Page 2 of Household Demons (Hedgewitch 3)
She said his voice with the kind of reverence reserved for local footy heroes or something, which I was sure would have amused him, but then we watched Lorelai approach Luke, cup in hand. He was giving her a dirty look as he cross-examined her about her coffee consumption that morning, ending up pouring her one anyway.
“Man, the sexual fucking tension between those two…” Nik sighed, then looked over at me. “Is that what it’s like with your guys?”
Was it? Tobias seemed to have some of that big daddy energy, Lucien would pull a grumpy Luke in about a moment’s notice, and Beau could be the charismatic Chris, but…
“I don’t know if they’re my guys, Nik,” I said softly. “I don’t know anything.”
“You will—work it out, I mean. You’ve tackled everything and anything life’s thrown at you before now. You’ve got this.”
Then she offered me some of the chips that had been thoughtfully left for me.
Nik left sometime latein the afternoon. I was falling asleep on the couch, feeling a bone deep exhaustion from everything settling in.
“Sleep,” she ordered. “It’ll be the best thing for you. You’ll feel more like yourself when you wake up, whoever that ends up being.”
“I will.” I yawned and then rubbed at my face. “This place has this room. The bed is soft and everything—”
“Show me.”
She walked in the door, and that felt…strange. She’d lain on my bed plenty of times in my flat, helping me to get ready, but this…?
“It’s a nest.” All of her usual snark had bled out of her voice, and she gestured for me to climb onto the bed.
“A what?”
“A place for an omega to nest down, feel safe, sometimes shared with her alphas, sometimes not,” she explained.
“How do you know that?” I asked as I lay down.
She picked up several of the comforters on the end of the bed, instinctively picking one of the big, weighted ones and laying it over me, then tucking me in like I was a child. It seemed ridiculous, but somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to stop her. I’d never felt like this, I thought. Mum and Dad had always said I was the most contrary of kids, having to do everything myself, but right now, I felt…cared for. Something in me wanted to baulk at that, but not for long. My eyelids felt heavy, lowering, lowering.
“Everything will turn out OK, Sage,” she said. “Now gimme that code so I can get out of here.”
21
Iwoke up the next morning to softness. Soft bed, soft blankets, the soft hum of city traffic and the slow, steady filter of grey light coming in through the window. Only as I rolled over, feeling like I was living in some kind of glorious cocoon, I knew that this bitch had to get up and get on with the business of being a caterpillar.
“Where are you going?” asked a man in a black suit as I came out of the elevator. He flushed when I glared at him, seeming to realise how that’d come out. “We’ll take you to wherever you need to go, Ms Davies.”
“Awesome. Saves me calling for an Uber,” I replied crisply, adjusting the strap of my laptop bag.
As soon as I’d had a shower, put on my makeup, and donned the very nice tailored skirt, heels, and blouse I had on now, I started to feel more like myself. This caterpillar was ready to go and munch some leaves.
“So…where are we off to?” the other security guy asked, surreptitiously drawing out his phone, no doubt to inform Tobias.
No need. He’d find out himself real quick.
“Dacian Enterprises,” I said, flashing him a polite smile as he began to splutter.
They protested allthe way out of the lobby, telling me they needed to clear things with Tobias first, not stopping with the excuses until I pulled out my phone and started to make a call. The two men seemed to surrender then, their broad shoulders sagging before I was led into the underground carpark and settled in the backseat of a massive SUV with windows so dark, it was hard to know if the tint was legal. I heard the guy in the passenger seat make the call, not letting it bother me on the drive over, when we reached the lobby, the men’s eyes flicking everywhere, nor when I emerged out onto the executive level. When I did, there they all were—the Lockwood pack.
I nodded my hellos, walking over to my desk, where I scanned the setup as I placed my bag on the desk, then picked up the phone when it began ringing.
“Dacian Enterprises,” I said in my best telephone voice. “The Lockwood pack’s offices. How might I direct your call?”
“Who’s this?” Her voice was a poisonous curl down the line.
“Sage Davies,” I replied. “And who may I ask is speaking?”