“Maybe I’m getting old,” he muttered and then jumped up to follow her into the bathroom, the shower turning on. Chuckling, I sat on the edge of the bed and ran my hand over my face, wondering how the hell I had gotten so lucky to have a mate like Maya. The woman was spectacular.
It was also completely possible that she was going to kill me. Although, if it was due to fucking her hard enough several times a day that it completely drained me, it would be worth it. Looking at the coffee I had put down, I drained mine and walked towards the bedroom door.
It was time to get the hell out of the Dreki realm.
18
Maya
“Promise me you will come back after all this.” My mom’s voice was filled with heavy emotion as I nodded. I didn’t know when I would come back, but I would. I tried to ease her thoughts.
“I promise.” I squeezed her hands. My eyes moved over to my fathers, who were standing behind Cyra, the grouping kept small and only accompanied by a small number of soldiers at the edge of the Fire Lands. I knew my brothers hadn’t shown up because we would be seeing them soon on Earth, but I still wished I had a chance to say goodbye to them. It felt like all of this was going to disappear the minute I left the Dreki realm, and I wasn’t positive how I felt about that.
“I love you, baby,” she whispered, kissing my forehead. I softened. I knew she didn’t expect me to return the sentiment—I could feel it through her bond—and that lack of pressure made me feel better. I didn’t have a lot to base my emotions for my mom off of, but I knew that I cared about her and that we had a connection that very much proved our relationship.
“I missed you,” I admitted as I melted into the hug she gave me.
She sniffed and tightened her hold on me before pulling back, breathing in deeply. “Alright, now I’m being ridiculous. You’re going to be back. You even said it.”
“Breathe,” Fuji reminded her, appearing behind her again. I didn’t have confirmation because I hadn’t been around them more than this past day, but I had a feeling that Fuji did this a lot. He seemed to ground my mom and I could relate to that, knowing how much better my mates made me feel when I was worked up about something. She nodded, and he stepped to the side and hesitantly opened his arms.
I met his hug and immediately let out a happy sigh, the familiar scent of ocean water surrounding me and making me wonder if it was because of the coastal line in Washington or because of a previous memory. There was authentic happiness in his gaze as I pulled back and looked towards my other fathers, not knowing exactly how to handle this. I mean, did we hug…
Pele stepped forward and motioned me toward him. I was instantly smiling as he wrapped me up in a hug as well. I let out a small laugh as he picked me up and spoke earnest words. “I know you don’t remember much, little bird, but I promise that when you come back, your mom and I will show you all the places we used to go. You always have a home here, no matter what happens out there. We want you here. Always.”
Tears filled my eyes as I nodded, feeling rather emotional as Ignatius, standing next to him, cleared his throat. I looked over and found tears in his eyes as I offered him a hesitant smile and then surged forward, offering him a hug. He grunted and welcomed it back, his temperament seeming rather calm. When he placed a kiss on top of my head, I couldn’t help but smile.
“When you get back, we are talking about your mates,” he grunted, his eyes narrowed over my shoulder. I couldn’t help but laugh. I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to get over the idea of me having mates anytime soon.
“No you aren’t.” Haco shook his head and opened an arm for me as I hopped on over and gave him a quick hug, his warm scent causing me to have a flash of memories that didn’t make a lot of sense but were filled with love and warmth. Also the smell of flowers, but that seemed to permeate this realm in general.
“Your brothers can help you with anything, remember that,” Haco explained, pulling back as he examined my face. “Do not be afraid to ask them. They’re assholes, but they won’t be towards you.”
I believed that, actually.
Nodding, I finally shyly looked over to Nuriel and Con. I stepped forward, and I felt nervous for about a second until Nuriel picked me up in a hug, making me squeak. Atlas growled behind me, making one of my fathers chuckle. I knew that fast movements upset my mates around me, but I couldn’t help but love the hug, squeezing the grumpy man back as he set me down, his eyes filled with emotion.
“The other teams are going to be meeting you there,” he insisted, his eyes filled with worry. “You will stay safe, Maya. I’m serious, no unnecessary risks.”
“I promise,” I nodded, feeling a bit bad because I wasn’t positive I could fully keep that promise. His eyes darted towards my mates, and he exhaled.
“Commander Moretti, if anything happens to her—”
I winced as Marco nearly let out a growl, his bond with me growing with frustration.
“Nothing is going to happen,” I promised and then continued, “They would never let anything happen to me.”
Nuriel examined my expression and offered a grunt before nodding and stepping back. Finally, I looked at Con, who was watching me with a sad expression. I approached him and offered a small smile.
“Here.” He offered forward a cloth-covered object. “This will take you back here whenever you need without an official portal.”
I took it and realized it was a delicate sapphire necklace, the chain gold and the bulb at the end a dark blue sphere. I pulled it over my head and tucked it into my oversized sweater that I was wearing with leggings. I hadn’t wanted to argue with the boys when they wanted to cover me in their scent, so I had taken Atlas’s sweater happily.
“Thank you,” I offered softly.
A meow had me looking back as Bella bound forward out of Atlas’s hands and towards me. I scooped her up as I looked back up at Con to find him staring at her in confusion. His head tilted to the side. “Is that a cat?”
“Well, right now she’s a kitten.” I smiled and placed her in my hands, raising her up so he could look at her better. “My mates got her for me as a present.” Someone made a noise of approval nearby, but I was interested in Con’s reaction. He was studying the kitten with interest.
“She’s adorable.” He blinked and then shook his head. “How did you even get her into the Dreki realm?”
I pulled her back to my chest and looked at Atlas. “He protected her with shadow magic.” My bond with my mom hummed with approval, and I realized that I should start telling them all the amazing things my mates had done for me, because it seemed to make them feel better about all of this. Stepping back, my attention was pulled by an arriving carriage.
“These should be them,” Marco announced as my mom nodded. The younger flight was supposed to have arrived at the castle earlier and traveled with us here, but my parents had suggested it wasn’t safe. Unfortunately, the command line was blaming them for a lot of what went wrong during their mission, and while my parents didn’t agree with it, the damage had been done. I was finding myself more and more glad that we had agreed to bring them with us.