Chapter Eight

"Hello! My name is Milo and I'm going to be your handler when I grow up!"

Growing up, mother had always told me that one day I would have a handler. She described my handler as someone who was smart, who would care for me, love me, train me, and basically, become my lord and master. I was given strict instructions to listen to my handler at all times, behave, and always ask for permission first.

I'd met Milo when I was a baby, so I didn't remember meeting him for the first time, but I remembered the day he approached me in that small classroom of ten children, none of whom I'd ever met before.

Milo, like the other children, had been a child of one of mother's followers. Devout followers of Hera, Milo's parents had handed him over for her experiments. He, like the other children in that room, were the first of the children born and raised in the compound.

Back then, things weren't as strict. Milo was able to come and go from the compound, and he would always bring back things he found on his adventures, as he called them.

"What's that?" I remembered asking him once after one of his trips. We were sitting at our table with crayons and coloring books, but I didn't care about the boring pictures or smelly crayons. I wanted to know what Milo was writing with.

"It's called a sharpie," Milo said, making my eyes widen as I moved my chair over to watch him. Of course, when the smell of that marker hit my nose, I wrinkled it up before covering it.

"Ugh, why is it so stinky?"

"Because its a special kind of marker," Milo answered, then grinned at me when I stared up at him, still pinching my nose, "It's known for being permanent."

"Permit?"

"Perm-mah-nent. It means it stays forever, or at least, it's supposed to," Milo murmured, looking at the sharpie skeptically before he went back to writing some kind of characters I couldn't read.

"What's that say?" I asked, pointing to his strange language. Milo smiled.

"It says love," he replied, making me frown at him curiously, "Has mother told you what love is?" I looked at him with a frown.

"Yes," I said, but he seemed to continue smiling at me in confusion, waiting for me to continue, so I cocked my head, "It's what her mama used to trap them." Milo blinked, then frowned at me now.

"She used love to trap them?" He asked. I nodded.

"Mother says love is the strongest thing in the world," I explained as best I could, watching Milo's eyebrows go up with interest, "She says lots of people use it to trap people, like her mama did her, or like the scary god does his babies." Milo stared at me for the longest time. At the time, I didn't know what I was talking about. I was just regurgitating the bullshit I had been taught from the moment I could open my eyes.

Mother had spent my childhood warning me about love.

She said love was very fickle, love was very dangerous, love was very strong, but it was very often misused and in mother's eyes, love was deadly. She would do anything to protect us from it when it came from others, others she deemed untrustworthy.

"Love isn't a trap," Milo told me after a moment and I looked at him curiously, watching him take my little hand in his, "It's probably the best thing in the world."

"How?"

"Because it... makes you feel alive."

"But aren't I alive right now?"

"Surviving and living are not the same thing," Milo murmured and I blinked at something I hadn't considered, and at the time, I didn't quite understand what Milo meant. He wasn't much older than me, but somehow, Milo had the soul of a wise old sage sometimes, even when we were children.

Surviving and living aren't the same thing.

No. Definitely not.

My phone pinged abruptly and I grimaced, reaching up to wipe a hand down my face. I threw my arm over the back of the sofa in my apartment, hauling myself into a sitting position. I grabbed my phone off the table, squinting at the time.

Fantastic. Two hours of sleep last night. I'm on a fucking roll.

Of course, it would help if Darling stopped dredging up the past.

He didn't understand, though.

He didn't understand that that was the only way we could ever see Milo again.

"It's your alarm," D'Angelo's voice said from somewhere in the dark room and I sighed, relieved to hear that he was still around. It wouldn't be easy for him to escape, but it wouldn't be impossible and the last thing I needed was D'Angelo running off to inform Yhwhwa of Bethany's involvement with Hera.

We had enough shit on our plate at the moment without Heaven being alerted to Hera's experiments.

