Status Updates From Savage Reign (Savage Hearts...

4:00 pm

3:03 pm minus epilogue

1:54 am

Pride is an ugly, ugly thing when used against someone. Like most people in his church, he would follow his fucking pride right off a cliff if it meant he saved face. These people are psychotic, single-minded, and they don’t see anything wrong with something like this–as long as God is on their side. It’s why countries go to war. It’s why politicians win entire elections. It’s why people kill.

Damon- My whole body swells with happiness, and I punch the air a couple of times before opening the bathroom door and jogging down the stairs. I’m going to find her, kiss her, and never let her go. I’m going to make her breakfast every morning, and hold her hair back if she’s sick. I know the other guys are going to be just as excited, too.

“Oh my God,” Lennon says, laughing and bending over the table. I stare at the flannel material. “Is this a onesie?” I ask, standing up & holding it up to my body. “How did you find one my size?” Damon asks, slapping his knee and cackling. Jude smiles, less enthused than the three of us. My throat burns with laughter when I think of Jude Vanderbilt in a flannel onesie. “I love it,” Lennon says,

Jude- Neither of them said anything. So I let it go. I let you go. But over the years, if you came up, we’d all get that same look. Do you know why?” She’s watching me intensely now, sniffing every few seconds from the cold and her emotions. “Because we all understood that it wasn’t your fault. Because somehow, somewhere, our souls didn’t want to blame you.

“Let’s fucking knock you up.” I grin, my stomach swooping with how happy he looks. “Really?” He finishes his coffee and sets it down. “Hell yeah.” He cocks his head. “Call your doctor tomorrow.” “Why?” I ask, my hands shaking slightly. “Because she’s going to take your IUD out… or we will.”

I learned about a month in that Damon wears a retainer to sleep, and that Silas spends a solid thirty minutes in the bathroom every morning. Even gods take shits. And Jude has nightmares—something we’ve all gotten used to. He tosses and turns, yelling into the pitch darkness until one of us cuddles up against him.

“I think your… friends… are a lot like your father. Very protective.” “They’re great men. Smart, talented, funny…” She smiles again and nods. “I can tell they love you.”

“You need to find someone who cherishes the real you–the person you keep to yourself. The good, the bad, the ugly. The monster we all keep hidden. Find someone who sees that and doesn’t cower or hide, but instead, offers you a pedestal to stand on.”