Page 237 of Caelum

Shutting the curtains, I stared out into the sleeping street. It was neatly appointed, and I really liked the little stones that paved the road, even if they were hard to walk on. The building parallel to this one was like a mirror image, except for the fact its door was red and not navy, and they didn’t have as many flowers and plantsdecorating it.

Peering up at the sky, I saw that there were no stars in sight, and with a glum sigh, I returned to the bed. I didn’t bother to get under the covers, though. I stayed on top. I wore Eren’s shirt from yesterday because it scented of him, and I was warm enough with both of them on either side of me.

“Are you going to get some sleep?” I questioned Eren.

“I’ll try.”

He said that every night, and every morning, he appeared even more wrecked than the night before.

There had to be a way to calm him. To lull him into experiencing a dreamless sleep.

As Sam sighed and curled onto his side, he hugged me to him so my butt was curved into his body. He was too warm, but I was growing used to that as well.

Staring at Eren, who was messing around on his phone again with the lights from the screen illuminating his face in a way that augmented the lines of fatigue, I began to hum. A soft, low sound I remembered Merry, the recruiter from Caelum, singing from before, when she’d let my entire compound drift to sleep so we could escape the New Order with little to no fuss.

The second I hummed it, both men stiffened. And not in a good way either.

Samuel wriggled slightly, but he pressed his face into my throat and snuggled deeper into me. Eren, on the other hand, twisted to look at me. “What are you doing?”

I ignored him and began to sing, the words falling from my lips, the tune escaping me as though I’d heard the song more than once.

“As the darkness falls,

And the warmth beckons,

Jenny seeks you in her calm embrace,

And as her arms enfold you tightly,

The need to be at one overtakes,

The rest you need is all she gifts,

With her loving touch and her gentle kiss…”

The lullaby had Eren shifting in bed, but I sensed him fighting the pull of my Lorelei. Sensed his soul’s displeasure at my controlling it. I ignored it, of course. Ignored his discomfort, ignored his choice because I knew why he was scared—the nightmares. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t sleep.

He’d always woken up alone before.

Now, he had me.

I was there, just as Jenny from Merinda’s song, to take him in my calm embrace and soothe him from the horrible images that plagued his slumber.

When he tumbled into sleep, both my men began to snore. As I listened to the house that squeaked and creaked slightly, from both old age and the pipes that fed the property, I tuned into the place where the souls were housed and touched upon each creature. Now I’d forced their creatures to become dominant, they each were linked now to their other half, and as I brushed against each one, they enabled me to sense my mates.

They were all sleeping, all of them. Except for Nestor, who was also having a nightmare.

Gently nudging him and surrounding him with the warmth I wished I could give with my body, I urged him to restfulness and only closed my eyes with the intent to sleep when I felt him settle deeper into his slumber.

Men were such a huge responsibility, but I was coming to realize there was nowhere else I’d rather be than here with them.

TEN

STEFAN

The scenic route in a taxi cost a small fortune. Not that the price mattered when Frazer or Samuel were picking up the tab. Did it make me feel like a piece of shit for freeloading off them? Kind of. But then I’d look at Eve and see how joyful she was, and I’d be reminded that we weren’t back at Caelum anymore. This wasn’t last year, fuck, it wasn’t even eight weeks ago. We were Pack now. Pack. That meant we shared everything.

Money.

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