Chapter 165: Old School Party At the Penthouse!

Seeing Amanda’s sad face and hearing Nyxara’s question hit Tyler harder than he anticipated. He knew his wives were mentally strong and could handle anything, so when Emie reached out to Amanda and she asked Tyler about it, he encouraged her to take the interview if she felt she should.

’Maybe I should have been more clear and told her to turn it down if she wanted,’ he thought before he realized he should just talk to Nyx, then pull Amanda aside.

"Nyx, you’re right." Tyler explained what advice he had given Amanda when Emie reached out.

She didn’t view it as a bad thing; she saw it as "Tyler being Tyler," and she told him that. She explained to him that he’d always been their encouragement or their challenger, and they’d been able to do the same with him, so it only made sense he would respond that way. She didn’t want him beating himself up for something that could be easily fixed.

Tyler let Amanda and Zack continue to talk but gave a polite wave and made some rounds. It was good to see Katy and Zain were living together now. He had officially moved in with her about a month ago and thanked Tyler so many times it caused them to laugh.

"Dude, you would have ended up living there even if Sophie was there," Tyler said while shaking his head.

"He’s right!" Sophie giggled. "It’s not like I wouldn’t have let you just move in with us, goofball."

"Well, I’m still thankful this pretty young werewolf thinks my dumbass demon self is good enough." Zain smiled.

"You’re more than good enough, babe. I love you," Katy said, kissing him on the cheek.

"I love you too." Zain smiled.

"What about you, though, Tyler? You look tired, no offense," Katy said while turning to him.

Sophie looked at Tyler and wondered how Katy felt about her now. The two still talked, but they had been roommates and best friends, even if the whole living-together thing hadn’t lasted very long. It didn’t change how close they were, and Sophie worried she also looked worn out or tired. She looked at Nyx, then Kass, and finally Amanda and realized how true Katy’s statement was. They all looked exhausted.

’Maybe it’s the tournament, wedding, vampiric noble stuff, and apocalypse all wrapped into one?’ she thought while she listened to Tyler admit he was drained and missed his honeymoon.

Kass walked up and said, "I miss it too. Fun in the sun and a nice escape were amazing. I’m sure I look like shit."

"You could never be anything other than beautiful on your worst day..." Tyler said kindly, only to get jump-scared by Kass growling and extending her horns, which was new, while her eyes started illuminating.

"Gotcha!" She laughed, which eased the mood for everyone.

"I think we all need a nice, refreshing reset day," Vivian admitted. "Eidolons, let’s assemble in our realm and let Tyler and Ash talk. Let’s rest, recuperate, and, most importantly, get our minds off everything negative going on. Find something that brings you relaxation."

"I could really use a forest run, Tyler. Something about just being free and running wild is a rush," Shadow admitted.

"I would like that as well," Rex said.

"Maybe I should return to Tiamat and pretend to be a double agent again?" Vox suggested.

"NO!" everyone, including Tyler, repeated at the same time.

"As much as I really think that’s selfless and a good idea, it’ll just get you killed. Can a goddess permanently end a mythical being?" Tyler asked, pretty confident he knew the incoming answer.

"Yes and your instincts are correct," Vox admitted. "Sorry, just a thought. I suppose I could work on doing something in my realm. It’s quite boring there!"

"Want a hand? Kind of my thing," Gaia offered.

"Fex, you’re not much of a talker, are you?" Tyler asked, worried his newest familiar wasn’t fitting in.

"Stop worrying, kid. I’m just enjoying not leading an entire faction, if I’m being honest. All of you are talking about needing rest; that’s exactly what I’ve been doing," Fex said calmly, which was refreshing for Tyler. "Well, I shall go make amends with a certain god and goddess."

"Shadow, you’re free to go running wild wherever you’d like, but if you sense any danger, you immediately return to me," Tyler said sternly. "I hate being this strict with you, but—"

"Understood. Tyler, stop overthinking. See ya!"

His head was unusually quiet, his body was calm, and the room’s positive energy was finally impacting Tyler’s mood in the right way.

’The good energy reminds me of the music I used to listen to on Earth when I needed to pick myself up.’

’System, do you have access to music from Earth?’

[I do not.]

He started humming and singing the lyrics in his head. ’There’s a lot going on in my head right now, but I manage... yeah... I manage. I can deal damage... real damage.’

"Sounds like that artist inspired you a lot. Anyway, let’s go talk, champ," Ash suggested.

"Agreed. Let me ensure as much privacy as we can here, then we can spend as much time as we need!" Tyler said excitedly.

[If anyone asks, I’ll be back. I’m going to have a chat with Ash. I don’t know why it took me until today to realize I’ve never looked at his original contract. I wonder if I can change it for the better. I love you all.]

He added one just to one of his wives. [Amanda, I’d like to talk to you tonight and just cuddle. You look really nice today. I’m glad you have a great friend who you can talk to about things.]

{Sounds good, babycakes. Great idea. Hopefully, you can change it. That would be awesome!} — Sophie

{Wow. How did all of us miss that? Love you too. Good luck!} — Nyxara

{I’m sure you’re going to be able to figure something out. This was a really good idea, Tyler. Today’s been great.} — Kass

{I agree! Even though I feel sad, seeing everyone happy and talking to Zack has really helped clear my head. We need to do stuff like this again more often.} Amanda sent to the group, then followed with one just to Tyler.

{Thank you so much. I love you.}