Page 184 of Devoted

The great news was that, as a vampire, there was nothing about my life that threw him for a loop. I could be open with him about everything.

The bad news was that I’d forgotten how damned hard it was to deal with my OCD, rather than giving in to it all the time. The things the angels had been doing for me to avoid my triggers were fine for now, but Dr. Tyler had already warned me that it wouldn’t help in the long run.

What was most important though was that I wouldn’t be going through it alone. With his help, I’d be able to tackle my triggers one by one, learning new tools to manage my brain. Zeke and the others were fully on board, my mate going so far as to sit in on my last session so he could ask questions.

It would take time, but there was hope. My OCD would never go away, but I could make it more manageable.

And time was the one thing I wasn’t short on. Not anymore.

“We’re here,” Theo announced, kicking open my front door. Nate was right behind him, both their arms loaded high with boxes.

I approached them, peering curiously at their load. Through the clear plastic, I could see they were filled with foam cutouts.

“It’s for your Lego,” Nate explained, putting his tower on the sofa. “We snuck over here last week and took photos and measurements of all your sets.”

“Once we had those, Nate got to work on his 3D printer,” Theo added, putting his on the floor. “Now we can move all your sets without worrying about them getting damaged.”

My throat was so tight I couldn’t speak. Zeke wrapped an arm around me, reading the emotion that was surely flooding the bond. “Thank you. He appreciates it.”

I nodded rapidly, a tear falling as I did so.

“Don’t cry,” Theo said, his eyes shooting wide in alarm. “I don’t know what to do with tears!”

“These are happy tears,” I croaked. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”

Nate rolled his eyes as Theo beamed. “Course we did. You’re ours now, Sam.”

“No,” Zeke corrected them grumpily. “He’s mine.”

Theo opened his mouth to argue, but we were saved by the front door opening. The rest of the Seraphim poured in, arms laden with packing supplies. Each of them greeted me as they passed, going straight to work.

I’d tried to insist this morning that we didn’t need this much help, but they’d laughed at me. That answered that.

I wasn’t going to complain. For the first time in my life, I was happy. I was surrounded by people who accepted me for exactly who I was. I didn’t need to mask. I didn’t need to worry that I was being too much.

It was everything I’d never dared wish for for myself.

Most of all, I was loved by Zeke. My Zeke, who’d opened up a chat box and changed my entire world. Every morning I woke up in his arms, and every evening I silently thanked God, or fate—whoever it was—for blessing me with him.

“What are you thinking about?” Zeke asked, an amused tilt to his lips.

I turned to him, cupping his face in my hands. “I’m thinking that I’m a lucky fucking guy.”

“Nah. Think you’ll find that’s me.”

Rami shouted from the kitchen, “Stop being so disgusting, it’s not fair on the rest of us.”

Theo was quick to retort. “Nah, take it further! Get your clothes off.”

Zeke closed his eyes with a groan. “Any chance I can work this one out with fists instead of words?”

“No,” I laughed. “Nice try though.”

There’d been a few hiccups over the past two weeks, but I’d accepted that that was going to happen. Supes with big powers and even bigger egos had their own ways of resolving things. Things involving blood and often temporary death.

That didn’t stop me from dragging the perpetrators out for laps around the grounds. I could be spotted on many an afternoon, walking briskly with an angel or Nox trailing behind me.

It was doing wonders for my cardio, making it easier to keep up with Zeke in bed. All in all, it was a win-win.

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