Getting summoned to the enclave wasn’t exactly my favorite way to spend an evening, particularly when I’d been planning to play games with Cooper. I sent him a text explaining that I’d be late thanks to the enclave, kind of pissed off that they had to do this tonight. Why not on the weekend? Also, it wasn’t like we had a need for meetings, usually. Our meetings generally just consisted of fancy dinners and evening entertainment and that was it. Honestly, Adelaide’s idea of an enclave was more like a high-society group of friends than anything else.
So by the time I reached Adelaide’s house, I already wasn’t in a great mood, but upon reaching the drawing room, my mood worsened when it became clear this was some type of meeting specifically involving me.
“Tommy,” Adelaide said smoothly, motioning for me to take a seat. The way everyone else was seated, it reminded me of an intervention. This…didn’t look good.
I did sit down, though, because experience had taught me that Adelaide would wait as long as she needed – hours, even – to be obeyed.
She waited until I took a seat to continue. “I understand you visited the shifter yesterday. What was the outcome of that meeting?”
I crossed my arms, sending Henri a glare. The picture was supposed to have just been between him and me. I’d told him not to tell Adelaide, but apparently he had, and had told everyone else in the process.
“We can’t have one of Zayne’s minions getting close to use,” Adelaide continued in an authoritative voice. “The fact that one has already, through such deceptive means, is very concerning. He managed to finagle an invite to dinner here, and while I blame neither you nor Colt for that,” it was clear she actually did, “we must take appropriate action. I assume you’ve confronted him and ended any connection to him?”
I met her eyes unflinchingly, a bit of coolness settling into my demeanor. “I did talk to him about it. As it turns out, he wasn’t meeting with Zayne, but with Zayne’s twin brother, who doesn’t live here and was a friend of the family. Henri’s information was faulty.”
I’d confirmed the identity of Mason after leaving Cooper yesterday, not because I didn’t trust him, but because I’d been afraid it would come up with Henri. Apparently, my concerns were justified.
Adelaide raised one delicate eyebrow. “And you believe this whole…twin…story? That’s fairly preposterous, Tommy. I thought you were more perceptive than that.”
I raised my head a little, annoyed at the insinuation. “I confirmed it,” I told her coolly. “In fact, at the time the picture Henri has was taken, Zayne was in the middle of a discussion at the police station on behalf of one of his people. His presence is documented on camera. I checked into the identity of his look-a-like and confirmed that Zayne does have a twin who moved away around 25 years ago and currently lives where Cooper grew up. Everything Cooper told me was the truth – he doesn’t know Zayne and isn’t working for him.”
I saw the glance between Adelaide and Henri, both of them still not believing a bit of this despite the fact that I could prove it. They’d already made up their mind on the subject and nothing I said would change it.
“I think it’s safest, for the enclave’s best interest, if you no longer associate with the shifter,” Adelaide’s voice brought my attention fully on her, her cultured voice for the first time making me feel like I genuinely wanted to scream.
“Excuse me?” I said coldly, my eyes narrowing.
Adelaide motioned towards the other angels. “We all agree, he’s too much of a risk to our enclave. Even if supposedly he found a way to explain that picture, it doesn’t change the underlying problem. He’s not good for the enclave, Tommy. You need to stop hanging out with him.” She glanced at the others. “We’re all in agreement on this, correct? Everyone has decided that it is best if the shifter is left out of the enclave?”
I saw nods of agreement from most of the angels. Rachel was the only one shaking her head while Colt seemed undetermined.
“Majority agrees,” Adelaide informed me as she turned back to me. “You must end any association with the shifter.”
To her surprise, I snorted a little. “Me being friends with Cooper isn’t bringing him into the enclave. That’s ludicrous – that basically means we can’t be friends with anyone other than ourselves.”
Adelaide clearly hadn’t expected me to challenge her words. She’d been ruling the enclave without question for years, throwing her parties and running things how she saw fit, and, for the first time, someone was genuinely pushing back against her.
“It’s too great of a risk to the enclave,” she repeated.
I considered that. “Fine,” I said at last. I noticed the relief in her expression, but then I continued. “You know, I’ve wondered for years why you volunteered to take me in and I think I finally figured it out. You wanted me to feel obligated to you so I’d come back and join your enclave – a permanent member, if you will. Thing is, I’ve repaid you.” I’d made a point of doing so before I’d even bought my plane. I hadn’t been sure, back then, why I felt like it was so necessary to repay her, but now I was glad I had. “I don’t have any reason to stay anymore.”
