Chapter 32
T he bond was less distracting while on horseback. I had to focus, so Beau’s emotions became more akin to background noise than a speaker next to my ear.
Applesauce had the attitude of a jumper, and Scout decidedly did not. I was going to work my way through their roster, getting to know each of the horses as well as Dylan did so they could be paired perfectly when lessons began. Most people wouldn’t do jumping, but we still needed to know who was suited for that anyway. There were always the ambitious horse people who wanted to compete, and I was in a unique position to train them for that.
Eclipse was a breeze beneath me, not shying away from the jumps at all. I already knew I loved this horse and would use him for lessons as much as I could.
It was a shame these beauties didn’t have some wide-open spaces to run. Wild fantasies of owning a ranch filled my head: fields full of horses and rolling hills, outdoor corrals, a gorgeous and sprawling farmhouse with a wraparound porch. I wasn’t a cowgirl by any stretch of the imagination, but the desert was beautiful and horses improved every vista.
My mates were all waiting for me when I pulled Eclipse to a stop.
“Ready for my next subject.”
“Sassafras is already saddled,” said Dylan. “I’ll bring him out for you.”
He returned with a bay beauty, fur exceptionally glossy under the lights. I stepped off Eclipse, hovering atop the boundary wall between the arena and the stands, and climbed onto Sassafras. I took him in a loop and he stopped short in front of one of the jumps, sniffing it curiously.
“Come on, Sassy.” I guided him over it, but he insisted on stopping to check each of the jumps in turn before finally letting me take him in a proper loop, where he trotted over each of them with ease. “Silly goose. Are you going to have to sniff test everything at every lesson?”
With no answer forthcoming, I gave him a few laps of exercise, letting him choose his preferred pace.
“I think he’ll be okay for lessons,” I told my mates as I passed by. “Just need to give him a little extra time.”
“Yeah.” Dylan laughed. “He’s very snoopy. I call it collecting horse gossip when he needs to sniff every single thing.”
I went through the paces with one more horse before my body started to remind me that I hadn’t done this for a very long time.
“Ready for a break, duchess?” Francisco and Beau returned after they’d disappeared into the office for a while during my horse time, Eduardo and Dylan minding the horses I’d already checked out.
“I wish I wasn’t. The spirit is willing to be on horseback all day, but the body is making its displeasure known.”
It certainly didn’t help that I had been extensively railed through the night. I didn’t mind the ache and pressure of being in the saddle, though, because every movement reminded me of Beau.
Between riding the horses and having my mates all in close proximity, I was feeling surprisingly good, even with the spikes of panic Beau and I kept tossing to each other like a fucked-up game of mental badminton.
“Are you still up to spending time with us this afternoon?” Eduardo asked.
“I was planning on it. Did you guys have something specific in mind?”
He nodded. “Given the circumstances, I think it’s even more timely.”
“You can have me until I have to pick up the boys from Ava’s. Should I tidy up?”
“I think so, yes. They’re expecting us soon.”
“Who’s they?”
“That’s a surprise.”
I slid off the horse and straight into Eduardo’s arms, letting him claim my mouth with an eager sweep of his lips. Mellow lemon and sharp pepper filled my nose and had curls of heat growing in my belly. If he didn’t sound like we were on a timeline, I’d have suggested some additional leisure activities, but I was too curious to find out where we were going.
I wiped off the worst of the arena dust in the bathroom, all four of the alphas waiting for me when I emerged.
“I imagine you and Beau will be going in one vehicle,” said Francisco. “We technically fit in one, but I don’t want you to get anxious about timing.”
“Can I come with you guys?” Dylan asked. “I don’t mind third wheeling, and I’m great at giving directions.”
“You are not,” Eduardo said with a roll of his eyes.
“Okay, fair,” Dylan relented. “My phone is good at it, though.”
“I don’t mind if you want to come with us,” I told him.
He beamed at me and swung one arm over my shoulders. “Let’s get a move on, then. I can’t wait for you to see it.”
“Is no one going to tell me what we’re going to see?” I asked as they ushered me out to the vehicles.
“Eddie wants your authentic reaction.”
“Not ominous at all.”
“Nah.” Dylan grinned, practically launching himself into the back seat of my car when we arrived. He looked ridiculous back there with how tiny my vehicle was.
My front seat was adjusted for Beau, so I took a couple minutes to return everything to its original position while he settled in the passenger seat next to me.
Dylan gave us directions, though I followed Francisco and Eduardo for the most part until we got separated at a stoplight.
“How’s the bond going?” Dylan asked.
“New and weird,” I replied. “But not terrible.”
He nudged Beau, who had been silent the whole trip so far. “And for you?”
“Inconvenient.”
“Understatement of the century,” I said with a laugh.
“The different city thing is a bit of a hassle, I guess.” Dylan shrugged. “Sure you don’t wanna move here permanently?”
“I would have to make substantial changes to my life to even consider it.”
“A bond feels pretty substantial already.”