At some point, though, Bethany was going to snap. According to mother, Bethany had begun to search for D'Angelo herself. Mother insisted Hades had to have come in contact with him, which had Bethany running to Hades, except she couldn't come right out and demand where her son is without also admitting to being involved with Hera.

Bethany was trapped.

She couldn't get help finding D'Angelo, so she was going to do it alone.

Eventually, she was going to find out the truth.

The question was, did mother want her dead or not?

Killing Bethany was going to be harder than killing D'Angelo, and harder to hide. D'Angelo was nothing more than a bastard child Bethany had snuck into Heaven. Yhwhwa wouldn't miss him for a second, but Bethany? She was an archangel. She had power and authority, and a direct connection to Yhwhwa considering he had created her.

Killing Bethany would alert Yhwhwa.

Of course, there was always more than one way to hide a pain in the ass.

I shut my alarm off my phone, rising up from the sofa slowly, listening to every bone in my body crack. I was sore as shit after having dealt with Polly, and I tried not to let that thought bother me more than it should.

Polly had been doing fine, up until yesterday after my visit to the compound. She'd reverted back to her monster state and was destroying everything in sight, smashing furniture and lashing out at Kali whenever she tried to go in and help her. It had taken a couple hours to subdue her, only to come back to the apartment to find April bitching at Elias, who had gone into a screaming fit trying to escape her.

It was like trying to corral a bunch of toddlers.

And I wasn't a fucking licensed babysitter.

"You were crying in your sleep," D'Angelo said suddenly, making me frown down at my phone, but I refused to face him, "I didn't know you could feel anything."

Maybe there is a soul in him I can work with, after all, D'Angelo's thoughts echoed across the room to me and I smiled grimly, tightening my grip on my phone before I rose to my feet.

"Don't get excited, sparky," I said, earning a frustrated growl from the angel, "I was dreaming about going to work, that's all." D'Angelo snorted at that. I moved around to gather my shit for the day. I could feel D'Angelo moving around the room, but he wasn't corporeal, meaning he was running out of magic. I'd offer him some to at least have some power in case something happens, but I was running low thanks to Polly.

If anyone could wear me down to the quick of my magic, it was Polly.

She was strong, which was concerning.

She was too small, too young, to contain that level of power. Sooner or later, it was going to backfire and I wondered briefly if she could survive it.

No, I reminded myself sternly as I shrugged my jacket on, she has to survive. She has to.

"Are you coming back today?" D'Angelo asked me at last. His voice came from somewhere near the kitchen.

"Better be," I muttered, pocketing my phone, "My fucking back hurts. Oh, and don't worry about the mail today, I canceled anything for the future." D'Angelo was silent, but I could hear his brain working with that information.

Canceling his mail service? But why? He was collecting mail to use as a cover, but now he doesn't need it? Is he going to pack up and move? Is he taking me, or is he going to dispose of my soul? He was nervous. He wanted to find a way to tell Ryk, find some way to update him on what was happening, and a part of me wanted to let him go, just for a second, just to let Ryk know he was... well, not okay, but around, ya know?

But I couldn't risk it.

D'Angelo wasn't the only one with people to protect.

"Have a good day, angel," I said, heading for the door.

"Fuck you," was D'Angelo's response, making me smirk. I walked out the door and shut it behind me, heading out onto the street while tapping a cigarette out of the box. I lit it as I walked, pulling out my phone to check my messages.

A text from mother to tell me she didn't like the coffee, even though she drank it anyway, followed by a few more texts from mother that appeared to be files for the experiments scheduled for Polly and Elias. Of course, her most recent text was a dumb picture of her and Bethany having some kind of fancy breakfast with sparkly white plates and crystal glasses full of freshly squeezed orange juice.

Mother looked vibrant in the photo, as usual.

Bethany was nervous.

