Page 32 of What the Hex
“Have you guys met my mate?” Storm asked out of nowhere. “This is King. He’s amazing. I don’t know if you can tell, but he smells like dark chocolate and cinnamon. He also does this thing where he wrinkles his nose when he gets annoyed with me. It’s really cute.”
King groaned again as heat crept up his neck and into his cheeks. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, they needed to find a solution, and fast.
When he finally dropped his hands and looked up, he was startled to discover Damien’s face was nearly as red as his own. A heartbeat later, he realized it had nothing to do with embarrassment, though. The wolf was trying desperately to suppress his laughter.
And frankly, failing miserably.
“Oh, look at his blush. Isn’t it adorable?” Wrapping an arm around King’s waist, Storm dragged him next to his side. “It goes all the way to the tips of his ears. And he has the most perfect ears. Then again, everything about him is perfect. Sometimes, when he’s thinking, he does this thing—”
Only King’s hand over his mouth prevented the shifter from continuing. “I think they get it. You can stop now.”
He waited for his mate’s nod of agreement before slowly lowering his hand. Even then, he remained tense, afraid Storm would simply confess something else he loved about him.
Thankfully, Damien changed the subject, probing to find out how much—or little—Storm actually remembered about his life. While they spoke, King turned to Arlo. Instead of the mischievous smile he’d expected, his friend was looking at him with a pinched expression.
“So, he remembers everything about you, but nothing else?”
“Not everything,” King clarified. “He knows who I am, but his memory of me seems to start when we got back to his room last night.”
“But he’s so…”
“Fixated?” King suggested when his friend struggled to find the right word.
“I was going to say obsessed, but yeah, that works, too.”
“I don’t get it, either, but I wonder if it has something to do with us being mated.”
Arlo tilted his head, and a shallow valley formed between his eyes. “I guess that makes sense. How did it happen, though?”
But King was no longer engaged in the conversation because he had just spotted someone who might be able to provide some insight. “Emrys is here. Let’s go talk to him.”
Arlo glanced over at Damien and Storm. “Do you think it’s okay to leave him alone?”
Without looking at them, Damien dipped his head and motioned with his hand for them to go. Confident his mate would be okay for the time being, King grabbed his best friend by the wrist and dragged him toward the café.
As they neared the counter, he realized Emrys wasn’t alone, however. To his surprise, he found the pixie in a murmured conversation with his mate. Unlike the previous evening, Cyrus now appeared quite calm, and since he was dressed for his shift, King could only assume that meant he’d made a full recovery.
While it gave him hope that Storm would eventually regain his memories as well, he had a lot of questions for the couple.
“Hey!” Emrys tucked a lock of electric blue hair behind his ear and stepped up to the register with a radiant smile. “What can I get you gentlemen this morning?”
“I’ll have another one of those iced cherry bombs,” Arlo answered immediately.
King glared. They weren’t there for refreshments.
“You got it.” The pixie grabbed a cup from the stack on the counter and scribbled across the side of it with a marker. “And you?”
King waved him away. “Nothing for me.” Not sure how to approach the subject, he decided to just dive right in and pray for the best. “Um, about what happened last night.”
“I’m okay now,” Cyrus assured him. “I apologize if I upset you.”
“What? No. That’s not what I meant.” He moved to the corner of the counter to speak with the hellhound. “It’s just, what exactly happened?”
“The fuck if I know.” A deep growl rumbled through Cyrus’ chest. “Emrys filled me in on some parts, but I have no actual memory of it.”
“What do you remember?”
“We had escorted a werewolf out of the ballroom, and I was talking to some of the security guys about it because something seemed off.” His obsidian eyes narrowed as he reached up to rub the back of his neck. “The next thing I remember is waking up in bed this morning.”