Page 30 of The Naga

The worst part was, I couldn't really talk to anyone about this, not honestly at least. How would I explain my decision without explaining the whole fated mates thing?

Even Quest would have trouble accepting the fact that I was moving in with someone I'd only known for a few weeks. He'd probably offer me a guest room at his own place, a giant penthouse suite as it was.

Was I making a huge mistake? Would we end up regretting it?

Khush had mentioned that some members of the Sanctuary didn't really like humans, mostly because we were food to them, and they'd been starving themselves for years because they didn't want to be 'monsters.'

Was it right of me to intrude in their safe space simply because I was Khush's mate? I guessed I wouldn't be the first one, since Touya and Bellamy were both humans too. It still didn't seem fair, though.

My phone buzzed, and I glanced at it from the corner of my eyes, feeling annoyed with myself when seeing Quest's name made me feel relieved.

Picking up the phone, I opened Quest's text as Scrappy hopped into my lap, sensing my distress with her impeccable kitty-sense.

Quest: How are things going with you and McHottie?

Rolling my eyes, I tapped out a reply, feeling a little cautious as I waited for his reaction.

Me: He asked me to move in with him. I said yes.

Quest didn't reply for so long I honestly got worried. Then I almost jumped—making Scrappy hiss at me for dislodging her—as my phone started buzzing with a video call.

"Hey," I said as I answered it, and Quest glared at me from the screen, his frizzy brown hair falling into his eyes as he started speaking.

"Dustin Mark Sheppard!" For the record, those were neither my middle nor my last names. That was actually the name of Quest's current favorite actor. "Are you telling me you're moving in with the dude you met a few short weeks ago?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Have you learned nothing?" he demanded with a shake of his head, and I sighed. I understood why he was being so direct. He was the one I ran to every time I got my heart broken, and he was the one who held me and wiped my tears.

If we weren't both dedicated bottoms who were into hunky, man's-man types, we'd have probably ended up together, but instead we were the closest friends the other had ever had, which meant we'd earned brutal honesty from each other.

"I know. I know, Quest. I'm still not sure if I made the right decision, but Khush is…he's just different. He likes snakes,"he is half of one, I thought to myself, "and I have fun whenever I spend time with him. Scrappy absolutely loves him, even more than she loves me, I think. And he was the one who asked me. Itfeels like I finally found someone who's on the same wavelength as me, you know?"

Quest watched me silently, his green eyes scanning all over my face. "Dude. You're falling in love with him, aren't you?"

I blinked, then shrugged, unable to deny it because I was. I was falling for Khush, and for once I wasn't afraid of doing it, because I was sure he was falling for me too.

It was strange. I had so much confidence in Khush, in his feelings for me, and yet I was scared of moving in with him. Why was that? Was I afraid of him changing his mind, or afraid I was making the same mistake again? Was I letting my past experiences confuse me and mess up something wonderful?

"Did I lose you?" Quest asked, breaking into my thoughts, and I shook my head, focusing back on him.

"I'm here."

"Listen, D. I know you've had shit experiences before, and usually I'd be telling you to take a step back right now, but I can see how much you like him. If you think this is the right thing to do, then do it. Move in with him. Just make sure you don't have any doubts before you do, okay? You owe that to yourself and to him."

"You're so wise, Sir Quest," I said, giving him a respectful bow. I could almosthearhis eyes roll. "Oh, by the way, Khush is a fan of your videos."

"He is?" Quest asked, brightening up instantly. I bet Khush just got a few points in his book.

I proceeded to tell him how he was a fairly new gamer but still watched his videos, and Quest was utterly delighted to hear it. I promised I'd introduce the two of them soon—Khush would absolutely love that—before ending the call, and then stared at Khush's text for a moment before opening it.

Me: Sounds good! We'll definitely plan something. I was just talking to Quest, and he said he'd love to meet you. Maybe wecould plan an arcade visit for the three of us? Silas, Touya, Keoni and anyone else who'd like to participate could join too. We could make a day of it.

Khush replied within minutes, and I smiled as I read his text. Talking with Quest had definitely helped, and so did making plans with Khush.

Khush: That'll be so much fun! I'll talk to the others later, see who's interested. I can't wait for you to move in with me. <3

Yeah, I didn't think I was making a mistake after all.

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