Page 80 of Saving Destiny

Zo comforts the shifter with a touch on the arm. She’s gotten better at touching them, and I can’t help but notice every time she does. I’m not always jealous like I was a couple of days ago, but I still notice. She and the shifter must have gotten closer during their time in the stairwell because they’re easier around each other now than they were this morning. Avery thought he was being clever by distracting me, but I hadn’t planned to interrupt them … maybe.

“It’s all right, I was just wondering. Bren, you can spend the rest of the day in the archives room behind the desk. It’s not necessary for you to be out here when Kodi and Garrett are watching everything. So far, the door protection spells have kept all the materials that aren’t properly checked out from leaving the building. Garrett doesn’t need to stand sentry anymore, so he can move around. Avery has been a huge help next to me. I can use his legs when I need them, but he’s also better at managing difficult customers than I am. Hopefully, I won’t need either as I get used to the job, but ….” Her words trail off with a shrug.

“I owe everyone an apology,” Avery blurts abruptly. He almost interrupts Zo, which is something he never does because he’s too elegant for that level of rudeness. “I didn’t act fast enough. I knew that Bren was having difficulty, and I suspected the woman was trouble before anyone else. I should have alerted someone sooner or gone to Bren’s aid before he lost control. I failed.”

The white-haired vampire just needs a sword to fall on, and his act will be complete. I roll my eyes to the ceiling even though no one is looking at me. Avery belongs in the middle ages because he’d be a perfectly valiant knight. However, even though he acts like he’s a time-traveler from a more proper era, he might make a killing in the adult film business. I can’t get the images of him and Zosia out of my brain. Every time I look at him, I see him moving inside her and touching her. His silver beauty molds perfectly with her golden hues and they create gorgeously erotic scenes together. Sweet, attentive, and focused on her pleasure, he’d been the perfect first lover for Zo. I don’t even know where to start in the bedroom. Our kiss that morning has also convinced me that I won’t last a minute. First, however, I have to overcome my fear of turning into a ghost while I’m inside her. If that happens, she might never let me back into her bed.

“We’re all new at this, Avery. We’re learning as we go,” Zosia says softly. Her fingers gently stroke his hand where it rests on her shoulder. He’s been standing behind her for an hour now, and I don’t think he feels any stiffness or pain like a normal person would. “We’re all going to make mistakes, but we’ll learn from them. This wasn’t a complete failure. Nothing was broken, and no one was hurt.”

Avery nods, but his facial expression doesn’t change. When Garrett and Bren glance at each other, something shivers in the back of my mind. It feels like a sense of impending doom. They don’t think the situation is over. I honestly can’t tell if this makes me nervous or afraid. I have nothing to fear as a ghost except being drained … right?

There’s no time to voice any worries, because Zo glances at the clock and flutters her hands. “I need to brush my hair and use the bathroom before we reopen, so everything else will have to wait.”

I follow her as she speeds toward her room in her chair, and I love that the library opens the doors for her as she nears. She can be more independent and spend more time in her chair. She usually spends too much time on her crutches because her chair can be difficult, but the library has eliminated most of the challenges. I’m hovering in her room, waiting for her to emerge, when the door of her private bathroom opens. Her eyes widen comically as she screeches a little.

“Fudge-cakes, Kodi, you scared me! Can’t you make some noise or something?”

I cock an eyebrow in her direction and cross my arms over my chest. “What do you want me to do? I can find some chains to rattle or make eerie howling noises. Perhaps I should sing?”

The weariness in Zo’s forced smile suppresses the majority of my lingering irritation. She’s barely holding it together, but I might be the only one who notices. She’s used to being fairly free and handling stress on her own time. She’s never had to work or force herself to act nice. Although the library has special ways of keeping her patrons in line, retail is never an easy profession. The spoiled brats find ways around the rules. I float closer to her and wish I were solid so I could offer a hug or hold her hand. I settle for sitting on the bed and maintaining eye contact.

“I’m worried about you, princess. Finding out Ansel might be your dad is huge news. Not only that, but you lost your virginity to a vampire last night, one of your guardians is so freakishly strong that he created a thunderstorm, and you’re waiting on a bunch of stuck-up snobs that look at you like you’re something stuck to the bottom of their shoes. Are you really okay?” It’s a good thing I don’t need air to speak because my list of worries was longer than I thought.

She huffs a laugh and offers a lopsided smile. “Thank you for reminding me of everything, boo,” she grumbles before considering my question. “I am okay but maybe it’s because I don’t have the option to be not okay.” She fumbles the words, but I understand what she’s saying. She’s a survivor, and this is how she’s made it through life. I should have known this situation wouldn’t be any different from the others we’ve faced. “I have to be okay because the library needs me and it needs to reopen. Honestly, learning that Ansel might be my father sits at the bottom of the list of crazy things I’m worried about. I know that’s weird because it should be life-changing, but I’m not a kid anymore. What actually changed my life was coming here, meeting the other guys, and finally getting to kiss you. You’re all my new family – you, Bren, Garrett, Avery, Sage, and even the goblins. All of you make the family that really matters. Everything else is just extra, and I’ll deal with the other things as they happen.”

