Page 53 of Miles's Pact
"Text Duckie. See if he's eating with the Presleys," Mateo said as he hit pause on the game, and I did as he'd asked.
Duckie: We're having Indian food! I've never had it before, but the aromas coming from the kitchen make it seem delicious. Alex thinks I'll like it.
Smiling, I promised him he would—Jai's cooking was phenomenal—then relayed the message to Mateo.
"Sandwiches, then?"
"Yeah," I agreed, not up to putting too much effort into it.
We put the sandwiches together, then brought them back to the couch so we could eat as we continued playing. It reminded me of the days we'd spent like this back when we'd lived with our dads. The only thing missing was my Dad's attentive familiar, who'd watched over us for years. She still dropped by every once in a while, as if even now that we were grown adults, she needed to make sure we were okay. It was sweet.
"We should visit the dads soon. Take Duckie too, so they can meet properly," I suggested, and Mateo nodded with a full mouth, giving me a thumbs up as he chewed loudly.
Wrinkling my nose at him, I shook my head, taking a much smaller bite of my own sandwich.
Sometimes, Mateo and I acted like carbon copies of each other, and other times, I wondered how we were even related, much less split from the same damn egg.
Duckie
Being around Alex was different now that I was in my human form. I could sense their incubus nature easily now, and while it didn't make me feel differently toward them, my senses did feel heightened. I could understand why they were so reluctant to go out or interact with people who weren't already bonded to someone.
"You've been doing good? No regrets about taking your human form?" Alex asked, their dark brown eyes boring into mine. They were sitting on their bed, cross-legged with their elbows braced on their knees and their chin resting on their fisted hands. Their straight black hair hung forward, framing their face, the bright red tips glowing from the sunlight shining in through the window.
Padfoot, the family dog—a huskie, Alex had said—was curled up beside them, snoozing away with his legs up in the air. He and Snowball had spent a few minutes getting to know each other when I first arrived, and decided they were going to be the best of friends. Now, Snowball lay sprawled right by Padfoot's side, happily dozing away. I'd taken quite a few pictures of the two of them to show to the twins later.
"No regrets," I agreed with a smile. "Knowing the men who killed my dad are dead helped. But being in this town, it makes me feel safe."
Alex nodded, their dark eyes serious. "I know what you mean. It took me a few weeks, but I feel more relaxed here than I have in my life. I don't have the best track record with people, but Raphael and Jai... I feel like I can trust them."
"They seem like good people, and I know Miles and Mateo adore them," I said, thinking about the fondness in their voices every time they talked about the Presleys.
"They've been very good to me," Alex agreed with a nod, dropping one hand to pet Padfoot's silky fur. "But enough about that. Tell me more about Miles and Mateo. How does that work? Sharing a bond with two brothers. Isn't it weird?"
I suspected they wouldn't be the only one to ask me that, but it wasn't a difficult question to answer.
"Not really. With Miles, my feelings are romantic. Sexual too," I added with a soft laugh. "With Mateo, it's more... spiritual. Platonic. I care about both of them deeply, but in very different ways."
"I guess I can understand that," Alex murmured, a thoughtful look on their face. "So you aren't attracted to Mateo at all? Even though they look exactly the same?"
On an intellectual level, I knew Miles and Mateo were identical twins. The only physical difference they had was the fact that Mateo kept his hair messier than Miles. Their fashion sense was quite different too. Mateo preferred comfort over style, while Miles was always put-together.
To me, they were day and night apart. I didn't know if it was because I could sense my bonds with them, or some other reason, but my body reacted very differently to each of their presences.
With Miles, my heart sped up, my skin went hot, and yes, my dick reacted. With Mateo, I was calmer, more centered, more playful.
"They don't look the same, not to me," I finally answered, and Alex hummed thoughtfully.
"I think I'll have multiple mates too, whenever I find them," they said after a moment. "Not like yours, though. I'm gonna wantallof them."
"Yeah? You think you might be poly?"
Alex pursed their lips, then waved at themself. "More like I don't think one man could handle all of this."
I didn't know how to reply to that, but Jai's voice broke the silence before it could get awkward, announcing that lunch was ready.
Padfoot sat up with a bark, which woke Snowball up as well, and the two hightailed it out of the room as if the announcement had been for their benefit and not ours.
Alex chuckled, and I shook my head as I stood up, following them downstairs and to the kitchen where the table was already set.
