"Meryn! Gods, baby, please wake up!"
Meryn opened her eyes to see Aiden and Ryuu staring down at her. "Dude, I'm tired."
"Thank all the gods," Ryuu whispered, clutching his chest. He sat at the edge of the bed.
"What?" she struggled to sit up. When she looked around the room, she saw the boys, Kendrick, Thane, Brennus, and Amelia staring at her, concern written all over their faces. "Can't a girl sleep around here?"
"Meryn, you've been sleeping for almost twenty-four hours!" Aiden practically yelled.
She gave him a flat expression. "You yell again, I will cut you."
He swallowed hard and simply scooped her up and placed her between his legs as he leaned against the headboard. She snuggled against his chest and closed her eyes.
"Meryn!" Aiden shook her awake.
"You wanna die?" she asked.
"You have to stay awake," he pleaded.
"Fuck my life right now," she groaned. "Where's Izzy? Where is my Coffee Goddess?" Felix stayed in her lap, holding tight to her finger, as if she would disappear.
Amelia brought her phone up and sent off a text. "She'll be here in a minute." She sniffled. "We were so worried."
"What happened, Meryn?" Kendrick asked, eyeing her intently.
Meryn closed her eyes and yawned, deliberately delaying her answer. She knew if she mentioned the demon, everyone would lose their shit, and she didn't really feel like confessing she had made a deal with the devil. "I didn't get to sleep until late; there was a lot swirling around in my head. Plus, the demon was on my mind since I mentioned him at dinner. I think I was just tired." It wasn't exactly a lie.
Ryuu took her wrist in his hand. "She's exhausted."
"We have asked so much of her lately," Brennus said, looking grim.
"I j
ust need coffee," Meryn growled.
"I'm here!" Izzy called out, coming through the door with a tall glass and silver straw. "I made you a quad shot, bittersweet mocha with caramel drizzle."
"Gimme. Gimme!" Meryn held out her hands, causing Felix to take up his usual position on her shoulder.
Izzy smiled and handed over the glass.
Meryn took a sip and sighed. "Soooo good."
Aiden just kept nuzzling the top of her head. "You can't sleep anymore."
"Like ever? Do you know how dangerous that is for you?" Meryn looked up at her poor mate. He had hit new stress levels lately.
"Don't you mean that it would be dangerous for you, Meryn?" Amelia asked.
"No, I definitely mean it would be dangerous for Aiden. I love my mate and don't want to have to murder him because he pissed me off when I was sleep deprived," Meryn yawned, then sipped her coffee. "God, I love you, Izzy!"
"You had us freaking out. You just kept sleeping. At first everyone was like, just let her sleep, but then right before dinner we realized how long you'd been out," Izzy paused in her ramble. "Don't you have to pee?"
Meryn chuckled, then gasped as she became aware of the growing sense of urgency her bladder was presenting her. "Yes! Shit, yes, I have to pee! Aiden, let me go," Meryn wiggled until she slid down out of Aiden's arms. Ryuu helped her off the bed, and she beelined it to the bathroom.
The next time she chatted with the hot demon, they needed to set a damn timer!
Chapter Nineteen