The Terror Gaze: Book 2 of The Mortal Guard Series

Chapter 7 - Nick, Richard, Boris, Tyler, Pierce, and Leah: Gathering

Chapter 7 - Nick, Richard, Boris, Tyler, Pierce, and Leah: "Gathering"

Nick stared into the bathroom mirror as he smiled, his hands behind his head, fussing with his mane. He had grown it out over the last five months, and now it was long enough where he could tie it back into a ponytail, which he did today. After the hair tie was snug, he tilted his head left and right, gauging the look. He certainly looked like the singer of an indie rock band now.

The hyena wondered what Richard would think of his new style. What everyone would think. It was nice that he had been in the Mortal Guard long enough to where he could worry about normal mortal things like how his mane looked. It had been a crazy few months filled with danger, cases, and romance with Richard. Despite all the Mortal Guard's flaws, Nick was genuinely happy.

Though, he felt his smile falter when he thought about the Unholy Flames case he had just been on. The entire family had died except for the baby. The fact that the father, Kyle, was the Firestarter meant that if the wolf pup grew up and became a father, a vicious cycle of what came before could occur. And there was no way the Mortal Guard would go about trying to freeze the Unholy Flames out of a baby, right? Right?

Nick shook his head, trying to push the negative thoughts out of his mind. Not every case could be a success, and the deaths of those he failed still weighed on his mind, but post-mission visits to the Trauma Sect with Dante helped. The silver fox Sect Leader really did a good job at listening to his troubles. But today wasn't a day to worry about any of that.

Today was Silver Moon. Nick, Richard, Boris, Tyler, Leah, and Pierce's Leisure Day. They all, of course, made sure to coordinate their Leisure Day on the same day so they could hang out as much as possible. Of course, some cases did go on into Leisure Days, so they couldn't hang out every week. They did as best as they could, though.

After getting ready, Nick eagerly went to the front door of his furnished residence and opened it, yelping and jumping backward. "Yipe!"

Richard had been standing there, with his hand lifted, about to knock. "Ah! Sorry, Nicholas, I was-- Oh my goodness, your mane."

The hyena grinned, smiling. "What about it?"

"Well . . ." His boyfriend made his way inside, Nick stepping back at his approach. The raccoon shut the door, then grabbed Nick and brought him to a passionate kiss. The other animal was surprised but melted into the affection nonetheless. Richard grabbed him and turned him around, pushing him against the door and pressing against him, rubbing his shoulders and down his arms. Nick wrapped his arms around his neck, cherishing every moment. The flat surface of the door was pressed against his back, but he liked the feeling of Richard being on the other side of his body.

That was something new he had been thrilled to be receiving lately. In the five months since they began dating, Richard and Nick had spent an insane amount of time together. Much more than the average couple who didn't live together. Though they were partners in creature hunting, they spent almost all of their Leisure Days together, spending the night at one another's residence. They were madly in love and couldn't get enough of one another.

Richard had only grown more confident with Nick around but he still needed time every now and then. The raccoon was a very damaged individual, and he still had days where he wasn't altogether there, but his lover always found ways to lift him up when he was low. On the affection side of things, the duo hadn't reached the point of going all the way, but that wasn't an issue for Nick. He didn't care about that with Richard. Even if it never happened, he would still be happy. And he really was so proud of how far his boyfriend had come.

Now, pressed against the door, the hyena pulled back from the kiss, unable to help his blushing smile. "So . . . I take it that means you like the look?"