Her voice is calm and honest. We’ve both matured in the last few days. When we left the orphanage, finding out she had a living father would have rocked her foundation. It might have stopped her in her tracks, but she has a valid point. Family can be more than blood, and I’m grateful that my name is listed alongside the others. I’m even more grateful that she said my kiss was life-changing. My positive thoughts reward me by offering a corporeal body. I’m unable to keep the smirk off my face as I immediately lean toward her for another life-changing kiss. If I stop to second-guess my good luck, I’ll miss the opportunity.

Perhaps there is a reason to this crazy afterlife, because there’s nothing I want more from my current existence than to kiss the woman I started falling in love with before I died. My little minx returns my kiss with equal enthusiasm, and I decide that she’s right. Taking care of the library and our new family is what matters most; we’ll deal with the rest as it comes.

Chapter 41

Zosia

The majority of the students who pour into the library after the doors open don’t loiter like they did this morning. Those that abandoned books grab their piles and leave quickly after checking them out. They’re probably worried we’ll close again without warning and they won’t have their study materials. I take note of these students because they’re definitely the smartest.

Not all of the students are smart. Unfamiliar faces that heard the rumors gawk and continue to spread rumors, but I’m beyond caring. My nerves are shot, and Kodi might have been right to worry about me. Very little is motivating me and I have to physically stop the urge to check the clock every ten minutes.

One motivation is Avery’s gentle touch. He also sends me strength through the mate mark; it lights up the nerves under my skin like a shot of caffeine straight to my veins. It’s strange and unfamiliar, but it pushes away the pain and exhaustion.

The memories of the kisses I received earlier also fuel me. I think about Garrett’s domineering control, Bren’s hesitant submission, and the love that Kodi packs into the few seconds he’s allowed with every kiss.

The possibility of learning the circumstances behind my mother’s and grandmother’s lives and deaths and my father’s identity also pushes me to keep going. Once Ansel is a gargoyle, I might learn why my mother and grandmother left the library and why they died. I want to know, if only so I don’t repeat their mistakes.

Performing the motions of a librarian feels natural even though I’ve never done anything remotely similar. I’m able to placate the spoiled students with patience and diplomacy although I suspect Avery’s influence makes this possible. I can multi-task like a harried soccer mom and cope with several requests at once when the students try to trip me up, too. The skills seem a part of me, and I finally believe that this place is my birthright. I’ve half-believed it since I entered the foyer, but I understand now. Even a trained librarian with a doctorate degree from a prestigious university might not be able to match my prowess because there’s magic involved in every task. The knowledge that I’m already settling into a groove fills me with pride and contentment. Both have been sorely missing for my entire life.

Bren is better suited for his backroom duties than his position on the floor. He offers up a string of witty commentary and apropos quotes when the students can’t overhear. They make me smirk with amusement and it helps the time pass. Even Avery doesn’t prevent a laugh or smile when he hears an appropriate quip.

Garrett checks on us repeatedly until Bren threatens to go off again if he doesn’t stay away. It’s a brotherly threat that isn’t real but finally convinces the shifter that the mage has recovered from his earlier outburst.

As we near our scheduled quitting time, Garrett passes by the circulation desk and smiles for the first time in hours. It’s a sweet smile but filled with heat, and it sends a thrill through me. I don’t whether he intends for his grin to be so sexy, but I think it is. A group of nearby students must agree because it sends them into a whispering, tittering frenzy.

I notice the looks they give me, full of disbelief and surprise, but I intentionally ignore it. I bypassed high school drama, and I want to the same here. I have to focus on responsibilities that are more important. My top priority is making the other three my mates quickly without ruining our relationships. Avery’s bond with the library makes my job easier. I doubt I comprehend the full extent of his abilities, but he always seems to know exactly what I need at any given time.

The end of the day should be a relief, but I find myself growing nervous as a million questions tumble through my mind. Soon, Ansel and Tremayne will arrive. What if the shifter isn’t my father? Will I be disappointed? Will a negative answer make me want to search for my real father because I’d been so close to an answer? What if Ansel doesn’t want to be a gargoyle? Who else can tell me about my mother and grandmother? It sounds as if the mage knew them, but will he tell me anything? Can I trust him like Ansel says? What if I don’t like what he has to say?

The library whispers a strange, confused warning only seconds before two burly men push through the front doors. They’re obviously not students, and I doubt they’re affiliated with Apocrypha. They look like brothers, twins almost, and both wear matching, stiff uniforms that remind me of magicless law enforcement.

My trepidation grows when the students react to their presence. They whisper or stare blatantly. A couple put the books they’d meant to check out on the nearest table and slip out of the building as silently as Kodi might. The sight makes me sigh; I’d just relieved the library of random stacks of books. The goblins have flown non-stop.

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