Page 68 of Priest

Oliver wanted to tell him he’d seen enough bloodshed and death that watching Poe feed wouldn’t faze him at all. But he also knew Poe was still struggling with needing to keep himself alive on the blood of others. “Just call me when you need me, okay? Priest and I are staying here with you and Azriel until you’re ready to leave.”

“Thank you,” Poe said sleepily.

By the time Oliver extracted himself from the bed, Poe was already asleep. He let himself out and almost collided with Knight, who jumped back to avoid being touched. Oliver offered him a sheepish grin.

“Sorry. Sorry. I was just, uh…”

“Visiting your friend?”

“Right. That.” He rubbed the back of his neck, then blurted, “Can your friends touch you?”

Knight blinked at him.

“Gods, that’s such a rude question, but I just… Poe needed to be touched. He felt like the way everyone was avoiding him was because they were scared of him being a monster. And I know it’s hard for you, but does it… does it help?”

Knight was quiet for so long Oliver was pretty sure he’d crossed about a dozen lines. Then he took a breath and said, “It helps sometimes. But my experience was different from Poe’s. I think I was one of the first experiments. I was there for a long, long time. Being touched by someone I trust is everything, but even then, sometimes it’s too much.”

“What helped?”

“Time,” Knight said with a shrug. “Surrounding myself with people who understood what it was like to be considered a monster and learning that I wasn’t one. Destigmatizing the shame that comes with what I am. And my moths.”

Oliver smiled. He knew a little bit about his moths. “You’ll help him, right? You and Azriel. I can’t lose him.”

Knight’s jaw ticked. “You won’t lose him. He’ll find his way. I promise.”

Priest was gone through dinner, so Oliver made up a small plate and brought it back to their room. He trudged in an hour and a half later, looking dead on his feet, though he perked up at the sight of Oliver lounging on the bed with a book. Oliver’s heart kicked up a notch when Priest’s did.

“Oh. That’s different.” Oliver pressed a hand to his sternum. “I feel that.”

“How much I want you?”

“How much you want to hold me. It’s more than lust.”

Priest shed his outer layer of clothes, then slipped into sweats from his suitcase before climbing beside Oliver, bare-chested and so warm. “That’s a new feeling for me too. Feelings were always separated into lust and friendship. It’s how I determined who was food and who wasn’t. But with you, I’ve always wanted more. That’s why I was such a complete fucking jackass every time I came into your shop.”

It still hurt to talk about the shop, but Oliver smiled in spite of the pain. The memories were tinged with bitterness of a thing they could no longer have. Life would never be easy. He and Poe would never be human again. There would never again be a day where things were monotonous and safe.

“I don’t believe that,” Priest said, picking up on his thoughts. He brushed his fingers through Oliver’s hair as he pulled him close. “There will be simple days again. It might take a while, but we’ll get there.”

“You have a lot more faith than me,” Oliver said.

Priest pinched his chin and took his lips in a slow, possessive kiss. “I can have as much faith as I need to until you feel ready for your own. That’s one of the perks of being bonded.”

One among many.

Oliver rolled his eyes, so Priest bit him over his mating mark, and he burst into laughter. “You’re so fucking annoying.”

“You love it.”

Oliver pulled back and met his gaze. “Yes. I do.”

He kissed him again until they were both a little breathless, but Priest was well-fed, and they were both too tired to do much more than that. Priest cradled his cheeks and eased him onto his back before snuggling close.

“How was the… What do you call it? Debriefing?”

“It was long and painful,” Priest admitted. “The survivors—the ones that weren’t turned—they’re going to need a lot of help that they can’t get right now because they need to be kept hidden. We have no idea how deep this goes, and with the journals Jeremiah found, he’s pretty sure several governments are involved.”

Shock rushed through him. “Governments? Like, not just humans?”

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