House of Igarashi

Chapter 1

Bronte

Disappointment sits like a ball of lead in my stomach. I stare at the frozen bouquet for what feels like the hundredth time. It’s probably more like the thousandth, though. The flowers themselves are a happy memory of when the Wyns finally matched with their wife and completed their family.

It also symbolizes that we should be next.

But every day, I assist people in finding their harems while we still remain one short. I know it’s our wife we’re missing. Because we’re quite full on dick.

Storms come together quickly and in big numbers, building off the energy of other storm cells. Storm monsters are the same and we tend to have big families. It took us less than five years to become a harem of eleven men.

Even if we weren’t heavy on the man side, we know that the last piece is a wife. This family grew rapidly in droves, and now we’ve been stalled out for eight years.

I was so sure that Obry was supposed to be ours. So stupidly sure. I’d even gone so far as to rudely suggest it when the Aves had a gathering shortly after her arrival. I’ve since apologized to Idris because that behavior is unacceptable. I should be happy for them. And I was.

But I was also jealous and frustrated.

It wasn’t that we were lacking anything by any means. We are whole and happy. There’s no tension or bitterness. Besides me, there’s not even a lot of impatience.

I’m probably the only one who desperately wants to find our wife. Not that my husbands don’t also, but they’re content to wait. Why am I different? Because every day without her is one less we’ll get to spend with her. Storms live a long time, but not forever. I just don’t want to miss time with her. With us being undoubtedly complete.  

Sighing, I gently touch one of the frozen petals. Barely a brush of my fingers since I don’t want to shatter them in the extreme cold. And then I leave the freezer.

Our house is enormous. With eleven men, it needs to be. There are four floors, twelve bedrooms, and I lost count of how many bathrooms. Hell, I don’t even know how many kitchens there are. The freezer I just left is in the basement off of one of the two kitchens located on that level. Yes, there are two in the basement. Because there’s a huge spa with two pools and something like four hot tubs among other luxuries, a big cinema, a large game room and still more, kitchens are necessary.

I’m probably just torturing myself by staring at the bouquet every morning; but since access to the underground garage is through the basement and I pass the freezer, I can’t help myself.

“It’s fine,” I mutter. “Completely fine. I just need patience.”

The basement garage holds nine vehicles and the one above it holds another nine. There’s a single spot empty and if I have to explain it’s for our much-awaited wife, I’m going to scream it so no one misses that.

That’s also why we have twelve bedrooms and one sits empty. Actually, several are barely used, mine included. Why would we sleep alone when we can sleep together? Who wants to be lonely when it’s unnecessary?

Some of us sleep alone from time to time. I don’t, but Taranis and Tempest do on occasion. Just for peace. And to give their dicks a rest. The amount of testosterone in this house means that we’re always half hard and ready to go.

I smirk at the thought as I climb into my Saab. While I situate myself, I muse at my half hard dick. See? Not even joking. However, since I know I’m going to work away from my men, where I’ll likely see the completion of harems that aren’t mine, it softens quickly.

“It’s fine,” I repeat as I start the car, ready for my twelve-hour shift. It’s well before seven, so I’m the first to leave. The rest of my husbands’ vehicles are still lined up perfectly, waiting for sexy asses to get into their seats.

The drive to work is quick. We have a relocation portal close by, but I’m one of the few who works for The Harem Project who doesn’t often travel to remote locations. I cover when someone goes out, as I was the day Obry was brought in, but usually, I’m close to home. Our local center is only ten minutes into town.

I pull up and sigh. I love my job. Really, I do. And if I didn’t, I could quit right now and just go home. We weren’t short on money, by any means. How could we be with nine out of eleven of us with full-time jobs? It’s easy to see a bank account grow quickly with that many direct deposits every week.

Rubbing my eyes, I grab my bag and climb out of my car. The clouds are thick overhead today and I take a deep breath, feeling the way the energy sizzles beneath my skin. The air is charged and I know we’ll have a storm today. At least that’s a positive to being out of the house.

Okay, that’s enough. I closed my eyes and shook out my arms, kicking my feet as if I were trying to get something off my shoes. Then cracked my neck and took a deep breath. No more negativity and moping; it  was time to make dreams come true. Or some shit like that.

