Page 65 of The Jorogumo

"Hey, Liam. Come sit." He waved me over with his tail, the fluffy end looking extra pet-able today, and I chuckled as I settled on the grassy ground.

"What's on your mind?"

I blew out a breath, then told him everything. Silas's brows shot up as I spoke, a grin lighting up his face.

When I'd finished speaking, he was silent for a moment before he shook his head with a snort.

"You know, I've never seen Haruto the way you describe him. I mean, he was here when I first arrived, and he's always sort of melted into the background, willingly at that. But he's changed since you met. He's become more open, more friendly."

I blinked, surprised to hear that. I knew meeting Haruto had changedme, but I'd never thought it could've changed him too.

"Really?"

Silas nodded quickly, his smile softening. "He's eaten dinner with us every time you visited, and now he rarely spends time hiding away in his house. It's like whatever was holding him back from socializing, you helped him get over it."

"But I didn't do anything. I didn't even know he was different before."

"Maybe that's exactly what he needed," Silas said with a shrug, and I hummed. "As for the marriage thing, yes, it's not a big deal for us supes. For us, the mate bond supersedes everything. It's stronger than any marriage could ever be."

"So technically, we're already married?" I asked, brows furrowing at the thought.

"Sort of, yes. But that doesn't mean you can't still get married. I know you can't feel your mate bond the way Haruto can, and you might like having a different type of proof of your commitment."

I glanced down at my hand, imagining a ring on my finger. Something simple and beautiful, something that showed Haruto's claim on me. Something permanent.

"Yeah," I said, my voice choked. Clearing my throat, I continued, "That would be nice."

Silas grinned, then patted my shoulder with his tail. "There you go. And don't worry—we'll plan an amazing wedding for you." His eyes were already lighting up with excitement.

"He hasn't even proposed yet," I said with a laugh, and he raised a thick brow at me, his dark eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Are you planning to say no?"

"Of course not!"

Silas gave me a deadpan look, then rolled his eyes. "So let us plan the wedding. Do you wanna do it here or the human side? You probably have people you'd wanna invite, huh?"

I blinked, my smile falling.

There was no way I would invite my parents, not after that phone call with Mom. She hadn't called back since, and that was all the answer I needed. Other than them, there was only one person.

"I, uh, I only have one friend I'd like to invite. But I would love to do it here, so maybe not."

Silas frowned, a thoughtful look on his face. "Tell me about your friend. Maybe we can figure something out."

"His name's Diego. We met a few years ago. He's blind, and I'd help him with his online purchases. Then we got to talking and..." I shrugged.

"Would you be an awful friend if you lied to him about where we are? If he can't see..."

I thought about that, and while I would feel a bit shitty about lying, I knew this was a necessary kind of lie.

"Yeah, maybe. We can think about this later," I said, mentally rolling my eyes at the fact that I'd started planning my wedding before Haruto had even popped the question.

Silas chuckled, then patted me again. "Whatever you want, man. But Touya and I will take the lead in the wedding planning, okay? I'm telling you now. No take-backs."

Grinning, I held my hand out for a shake. "Deal."

Smiling, he shook my hand, his bigger one practically dwarfing mine, and I wasn't a small man in any way. "Deal."

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