I went to the next message, which was from Kali, informing me that Polly had finally been sedated and was resting. Elias had gotten hurt using the stove, but he healed so fast Kali didn't even need to get out the med kit. Although, apparently he was a fucking crybaby, which somehow had me grinning from ear-to-ear. Elias was good at putting on a brave face, but yeah, he was proving to be a bit of a baby.

Don't let it get to you, I reminded myself, even though it was no use. At the end of the day, Elias was important to me. Mother knew that. And she would use him as well as she used Polly and Kali.

A text from Diego arrived to tell me I was training with Beni for a couple hours before I could head home early for the day. Three canceled appointments made for an overstaffed day and that meant I could get out at a decent time.

I arrived at The Winged Serpent on time, passing Antonio, who gave me a wave as I yawned a good morning. I headed around back to the break room where Beni was already waiting, slouched in his seat and glaring at his phone. The moment I walked in, he glanced up and immediately his features pinched.

Ugh, this is so unfair, Beni lamented as he put his phone away and stood up, why do I have to spend any time with this cocky fucker? The way he walks around like he owns the place when he's just a newbie. And I hate, hate, hate the way he looks at Wren. There's something off about this guy. I smiled as Beni looked up to pin me with a less than approving glare.

"Good morning, Beni! I'm ready for my first day of training," I said, pausing when Beni curled his lip at my cheeriness, which was a definite green light to keep going, "I'm so excited to finally have the opportunity to join the rest of the servers on the floor. I've never had sex in this kind of environment, so I'll make sure to listen to everything you have to say!" That was laying it on thick, but it was so thick that Beni looked like he was going to gag, so my mission was honestly complete in that department.

"Great," Beni said with about as much enthusiasm as a dead squirrel, "Follow me." I just smiled and followed Beni out of the room.

"You've already had the grand tour," Beni explained, clearly uninterested as he pulled out his phone again to give it a look as he walked, "So you know where everything is at. Your training is mostly going to be about the rooms and clientele and proper procedures. Did you already learn how to use the sanitizing packs in the laundry room?"

"Yup."

"That's super important. Our job is to maintain a safe and clean environment for us and our clientele. Don't ever forget that."

"So always wash my hands, huh?" I asked. Beni paused to give me a less than amused stare before he pocketed his phone and led me into his room.

Beni's room was, for the most part, like the other rooms. A basic bedroom with a huge bed that had nice fluffy pillows, hooks and chains hanging from the bedposts under a canopy of gauzy white silks. A dresser, a nightstand, a wall of toys that looked pristine and sparkly clean, and of course, a luxury bathroom with a jacuzzi tub and a shower case big enough to fit a family of five.

"Bougie," I said, pausing to eye the mini-fridge by the dresser. Beni looked thoroughly annoyed, just in general, so I smiled as I watched him put his phone down and roll up his button up sleeves.

"You get more features in your room the more you please your clientele," Beni explained, turning to face me with his arms folded over his chest, "The more positive feedback you get from your clients, the more benefits you receive. You can also ask for specifics if your client requests it, but since you're new, you'll need to check things out of the storage room and sign for them every time you take them out."

"But you get to keep toys in your room all the time?" I asked. Beni stuck his nose in the air, like he was super proud of having his own sex toy collection.

"Yes. I am responsible and careful with all of my clients and my materials. I can be trusted to return things, replace them, and clean them. So keep that in mind whenever you check toys out of the storage room," he said, then gave me a scan from head to toe, like he wasn't impressed, "Of course, you're gonna have to work hard in order to earn any extra toys." I smiled.

"I've never been told to use toys," I said. Beni blinked, then glared at me.

"Some people enjoy them, don't think your dick is enough to satisfy everyone," he scolded, making me raise an eyebrow, "Don't get cocky and think that your dick is some kind of magic wand that can please everyone. Not everyone comes in here to get plowed, you know. A lot of our clients enjoy specific plays and kinks and fetishes. It isn't our place to judge, just provide what they require in order to find release in the safest and most pleasurable way."

