Page 44 of A Soul’s Awakening

“Mmm. Morning, Ren. I mean, boyfriend.” The word felt surreal coming from my mouth.

Ren groaned as he pulled away. “You’re never going to stop calling me that, are you?”

“Why would I?” I flung the covers off and scrubbed the sleep from my face. “It’s what you are and everyone needs to know it.”

“I never took you for the possessive type.” Ren narrowed his gaze on me. “That’s my job. I’m good at intimidating people. You … aren’t.”

“I can learn. Besides, I have a good teacher.” A radiant smile broke across my face, wide and unguarded, the kind that made my cheeks ache in the best way.

And for the second time since our paths had collided, Ren genuinely smiled back.

The sharp edges he usually wore so carefully eased away, and warmth settled into his expression, soft and unmistakably real. The silver ring at the corner of his mouth shimmered as his lips curved, gentle and breathtaking in its sincerity.

Something in my chest shifted. The walls Ren had built up around him were slowly crumbling. That smile wasn’t casual or fleeting. It was care. It was trust. It was affection that he didn’t bother trying to hide anymore. For a long, fragile heartbeat, the rest of the world fell away and all I could feel was the certainty that Ren didn’t just stand beside me—he felt for me, deeply and without reservation.

“I’m heading downstairs.” Ren stood by the door. “How do you feel about pancakes for breakfast? Then we can figure out what to make of this mess we’re in. I went through Caspian’s grimoire again and I think I found something.”

“Sounds great.” I got up and kissed him again before he left, heading straight for the shower to wash off the sticky sweat that clung to me from last night. I met Ren downstairs in the kitchen, where Stella and Ivy were curiously watching Ren cook, and Alex was completely absorbed in scrolling through my tablet, his first real encounter with the internet turning into an endless stream of cat photos, absurd gadget ads, and social posts that only raised more questions than they answered.

Stella looked at me, my giddy expression locked on the man cooking pancakes, then looked back to Ren, intensely focusing on not burning breakfast, and, with her sixth sense for picking up on these things and no shame in announcing it, instantly made the connection. “I’m glad you two finally got your heads out of your asses and used your dicks instead.”

Ren nearly spilled the pancake batter. Heat flushed up my neck as I awkwardly scratched it.

“Stella!” Ivy gasped. “I thought we agreed not to say anything!”

“W-what the hell are you talking about?” I dared to ask, although it was pretty obvious and no point in hiding it.

“You two were, um, awfully loud last night,” Ivy clarified. “And this morning. My bedroom is right next to yours. I heard more than I wanted to.”

“Not to mention, your stud muffin here,” Stella pointed to Ren, “was half naked, pouring himself a glass of water in the kitchen when we got home. Plus, Theo, you have all these little teeth marks on your neck—”

“Alright, enough!” I called out. “I get it. Sorry we kept you up. It won’t happen again.”

“Not if I can help it,” Ren mumbled under his breath.

I was about to open my mouth to confidently announce those words I was so proud of, that Ren was officially my boyfriend, but suddenly the doorbell started going off. It was followed by an insistent banging on our front door.

“Is anyone expecting company?” I asked, but no one had an answer.

The doorbell didn’t stop ringing, and the pounding came louder. Ren followed me into the entryway.

“Alright, I’m coming!” A hammering fist nearly knocked me over the head when I unlocked the door and opened it.

“Ah, sorry, Theo!” The early morning intruder bowed his head, pushing up his black glasses as they slid down his nose. “I would have called first, but this is urgent. I had to come over right away.”

“Markus?” I looked at the man beside him, his green eyes radiating urgency. “Jordan? Is everything okay?”

“Follow me.” He grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the kitchen table, where the rest of the crew were eating breakfast.

“Care to explain why you’re interrupting our breakfast so early in the morning?” Although there was a bite to Ren’s voice, curiosity lingered beneath it as he watched Markus spread out about a dozen pieces of notebook paper across the kitchen table.

“Are these your notes?” Alex picked up a notebook, fanning out the pages inside. “It’s all diagrams. Magic arrays. What am I looking at?”

Markus adjusted his glasses. “Old Syndicate work. Runes and arrays were my specialty.”

Alex tensed.

“Relax, I’m not a threat anymore,” Markus added quickly. “But I kept my notes. And while reviewing them …” He tapped a sheet of paper on the table. “This showed up again.”