The Administrative Manager—AM—on right now is a cute, petite pixie named Forest. She was sitting behind the desk with an electronic reader, but looked up as I came in and flashed a sparkling smile at me. Literally, she sparkled like a disco ball.

“Good morning, hot stuff,” she greeted, jumping to her feet.

“Hello, Forest.” I leaned down to kiss her head. She was a sweet woman who also happened to be the daughter of some biggie within the agency. “Good night?”

Forest shrugged. “Normal night. But the rooms are pretty full. We’re heading into overfull if many more people come in.”

“Really?” I asked, picking up the tablet in the back and flicking on the screen. Our branch was on the smaller side, but only because there were two different Harem Project buildings in this city. It’s a big city, so there’s one on either side.

We had eight day rooms and three night rooms. The night rooms were those primarily used for a person who has signed a contract that requires relocation. That gives them the ability to tie up whatever loose ends they have in the city without worrying about anything financially. Or they’re used for sanctuary stays.

Obry’s frightened eyes flash in my mind and I shake them away. Her room is occupied right now. Not her room, of course. Just the room she’d been staying in.

Taking a breath, I shake the thought of her out of my head and refocus on work. I see that we only have two rooms available right now, a day and a night. “No chance that any are on their way out?”

Forest shrugged as she picks up her bag and stuffs her belongings in it. She’s someone who brings a lot of things—blanket, pillow, a change of clothes, two weeks’ worth of water, a month’s worth of food, and enough entertainment that if there’s a fallout and the city goes black, she’ll have plenty to keep the entire building occupied.

I’ve teased her before about just using a suitcase to transport her stuff and while she laughed at me when I suggested it, I smirk every time I see her suitcase. It’s currently laying open as she straps everything in and talks about the clients assigned to rooms right now.

“Carrie has her matches, and she’s been here for two days. So I would expect that she’s made a choice and hasn’t found the courage to say so yet. Maybe check on her in a bit?”

I nodded. “Carrie in Wings 2. Got it.” I’m leaning against the bank of cabinets as I watch her close her bag and zip it while she continues to list things I can look up on the tablet. I imagine that at one time before we were as technologically dependent as we are and before the software had the ability to be as thorough as it is now, these rundowns were normal. Forest just hasn’t caught up.

“Okay,” she said, setting down her suitcase and pulling up the handle. “Need anything before I go?”

“Nope.” I pop the p and earn myself a grin. “Have a good day.”

She waves, a big smile still in place. “You too, Bronte. Don’t scare anyone away, big guy.”

My chuckle follows her out the door. I take a minute to stuff my bag into the cabinet, then pull out a bottle of water and my bagel. When I finish scanning the tablet and eating my breakfast, I’ll check on Carrie.

It’s all just as Forest said. She didn’t miss a single detail. Shaking my head with amusement, I wash my hands and head down the hall to find Carrie.

There’s rustling behind the door when I knock and then it opens to show a dark-haired girl with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. She looks up at me and her eyes get wider. “Wow. You’re big.”

I laughed, shrugging. “I’ve been told.”

Carrie covered her face for a minute, but she couldn’t hide the way she turned bright red. “Sorry, that was so incredibly inappropriate of me. I meant to say hello.”

“No worries, Carrie. I spoke to Forest, and she suggested I check on you. How are you making out with your results?”

She dropped her hands and sighed, a dreamy look slipping over her face. Well, Forest was right. Carrie had made up her mind. “I think I’ve decided, but I keep wondering if they’re going to feel the same way.” She glanced at me with embarrassment. “Does that happen?”

“That the harem doesn’t feel the same way?”

Carrie nodded, taking her bottom lip between her teeth as she waited for my answer.

“It’s so rare that I’ve never seen it,” I assured her. Not even a lie.

Hope bloomed in her eyes. “Really?”

I nodded. “Which harem are you interested in?”

She sighed. “House of Bludd.” A laugh escaped her. “Sounds so grotesque, but they’re…” She didn’t finish, her focus going far off.

My chest gave a tight squeeze. I loved bringing people together. Really, I did. What better way was there to spend your days than making happily ever afters come true? But I feel like mine is just out of reach and every time I bring another harem closure, mine feels like it’s gaping open.