"Sure," I said with a nod, hooking my thumbs in my jeans and casually looking around while Beni's eyes tracked me, "That's fair. Good motto to have around here too, safety and pleasure. So your prioritize pleasure for your clients too, then?" Beni looked startled by the comment, and extremely offended. So much so that he didn't speak right away, not that his mind was censored, though.

This smarmy little bastard. Who the fuck does he think he is, questioning whether or not I can pleasure a client? I've worked here for nearly a decade, and worked as a sex slave for centuries. I know what I'm fucking do around here. I have centuries of experience on this fucking neophyte. He was so pissy that he just stood there fuming as I walked along his toy board on the wall, noting the numerous vibrators, dildos, gags, even urethral toys.

I had to hand it to him, though.

Everything was so sparkly clean.

"Our clients pleasure is of the utmost importance," Beni said after a moment of silent fuming, and he managed to keep his voice pretty steady when he answered, despite the steam still billowing out of his ears, "You do not leave the room until they have found release and until they give you permission to leave." I smiled at that, pausing to study a beautiful pink leather blindfold that matched a glittery ball gag. For the briefest of moments, I pictured Wren laying on the bed, his legs spread open, hoisted up onto my shoulders. His pouty lips pink and swollen, wrapped around that glittery ball in his mouth, drool dripping from the corner down his chin. Those fierce flashing dark eyes hidden behind a pink blindfold, cheeks flushed, chest rising and falling.

Yeah, he'd look great in pink. His tanned skin, his blonde hair.

Pink is his color.

"Look," Beni said, making me turn to look at him, amused by his sternness now, "I don't know why you're here. You clearly don't give a shit about the job or the community or culture or anything. You're not here to help other erotia, are you?" I smiled.

"What gave you that idea? Also, I'm sorry if I've said or done something to offend your culture. I don't remember much of it, thanks to my accident, but I don't mean disrespect. I'm just so curious; it's almost like being reborn again. I don't quite understand everything the way I used to, so forgive any impertinence on my part." The apology seemed to surprise Beni. He stared at me, confused for a moment, then cleared his throat and looked away.

Gross, for a second there I almost thought he was cute. He's good at looking pitiful. Didn't Diego say he was a top? What kind of top looks good as a kicked puppy? He wondered bitterly.

Thankfully, Beni kept his comments to himself and reverted right back to professionalism as he explained all the toys, how to keep them clean, how to change the bedding, how to use the laundry room, and so on and so forth. It was probably the most boring day I had at work so far, which was disappointing.

I'd hoped to see Wren before clocking out after training, but the kid didn't have an appointment until later in the evening.

That meant it was time to actually get to work.

Sighing, I left The Winged Serpent after listening to Beni give me one more rudeass rant about being cocky around clients. Of course, he had to tack on one extra bonus warning.

"And for the record," Beni said, touching my shoulder to get my attention and when I turned to him, he backed off as if remembering that I was much larger than he was, but he didn't back off the warning he intended as he glared at me, "Wren is my client. Hades assigned him specifically to me. So if you think you can sweet talk your way into his bed, you're out of your league."

I smiled.

"I wouldn't dream of stealing Wren from you, Beniboo, you're my supervisor."

"Ugh," Beni flushed, clearly not liking the nickname, "You couldn't steal him even if you tried." Without another word, the flashy bitch stomped back into the building and left me to smoke my cigarette with a chuckle.

At least now I had a good nickname for him.

I finished my cigarette as I made my way into town. I planned to swing by the liquor store for an energy drink, only to pause outside the shop when my phone pinged. I took it out, a smirk curving the corner of my lip as I watched the little blue dot moving on the screen, followed by two more little blue dots.

I ditched the liquor store and took to the rooftops, following the trio of blue dots into the shopping district. I followed the dots right into a busy street, but even with the crowds of people bustling in and out of shops, I found Wren in a heartbeat.

