“Understood,” Rhys replied and took the paper back.
“Any other business?” Dan asked.
No one spoke up.
“Today’s meeting is adjourned,” Dan said and stood up with a groan and stretched.
The other alphas stood as well and packed up their papers. I looked at my stack and sighed. So much work.
“Ready, princess?” Rhys asked and added my documents to his stack.
I nodded and waved to the alphas. “See you later.”
They waved back, and Rhys and I headed out of the office and down to the SUV where Thor waited for us. He hugged me and bumped his fist with Rhys’s before climbing into the driver’s seat.
“How was your first meeting?” Thor asked.
“I’ve got homework,” I muttered, but honestly didn’t feel bad. I was excited to get this school started and for the kids to learn about each other and actually be ready to go out into the world and interact with any race.
“What’s on the agenda for the rest of the night?” Rhys asked.
“I have to work on my story proposal,” I said.
“For your game proposal?” Rhys asked.
I nodded. It was the first time that I had come up with my own story idea and planned to pitch it to the company. To say I was nervous was a gross understatement.
“Aren’t you going to the tournament tonight?” Thor asked.
“What tournament?” I asked back.
Please don’t let it be more fighting. I had had enough with fighting tournaments. Not that I doubted my mates, but I just wasn’t ready for more trouble.
“The huge video game tournament,” he said, looking at me in the rearview mirror.
“FighterCon? FighterCon is tonight!” I screamed and pulled out my phone. How could I have forgotten about the biggest video game tournament in the country?
I checked the clan group chat and almost squealed out loud. Three of them were on planes right now, headed to Jinla.
“They’re coming!” I screamed.
“Who?” Rhys asked.
“Dragon, Orphan, and Turbo! They’re on their way now,” I explained.
“Wait, your video game clan members are going to be here in person?” Rhys asked.
“I told you guys about this months ago,” I reminded him.
“I’d forgotten with everything that happened,” he whispered and gazed out the window.
I sent a text to the clan: Can’t wait to see you!
Thor dropped us off and promised to come pick us up at five to take us to the convention center.
I tapped my foot anxiously as the elevator went up to my floor and Rhys chuckled.
“What?” I asked him.
“You’re like a kid waiting to get candy.”
“It’s been years since I last saw them!” I explained. “And, I haven’t been able to play online as much either. So, I’m super excited.”
“I can’t wait to meet them,” Rhys said and smiled. He set down the stack of documents he had been carrying on the floor of the elevator.
“What?” I asked. I hadn’t planned on introducing my clan to my mates. Not that I cared or didn’t want them to meet. It just wasn’t part of the plan.
He arched a brow. “Planning to ditch us for your friends?”
I rolled my eyes at him. “No, I just hadn’t thought about it. Last FighterCon we met at, I had been single and my life wasn’t always in danger. So, I didn’t think about you guys coming this time.”
“We’re going,” he said and folded his arms across his chest.
I got distracted by his biceps a moment, then met his eyes. “Okay. I wasn’t trying to ditch you. I really just didn’t think about it.”
“You don’t think about us?” Fox asked behind me and clutched his heart.
I rolled my eyes at him and walked out of the elevator. “You guys are ridiculous sometimes.”
Fox pecked me on the cheek and smiled. “You love us.”
I smiled. I did love them.
“What's got her all frazzled?” Fox asked, following beside Rhys as we walked to my apartment.
“She's got a big convention tonight and her clan members are coming. She wasn't planning on introducing us,” Rhys said.
“That's not what I said!” I snapped.
Rhys smirked, and I realized that he was messing with me. I gave him my best glare and reached for my door handle, but it was suddenly not there. I fell sideways into Deryn who just laughed.
“It's nice to see you, too,” he said and hugged me.
I stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Hello, Moon Moon.”
“That's a big stack of crap,” Deryn commented as Rhys walked in.
“Showering!” I yelled to them and ran to the bathroom. I could hear them talking and laughing and smiled as I turned the shower on.
“Mind if I join you?” Nico asked.
I screamed and spun around with scales covering my body.
He laughed so hard that he doubled over and clutched at his stomach.
I punched his shoulder as hard as I could with my dragon scale covered hand. “You jerk!”
He rubbed his shoulder but didn't look regretful at all. “You should be able to sense me teleporting near you with our bond. I shouldn't be able to startle you like that.”
“I still can't quite figure out how to use the bonds,” I admitted and looked down at my feet.
“It's okay. It takes some getting used to. I can help you. First, let's get in the shower so we aren't late,” Nico said.
I nodded and stripped quickly before climbing into the shower. He climbed in behind me and wrapped his arms around me, pressing his body against mine as we stood under the warm water.
“I missed you today,” he whispered in my ear.
“I missed you too,” I said and rubbed one of his forearms that was latched around me, just below my breasts.
“What are your plans tomorrow?” he asked.
“Hanging out with the clan for a bit, most likely,” I said.
“Well, how about I take you out for a dinner date? Just you and me.”
I turned around and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, linking my fingers behind his head. “That sounds wonderful. Where are we going to go?”
