Page 38 of Curse of Ancients

“Don’t be embarrassed. My dad soundproofed this room for a reason, and if they heard you anyway, I’ll remind him he should have done a better job.”

Bayu rolled and stuck his head in Carleigh’s neck, chuckling. “I would be thrilled if your family bore witness to the words. We can do that tomorrow if that is okay with you?”

“I’m good with that.” Carleigh pressed a kiss to his hair. “I think we should put on sleep clothes and unlock the door in case Juni wakes up.” In silent agreement, they rose from the bed, went to the bathroom and cleaned up from their lovemaking, brushed their teeth, and found pajamas. Carleigh unlocked the door and opened it slightly, then climbed into bed with her mate.

When she woke the next morning, Juni was curled up at the foot of the bed in his fur. She hadn’t heard or felt him come into their room. When she rolled over to her back, his little head popped up, blue eyes intent. Carleigh wondered why his eyes were blue as a cub but brown as a child. It must be a white tiger thing. Juni crawled toward her and resettled between her and Bayu. He yawned and closed his eyes, his white tail swishing. She opened her senses to see if anyone else was up. Her parents and Juniper were downstairs, talking, and from the smell of things, one of them was cooking breakfast. A car motor sounded in the distance, then it got closer. Carleigh wasn’t expecting anyone, but that didn’t mean one of her cousins wouldn’t drop in, especially with everything going on. The engine shut off, and then a car door slammed. Carleigh didn’t have to wait long to know it was Harlow.

“Good morning, fam. Where’s Juni?” she asked as soon as she was inside.

The cub’s head popped up. Carleigh rubbed his fur. “That’s Harlow. She wants to meet you.”

When he shifted to his skin, he asked, “Low?”

“Yep. Low is my cousin. You wanna go say hi?”

“You go wiv me?”

“Sure. Let me take a quick shower.”

Unlike the day before, Juni waited. He crawled over to Bayu and shook his arm. “Bruvver?”

“I’m awake.” Bayu yawned and stretched his arms before tugging Juni to his chest. They were still snuggled up when Carleigh came out of the bathroom.

“Ready?”

Juni stood on the bed, then jumped toward Carleigh. She caught him, but when she went to put him down, he latched onto her neck. “You want me to carry you?”

“Yes, pease.” Juni stuck his face in her neck. It warmed her heart that both brothers did that. Carleigh reached down and pushed Bayu’s hair off his forehead, and he gave her a sleepy smile. Gods, she was one lucky female. Holding Juni tight, she leaned down and kissed her mate before taking Juni downstairs to meet Harlow. Carleigh had sent her cousin a video of him in the pool, and her response was that she wanted one, a sentiment Carleigh had heard more than once.

Juni kept his face hidden when they entered the kitchen. “There they are,” Julian said, coming around the island. He rubbed Juni’s back while raising his eyebrows.

“Our cub’s a little shy this morning. Juni, do you want to say hi to Harlow?”

Juni peeked out from underneath Carleigh’s chin. “Hi, Low.”

Harlow pressed her hands to her chest, her eyes misting. Juni had that effect on everyone. “So flipping cute.”

“You want some juice?” Katherine asked.

“Juice, pease.” Juni wiggled, and Carleigh set him on his feet. He raced over to Kat, bouncing up and down. Harlow let out an “eep” and covered her mouth.

Carleigh understood. She was still enamored with everything the little one did. “Did you stop by just to see Juni, or did you have news for us?”

Harlow removed her computer bag from around her shoulder and set it on the island. She removed her laptop and opened it, tapping the keys. Carleigh felt Bayu before he entered the room, and Harlow turned to look over Carleigh’s shoulder. Her fingers faltered, which never happened. Bayu stepped up behind Carleigh and snaked an arm around her middle, setting his chin on her shoulder.

“You must be Harlow.”

“Uh huh.” Harlow snapped her mouth closed and returned to typing.

Carleigh laughed at her cousin. She understood that as well. Bayu Tan was one stunning male.

Juniper, after pulling a pan of bacon out of the oven, said, “You get used to it.”

“I doubt that,” Harlow muttered. “Barrett sent me a text while I was driving, so let’s see what they have.” Harlow pulled up the drone footage from the Black Lotus compound. “Also, Nekoma is still trying to find the male from the safehouse.”

The video played, and the drones had swept the entire area. No one was outside the main house, and there was a couple walking toward it from one of the smaller buildings. Then another man appeared from the opposite direction as though he had been down the driveway. “Hold up. Can you zoom in?” Carleigh leaned closer, and when Harlow brought the man into focus, Carleigh held back a curse since Juni was in the room. “That’s either the male who was at the safehouse or he has a twin.”

Harlow froze the frame, then opened a different video from where Dominic and company had approached the couple. She froze that frame as well and placed them side by side. “Same clothes. He must have walked back to the main road and called for a rideshare.”