He was standing with his back against a streetlamp, hands thrust in the pockets of his leather jacket, those dark eyes scanning the sky. I was at a good angle to avoid his gaze, but I decided not to risk hanging out above and moved to the alley down below, all the while watching Wren.

He wasn't alone, of course, so walking up to him was out of the question.

Especially since he was with Six and Hadrian.

Hadrian didn't know what I looked like, and I knew that by taking a peek into his head. He was clairvoyant in a way similar to Keros, but not exactly. He had visions, but he was still learning how to read them, how to understand them, so he had no idea what to look for when it came to me personally.

Six, on the other hand, knew what I looked like. Even though it had been years since we had seen each other, I knew he wouldn't be able to forget me, just like I wasn't able to forget him.

Six had grown up so fucking fast, it was insane.

I still remembered him as the cute little cinnamon roll child who rolled all over his crib, sucking his thumb and teething on the bars. He went from a pudgy baby to a muscular young boy in no time. Of course, mother hadn't approved of his physical appearance because, in her eyes, Six was overweight. Despite Tenjin, and others, telling her that was just his body type, she insisted it wasn't appropriate, and so with that came a new set of regulations on our diets.

Poor Six had taken the hit to his confidence like a kick to the balls. He ate timidly after that, ate slowly as if to savor his meager meal.

Except, that was the last time I'd seen him in the compound, when he was a kid.

He was an adult now, and it blew my mind. He walked with a kind of confidence I hadn't seen in a long time. He walked with his head up, and seemed more than comfortable in his crop-top and low slung jeans. He looked trendy.

I couldn't resist smiling, to the point I needed to cover my face.

Fuck, I was proud of him. It was surreal seeing how far he'd come when he'd been so small and timid and scared. Now he seemed to genuinely smile, especially when he looked at Hadrian, who returned a glorious smile of sparkling white teeth. Hadrian said something I didn't catch, but whatever it was made Six blush and smile sheepishly.

Hadrian leaned in, pressing a kiss to his cheek, leaving a little wet lip gloss print.

So cute, Hadrian's thoughts lingered softly.

So sweet, Six thought dreamily.

"So gross," Wren deadpanned, making me snort as Hadrian looked up to give Wren an apologetic smile, "If you're going to make out, I'm going to get those groceries."

"Go ahead," Hadrian said, pausing to give Six a secret smile that had him blushing to the tips of his ears, "I have to... use the toilet."

"Uh, me too," Six agreed with a nod. Wren grimaced, saying nothing else to the flirty couple as he went into the nearby food market. He looked thoroughly disgusted. Meanwhile, Hadrian took Six by the hand and led him away somewhere more private.

Seeing a golden opportunity, I decided to pick up some groceries myself.

I grabbed a basket on my way inside, keeping a good few feet back from Wren, who didn't appear to notice me. He was looking down at his phone with a scowl, and on the other hand was a basket and what appeared to be a paper shopping list.

A quick peek into Wren's head revealed an image of him sitting at a round dining table in a small quaint dining room. It was so strangely decorated with nature shit, like pressed flowers in frames, herbs hanging in front of a window with gauzy curtains.

What really surprised me was Niko sitting across from Wren, writing slowly with a pencil on some notebook paper.

Jesus Christ, is he writing willingly?

How'd they swing that?

"You know you can just text me the list," Wren was saying while Niko scribbled in frustration on the paper, "Nobody really writes by hand that much anymore."

"Don't care," Niko ground out as he managed to hold his pencil steady, pausing as his tongue pushed out between his teeth in concentration, "I wanna know how to do it the old-fashioned way, shut up."

"Kay," Wren said slowly, watching as Niko scribbled angrily, then tossed the paper aside and grabbed another from a nearby pile. I glanced at the tiled floor beneath to see that Niko had gone through a whole notebook of paper. A quick peek around and I could make out a kitchen somewhere to the side, maybe a living room around the corner, a hallway to the bedrooms, but whenever I tried to look out the window to determine a location, I was met with foggy windows.

