Page 153 of Enchanted

Even if they rejected me, I still had friends. A family. A mate.

I was loved. I wasn’t alone.

“I completely understand if you don’t want to give me a chance,” I said. “I know I don’t deserve one.”

“Everyone deserves one,” Matty said immediately, reaching out to grab my hand. “Right, guys?”

Lucky nodded, but Riley was slower to agree. None of this surprised me.

Riley would be the hardest to convince. Of all of them, he was the one I’d been closest to.

The one I’d likely hurt the most.

“Come on,” I said, getting to my feet. “We set up a little spot for us over here.”

I led them over to the picnic blanket Sam and I had laid out earlier. I couldn’t help but notice our movements being tracked by everyone at the table. I smiled at Rami, trying to reassure him that I was okay. From the flat look he gave me, he didn’t buy it. Probably didn’t help that the bond meant I couldn’t bullshit him.

We all sat down and my three friends stared at me expectantly. A lump formed in my throat and I had to blink tears away. “Sorry. I’ve been anticipating this for such a long time…it’s a little overwhelming.”

Riley folded his arms over his chest. “You’re the one who made it such a long time, not us. I can’t believe you’ve been with Rami for eighteen months. A year and a half, Ethan!”

He may as well have hit me for how much his words hurt. I saw Rami stand out of the corner of my eye. Across from him, an unfamiliar man stood up too, growling at Rami. I was going to assume he was Danny, as he was the only one attending today who I hadn’t met.

Before he could go toe to toe with Rami, Riley whipped his head round. “Sit the fuck down, Daniel, or no sex for a week.”

Danny turned to face Riley, hands going to his hips. “We both know you’ll break before I do, Princess.”

I watched, fascinated, as Riley continued to glare at the handsome man. “Wanna put it to the test?”

Danny rolled his eyes, retaking his seat at the table. Rami glanced back at me, waiting for my nod before doing the same.

“Fucking supernatural posturing,” Riley muttered, but the faint flush on his cheekbones suggested he didn’t mind it at all.

Matty giggled. “You’ve learned how to rein him in far faster than we did.”

Riley rolled his eyes. “Five years of friendship before finally making it official will do that.”

The realisation hit me. “Danny’s your mate?”

Riley nodded, smiling. “Yeah. It’s fairly new. Took us a long while to pull our heads out of our arses.”

“He made Seb seem fast,” Matty said in an almost confidential whisper.

“No one can beat Dimitri and Dagon,” Lucky said fondly, looking over at his two mates. Like the others, they were watching us closely. “They took fucking centuries.”

“That’s because they were waiting to meet you,” Riley said.

More tears burned my eyes as I stared down at my hands again. I’d missed out on so much. On everything they’d been through these past few years.

And, worst of all, Riley was right. It was all my fault.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I looked up at Matty’s question to find the three of them staring at me with concern. “Yeah. I was just thinking about how much I’ve missed out on.” Riley opened his mouth, but I held up a hand to stop him. “I know. I know it’s because of me.”

Pain passed over his features. “Actually, I was going to say it makes me sad too. I’ve missed you, Ethan.”

“We all have,” Matty said. Lucky nodded in agreement. “But you’re here now, so let’s hear your story. Start with Dave and then tell us how you managed to lock down the flirtiest supe of them all.”