Page 37 of Virtually Guarded

“I…” He looked down at the bandages. “I don’t have any money. So shopping isn’t really a thing.”

“The Anax can—” I cut myself off. The Anax would be busy today. Aside from running the farewell meeting, if he chose to have one, he would have to personally say goodbye to every single group of guests before they left. Today would in some ways be more hectic than when the guests arrived, because the arrivals had been more spaced out. “I have money, Ren.”

“No. I’m not taking money from you.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I can’t.”

“Consider it a loan. You’ll be working for the Anax, yeah?” This was upsetting him, which was the last thing I wanted to do, but he needed what he needed. And it wasn’t as if I didn’t have spare cash. The Anax covered all of our expenses and paid a pretty hefty salary, mostly because he didn’t want us to feel like we had no choice about working for and living with him. I had money put away that I would probably never spend. “I want you to be comfortable. That’s all.”

“You’re late for being on duty.” He hesitated. “I need breakfast. And coffee. Then I’ll decide. Um, thank you. For offering.”

“Of course.” I decided not to point out, yet again, that he was my mate. Hopefully he understood that that was why I wanted to take care of him. “Do you want clean clothes to change into for now? I can find you something in the spares. Or ask around to see if anyone has something extra you could borrow.”

“You’re late,” he repeated more firmly. “I’ll figure it out. I’ll see you downstairs.” He hurried out of the room.

I’d screwed up somewhere. I should have just kept my mouth shut. Not offered him money. I couldn’t take it back, though. Nor did I want to.

I dressed in record time and ran down the back stairs to the kitchen, where Seth was waiting for me, scowling. “I’m sorry, Seth,” I said before he could speak. “Ren needed my help. I should have told you.”

“You should have told Ren you were needed down here. There are others who can help him.” He sighed. “I know he’s your mate, Xavier, but your role as guard takes priority. The Anax figured you were with Ren, and he told me to let it go this time, so I will. But don’t let it happen again.”

“I won’t.” I bristled. How the hell could he tell me to put my job ahead of my mate? Even if I wanted to, something in me wouldn’t let me prioritize anything above Ren.

I’d known Ren for three days. Four. I’d lost track a little bit amidst the chaos of the gathering. Either way, I’d barely known him any time at all, but he already belonged to me. In my life, my heart. And nothing was more important than that.

Not that I would say so to Seth. He hadn’t risen to be head of the guards because he was compassionate. Or emotional. He’d held the position since well before Tobias Rogan took the rank of Anax, and he was rigid when it came to rules and procedures.

The morning dragged. The Anax opted not to hold a formal meeting, so as soon as people finished eating, the departures began. Some of the arkhons and their guests, along with the Boston wolves, were staying for the Anax and Kyle’s wedding, but everyone else was leaving, and it was chaos. Multiple werewolves needing rides to one of the local airports. The arkhons who weren’t staying for the wedding taking off in private planes with their guests, which apparently took some doing since two of the arkhons were newly appointed in the wake of the deaths of Davis Gray and Edward Cutler. Somehow, the planes that had been the property of Davis and Edward now belonged to the new arkhons.

I decided not to bother myself thinking too much about how that worked. Guards worked for the rank, not the individual. Evidently planes and houses and such were the same, belonging to the rank rather than the person. I knew the Anax had inherited the California house that had belonged to his predecessor; he’d sold it and used the money to move back to Massachusetts with Kyle so they could be close to the Boston packs.

Midmorning, Ren came to me in the house’s front room, where I was supervising a group of guests who were waiting for their airport transportation. He wore a chocolate-brown T-shirt that complemented his eyes and wasn’t quite as large as the one he’d had on before, and a pair of jeans that fit him almost perfectly. Clearly at some point, he’d either asked for clean clothes or someone had offered. Either way, I was glad. He looked more comfortable.

He looked good.

Head bowed slightly, he asked, “Can I ask you something privately?”

“I have to stay in here,” I said. We have a bond, remember?

Yeah. Still getting used to that. He leaned against the wall. Um, is it still…Suzannah offered to take me into town.

Yeah, of course. He hadn’t actually asked for money, but I assumed that was what he’d cut himself off from saying. I took out my wallet, where I always kept some cash just in case. I didn’t know how much a binder cost, or if Ren would even find one in the nearest town, so I just pulled out a few bills without looking at them and held them out. I was reasonably sure it would be enough. I usually didn’t keep anything smaller than a ten on me.

His eyes widened as he shuffled through the bills. “This is too much.”

Did you mean to say that out loud? I asked.

Shit. I guess it doesn’t matter. He glanced around. Most of the people in the room were chatting or on their phones, but a few were watching us.

I narrowed my eyes, and the nosy ones quickly looked away. Don’t worry about how much I gave you, I told Ren. You can give back what you don’t spend. Or keep it in case there are other things you need. I’m good either way.

Yeah. Fine. He shoved the cash into his pocket. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” I smiled. “See you later.”

“Yeah.” Suzannah says she’s taking me to lunch, so I don’t know how long we’ll be.

As long as you need to be. Suzannah would probably keep Ren away until the hectic shuffle of people leaving and others arriving for the next day’s wedding died down, so he wouldn’t be overwhelmed.

Sure enough, by the time the last plane took off, Suzannah and Ren were still not back. I was a little concerned, but realistically, I knew that shopping for clothes that fit both physically and emotionally could be a process. I didn’t sense any agitation through our bond, though I didn’t know how strong the bond was over a distance.