“Wherever you want,” he said and kissed the tip of my nose.
While I thought about what I wanted, he tilted my head back to get my hair in the water and rubbed it a bit so it got completely wet, then he added shampoo and lathered me up.
“I'll let you know tomorrow,” I said. “I can't think about tomorrow's food yet.”
He rinsed my hair out and then washed his hair while I soaped up my body. “How was the meeting?” he asked.
“Good. I'm really excited about this school. I think it's going to be really good for the kids,” I said, then playfully pushed him with my hip out of the water so I could rinse.
“It's a great idea. I can't wait to see how it goes,” he said.
“Nico, is there something bothering you?” I asked him.
He scowled a moment, then sighed. “Yeah. I had an argument with my dad.”
“About me,” I guessed.
He nodded. “He really hates sirens.”
“Well, I can't change what I was born as. It's not like I chose to be a siren or an empath,” I grumbled.
“I know. He's just an ass,” he said. He pushed me back against the wall of the shower, putting a hand on either side of my head. “And I don't care what he says. You're fucking perfect.”
“I'm far from perfect, but I appreciate the compliment,” I said and kissed him on the lips softly.
“I wish I could show you how I see you,” he whispered and kissed my neck. “You're perfect for me, Jolie.”
Him and three other guys.
“And it makes sense that you would be perfect for the others as well,” he said, as though he heard my thought. “We all like pretty much the same things, so us all liking you isn't much of a stretch.”
> “Does it make it less romantic for me to say that you're all perfect for me?” I asked and bit my lower lip.
He focused on it and groaned. “Stop teasing me, you butt. We have to get out and we don't have time for fun.”
“Sorry,” I said and chuckled. “I wasn't doing it to tease you.”
“And no, it doesn't make it less romantic,” he replied and shut off the water.
“Hurry up!” Deryn called through the door. “Your pizza is getting cold.”
After drying off, I walked out of the bathroom, naked, since I hadn't brought a change of clothes with me.
All eyes turned to me and I stared in shock at a male I didn't know standing in the living room. His eyes were not on mine, focused a bit lower.
Nico set his hand on me and teleported us to my bedroom.
“Who is that?” I asked and knew I was blushing.
“He is a friend of Rhys’s from the architectural company he works for,” Nico said. “He's a huge gamer too, so he is going to go with us.”
“Well, he definitely got an eyeful,” I grumbled and dug through my drawers for some clean underwear.
“Sorry, I didn't know he was here or I would have teleported us to the room from the bathroom,” Nico said.
I waved my hand dismissively. “It's fine. He's not the first person to see me naked on accident.”
“I don't want to know,” Nico said and sighed.
I laughed and got my underwear, pants, and bra on, then stared into my closet. I had more than a dozen geeky shirts and I couldn't decide which one I wanted to wear tonight.
“Tough decision?” Nico asked.
I looked at him over my shoulder. He was dressed now, probably teleporting to his apartment to grab clothes and then back again while I stared at my closet. “Yes, it is.”
“Can I pick for you?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said and stepped back.
He smiled and looked at each of my shirts, then shuffled through them again one more time before making his selection. It was a shirt that said, “Not all maidens need saving.”
“Not sure this applies to me,” I grumbled. “I seem to always need saving.”
“You didn't need saving when you fought against Rhys's mom,” he reminded me.
“I needed saving from Trident Douche,” I snarled and tugged the shirt on over my head.
He rested his hand against my cheek and whispered, “It hurt so much when we realized that you didn't know who we were. I wanted to slaughter everyone in Atlantis, I was so mad.”
Nico wasn't prone to bouts of rage, so his statement surprised me.
“I'm glad you didn't,” I said and set my hand atop his on my cheek.
He kissed me and then rubbed our noses side to side. “Me too.”
Rhys walked in and said, “Sorry about that. I should have warned you he was coming over.”
“It's fine,” I assured him and went to my dresser to grab my hair brush.
Fox walked in and grabbed the brush from me. “Let me.”
I sat and let him brush my hair. Rhys and Nico went out to the living room, leaving me alone with Fox.
“How was your day?” I asked him.
He brushed out my hair slowly, being sure to get all of the tangles. “It was fine. I made some new charms and mom is going to sell them.”
“Nice,” I said softly, my body completely relaxing with Fox being with me and brushing and stroking my hair like he was.
“Is there anything we should know about your clan members?” he asked and set the brush down. His fingers wove into my hair and he began to braid it.
“Not really. They're homebodies like me, but they are good people.”
“Races?” he asked.
“Oh, uh...” I thought about it and said, “Human. They're all human.” I hadn't really thought about them all being human until now.
“Are you going to tell them that you aren't human?” he asked, releasing my hair now that it was braided.
“I don't know,” I admitted. “I mean, if they ask I won't lie, but I don't want to just bust out with, 'hey, guess what? I'm not human.' It would be a bit weird.”
He shrugged. “I don't know your friends, so I can't say for sure. Just know that we don't care.”
I stood and kissed him. “I know, Kit.” I had started calling him Kit, since he turned into a fox and was childlike most of the time.