“Have you looked at the contracts, Carrie?”

She blinked several times before looking at me. Nodding, she shrugged. “I want the one just before marriage. What did you guys call it?”

“Rooming,” I told her. “Let me get you the contract that is specifically for House of Bludd. Read it over and if you don’t have any concerns that you want to negotiate, I’ll give Midas a call.”

“Midas,” she parroted. Blinking rapidly, she nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

Within twenty minutes, I was back at my desk with my phone in my hand as I scrolled until I found Midas Bludd’s number. The House of Bludd has seven men, all night breed like our friends the Darkyns. Midas is a straight up vampire.

I paused as I glanced at Carrie’s basic information. Scrolling through what I could find to determine that she wasn’t a monster at all. She was human. Curious.

Not that species mattered a whole lot. Statistics within The Harem Project show that when a harem has been waiting for their last piece for a while, it’s usually a human. When they quickly fill to their desired wholeness, then there’s rarely a human present.

Harems like Wyn are the exception and the rule. Their first human, Ansel, had been with them for a while, but their wife was elusive. They filled both sides of that stat.

The phone rang, and I waited for Midas to pick up, checking the time to see if we’re in deep night for the vamps.

“Hello, Bronte,” he hummed into the phone. His voice was deep, filled with a dark chill that made even me shiver. I grinned.

“Hello, Bloodsucker. How’s it hanging, sweetheart?” I answered.

He snorted. “Fine. Long and happy, as always.”

I laughed. “Good to hear. Listen, I have a woman here who has chosen your family. She’s offering the Rooming Contract. Want me to send her profile over?”

A pause met my ears, and I smiled. I could just imagine how that news would make me react. Catching of my breath. My stomach flipping. Questioning whether I heard the caller correctly.

Midas sighed. “Yes, send it over. Is she human?”

I nodded. “Probably. You’ll be able to tell easier than me.” Because he’d smell the kind of blood she had. Not by looks.

“Okay, good to know. We’ll be in touch.”

The line cut off, and I wasted no time sending the House of Bludd Carrie’s profile.

I spent the rest of the day going over the contract with Carrie and getting her moved into the last of the night rooms available. I ushered a couple of other people back and assured those who left that wherever they are in the process, they’ll be able to pick up right where they left off when they return.

I was barely sitting in my seat again when Murphy, the AM on the night shift, stepped inside. He grinned his wolfish smile that reminded me a lot of Edison Nash. I didn’t think Murphy was a Fenrir wolf, but he was certainly a wolf shifter of some kind.

“All good?” he asked as I packed up my bag.

Nodding, I patted him on the shoulder. I didn’t give him the rundown like Forest had. He’d do exactly as I did anyway and pick up the tablet to see where we stood. The only thing I filled him in on is that Carrie is going to be in and out as she closes out her life here in the city.

“Sleep well, stormy ass,” Murphy said, winking at me as I headed out the door.

I was restless the entire way home. Maybe we ought to put out an ad. Tell the world that we wanted our goddam wife right now so I can stop being so grumpy and jittery. I’ve always been impatient, but since Jennings handed us her bouquet, I feel like our missing piece is just out of reach. Promised to us, but as of right now, she’s barely within sight. No matter how far I stretch, my fingers close over nothing.

When I step out of my car and pull my bag off of my shoulder, I turn to find Nephele leaning against the wall by the door. He’s lean, tall, with contoured lines of deep muscle but more like a runner than a bodybuilder. His hair is to his shoulders, and he has a well-defined beard. His waist is slim and his ass is perfectly round.

Everything about him is stupidly perfect.

He’s still dressed in his scrubs. A smile ticks up his face as I approach, and I can already feel my pout. Because I’m tired of waiting. I want our happily ever after.

Nephele cups my face in his hands, and I sigh, my eyelids closing. “You complete some hearts today, honey?” he asks in his sweet, smooth, hypnotic voice.

I nodded. “House of Bludd,” I answered.

I can feel his smile even though my eyes are closed. “That’s my good boy,” he purred.

A shiver raced through me, my cock instantly perking up to half mast. See? Always half hard in this house, from the moment we step through the door.

His lips touch mine and I’m jelly.