean I can bring you home to meet my mom?” Nicolai asked.
Yeah. We could do all of that. I needed to talk to Arden, too. This would take some getting used to for him, but he offered with no prompting. I already knew he was fighting with his gryphon when we were alone. He was giving me the space to give consent.
It was time. I was fully invested in seeing what happened when a gryphon claimed their mate.
Chapter17
Arden
My gryphon chose Bevan for a reason. It was confusing because it was just unusual, but I wasn’t contacting every gryphon elder I knew to figure it out. It was pretty great actually. Bevan was one of the best men I knew.Of course,I wanted to do kinky things to him in the bedroom. I was completely fine with him and Beyla together. It was Nicolai and Merlin I needed to come to terms with.
So, I did what every self-respecting gryphon does when he ends up with a polyamorous mate. I kidnapped Bevan to my apartment and asked him to snuggle with me. Yeah, sometimes you needed sex. I was a big, bad gryphon, but sometimes, I just needed a hug. Bevan gave great hugs. I couldn’t exactly ask Nyx for that. She was my best friend, but she was particular about who touched her. She was fine with partner work, but anything else was like getting a feral cat to trust you.
I wanted her to come sleep on my couch because I didn’t even remotely trust Marsden and Santiago with her alone in the apartment. Nyx was Nyx, though. She liked her alone time, even with a cursed Unseelie murdering company members, and we couldn’t convince her.
I was trying not to bother Beyla, so I called Nyx and bribed her to come over with a hot breakfast. Nyx ate like every healthy dancer who needed to fuel their body, but she wasn't saying no if someone was offering junk food. She also had this super blessed metabolism that I was jealous of and could splurge whenever she wanted and keep her banging, ballerina body. I ate my feelings sometimes, too, and it never ended well in terms of my six-pack or ass.
I stayed in the same apartment complex as Beyla and most of the other dancers in the company. Would I have loved to have moved to a better building? Absolutely. Did I want to pay New York rental prices on a better place? No. I loved ballet, and I loved my fans. I was famous in the ballet world, but ballet wasn’t a career where you made a ton of money.
If I wanted a better apartment, I would have to try to fit in teaching jobs or turn my social media into a shitshow, taking half-naked selfies with a bunch of products I’d never buy but was pretending I liked so I could make money on ads.
Yeah, no. At least I didn’t have a roommate.
Bevan and I were cooking in the kitchen, and we were just so in sync. He wasn’t irritating me in the slightest. I could cook for Beyla later. Nyx said she was fine, but that was Nyx speak for she wasn’t and didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
I was used to this. This wasn’t the first time I was with Nyx when she had a death omen. It was always harder for her when it was someone she knew. Bellatrix acted like Nyx didn’t exist because she was in the corps. Nyx had never been on the receiving end of the nastiness of the Terrible Trio, but people she cared about had. Nyx was pretty mean sometimes, but that was how she showed affection.
Bevan was letting Nyx in right when my phone rang. It was Beyla. I nearly dropped my phone trying to answer it. This was the first time she’d even called me. We should probably have an anniversary about this. Was that sappy? After I discovered kink, I didn’t really do relationships. Beyla was my mate. I desperately didn’t want to fuck this up.
“Hi!”
“Hey, Arden. We’ve already eaten breakfast. Is everyone at your place? I came home, and the place was empty.”
“Bevan spent the night here. We couldn’t convince Nyx to stay. We cooked her breakfast. You’ve seen everyone’s place but mine. Want to come over?”
