Page 55 of Veiled

“No promises there,” rolling my eyes. “Before you go, answer me one thing.” He stepped back and nodded.

“You mentioned sentinels?” I asked.

“They are people drawn to you with the innate desire to protect you. They will bond with you magically and have your mark, but will be more of a best friend. Your magic will bolster theirs and your emotions will be an open book to them, and vice versa. They can also help you calm and focus your mind and magic. Their appearance is usually tied to the awakening of your powers as well, so we will have to bide our time and wait to see what the future brings.”

I sighed, the waiting game, right… that was sure to be a grand old time. I felt the guys’ eyes on me. “What about the whole mate thing- what else does it mean, beyond sex?” His face turned bright red and I laughed.

“Part of the fun is discovering a lot of that on your own terms,” He cleared his throat and looked at the guys and then back at me, “just know you’ll be drawn to each other a lot more than usual. It may seem overwhelming but just enjoy it. The mate bond is a wonderful gift.” He looked away wistfully, his eyes sad. He gave me one final hug and said his goodbyes as he walked through the house and out the front door, following the path of Remi.

I blinked my eyes at the brightness of the sun coming through my window. I shoved Hunter’s heavy arm off me as I tried to get through the tangle of limbs on my bed to use the bathroom. After a few attempts I was finally able to get everyone off of me and jump out of the bed. Shortly after Kalen left for his perimeter checks, I declared that I needed to go to bed and the guys all followed and made themselves comfortable in my room. Do you know how four huge men and a woman all sleep on a king size bed? Not fucking comfortably, and I’m pretty sure I kicked someone in the nuts in the middle of the night, if the groans were any indication. I looked at the tangle of limbs and held back a laugh as I took in Ryder and Zane cuddling. I grabbed my phone and snagged a quick picture before I snatched a bathing suit from my drawer and made my way to the bathroom.

After the door clicked softly behind me, I leaned back against the door and I sighed as I ran my hands through my curls. What a night! I don’t know how to feel, but I did know that the pool, some food and liquid whiskey-flavored courage were calling my name. I took a quick shower and brushed my teeth before putting on my bathing suit. The suit was a deep purple and it technically could be classified as a one piece, but it dipped all the way down past my navel, stopping right at the start of my mound. It had thin straps that crisscrossed at the hips which led to a thong bottom, and at my lower back the string broke apart into eight strings that crossed into an x formation across my back. From my shoulders down it cupped my breasts, barely, considering each piece of fabric on my breast was about four inches of material. I’d bought this for god knows what reason during one of my secret shopping binges, and I was actually convinced it was lingerie, but the sales lady insisted it wasn’t. I said fuck it- it was sexy and downright scandalous; perfect for the new me. I loved how it showed off my new marks. Taking a few pictures and sending it to the group chat, I chuckled knowing their reactions were going to be epic. I tiptoed back into the room and snagged a long coverup before I snuck out of the room with my phone and left the guys asleep.

I walked downstairs and Kalen was in the kitchen making himself at home, making some coffee and what looked like protein pancakes.

“Good morning sunshine,” I teased him as I sat down at the kitchen island and he rolled his eyes at me.

“It’s early afternoon but I’ll take it. I assume you all passed out after the excitement of yesterday,” he filled a mug with coffee and slid it across to me as I nodded.

“Yup, it was an interesting day, and the guys are taking this mate thing seriously. They all insisted on sleeping on my bed. I’m glad I was tired,” I scowled into my cup, “or else I wouldn’t have been able to sleep.” He let out a deep laugh and shook his head, flipping some pancakes onto a growing stack on a plate next to the stove. He put a few on a small plate and passed it to me.

“It is going to be that way for a while; they won’t want to leave your side. I’m actually surprised they didn’t wake up with you,” he chuckled, taking a sip of his coffee. I shrugged as I shoveled the pancakes in my mouth, moaning around my fork.

“Did you use some of Tinker Bell’s Pixie Dust to make these? They are delicious,” I said with a small smile on my face, and laughed as he growled at me.

“We are not pixie’s and no, no magic was used in the making of my famous protein pancakes, you little pain in my ass.”

“Aww you love me,” I teased, and he grumbled, turning away to put more pancakes on the side. You would think he was cooking for an army, but then I realized the guys were huge beasts and, adding Kalen, I guess they were a small bulky ass army. I finished off my stack just as I heard footsteps on the staircase.

“Did Remi ever come back last night?” I asked Kalen and he nodded, gesturing outside with the spatula.

“She’s been outside, reading, with Xena. I swear that cat loves to swim more than is normal for a feline.” I smiled, yeah, she did. She was pretty much a cat version of me. I loved being in the water.

The guys came up behind me and took turns pressing kisses to my cheeks. I hummed with happiness. “Good morning to you all too, although I’m telling you now if you want to sleep together again, you’re going to have to put the beds together because last night was brutal.”

“You’re telling me? Someone kicked me in the nuts last night,” growled Hunter, and I spit out my coffee, laughing.

“Sorry, I’m pretty sure that was me.” He glared at me as he went to pour himself a cup of coffee.

I laughed and got up as they settled in to have breakfast and started to talk to Kalen. I gave them a little wave as I stepped outside and took a deep breath. It didn’t seem so sinister outside with the sun out, I thought thankfully, and padded over to the sound system to plug in my phone. I noticed Remi on a lounger with a book in her hand, in a bikini, and she looked like pure temptation. I sighed as I walked over to the lounger next to her. Part of me was still mad, mostly at the overall stupid plan, and then at the idea of her in hiding while people suffered. But after a night’s sleep, the other part of me, the part that won, knew that no one should be forced into a lifestyle they didn't choose and that, ultimately, fate brought us together, and I saw how much that meant to her last night. Regardless of the madness of our situation, I didn’t want to be mad.

I sighed and took off my cover before sitting down next to her. She put her book down and looked at me, knowing I wanted to say something. I smiled at her, “although I’m still mad,” I started, running my hands down her jaw, taking in her features, “I want to say I understand why you made your initial decisions. We’re going to have to deal with so much shit soon- I feel it in my bones- and it should be with all of us on the same page, working together.” I leaned over and kissed her lips gently before she tugged on my hair and kissed me. She poured every emotion, every apology, into that kiss. It was almost therapeutic.

After a moment, she looked at me and gave me a small smile, “I’ll always be by your side Hudson, even when I’m not physically there, my heart will always follow. I can spend my entire life making it up to you in every creative way I can think of because the truth is I’m so damn lucky to have you as my mate. You'll be greater in every aspect than I could’ve been as Queen.” I breathed deeply. Queen. That was going to take some getting used to. Regardless, I have five mates and I needed to make it work. If anyone can look at their love life and tell themselves that they didn’t have to make compromises and hard decisions, they can eat a dick. Liars.

I laid down and we fell into a comfortable silence. She kept reading and I started to sing along to the music playing in the background. I leaned over to look at my phone and noticed a few messages coming through.

Joshua- Hey, didn’t see you today, was looking forward to hanging out at lunch.

Hudson- I’m sorry, looks like I’m on house arrest. Haha.

Joshua- Sorry to hear that. I did get your homework for you though.

Hudson- Oh thank you! You can drop by and bring it; I’m just hanging out by the pool with Remi.

Joshua- Deal, is it okay if I bring a few of the guys with me?

I bit my lip- the damn marks. But I supposed with a concealment charm we should be fine since we weren’t leaving the house.

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