Luke laughed as the others agreed. “All right, then. Tomorrow?”
The others nodded and drifted away, and she turned to him, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss him. “You’re very lucky. You have amazing friends.”
He squeezed her waist, giving her a smile. “I have an amazing mate. Now, are you hungry? Whatever Liam’s cooking smells delicious.”
Luke watched as Tarun played pool with Damara, barely able to keep the smile off of his face. He was still worried as fuck about her, and he knew he wouldn’t stop worrying until the bastard after him was caught.
But he was sitting in a bar with her and his friends, and every single one of them offered themselves up to helping him, even though they knew he’d hurt them. He wasn’t sure how he’d gotten so lucky to have them in his life, but he wasn’t going to take them for granted, that was for sure.
“So. Are the problems you’ve been having with your gift why you wanted to quit being an Enforcer?”
Eyebrows shooting up, his head whipped toward Dmitri’s voice. “How…?”
Dmitri’s lips quirked. “I’m quiet, not stupid. I notice a lot because I observe more than I speak. I knew you were struggling with something and weighing your options. I just didn’t know why.”
Blowing out a breath, he took a sip of his Coke before answering. “That shit with Vynn fucked with my head. I know it was his tiger that made the decision to leave the scar, but it was my fault he got it to begin with. And I began wondering what would happen the next time I used too much power in my voice. Whether I’d get someone killed.”
“Is that why you haven’t used your gift since then?”
Luke looked at him in surprise again. “You noticed that?”
“I told you. I observe. You’re always careful to make sure you’re not in a position to need to use it.”
“Yeah. I’m scared I’ll screw up again. That’s why I’ve been thinking I should leave. An Enforcer’s only as good as his gift, right?”
“Then why am I one?”
He looked at Dmitri, eyebrows high. “What? Telepathy is useful as fuck.”
Dmitri shook his head. “You know Damara and I share it naturally, but she lets everyone think I’m the only one who can open it up with the crew. That’s not true, though. She can, too. But she lets everyone think that, and then uses her gift of being a chameleon as her main draw. The truth is, we both have an extra gift. But mine’s basically useless. Yet, I’m still an Enforcer, even though there’s nothing I use that she can’t use, too.”
Shaking his head, he stared at the normally quiet and reserved griffin shifter. “What’s—”
“Don’t ask. The only people who know are Damara and Blake, and they both respect my decision to not use it. The point is, I know, even though Damara can do everything I openly do, that I still bring value to this crew. And so do you. You need to realize that. I think, with practice, you’ll get the hang of controlling your gift, but even if you don’t, you shouldn’t quit. B&B needs you.”
Before he could reply, the normally silent Greek was halfway across the room, moving quickly toward his sister. Dmitri rarely spoke, and even more rarely left Damara’s side. The fact that he had just to talk to Luke was what made him pay attention to his friend’s words.
He hadn’t realized the siblings had two gifts each. They shared telepathy—able to talk between themselves easily, although he knew they could shut each other out if they wanted. Damara had a chameleon like ability to change her looks whenever she wanted to, turning herself into whoever she wanted—although only a woman’s form. She couldn’t turn herself into a man. That was her main ability within the Enforcers, and it came in handy.
But he thought Dmitri’s main gift was sharing telepathy with the whole crew when he wanted to. He hadn’t realized they could both do that, and he sure as hell hadn’t known he had a second gift, like Damara. Luke was curious about what his other gift was, but he’d respect his decision to not tell him, and he’d keep the fact that he had another to himself.
Maybe Dmitri was right, though. Maybe he did bring value to the B&B Enforcers, even if he couldn’t learn to control his gift. It was something he’d think long and hard on, but he already felt like he could breathe a little easier than he had, because it was possible that tomorrow wouldn’t decide his future like he’d thought it would.
Feminine laughter reached his ears, and he turned toward it, watching as Tarun threw her head back and laughed at something Damara said. God, she was gorgeous, and her laughter was a beautiful sound.
He watched as Georgie walked nearby, her limp pronounced, stopping to speak to them. He tensed, ready to intervene. But Tarun just smiled gently at the other woman, touched her arm lightly, and gestured to the pool table, like she was inviting her to join the game.
Even from the distance between him and where they were playing pool, he could tell the offer was genuine. He relaxed back on his stool, a bemused smile on his face. A day ago, Tarun had been telling him she’d never be okay with Georgie. Yet there she was, being nice and trying to make friends with her.
Georgie had been through a few traumas in the last few days—the assault, spraining her ankle, the fire. And then watching him shift into his lion when she never knew shifters existed. She’d been through a lot, and though he felt compassion for her, he never expected Tarun to.
Because Georgie had treated her like she was unwelcome. She’d seen Tarun as a threat to her pursuit of him, and been unkind in response. She’d tried to make Tarun believe there was more between them than friendship—in short, tried to hurt her en
ough to get her to leave.
Yet, despite Tarun’s belief that she’d never be okay with Georgie, there she was, treating her with kindness and clearly trying to make friends with her. She was feeling the same compassion Luke felt for her, and it showed.
He really had fucking scored when his lion picked Tarun. He won the mate lottery. She was gorgeous, kind, understanding, and forgiving. She was everything he’d ever wanted in a mate, and so much more.