I listened to them with half an ear, trying to focus on the road. I had no idea how long it would take the bond to calm down enough that Beau would be able to go back to New York. The Internet didn’t have a ton of information since it was uncommon for people to try to separate after a bond.
We pulled to a stop at the apartment building I had visited that first night when Francisco took me to bed. The memory of every fevered touch and frantic kiss raced through me and made Beau’s posture stiffen next to me. The bond was so fresh, he was going to feel every time I got turned on. That was probably fine when it was him turning me on, but I wasn’t sure what was going through his head when it was someone else making it happen.
Dylan popped out of the back seat and opened my door for me. “Ready, princess?”
“As ready as I can be when I don’t know what’s happening.”
He took my hand, and I grabbed Beau’s, the three of us heading inside. Eduardo and Francisco were waiting for us in the hall with a handful of others I didn’t recognize except for the omega who looked vaguely familiar from Night of Knights.
Dylan pulled me forward when I would have stopped, excitedly introducing me to Carmen, who played their Guinevere, and her pack.
Eduardo popped open one of the apartment doors, the space full of tidy stacked boxes. “Come on in.”
Still having no clue what was going on, I let Dylan tug me along. The apartment was easily quadruple the size of what I had now, with space to breathe in the living areas, a full kitchen with tons of storage, and two full bathrooms for the main area. If peeking through the open doors were any indication, it hosted four bedrooms, including an omega suite.
“What do you think?” Francisco asked.
“It’s lovely, but I’m not sure why I’m looking at it?”
“Carmen and her pack are moving out soon,” said Eduardo. “They haven’t told management yet, but they’ve already found a place they want to move into and I asked them to let you have a chance to see this first.”
“We want you to move in here, if you want to,” said Dylan. “It’s right next door, so we won’t be in your hair, but we’re close by.”
I stared at the space with fresh eyes, mentally slotting my boys into each bedroom. It had a space for Beau to work, and enough room I would theoretically not trip over things a dozen times a day. Dylan and Beau both released my hands and I drifted toward the largest room: the omega suite with a massive bed and attached bathroom. It was enormous compared to what I had now and my mind filled the space with the sort of nest I could have with that much room to expand.
There was just one problem. “I can’t afford this.”
“I’ll pay for it,” Beau said instantly. “If you want it, I’ll make it happen.”
I chewed my lip, surveying the apartment. My other matches would be right next door, and they had thought of this instead of a pack house, keeping the pressure off me while still showing me they wanted to be there for me. I held my breath, gaze sliding again to the nest, a burst of giddiness building in my chest. I wasn’t convinced a better solution existed, and this one met me exactly where I was.
“I’ll have to check if the boys will need to switch schools.”
“We’re still in their district,” said Eduardo. “I already checked. They can stay right where they are so moving homes is the only big change for them.”
Tears closed up my throat. They had thought of my children, of what would make things easiest for them. They’d thought of what would give all of us what we needed with as little disruption as possible.
“I think we could be really happy here.”
Beau looped an arm around my waist. “Consider the cost covered as long as you’re here. No matter how long or short, I’ll have them bill me and I’ll pay it as long as you want to stay.”
“Oh, to have so much money I could throw it around like that,” said Dylan with a smile. “I’d buy you a castle if I could.”
“Finding this place is plenty,” I assured him. I turned to Beau, cuddling into his chest. “You know I don’t expect you to take care of us.”
“I know. I’m going to anyway. Even without the bond I would do it. If you’d prefer the apartment to be in your name, I’ll transfer a year’s rent to your account at a time. Or more, if you’d rather.”
“You’d let it be in my name?”
“It’s your home. I want you to have security. Speaking of, I’ll open a pack account for us and put some money in there for you and the boys to use for whatever you want, and a separate college fund, too, so you don’t have to touch it for daily necessities.”
Warmth filled me from head to toe. I didn’t technically need his money to get by, but I loved that he was so willing to share it. Andrew had put me on allowances after convincing me to give up my work, and I didn’t want to go back to that restriction.
“How soon would you want to move in?” Francisco asked.
“I’m not sure how long it would take me to pack, or for Carmen and her mates to move out.”
“The place they want is empty,” said Eduardo. “So as soon as you want to be here, you can be.”
“I’ll cover movers for them and us,” Beau added. “We can hire the sort that packs and unpacks for you so there’s no extra work on your plate except separating out anything you don’t want them handling.”
This was all moving so quickly, but oddly enough, I wasn’t scared.
It felt right, like I was meant to be here, and it would be good for the boys to have their own rooms again. We deserved space to breathe, and we had passed a park only a couple of minutes before arriving so they would have somewhere to truly stretch their legs. As a bonus, it wasn’t more than five minutes further from Ava than we were now.
“Let’s do it.”
I hugged each of them in turn, nerves jumping in my stomach. Moving to be so close to my other matches and working with them definitely put me at a higher risk for falling for them more than I already had, but the move made sense. Fingers crossed it would be exactly what we all needed.