"How do you spell tomatoes?" Niko demanded.

"I thought you had tomatoes in your garden."

"I did, but Three fuckin' stepped on two of them, so now I only have one plant and I'm too fuckin' lazy to plant more this late in the season."

"Okay."

"So how do you spell tomatoes?"

I smiled, watching Wren lean over to instruct Niko correctly and Niko followed his every tip on how to properly hold his pencil and write and spell. A little thrill rushed through me, because Niko had never been interested in academics. Mother often lamented how annoying Niko was because he just didn't listen, he didn't sit still, he didn't pay attention, he didn't care.

Except she was wrong.

It wasn't that Niko didn't care about learning.

He just didn't want to learn from her or her people.

And who could blame him?

I zoned back into the present to see Wren scowling at Niko's handwriting. I smirked as I paused behind Wren to peer over his shoulder at the list.

"Is that supposed to say plant based crumbles?" I asked. Wren jumped, startled and looked at me, briefly surprised before his eyebrows slammed down in a frown.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded. I held my basket full of random shit I'd thrown in there to look like I'd been shopping.

"I also require sustenance to function," I said. Wren blushed a little, rolling his eyes and turning his back to me. Clearly he was going to try and ignore me.

Key word there: Try.

"So, I didn't know you were vegetarian," I commented as Wren rolled his eyes in irritation. He cast me a sideways glance when he moved past me, like he was wondering what the fuck I was doing following him, but he didn't stop me as I tagged along beside him.

"I'm not," Wren muttered, "It's for my cousin."

"He vegetarian?"

"Uh, not really. He just likes to try everything once."

"Aw, how old is he?"

"Uhhh," Wren paused to stare straight ahead for a moment, then cleared his throat, "Like, five." He was lying to throw me off, but the fact that he called Niko a five-year-old was hilarious and it took everything I had not to laugh at that.

"Oh, he writes good for a five-year-old," I said, making Wren snort as he tucked the list in his pocket.

"Yeah, well, nice seeing you," he said, moving toward another aisle. I smiled and followed right behind him.

"You too," I replied, making him scowl as we walked down the aisle side by side, "You're looking a little more lively today. You've been kind of melty the last few times you came to the shop." Wren blushed at that and he gave his jacket lapels a little tug, almost like he was trying to hide his groin, and I just smiled innocently.

"Yeah, a cold," he lied smoothly, pausing to study the shelves.

"Yeah? I've never got an erection from a cold," I mused. Wren stumbled and I caught him by the arm so he didn't fall head first into the freezer section. He snatched his arm from me in a huff, glaring at me fiercely.

"Leave me alone, don't touch me," he added. I held my hands up in surrender.

"Oops, my bad. Got it, no touchy," I said with a nod. Wren glared at me a moment longer, then continued on his shopping spree. This time, he was very deliberate in snatching things off the shelf and throwing them in his basket, clearly annoyed that I was still on his ass.

"So how do you feed if you don't let Beni touch you?" I asked. Wow, any redder and Wren would actually match the tomatoes on display.

"That's none of your business."

"No, just concerned," I replied and Wren gave me a confused scowl at that, "You're clearly not eating enough. I can see your collarbone and ribs from here." He turned away.

"I'm fine." That didn't sound rehearsed at all, I thought sarcastically.

"Yeah? Me too," I agreed, making Wren glare at me sideways as I pulled a couple boxes of minute-rice off the shelf, "I'm always fine, even when I'm not." Wren glared at the shelves now. He didn't say anything, he wasn't going to encourage me to talk to him anymore, but that was okay.

I didn't need him to say anything.

I just needed to be close enough to catch his eyes and see what was going on in that head of his. He kept thinking back to where he was staying, but unfortunately, every memory of his location was somehow blurred. Even when I tried to open doors in his memories, it was like they were locked from the outside, which was odd. I should be able to trapeze wherever I want in his head, except that wasn't the case, which meant they probably knew I could invade their heads somehow.

