Page 27 of Caged

“For bathing?” I ask, doing my level best to seem serious even though my lips twitch with the need to smile.

“Oh yes, for bathing…and other activities…” He hitches up a lip to reveal a fang, and what I feel pressed between us is most definitely in the “other activities” category.

This is going to be one of the more interesting showers I’ve taken.

SYLAS

Myeregriis exhausted. She slumbers in my arms, and I’m spellbound, unable to quite believe she is mine.

It soon became clear in theshower, any activities which involved mating would have to wait a while. Instead I cleaned her up, spun the water from my wings, and carried her to the seating area.

“Sylas?” A pair of sleepy eyes meet mine. “Sorry, I fell asleep.”

“It’s still the light, myeregri,” I reply. “You can sleep some more if you wish.”

“Where are we?” She pushes up from me, rubbing her face with her free hand.

“I nested.” I reply proudly. “For you.”

“You…” Alex sits up fully and takes in my work. “Nested?”

I hum with pleasure. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt like this before, all warm inside. I’m also not entirely sure what a nest is, only that I have created one, in this room, with the things I found in the boxes from the other room…while my mate was sleeping

“Do you like it?”

“It looks like you exploded…everything,” she says, taking hold of some of the long colored strips I made from the materialI found. Her eyes are rounded as she takes in the flooring I made and the bright twinkling things I’ve hung everywhere to make it perfect. “You did this?”

I nod, not entirely sure how Alex is taking my nest, my chest tighter than it’s ever been when I was in the dome facing down my opponents.

“I can change it if you don’t like it,” I suggest, tugging at some additional sparkles I found in the final box but haven’t put up.

“No, don’t.” Alex puts her tiny hand over my gnarled, scarred one. “It’s…wonderful, Sylas.”

“It is?”

“Yes,” she breathes. “Beautiful.”

“I’ve never made one before.”

“This is your first nest?”

I nod.

“Do all Gryn nest?”

I can’t exactly help the growl which escapes me due to the thought of other males showing Alex a nest which slides into my head.

“I think so.”

She puts her head to one side and rubs my hand.

“I don’t remember any time before I came of age. All I do remember was the lab and the farm. The others, the other Gryn in the dome”—my voice is harsh as I think of them as rivals—“they don’t remember much about their time before they came of age either.” I shake my head, like somehow the answer which has eluded me all this time might miraculously appear. “It might be a Gryn trait, or it might just be me.”

I look around at what I’ve done, and the warmth settles in my stomach in a way I don’t think I’ve felt before, not even when I was slaughtering in the dome. It’s as if my head has come to a halt and I can breathe. Even my feathers feel lighter.

If it isn’t a Gryn instinct, I don’t care. It makes me feel like I could take on the universe, especially with my mate right in the center.

“Either way, it’s lovely, Sylas. Thank you.” Alex snuggles into my side, still toying with the strips of fabric.

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