“What do I deserve?”
Ray raises her hand, waving at something behind Lou. My eyes dart up, staring in awe as another form becomes visible. I squeeze Ray’s hand, silently supporting her, letting her use me as her catalyst even if she doesn’t realize she’s even doing it.
“Peace.”
Lou’s eyes widen before she’s turning around, darting from her place on the blanket and over to the man standing behind her. She throws her arms around him and he catches her. “Daddy?”
“I’m here, sweetheart. I think it’s finally time that we moved on. Don’t you?”
Lou holds on tight, both of them slowly floating down until their feet are touching the floor. Their forms become solid. “How are you here?”
“I couldn’t leave you,” he says softly, running his fingers through the back of her long hair. “And thanks to them, I was finally able to reach out to you. They helped bridge the gap.”
Lou looks over her shoulder at us, tears streaming down her face. “Thank you.” Ray gives her a nod. “I’m ready, Daddy. Let’s go.”
Lou’s father takes her hand and they both walk away, their forms shimmering with the most brilliant golden color before they’re disappearing into the afterlife. Another thud comes from the kitchen, signaling that Zeke has hit the floor. Better than the wall again, I suppose.
“You okay?”
My breath is stolen as I’m practically tackled. Ray grabs hold of me, hugging me so tight I can’t breathe, but that’s okay, I don’t mind. I wrap my arms around her, holding her as she lets out a silent sob against my shoulder.
“Thank you,” she finally says, her voice just barely above a whisper. “I was able to help them. I helped that girl finally find peace. This is important.”
“Yeah,” I breathe out. “You did so well, Ray. I’m so proud of you.”
She pulls back, doing her best to wipe her face and get the running eyeliner off her cheeks. “I couldn’t have done this without you. The moment I grabbed your hand, everything just kinda fell into place. I could reach out to them and tug them together.”
“As you practice it’ll come even easier to you.”
“I’m gonna give that spark whisperer a call. Nash, you said his name was? I don’t think I need a full lesson or anything but talking this out with him will probably be good.”
My chest blooms bright with affection. I’m so fucking proud of Ray. I’m so happy she’s finally embracing herself. I’m so happy tonight went so well and we ended up with a happy ending for Lou and her father.
“I think that sounds great.”
A groan sounds behind me and my stomach drops, remembering my mate was just tossed through the wringer quite literally. He’s leaning against the doorframe, holding his arm against his chest.
“Fuck, Zeke. Are you okay?”
“Oh yeah, totally fine. Don’t worry about me. I’ve had much worse.”
“That does not reassure me like you think it does,” I say right away, quickly leaving my seat and walking over to him, looking him over. He’s got a few scuffs, some bruises, and a scrape that’s bleeding a little bit at his elbow, but otherwise looks okay. I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Gods, you were amazing, babe,” Page gushes, pulling Ray into her arms and swinging her around in a circle. “Mastered this whole thing on the first try. I think we need to celebrate!”
Zeke hums. “Can we celebrate after I’ve gotten some rest. I’m gonna be so fucking sore tomorrow.”
“Party pooper.”
A growl rumbles through my chest and I glare over at Page. “He said he needs rest. Fuck off.”
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I throw a hand over it. Oh my gods. I cannot believe I just said that!
“Well,” Zeke says with a grin, putting his hands on my shoulders. “My mate has spoken.”
“Wow,” Ray breathes out, giving me a pleased look. “I didn’t think you had it in you, Casper. Good for you.”
“I-I. That wasn’t. Oh my gods. Fuck. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Page tells me quickly. “Sometimes instincts make us say things. I’m happy to lay off. Especially with all that going on,” she explains, waving a hand in my general direction. Does she mean the fact that we’re newly mated? Yeah, that must be it. I’m glad they seem to understand I didn’t mean anything by the comment other than being overprotective of my mate.
“Let’s get our shit and get out of here. Hotel or drive back home?”
I look at the wince on my mate’s face and make the decision for him. “Hotel. Zeke needs to rest before we head back home.”
Under her breathe I hear Page say, “fuck yeah, hotel sex.”
Ray snorts, shoving her elbow into her mate’s stomach. “Shut the fuck up.”
They giggle together as they gather everything up. I put my arm around Zeke, letting him lean against me as I lead him back outside and to the car. “Okay, now that it’s just you and me, how are you actually feeling?”
“I’ll be fine by the morning, baby, I promise.”
I hum, my stomach flipping delightfully at the pet name. “I’ll take good care of you. Promise.”
It takes about a half hour to pack everything up and find our way into our hotel room. It’s dead this time of night so we thankfully don’t run into anyone in the lobby or hallway.
Once we’re in our room, I push Zeke into sitting at the end of the bed. I carefully remove his shoes, and then his sweater, and then his jeans. He gives me the softest smile as I do. I would do a lot of things to keep that smile on his face.
