Page 33 of Vayn

“And a two-and-a-half-mile jog before bed.”

“That’s too much running and...”

“Let’s see if you have enough energy to socialize with jocks afterward. Let’s go, shadows.” With that said, he teleported out of my bedroom without giving me a chance to finish saying what I wanted to say.

I turned to face my shadows. “He can’t be serious. Right?”

“See you in the morning for our run,” Dread told me. “Wear good shoes. If you need some, we’ll get them for you.”

“I...” I started, but Dread disappeared.

“And wear good running clothes,” Bliss told me before disappearing also.

“If we see you talking to that jock again, the miles you run will increase,” Rage told me.

“But...” Shit. Rage disappeared too. I faced Charm. “Don’t you dare disappear before I finish my sentence.”

Charm smiled. “I won’t leave until you tell me too.”

That sort of caught me off guard. I’d been expecting him to be as eager to disappear as the others had been. They hadn’t hesitated to leave my side. I wasn’t a fan of them leaving me so abruptly.

But who was I to complain about it? I was just their charge. I was their job. They’d clocked in, done their time, and then clocked out. Still, on duty or off duty, they couldn’t control my life.

“The way you all are acting isn’t fair,” I told him.

“We know.”

Oh, okay. I waited for him to say more. He just kept staring down at me.

“That’s it? You know?”

He nodded.

“But that’s not fair. What if I acted like that when someone talked to you guys?”

“No one dares to talk to us. If someone did, we’d be happy for you to act that way.”

“So, you’d want me to growl at them, trip them, and threaten to kill them?”

Charm nodded. “We’d love it.”

I sighed. “I don’t understand you all.”

“Is it really that hard to understand us?”

“Yes!”

“Can’t you tell we’re jealous, Destiny Porter?”

My breath caught in my throat at his sudden admission.

“Seeing that guy talk to you enraged us. You’re lucky he was just tripped and not dismembered.”

“Really?” I asked, voice low as I reached up to twirl a strand of my hair. Was I deranged for finding his words romantic? Probably. But, damn, I wanted to hear more. “Did Vayn feel the same way?” I questioned.

Charm chuckled, then leaned forward and kissed my forehead. When he straightened up, he told me, “He’ll tell you how he feels when he’s ready.”

I rolled my eyes.