Loved (House of Night Other World #1)(83)

Stark met us as we walked through the door. He hugged me tightly and I gave myself a moment, resting my cheek against his chest while he wrapped me in his arms, surrounding me in love and warmth.

“Thanks,” I whispered to him. “I needed that.”

“Me, too. You okay?”

“If I said yes would you believe me?”

“Not for a second.”

“Well then, let’s get something to eat and talk about our plan for the night.”

“That sounds like a great idea. I’m starving,” Shaunee said. “And where’s—”

Erik Night rounded the corner. The instant he saw Shaunee his face lit with his megawatt movie-star smile. He covered the few yards that separated them in two strides and lifted her into his arms, twirling her around.

I waited, trying not to cringe, for her to zap him with a spark or, at the very least, order him to put her down. Instead, she giggled.

Giggled.

“There’s my hotness!” He nuzzled her neck and gave her a mischievous little bite. “Do you know what I’ve been doing all day while you were out gallivanting with Z?”

“Running lines while you gazed lovingly at yourself in the mirror? Again?” she said impishly.

“No, smartass. I’ve been babysitting red fledglings.”

“Did they not settle down and sleep?” I tried not to stare at the two of them. I mean, they make a gorgeous couple, but I just wasn’t used to Shaunee being all girly about a guy. Or Erik being so infatuated that he didn’t care whether he looked cool or not.

Erik put Shaunee down. “About half of them did. The other half are touch and go. It was a good idea to pair them with our fledglings, though. That did help. One kid won’t stop crying. At all. Shaylin said his aura is very dark and messed up. I don’t think anyone knows what to do about it.”

“I do.” Aphrodite emerged from the hallway that led to the Field House. “We give him time. We let him talk. And we get him a dog.” She went to Darius and started to wrap her arms around him before realizing he was covered in fat snowflakes. With a grimace, she brushed the snow from his shoulders, grumbling, “Ugh. Snow. It always reminds me of that awful scene from The Breakfast Club when Ally Sheedy’s Goth character makes that picture with dandruff snow. It scarred me for life.” Then she pulled him to her for a long, lingering kiss.

“Wait, did you say a dog?” I asked.

“Yes. I think we need to invest in PTSD service dogs for the new fledglings. The cats don’t want anything to do with them. It’s weird, actually. But they came from another world, so I suppose cats being repulsed by them isn’t really that weird. Anyway, Duchess was downstairs with Damien and Other Jack. She didn’t mind the fledglings at all when they showed up hysterical and dirty. You know—that’s just another difference between dogs and cats, who I think are much better judges of character. Dogs accept practically anyone. Cats are more discerning.”

“Do not disrespect my dog, Aphrodite,” Stark said.

“Oh, don’t get your panties in a wad, Bow Boy. I’m just mentioning a difference in the two—I’m not disrespecting. Duchess helped today. A lot. So, let’s get more dogs.”

“Seems like an easy fix to me. And I like dogs. Let’s contact the Tulsa Humane Society and rescue a bunch of cool dogs for the fledglings. Totally a win-win,” I said. “Do you guys all want to get something to eat and then I’ll check on the new kids before I go back out there and keep looking for Other Kevin?” I glanced around. “Is Damien still downstairs with Other Jack? And where’s Stevie Rae?”

“Damien and Other Jack were heading to our dining hall. I told him you wouldn’t care if Other Jack joined him because he’s technically dead and not a student here,” Aphrodite said.

“Morbid, but correct.”

“And Stevie Rae was helping us with the fledglings, but when it got close to dusk she took off to catch Bird Boy, or whatever it is she does to get him to fly back to her.”

I rolled my eyes.

“She said she’d meet us in the dining hall with Rephaim. I assume after he exchanges feathers for jeans and a T-shirt.”

“All righty then,” I smiled at everyone, hoping if my face was happy, my mind would follow. “Who wants psaghetti?”



Zoey

I got a major flash of déjà vu when I stepped into the dining hall and saw Damien sitting at our table with Other Jack. The two of them were holding hands; their heads tilted toward one another. Jack whispered something into Damien’s ear and his laughter was like glitter, floating around the room and leaving little pieces of it on all of us.

“He looks so much better,” Shaunee said.

“Which one?” Aphrodite said.

“Both,” Darius said as we walked to our table.

“Hi guys. Other Jack, it’s really good to see you. I’d ask how you’re feeling, but it’s obvious that you are feeling great.”

“Merry meet, High Priestess!” Other Jack stood, bowing to me formally.

“Hey, call me Zoey. You and I are going to be good friends. Again.”

We slid into our large table and the waitress took our orders. I was surprised when Aphrodite ordered a salad to go with her usual glass (or five) of wine, and even more surprised when it came and she ignored the wine and dug into the food.