Page 51 of Devoted

Sam

terrible, tbh. Not because of last night, but just generally not feeling great

Panic flared. Was he sick? Humans were so vulnerable. What if something was really wrong with him? What if something happened to him and I never got to know who he was to me?

Zeke

what’s wrong?

“Rami,” I hollered, not bothering to wait for Sam’s reply. If something was physically wrong with him, Rami might be able to help. He was the only one of us blessed with healing abilities. “Rami, where the fuck are you?”

He appeared in the doorway, wiping his hands on a tea towel. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist. I was literally next door.”

“I might need you.” I got to my feet and started to pace.Come on, Sam. Hurry up and reply.

Rami froze, the towel hanging limp in his hands. “Is it Sam?”

I nodded curtly. “He text to say something’s wrong. I don’t know what. I’m waiting for him to respond.”

Rami was next to me before I’d realised he’d moved, gently steering me towards the sofa. “Okay, stay calm. If he’s well enough to text, it’s unlikely to be life threatening.”

I grabbed his wrist, the panic choking me now. “You can help him though, right?”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Noah enter the room. He raised a brow in question at Rami, who just shook his head in response.

“Once we know what’s wrong, we can come up with a plan,” Rami said, his expression solemn. “You know I’ll do whatever I can to help him.”

Noah slid onto the sofa beside me, his delicate fingers patting my knee. “We’re all here, Ez. I don’t even know what’s going on, but I’ll help however I can.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, tears pricking at the back of my eyes. “I don’t even know why this has sent me into such a spiral. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“It does if he’s your mate,” Rami said gently. “Supes aren’t known for being rational if it’s their mate involved.”

I could feel Noah’s curious gaze burning into the side of my face, but thankfully he didn’t say anything.

My phone buzzed, and all three of us turned our heads to look at it.

Sam

just a bad brain day. don’t worry, I’ll be fine. just need to spend the day hibernating in bed and then i’ll be okay

“See? Everything’s okay.” Rami slapped me on the shoulder. “You were worrying about nothing.”

The glare I shot him was deadly. “What part of him not being able to get out of bed makes it sound like he’s okay to you?”

Rami faltered. “I mean, he’s not physically sick, right? We don’t need to worry.”

I got to my feet, Noah moving just as fast. “So you’re saying mental health isn’t as important? Do I need to get Benji downhere to tell you just how many people die from mental health issues every fucking year?”

Rami dropped the towel he’d been holding on the floor, holding his hands up, palms out. “Ez, I didn’t mean it like that.”

It was too late. The monster was rising. I tried to catch hold of it, but it slipped through my fingers like running water. “Oh? What did you mean then? That because it’s something you can’t see, we don’t need to worry about it? Or perhaps because it’s not something you can fix, it doesn’t matter?”

A white shield appeared between us, so bright it was almost blinding. Rami and I both took an instinctive step back.

Noah stepped in front of me, his back to Rami. It was his shield, I realised. What was odd though, was that it wasn’t guarding him, only Rami. He’d put himself in my warpath without protecting himself. “Ezekiel, you don’t want to do this.”

“Oh but I do.” I went toe to toe with the lilac haired angel. “Move.”

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