Thanks, Ryk, you're always making my job harder.

"Don't you have friends you can bother?" Wren asked in irritation when our hands bumped together at the same time reaching for some ketchup. He yanked his hand back like he touched fire, giving me a glare as I handed him the bottle.

"Oh, I have no memories of my previous life in Seattle," I admitted with a shrug, making him frown as we walked down the aisle together, "And I haven't been able to make any friends since I got here. Weird."

"Yeah, weird," Wren drawled, scanning the shelves and comparing it to items on his paper list, "It definitely has nothing to do with your attitude." I grinned.

"Attitude? What attitude?" I asked. Wren stared at me.

"You know what my parents would call your attitude, Hex?"

"Hm?"

"Cruisin' for a bruisin'," Wren deadpanned, making me laugh as he turned away and continued down the aisle while I followed close behind. He was so cute. The way he dressed like Stanton, but seemed to behave like Alaric, like he was trying to be both of his parents at the same time, but there was a ferocity that was just uniquely him.

In a funny way, it reminded me of... Milo.

He'd always been kind and sweet and understanding, that much was true, but there were times when Milo and I had butted heads over dumb shit. Whether it was peeing on the toilet seat or hogging the blankets or anything else that I considered a domestic offense. And despite the idea that Beasts were supposed to be subservient to their handlers, Milo never treated me like less than him, even when we fought.

"You're so unbelievable," Milo barked at me once when I'd put up a fuss about him sparring with someone else, "I don't need to ask for your permission to spar, and I certainly do not need to stand here and take that attitude."

"He doesn't just want to spar," I snarled back, watching Milo plop on the recliner to lace up his combat boots, "He wants to fuck you, I know he does!" Milo laughed at that, rising to his feet and shooting me a dirty look.

"Not everyone wants to fuck, Jasper, so fucking get off my dick. It's just a spar session and I'll be back to play with you in no time," he responded dismissively, reaching for his jacket. I lunged at him, grabbing him from behind and Milo grunted as I hauled him against me.

"No! I said stay here, so that means stay here!"

"Get off me, I'm leaving! Don't touch me!"

"Don't say that," I managed, tightening my grip on him and Milo groaned, reaching back to sink his hand in my hair, twisting the locks around his fingers.

"Jasper, stop! You're crushing me, ugh," Milo squirmed in my grasp now, tightening his grip on my hair and I could feel strands ripping free from my scalp, making me hiss, "Just get off of me!" He jerked hard and I finally gasped, loosening my grip around him and he managed to twist away, whirling around and shoving me back against the wall. I gasped at the impact and went to push off, but Milo held his hand out against my chest, glaring at me.

"Enough," he ordered as I panted for breath, "Jasper, stop. When I tell you to stop touching me, I fucking mean it, do you understand? If you touch me when I say no, that is touching me without consent. What have I taught you?" Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched Milo glare at me.

"N-No," I managed, pushing off the wall, but I didn't touch him like he asked, holding my hands up in surrender, "No, I... I'm sorry, I didn't... I just don't want you to leave me." Milo blinked, lowering his hand to his side now.

"Baby, that's not what this is about," Milo murmured, coming forward now to take my face in his hands and the itching crawling sensation under my skin receded now as I melted into his arms, "You know better than that. We're just sparring, that's it. Whatever Lyle wants, he's not getting it from me, and you should know that by now. Do you not trust me?" I sniffled and Milo sighed now, reaching up to wipe the tears off my cheeks.

"I do," I choked, the tears not stopping for a second and it was joined by a drop of snot that made Milo smile sadly as he reached for a tissue off the table, "But it's not fair— he knows-he knows you're mine— mine."

