Albert nodded and went off to round up some sweets. Neil was downing the meat quickly when Zack entered the room. He had a gun in his hand, and I realized we hadn’t informed the bodyguard of our guest.
Zack took in the sight and quickly lowered his gun. He rolled his eyes and his sigh was one of great impatience. “Do you ever just sleep by yourself? Most of us just sleep alone or with a single partner but no, Zoey’s got to have a cast of rotating players. Lee’s going to be disappointed. Hell, I have to go find my boss and tell him his precious goddess is shacked up with some random dude and her best friend. How do I explain that to him? He’s out there making himself pretty for you and you just jump into bed with the first wolf you see.”
“Who the hell is he?” Neil asked, forgetting his manners as he talked around a mouthful of beef.
This was going to be awkward. I hadn’t even considered the fact that I would have to introduce Neil to the man who had effectively replaced him. “Well, he’s Dev’s bodyguard.”
Zack couldn’t let it sit. He stared down at me, letting me feel the full weight of his disapproval. He holstered the weapon and shook a finger at me. “What am I supposed to tell my master, Zoey? If you felt the need to cheat, why couldn’t you have at least had the decency to hide it from me? Now I have to get involved and I don’t want to be. And you.” He pointed at Sarah. “How could you after everything Felix gave up for you?”
Sarah’s eyes lit with mischief. “Couldn’t help it, Zack. Have you seen her boobs?”
Neil picked up on the one thing I was hoping he’d miss. “Master?”
The question was asked with that controlled voice one tends to get just before one blows one’s top.
Zack sneered at him. “Yes, my master. Daniel Donovan is my master, and I’m not ashamed of it. Look down your nose at me all you like, but he’s a great man. He’s trying to save all of us. You should be so lucky to call him master.” Zack was used to wolves not approving of his job and had started to confront the prejudice head on. Of course, he had no way of knowing Neil wouldn’t be judging him for serving Daniel. He would be upset for other reasons.
“Daniel took another servant?” Neil growled out the question.
“Sweetie, you need to eat and concentrate on feeling better,” Sarah said, hugging him from behind.
Understanding lit Zack’s brown eyes. “Oh, this is the first wolf. The one who ran away from his duties.” Zack nodded, finally satisfied I wasn’t doing something dirty that would break his precious boss’s tender heart. “He was gay. Carry on then, Zoey. He probably needs body contact.”
“Nice to know you approve, Zack,” I muttered because I could feel Neil’s tension.
“Ran away from my duties?” Neil spat the question. “It was pretty hard to run away from my duties when Daniel decided to take over my freaking body. Did you know he can do that, Zack?”
Zack rolled his eyes at the question. “Of course I did. I know my master. Everything was explained to me before I made my oath.”
“How does it feel knowing he can just take over your body the minute you disobey him?”
“I don’t intend to disobey him,” Zack replied smugly. “I don’t intend to disagree with him. He knows what’s best. That’s why he’s my master.”
“You just wait,” Neil said bitterly. “Wait until he sends your lover off to the Council.”
“I don’t think they’d take Lisa. If they did, they’d probably send her back. She’s bossy,” Zack said, shaking his head. “From what I understand, Chad was eager to go. He enjoys playing the spy and he’s good at it. Did you try to talk him out of it?”
Neil handed me the now empty plate, and I put it on the side table.
“He didn’t tell me,” Neil admitted.
“Then perhaps you should be upset with your lover rather than your master,” Zack said obnoxiously. “She died, you know.”
“Zack, he doesn’t need to hear about that.” Zack needed to keep his damn mouth shut. I didn’t intend to ever tell Neil that story.
“What?” Neil asked, not letting it drop.
Zack walked to the end of the bed. “Halfer killed her because she didn’t have a bodyguard. He killed Dev, too. He sliced them up with a knife. Marcus and Daniel had to save them. From what I understand, Zoey almost didn’t make it. They hired me and Lee the next day.”
The shaking was back now as Neil let his head fall into his hands, and he started to cry.
I shot Zack the dirtiest look I had. He shrugged but seemed a bit more sympathetic. “He would have found out sooner or later. He needed to know what he cost you. I’m going to find my boss and let him know what’s going on.”
Zack strode out of the room and Sarah and I were left with a devastated Neil. I pulled him back into my arms, and Sarah did the same, wrapping him in our body heat and letting him cry.
“I’m fine, Neil,” I assured him. “Dev’s fine. Everything worked out.”
“I got lost, Zoey,” he whispered. “I got so lost. I’m sorry.”
I sighed when he finally fell asleep. He snuggled down between our bodies and slept even while I worried that Daniel was about to be lost to me. If he chose to get lost, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt I wouldn’t find him again. Sarah and I passed a worried look between us, but after a while we closed our eyes and let sleep take us as well.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before so it wasn’t terribly surprising that it was just after dark when I woke up again. It was easy to sleep with Neil’s warmth pressed against me, but I heard voices whispering and was pulled from sweet oblivion. I knew it was after dark because someone had come in and lit the gas lamps. Sarah stirred on the other side of Neil. She’d obviously fallen asleep, too.
“It is normal, Felix,” Dev was saying.
“Are you sure?” Felix asked. “Shouldn’t I be more possessive? We’re married. We made very specific vows. I’m pretty sure those vows precluded stuff like this.”
“Dude, your vows were read by a guy in an Elvis costume,” Dev replied.
“They still count.”
I heard Dev sigh. “I don’t understand human marriages.”
“Obviously,” the former angel returned with a chuckle. “Otherwise tomorrow night might not be happening. I’m looking forward to it, by the way.”
“I’m glad to have you there, but you should know that it’s the most natural thing in the world to get turned on by two hot naked chicks in bed together,” Dev protested. “If one of those hot naked chicks just happens to be your wife then good for you, man. It means you chose wisely.”
“I’ll admit that it’s harder to retain pure thoughts with an actual functioning penis,” Felix confided. “It seems to make decisions for me at times.”
Dev laughed. “Welcome to my whole fucking world, Felix. Little Dev is in charge, man, and guess who’s in charge of Little Dev. Little is a misnomer. I’m actually quite large.”
I turned, letting my eyes find the men standing at the end of the bed. I shook my head at Dev. “Don’t you go and corrupt him, you pervert.”
Sarah sat up and gave her husband a surprised look. “Felix, how long have you been standing there?”
He flushed guiltily. “Awhile.”
Dev pointed. “He was here way before I was.”
“I thought you were supposed to be preparing yourself.” I shifted to make sure I was properly covered. Neil was still asleep between us.