I got to my feet.
Adelaide’s sharp, cold voice interrupted me. “Tommaso,” she snapped, “are you leaving the enclave? Over a shifter?”
I turned to look at her, my expression equally as cold. “Yes, I guess you could put it that way. You see, I don’t think other people should get to make the call on whether I get to spend my evenings quietly or am required to come to a party I don’t want to attend. I certainly don’t think other people get to make the call on who my friends are. I think it’s time I fly free – I’m not going to live under the restrictions you have for the enclave anymore. When it started, it was just a chance to hang out and learn from other angels. Then the parties got more common, the rules of conduct, the slow erosion of freedom under the name of ‘what’s best for the enclave.’ It’s suffocating now. We’re meant to be free and I think there’s a reason we tend to leave the nest – we don’t like getting forced to follow someone else’s arbitrary rules. So yeah, I’m leaving. Not to mention,” I added in the clincher, “he’s my soulmate. And not a single one of you are. At the end of the day, we all side with soulmates over anyone else.”
Without another word, I left them behind, Adelaide steaming but shocked and the others – well, some of them looked thoughtful. Rachel, mostly. I was pretty sure she was feeling suffocated, too, and I wondered if she’d end up leaving, too. If so, good for her.
I stretched a little before I got in my car, feeling a weight lifted off my shoulders. I hadn’t realized how burdensome the enclave had become, but now that I’d left? It was like I could breathe deeply again. I suddenly realized why enclaves were so rare – they didn’t actually work. Angels liked being independent and following our own rules. Most of us didn’t even work regular jobs as a result, because we hated being told what to do. Enclaves inherently involved rules that eventually would make angels feel oppressed.
Honestly, it was pretty impressive that Adelaide’s enclave had lasted as long as it had. But I was free from it now, free from the stupid parties, the summons for no good reason, the rules which said who I could and couldn’t talk to.
Now I was free to pursue my own things as much as I want. My career, my hobbies – and Cooper. No one standing in the way anymore.
~~~~~
I found myself second-guessing that thought the following day when I approached Cooper’s apartment building because I could have sworn I saw Adelaide getting into a car. For a moment, I was tempted to follow her and confront her, but then concern about Cooper won out and I almost ran for the elevator. If that really had been Adelaide, there was no telling what she said to him.
I almost banged on the door instead of knocking like a normal, sane person. “Cooper?”
He opened the door, looking surprised, but let me in and then sat down as he let me shut the door, his body language reading that he was disturbed.
Oh no. It really had been her.
“Don’t believe anything she said,” I told him desperately. “She’s just upset because I left and is trying to take it out on you.”
His head jerked up. “So you really did leave the enclave? Because – of me?”
Oh bother. I hadn’t intended to tell him about that because I didn’t want him to blame himself. “I did leave.” I sat down next to him, looking into his eyes determinedly. “I got tired of being told what to do. Being ordered to parties I didn’t want to attend, then them trying to tell me who I was allowed to be friends with. I joined because of Adelaide, but I haven’t enjoyed it in a long time. When they decided I couldn’t be friends with you anymore, that was the final straw for me. It’s not because of you,” I tried to explain, “more just…that was the final straw, is all.”
To my surprise, a smile started to appear on his face, one which he was clearly fighting to stop but was losing the battle. “Really?” He asked, his eyes searching my face. “You decided to leave just so you could be friends with me still?”
A wave of relief hit me. Of course, I should have realized. The fact that I’d chosen to stay friends with him even when other people were telling me not to meant a lot to him. “Really,” I confirmed with a smile. “I wasn’t about to let them break us up. I promised I wasn’t going anywhere, and I meant it. I enjoy being with you a thousand percent more than I enjoy hanging out at the stupid parties. There was really no contest.”
He stopped trying to hide his smile and just let it out. “A thousand percent, huh?”