"Yes, he does," Milo said, dabbing my tears away before he held the tissue to my nose so I could blow into it, "And he knows that there is no one else in the world who can make my heart and soul complete, like you do, darling." His words went a long way in soothing my Beast. I could feel the soft purring rumble in my throat as he sought peace in Milo's presence. A part of me was still agitated, annoyed he would still go spar with this fucker who clearly had the hots for him, sad because he wasn't listening to me and staying where I wanted, and frustrated that I felt like I had to lock him up in our apartment.

It was moments like that when I saw mother in myself.

The desperation to keep everyone I knew and loved locked up and put away from the world.

Except I knew better.

All cages were broken open eventually.

I looked up at the same time Wren paused at the end of the aisle and turned to look at me with a scowl, clearly unsure why I had abruptly stopped walking. The way the light came in the windows by the checkout lanes, it poured around Wren in almost a halo-like fashion, making his soft blonde hair gleam, his dark eyes locked on me, expression confused.

For the briefest of moments, I felt a strange ache in my chest.

Nostalgic.

Because it reminded me of the last time I saw Milo, the way he stood in the living room with the kitchen light glowing behind him, a sad smile gracing those lips. I didn't understand that look at the time, didn't understand why he was so upset about the mail, why he was so upset about our plans.

"Are we leaving or not?" Wren demanded, snapping me out of my stupor. I blinked, then smiled slowly.

"We're a we now?" I asked. Wren blushed.

"Fuck you," he bit off, whipping around and heading to a self-checkout lane. I smirked, following behind him and unloading my shit as I watched him scan his items.

"You know, everyone tells me I have an attitude, but it's like no one has met you," I mused, making him roll his eyes.

"You grind my gears in the worst way," he admitted dryly, bagging his items.

"Oh? Should I grind a little harder?" I asked, staying close behind him and leaning over just a bit to whisper in his ear. The position had the right effect, because Wren's cheeks flushed, his breath left him in a soft surprised gasp, and he took a step back against me.

It was the perfect position, his ass pressing back against my cock, his hand reaching back like he was trying to grab onto me so he didn't stumble, so I put my hand up and he caught it. I laced our fingers together, smiling as I looked down at him, his head coming up to stare back up at me, those dark eyes widening.

"Uh," was all that came out of his mouth.

And I felt the blast of his heat against me like a heatwave. I sucked in a deep breath as those pheromones snatched my senses and flew away with them. He was sweet and sweaty and hot all at the same time and I actually found my mouth watering for a taste of him. I had a brief fantasy of sinking down to my knees in front of him, pulling him out of his pants so I could stuff him in my mouth.

The sweet taste of him, the smell, it was enough to drive my senses wild.

The fantasy played out with me pushing him back against the scanner, forcing him up onto the counter and swallowing him whole. The thought of reaching up, massaging his balls until I worked my fingers inside him, stretched him wide. I could picture him perfectly slumping back against the scanner, his legs widening to accept the pleasure, his lips parting in a soft little moan.

"Sirs, this is a grocery store," a voice said, making me blink and look up to see a dude with a manager sticker on his shirt staring at us over the scanner. Wren blinked a couple times, clearly taking a second to snap out of his daze. When he realized what was happening, he turned redder than a tomato and drew his elbow back into my stomach.

I grunted, surprised by the force behind his shove, as he pushed away from me.

Mumbling a stammered apology, Wren snatched his receipt and flew out of the store so fast he almost left a vapor trail. I watched him go, then turned to look at the manager, who was glaring at me.

I smiled.

"Dude. I was so close," I said. The manager pointed out the door.

"Leave," he ordered. I kept smiling as I gathered my items and headed out of the store. I looked down at my phone to see that Wren was hurriedly making his way through the shopping district and headed right for The Winged Serpent. Hadrian and Six were still nearby, but they weren't moving from their position. I looked up with the intention to follow Wren, but a ping on my phone had me looking down to see a text from Kali.

We have a problem and his name is Elias. Get to base ASAP.

I sighed.

Goddamn it.