"No, you don't."
"Come on," Etain said as he and Declan lifted him between them while Adriel carried Serenity.
Declan grunted. "How come
we have to carry his heavy ass and you get to carry Serenity?"
Adriel looked at him flatly. "I outrank you," he said in a deadpan voice. "Now move out," he ordered.
"Tell Serenity not to freak out, but I'm going to rest my eyes for a bit," Micah told his friends.
"As long as you keep breathing I don't care what you do," Etain retorted.
"Put them here! I got the larger bed ready for them," he heard Broderick say.
He tried to give the man a thumbs up but was too tired. "Good looking out," he managed.
They gently placed him on the bed and set Serenity down next to him. He instinctively curled around her in a protective position. This time when darkness came he wasn't afraid.
*****
Serenity stared at herself in the mirror. She braided the long white lock at her temple, a reminder of what she lived through. She flipped it back and forth. She still wasn't used to seeing it when she looked at herself.
She and Micah had technically died two days ago. When they woke up yesterday Vivi filled them in on everything they had missed.
Meryn's idea worked. The shifters bounced back almost immediately but the vampires still slept. Vivi said that every time she took their blood, less of the virus appeared. She said it was only a matter of time before they woke.
Vivi also confessed to finishing her cure. Until they figured out who created the virus, they could use her synthesized antivirals to treat any future outbreaks. The best thing about her cure is that it required very little vampire blood and didn't have to be processed.
Vivi's voice was somber when she told her that she finished it the night before. What she didn't have to say is that it would have been too late for her and the children.
"Serenity?" She heard Micah calling for her.
"Upstairs," she yelled back.
He appeared in the doorway holding a small cardboard box. "I got us something."
"What?" she asked.
He handed her the box. She looked up at him. "Twister?"
His eyes darkened. "One of my favorite memories from the night of our mating. Us laughing and playing naked Twister."
"Naked?" she asked feeling her body tighten in anticipation.
"Naked," he confirmed.
She pushed past him and ran to the large open space in their new master suite on Level One. It was still undecorated, but Micah wanted to stay close to his unit brothers. As she understood it, the other unit witches would be coming by next week to help them move everything down from the Unit Level.
She tore open the box and set the large mat on the floor. Micah set the dial to one side. Without saying a word, they each rushed to remove their clothing. Serenity knocked him over twice when he was trying to take off his pants. She was already laughing so hard she was having trouble breathing and they hadn't even started yet.
She stood naked in front of him playing with her breasts. "You going to go?"
Micah was staring at her hands. "Right." He shook his head and spun the dial. He looked down and placed his foot on a small blue circle.
Serenity deliberately bent over in front of him to spin for her turn. Behind her Micah whimpered. "Left foot, red." She chose the circle furthest from him.
"Hey!" he protested.