That broke the seal and all of the Intare started talking at once. Lions pressed forward to complain, shouting to be heard over each other. The only Intare not whining were Lesya, Kirill, Zariel and Fallon. I grimaced at the raucous response and then roared again. Everyone went quiet.
I wanted to tell them to handle their own shit. I'd just been through one of the roughest weeks of my life and all I wanted to do was have some alone-time with my family. But these men were my family too, and I was their Tima; their heart. It was my responsibility to keep the peace and moderate arguments. Without that, the Intare would go wild in a very bad way. This was on me.
“I'm going to sit down in the dining room and have a cup of tea,” I declared. “All of you will line up and approach me in small groups to air your grievances. Then I will make my decisions. Understood?”
“Yes, Tima!” They shouted.
Behind me, Fenrir chuckled. I grimaced at him.
“Leadership can be a pain in the furry ass, can't it?” My father-in-law grinned wide enough to display his canines.
I felt the glow of our bond and grinned back. In the rush of everything else, I hadn't realized that Marduk had returned even this. My connection to Fenrir had been made by mistake, just as my bond with his son had been, but it was still precious to me, and I was relieved to know it was back.
“You're telling me,” I huffed. Then I looked over at my Sun God husband. “Re, could I commandeer your dining room to conduct my meetings?”
“By all means, La-la,” Re waved toward his elegant dining room. “If it silences these heathens, I'm all for it.”
“Thanks, honey. Where's Kirill and the children?”
“Upstairs. I gave Fallon, Sam, and Zariel a suite down the hall from the rooms I made for our family then I started adding onto the palace. It's not quite as big as I'd thought.”
“The Pride is large,” I said with a touch of lament but also a generous helping of joy. “Thank you for altering your home for us, Re. We're very grateful. Aren't we, Intare?” I lifted my voice and glared at my lions.
“Re! Re! Re!” The Lions shouted.
It was the best response they could have made. Re is a sucker for adoration. He often reminded me of David Bowie's character in Labyrinth; Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave. Yep, that's Re all right. He grinned broadly at the Intare and lifted his chin, sighing with deep satisfaction as he soaked in the worship.
“That's more like it,” Re said in approval. “You can stay as long as you like. Just don't go scratching up my furniture.”
Chapter Forty
I spent some time with my friends before I met with my lions. I had missed them and not only had they showed up to reconnect with me, but they had also stayed to babysit my enemy while I was busy packing. The least I could do was hang out for awhile. We had a few drinks and shared some light banter to ease us back into our friendships. Thor even promised to return to his position in the Squad. By the time they left, I felt as if I truly had my life back.
The lion mediation didn't take as long as I'd expected, especially with Re making renovations to his palace as the meeting progressed. Most of the complaints were about living arrangements, but when the lions saw the new rooms Re built, they stopped arguing to run off and snag one before someone else did.
With the Intare settled, I could finally head upstairs and relax. Re had made separate rooms for all of my men and even a bedroom for me. I thought that last bit was particularly thoughtful. I had expected him to assume that I'd stay in his golden bedroom of kink (also known as Fifty Shades of Gold) and visit the other men in their rooms. But Re knows how much I enjoy the odd night alone. Plus, he wanted Nick's bed to be somewhere other than in his precious playroom.
My gray tabby, who Azrael had made immortal by feeding manna (the Angels' immortality food), had his own, luxury cat bed with four golden posts hung with diaphanous fabric. It was placed on the marble floor beside the silk-covered behemoth that was my bed. But the cat wasn't on his padded kitty-puff; he was smack-dab in the middle of my silk comforter. As usual.
“Hey, little boy,” I said softly.
Nick looked up at me and cried; it was so soft and pitiful that I nearly cried too. I hurried over and crawled up onto the squishy mattress beside him. Nick immediately crawled into my lap and started purring.
“There's my baby,” I cooed. “Everything's okay now. We're going to be happy here, you'll see. Just stay away from the river; there are fire-breathing snakes there.”
“There you are,” Trevor declared as he came into the room with the rest of our family.
“Mommy!” Lesya called out.
“Mama!” Vero echoed her.
Nick looked up at them briefly then laid his head down on my knee and went back to purring. Lesya and Vero ran up to the bed—Vero stumbled more than ran—and scrambled up beside me. They stretched out against my legs, leaning against me as they pet the cat. I couldn't have been happier. I gave up petting Nick to stroke my children's hair. I wouldn't cry. I wouldn't cry. I wouldn't cry.
“Why are you crying, Mommy?” Lesya asked me.
“Because I missed you all so much.” I sniffed.
“I love you,” Lesya said in that innocent way children do; the way that warms your heart like nothing else.
“Love you, Mama,” Vero added.
I kissed them both then added one for Nick. He shook it off, but I knew he secretly enjoyed it; his kitty pride just wouldn't allow him to show