“At least,” I agreed. “You saw those parties – everyone standing around talking quietly in their little groups about, I don’t know, what celebrity started dating or broke up or whatever they like to talk about. The conversations are usually boring as hell. You missed the dancing – thankfully. It’s not even modern stuff, Adelaide likes old-fashioned everything. Rachel plays the piano so she isn’t forced into dancing but the rest of us are doomed. And they’re pretty much all like that, and all more often than anyone needs. A couple times a year, maybe, but several times a week?” I let out a dramatic groan.
Cooper’s eyes were sparkling with amusement. “But supposedly the food is heavenly?”
“Yeah, that’s Colt’s assessment, not mine. I’m not denying Adelaide is a great cook, but you saw what she cooks. Fancy dishes that are just…whatever. I like Italian food, remember? And burgers and honestly greasy food are great. But nope, she never does anything like that. Just…oysters or caviar or whatever fancy food she thinks is appropriate for social gatherings. Nothing you can really enjoy.” I shrugged, laughing a little. “Honestly, half the time after dinner there I get a burger on the way home because I’m still hungry and everything was so unappetizing. I guess I’m not designed for high society life.”
“I don’t even remember what it tasted like,” Cooper admitted. “I was too nervous about the whole thing.”
“We can go out to dinner at a fancy restaurant sometime if you want,” I offered, well aware I was basically suggesting a date. “Then you just have me to worry about and that should be easier than an enclave dinner.”
Cooper tilted his head to one side, considering. “Adelaide accused me of figuring out that we were soulmates and using that to my advantage,” he announced, to my surprise. “She said my appearance was too convenient and I must have been watching for a time to intervene. I don’t know why she thinks I would have voluntarily nearly died to the naga, but apparently she thinks I had that planned, too, but for the record, I didn’t plan anything and wasn’t watching you, but,” he paused like he wasn’t sure how to continue.
I hadn’t planned to tell him this because I didn’t want it to affect how he viewed my feelings towards him, but of course Adelaide would ruin that for me.
“We are soulmates,” I confirmed quietly, watching the astonishment spread on his face. “I thought about saying something because it is confirmation that I won’t be going anywhere, but I was also afraid you might chalk up my feelings towards you as being due to the soulmate bond.”
Cooper’s astonishment faded to confusion. “I…don’t know that I believe in soulmates,” he said at last, startling me. “I guess it’s because I was raised by humans? Dad told me it was a thing because he’d heard about it from Mason, but I didn’t think it was real.”
That kind of made sense, actually. I’d forgotten that he’d had a non-traditional upbringing for a supernatural. “We can have soulmates, someone whose soul matches yours. Different species identify theirs in different ways.” I took a deep breath. “Angels hear singing when we find a soulmate. I heard that with you.”
His eyes widened. “That’s…really? But what happens if soulmates don’t like each other? Or…stop liking each other?”
“The soulmate bond breaking is very, very rare. It pretty much only happens after extensive years of conflict, and that’s unusual for soulmates. I suppose it can happen, but it’s very unusual and basically only occurs under specific circumstances that would warn that it’s happening. If you put minimal effort into just trying to keep the relationship, it pretty much is guaranteed to be fine. Even if you do have arguments or disagreements or whatever, you get over them and the relationship is fine.”
He was quiet for a bit, hesitancy and hope flickering across his face. “That would be nice,” he said at last. “Because I feel like I must be doing some wrong with relationships and that’s why they don’t last, but having almost a guarantee that it would work would be nice.” He looked a little wistful.
I was okay with him not believing in soulmates. Maybe he’d understand and accept it eventually, but as long as he wasn’t questioning my feelings for him, I didn’t care what label we put on our relationship.
“I’m sorry Adelaide involved you in this,” I added. “She really shouldn’t have, I think she’s just upset that I left. Anyway, if you see her again, just call me, okay? I’ll deal with her.”
He nodded obediently. “I don’t really care much for supernatural politics.”
I remembered him saying something similar before, and I could get where he was coming from. I was more used to it and yet I’d gotten attacked by naga, bitten, and could have drowned in the river if he hadn’t rescued me, and for someone with no background in it, he’d had an even worse time between the naga, the questions about his relationship with Zayne, and now the whole enclave thing.
“Supernatural politics can really suck,” I agreed. “Let’s maybe try to both avoid them from now on?”
He lit up a little as he agreed before settling in with me to watch a movie together. Even Adelaide’s attempts at harassment wouldn’t spoil our plans.
I was sure nothing would.
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