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I grinned. I hadn’t told them to do that.
The open-plan bedroom contained two large beds neatly made with white linens. Mosquito netting fluttered, and colorful pictures of lions and zebras dotted the walls. Just like outside, nothing seemed out of place. The small bathroom off to one side was unoccupied, and water still ran from the faucet.
I cocked my head to the side. “You guys did that really well.”
Tyson puffed out his chest while Lux blushed. Rehan took out his ponytail only to put it back up.
“Ah,” Og shuffled his feet. “Last night, I don’t know if they felt it, but when we were all working together, my mate bond changed. I could actually feel everyone. Like their intentions and their, ah, pleasure.” Og turned bright red.
“The connection didn’t go away,” Tyson finished. “Stop making things so fecking awkward, Og. It was synchronized nutting, and we’re making a sport out of it.” Tyson undressed mewith his gaze, and I joined Og and Lux in trying to heat the room with my face.
Rehan cleared his throat. “Is the connection normal?”
I put my palms up. “I’m not a shifter, and I’ve never had a mate, much less four. This is new territory for me, but as I’ve said…“
“Magic likes balance,” all three of them said like crazy cultists.
We could have a cult. They already worship you.
Shut up.
I grinned. “It does. With five of us, the connection should be as flexible as I was last night.” But it wasn’t. I didn’t feel a single emotion from any of them. But this wasn’t the time to point it out. “Bradly or someone using my account was here, and we know demon pods dropped. Next building.”
“I go first.” Tyson stepped toward the exit. “I want to check the room first this time, not open a door.”
“Jay put me in that role.” Rehan frowned. “If you light this building on fire, they’ll all go up and probably all of the Sahara with it.
“Then you better stay at my back, Water Boy.” Tyson smirked.
They both looked at me, but instead of giving them orders, I spread my hands. “It’s your call.”
They watched each other for another few seconds before Rehan inclined his head. “We can switch off. I’ll open the next door.”
I pressed my hands together in front of my chest to keep from overreacting to their sudden comradery.
The second building was just as empty as the first. We moved on, stepping to the front of the small safari park. The Maasai Mara National Reserve opened up before us. Miles of tall grass met a bright blue sky shimmering with heat. The occasionalsingle, massive, wide-topped tree dotted the landscape. Under one of those trees stood a herd of elephants with their trunks swinging.
It was a sight to behold.
My dragons’ nostrils flared, and their eyes shifted into their dragon slits. The air around them stilled. They were smelling and seeing giant animals for the first time in their lives. They’d been born on an island with nothing but the occasional squirrel and whatever farming they cultivated. And their lives had primarily been human.
Although I badly wanted them to shift and explore whatever instincts the elephants had awakened in them, we were here for a reason. I whistled and jerked my head.
Four partially shifted dragons rocked on their heels as if forcing themselves to stay in place. Scales rippled. I swear Og’s butt waggled like a cat, ready to pounce. Their dragons must be close to the surface.
I whistled again and giggled. “Mates, heel.”
Tyson snapped out of it first and glared at me before the others slowly took control of their animal instincts.
We searched the third hut, only to find it just as empty.
Nerves tingled down to my fingertips—only one more building.
As we approached the front of the final hut, movement caught my eye around the side. Tyson must have seen it as well because he sprinted forward and disappeared from view, leaving door number four unchecked. Shit. We’d been doing so well. Lux charged after Tyson while Rehan stepped up to the building and busted open the door.
Well, they're sticking together in the pairs they practiced. That’s a start, right?
I’ll take it. But it leaves me the odd one out.
