My One and Only (Bewitched and Bewildered #10)(11)

Serenity stood when her friends did. Laelia turned to her and shook her head. "You spend some time with your mate. Radclyffe and I will run an assessment and update you during our next meeting." She looked around. "When would that be?"

"Dinner," everyone said almost immediately.

Radclyffe looked around. "Everyone eats here for every meal?"

Rheia nodded. "It ended up being easier that way."

Sebastian smiled. "With three squires here, it is actually quite easy to do. Feel free to leave your bags, I will move them to our guest quarters." He looked to Micah. "If it would make it easier, I can set up a room for you and your mate as well.

Micah smiled. "I think that may be a good idea, at least until the virus is cured."

Sebastian turned to Meryn. "And for Master Pip?"

Meryn frowned. "I hadn't thought through that far."

"He can stay with us in our house on the Unit Level," Nigel volunteered. "He's a vampire so he can just go back and forth between levels."

Pip gave a weak smile. "I am still a bit shaky when it comes to flying," he admitted softly.

Neil wrapped an arm around his thin shoulders. "No problem, we can help whenever you need us."

Pip looked up at him confused. "Why?"

Neil smiled at Meryn then looked down at Pip. "Because we're Meryn's brothers and you are too now, so we're going to look after you."

Pip nodded enthusiastically. "I think I am going to like having brothers and a sister."

Meryn shrugged. "It's not so bad."

Serenity raised an eyebrow to Kendrick who shook his head smiling. She thought that if anyone adopted the twins it would have been Kendrick. But from the boys' radiant expressions she knew they had finally found a place to call home, even if it was with a strange human.

Vivi turned to Serenity. "I don't wish to intrude on time with your mate, but before dinner, can you evaluate Prince Magnus? Our third treatment, as you know, is on hold until we can figure out what affected him so negatively. If you could give us half as many clues to work with as you did for Beth's curse, I feel like I would have a direction to move in."

Serenity glanced over to Micah who nodded. "Of course." Serenity smiled at him then turned back to Vivi. "I'll be back in a little bit to help with the prince."

Her words seemed to dismiss everyone as they all stood and began to leave the dining room.

Meryn held Pip's hand and led him past them. "Come on Pip, I get to show you my bat cave."

Pip frowned. "I do not like bats."

Meryn laughed. "You'll see."

Aiden followed behind them. "Don't overwhelm him Meryn," he chided.

Rheia looked at Serenity then winked. "They're all giant marshmallows I swear." She indicated to Pip. "I think Aiden will be more protective of him than Meryn will be." Serenity nodded smiling. She could already see that the huge commander had a protective streak a mile wide.

Laelia kissed her cheek. "See you soon," she promised and squeezed her hands encouragingly. Radclyffe just glared at Micah on the way out.

When they were the last two in the dining room she turned to her mate. "Hello," she said nervously.

Micah simply leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. "There are a lot of rumors about me, most of them aren't true," he whispered. "Just know that I have been waiting for you for a long time and I hope you try to get to know the real me."

When he stepped back his eyes held an element of vulnerability. Feeling daring she stepped into his body and rubbed their noses together. "I'm stubborn and tend to have to put my finger in the socket a few times to learn something, so if you have patience with me I will do everything I can to get to know my mate," she promised.

His face brightened when she used the term mate. "Deal." He took her hand and led the way out of the prince's quarter toward the transport tunnel. "Let's head to Level Six. You can meet some of the wolves and vendors, grab something to eat and even swing by the hospital before we check on Magnus."

Serenity felt a warmth expand in her chest. He noticed that she hadn't had a chance to eat and picked up on her impatience to see the children. "What about us?" she asked.

Micah smiled. "We have the rest of our lives my one and only. Until the threat to the children and prince are gone, I think I can share you." He paused. "Just a bit though," he said seriously.

"Thank you," she said simply.

"Let's go." He pulled her into the tunnel and together they floated up toward Level Six.





CHAPTER THREE





Micah couldn't believe his mate was walking at his side. Not only was she absolutely stunning with her dark brown curls and lavender eyes, her selflessness shined from her soul like a warm sun.

He led her by the hand until they found a table tucked away from the mid-day crowd. "You wait here, I'll grab my favorites for you to try," he suggested. She smiled up at him and nodded.

"Hey Micah, who is that with you?" Marcy asked as he approached her stall. She was one of his favorite vendors. Her specialty was sweet potato fries drizzled in brown sugar and cinnamon. "That beautiful soul is my one and only, my mate," he said proudly.