The Black Mansion was unusually still that morning.
Roxanne sat at the long oak dining table, absentmindedly stirring her untouched tea. Cain leaned against the back of her chair, reading through one of the old journals again. Loman lounged on the windowsill, half dozing, half keeping watch.
Three days since they found the journals.
Three days since the Vault awakening.
Three days since the attack.
Three days of silence.
Too much silence.
Grandpa Black crossed the hall with a cane that he absolutely did not need but claimed made him look "distinguished." Aurum was already seated, hair still damp from a morning shower, reading through shareholder reports like they hadn't discovered an ancestral death pattern in their bloodline.
It was the kind of morning that felt normal.
Which made Roxanne's stomach twist.
Because normal never lasted.
And right on cue—
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
Loman jolted so hard he hit his head on the window frame.
Cain raised an eyebrow.
"...dramatic."
"I WAS RELAXING—"
Roxanne stood, recognizing the familiar cadence of the knock.
She opened the massive front door.
Five faces stared back.
Holwen.
Abel.
Zolekh.
Rolkan.
Helixiar.
All holding boxes of breakfast.
Holwen's voice was soft but worried.
"You haven't answered anyone for three days."
Rolkan thrust a bag into her hand.
"We brought food. Please tell me you haven't starved."
Zolekh crossed his arms.
"You don't get to disappear on us."
Helixiar's eyes were sharp.
"You look pale."
Abel simply held out a thermos.
"Drink this."
Roxanne blinked.
"...hello."
Cain leaned into the foyer.
"They barged in before we could even process it."
Loman stumbled down the stairs behind him, hair chaotic.
"Are we being raided?"
"No," Roxanne said.
"Just visited."
Aurum looked amused.
"Ah. The suitors."
Grandpa Black perked up.
"Oh good, I needed entertainment."
The five mates collectively deflated.
Roxanne sighed and gestured them inside.
The dining room buzzed with energy.
The mates hovered around Roxanne like she might evaporate if they blinked.
Rolkan pouted.
"Three days, Roxy. Three."
Holwen added gently,
"You could have at least texted."
Zolekh narrowed his eyes.
"What were you working on?"
Cain nearly choked on his toast.
"Oh nothing important, just—"
Roxanne smacked his arm under the table.
He corrected himself.
"—just projects. Normal ones."
"Normal, my ass," Loman muttered.
Abel stared at her more observantly than the others.
"You look like you slept two hours total."
YOU ARE READING
The lazy genius has 5 mates
General Fiction"are you guys bi or is it dote on the females type?" "she has a talent of sleeping anywhere" "congratulations on winning the genius of the year award!" "6 successful people mated together! general people should spit blood!" --------------- heh. wh...