“Ready?” he asked.
I nodded, and we walked out to the living room. I snatched a slice of pizza from the almost empty box and ate it quickly. “Sorry about earlier,” I told the guy. I still didn't know his name.
He stood, and I almost took an involuntary step back. He was tall, like super tall.
He held out his hand and smiled. “It's alright. I'm sorry I startled you. I'm Austin. I work with Rhys.”
I shook his hand and grimaced immediately. Vampire. He was a vampire.
He dropped my hand and stepped back quickly.
“What was that?” Rhys asked, concerned.
“She's been a vampire's donor,” Austin said. “Other vampires can read it from touching her.”
“I wasn't a donor,” I growled.
He dipped his head in a sign of apology.
“Is he talking about that vampire we killed in the park?” Fox asked.
“No, this one is still alive,” Austin said.
Damn him. He just didn't know when to shut up.
“Jolie,” Deryn growled.
“I've got to keep some secrets, so you'll still think I'm interesting,” I said with a wide smile, trying to play it off.
Nico sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “There is always something new to learn about you.”
“I'm mysterious like that,” I said and wiggled my fingers at him.
“Do we need to kill this vampire?” Deryn asked.
“I don't think so,” I said.
“It's not a claiming mark,” Austin said. “It's just something vampires can sense when they touch her. It's like a mark, but it's nothing serious.”
“I think we should kill him,” Rhys said and Deryn nodded.
“Not tonight,” I said and grabbed another slice of pizza. “I've got games to play and friends to see.”
“We've got a bit of time, so don't choke that down so fast. You have time to actually chew it,” Deryn said.
I didn't respond to him, but did slow down.
Everyone took seats around the room and I pulled out my phone, checking my messages.
Dragon: I have arrived!
Turbo: me too
Orphan: Psh. I've been here. You're all late.
Me: I'll be there around 5:20. I'm bringing some people with me.
Turbo: You have friends?
Orphan: Aw, I thought we were your only friends.
Dragon: More souls for me to consume in battle!
Me: You all better be on your best behavior.
All three sent back, “LOL.”
This night could turn out to be very interesting.
I scrolled through the news sites, seeing what the headlines were and stopped at a picture of us riding Pookie. “Hey, look.” I showed everyone the picture.
“Is that a Kraken?” Austin asked.
“His name is Pookie. And yes.”
His eyes widened, and he gaped at me. “You're the siren princess everyone is talking about! Holy shit! I didn't realize she was the one you guys are mated to.”
“Wasn't that headline news when my dad picked me up?” I asked.
Nico nodded. “Front page of every paper. Jolie, savior of the four clans is also Princess of the Sirens.”
It was possible my clan already knew I wasn't human then. I scrolled through some more, then stopped at an article about Nico with a picture of him and a beautiful woman. The headline was asking whether he was cheating on me or not.
“Did you see this?” I asked Nico and showed him my phone.
He snatched it out of my hand and sighed. “Seriously? They
seriously put an article in here about this?”
“We need to talk?” I asked him with an arched eyebrow.
He looked at me and gave me his famous stare. “Really?”
I smiled and took my phone back. “Just checking.”
“You know we'd kick his ass,” Fox said.
“Actually, I don't. Guys are always looking out for each other. You might cover for him,” I countered. I knew Nico hadn't done anything. I trusted him, but I could also sense his feelings through our bonds, so I knew how he felt. If he had been cheating on me, I would have felt his sexual arousal and release through the bond.
Nico shook his head and smiled. “I am so glad you're not a normal girl.”
“I should be offended by that statement, but I'll take it as a compliment,” I told him and winked.
Austin laughed and said, “I can see why you like her, Rhys.”
“Are you going to play any of the games?” Fox asked me.
I nodded. “There are two that we always play. I suck at them, but I do better than most of the scrubs who show up. And a third game that I play every single tournament I can.”
“You may have your hands full this time,” Rhys said. “Austin is a pretty good gamer.”
I looked at him and said, “We'll see. I'm always up for a new battle.”
He smiled. “Challenge accepted.”
They chatted a bit more and then it was finally time to go. We piled into the SUV with Austin up front beside Thor. Thor looked back at me, and I smiled. Yeah, I knew he was a vampire. I was good.
“Ready?” Thor asked.
I nodded. “Let's go!”
The guys chatted amongst themselves while I stared out the window. Having four mates wasn't normally an issue, but I was worried that being royalty was going to cause problems tonight. If it had just been me, I could have disguised myself so I wouldn’t be noticed, but there was no disguising them. They were easy to spot because they stood out no matter where they were. Who knew having hot mates would cause trouble?
“We are going to go in through the back, so we can avoid the media hounds,” Thor advised us.
“Sweet,” I said, despite knowing that the people inside would be a problem as well.
“You're worried about something,” Nico whispered in my ear.
“Just worried we're going to cause trouble because we're royalty,” I said. “Normally I walk around and only those who know me from being part of the gaming community talk to me. Now, people are likely to stop us because of being royals. I just don't know if I can handle it.”
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