Chapter 14
EMME
Slade kept a spare motorcycle at his apartment, safe and secure in the underground parking lot. After a thorough reminder of how much I enjoyed shower sex, we were dressed in our original outfits, and I accepted the helmet he held out to me.
“Are you sure you’ll be fine with me plastered to your back?” I checked, eyeing the Honda as I slid the slightly-too-large helmet over my head.
“You’re the exception,” he said, flipping up my visor to reveal my eyes, which he stared into as he secured the strap, his movements quick and skilled.
When he was satisfied that I was strapped in properly, he gripped the front of the helmet and pulled me in closer. “Now get on the bike, mate.”
His voice dropped low over the word mate, and my insides swirled as his bite tingled.
He swung his leg over first, settling in front, and I managed to hop on behind him.
At first, I attempted to keep the tiniest distance between us, but he wrapped his hands around my thighs and tugged me firmly against his back.
There was a real intimacy in riding with someone like this.
Bodies fully aligned.
Heat seeping into my essence.
Dragons burned in a way that had me desperate to consume their fire.
Slade grunted, going all alpha on me, and I wrapped my arms around his waist, hands linking over his firm abs. For a few heartbeats, we just existed together, his huge frame shielding mine from the world in front of us.
The engine kicked over smoothly; there was a solid thrum of power beneath us. “You want to go fast, Snow?” he asked, his voice even deeper than the bike’s rumble.
“Yes,” I said, lowering my visor. Always.
His dragon shifted in our bond, but he stayed out of my mind, allowing my wolf to keep the block in place. Even if the occasional thought still slipped through. It was going to take time to adjust to these changes within our quintet, but the closer connection didn’t upset me.
In fact, I was hoping we could use it to win this fight.
As an omega, I already knew I could share my energy… but what if I could share magic too?
The ride back to the house was a blur of speed, warmth, and…
peace. Slade and I didn’t communicate, but his dragon remained close in our bond.
He nuzzled and adored my wolf like she was precious, and in his own way Slade had treated me the same way from almost the first days we met.
He might not use the word love, but he showed me in more ways than one.
When we pulled into the underground garage, he parked by the other bikes, and as I went to jump off the back, Slade held my thighs once more. He got off first, his head tilting as he loosened my helmet strap and then removed it.
I shook out my hair, which was no doubt a hot mess after everything I’d put it through today, and he cupped my face. “You always look beautiful,” he told me, and the way his gaze ate me up was a blazing fire.
My voice was lost in the raw need pulsing within me. How was this beautiful, magical, mythical creature my alpha?
He wrapped his hands around my waist and lifted me off the bike, setting me on shaky legs.
“It doesn’t bother you at all?” I asked him, barely finding my voice. “Touching me so freely?”
Slade took a second to consider my question.
“Touch used to bring internal chaos and pain, but when you or my twin touch me, all I feel is harmony. It’s calming to the dragon and soothing to the alpha.
” He leaned down until our lips were mere inches apart.
“With you, it’s even more than that. Your warmth sparks against the flames of my beast, and it feels so good.
You never have to ask for permission to touch me. ”
Through the bond, I felt how much he meant that statement, which propelled me to slide my hands up his sides until I reached the stubble on his cheeks. As I scraped my fingertips across his face, Slade sighed, the sound filled with relief.
I dropped my hands soon after, and he linked our fingers together, as if he couldn’t stand not to be touching me now. “Come on,” he said. “Kellan’s family is upstairs, waiting for us.”
That reminder jolted me into a slightly panicked state, and with one more attempt to straighten my hair and dress, I walked with him out of the garage.
In the living room, Slade let me go first, and I took in the cozy scene.
Kellan was squished between two shifters who looked so much like him there was no way to mistake them as anyone other than his parents.
His brothers were there too, and on Julien’s lap was the cute blond baby I’d seen twice now—once at hockey and another time in the street when we were under attack.
He’d always reminded me of Kellan, which made perfect sense since he had to be his nephew.
“Shortcake,” Kellan said, jumping to his feet and racing over to sweep me up into his arms, like it had been days since we were parted. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
Despite our audience, he pressed a kiss to my lips, his fingers threading into my ratty hair as he pulled me closer. Finley joined us too, wrapping me in a bear hug, and I was calmed once more by their scents and presence.
“I’ll grab more drinks,” Finley offered as he pulled away, allowing Kellan to lead me to the couch.
His mom, who stared at me with the sort of intensity usually reserved for my alphas, was standing and waiting for us. I took her in, noting that she was very pretty, with blond hair and blue eyes like her sons. She also wore a warm smile that made me feel instantly at ease.
“Oh, our beautiful Emme,” she crooned, and to my shock she reached right out and hugged me like this wasn’t the first time we’d met.
I’d received many hugs since coming into this pack, and almost all of them affected me in different ways. But a mom hug. I’d never had one of those before.
I fought down my emotions, noticing that Danielle Jackson smelled like the lightest spray of violets. She was quite a few inches shorter than me, but I felt small and protected in her firm embrace as her beta energy soothed my omega.
When she sniffled, my eyes burned until I squeezed them closed. “I’ve waited so long to meet you, gorgeous girl,” she whispered against my shoulder. “You are such a precious gift to our family. To our Kellan.”
My wolf howled, and I barely held it together. Gift. I hadn’t been a gift to my own family. It was astonishing to have a virtual stranger make such a heartfelt statement.
“She’s the fucking best thing that ever walked into my life,” Kellan murmured, brushing his arm over my shoulder. “Can I have her back now, please?”
I couldn’t see him, but I heard a low snicker from one of his brothers. Even his dad released a deep chuckle. “You’re going to have to learn to share her son, just as your brothers did with their mates.”
Kellan’s mom sniffled again as she pulled away to look me over. “I’m Danielle,” she told me, though I already knew their names from Kellan. “But I’d love if you might consider calling me Mom. Or whatever you’re comfortable with.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about her offer, but it was lovely of her to make it in the first place. “Thank you, and it’s so nice to meet you. Kellan told me how amazing his childhood was, and I wanted to say just how proud you should be of the boys you’ve raised.”
Her eyes were shiny as she squeezed my hands. “Goddess, you really are the sweetest. I’ve always wanted a daughter… I might take you home with me.”
Kellan groaned, and looked pleadingly at his father, who took pity on him and wrapped his mate up in his arms. Danielle sank back against the burly alpha, her expression filled with joy.
“I’m Conrad,” he said, his wolf dominant though it had no effect on me. “We’re sorry to just drop by unannounced, but Danni couldn’t wait one more minute to meet you. Along with ensuring her baby had fully recovered from the magical attack.”
I found myself genuinely smiling at them both. “You’re always welcome here. I’m guessing the guys have filled you in on what we’ve been facing lately. The only reason I haven’t insisted on meeting you sooner is I’d hate for you to be in any danger because of me.”
Julien, who’d just jumped to his feet to keep a wobbly baby from crashing headfirst into the coffee table, said, “I’m sending my pack and Lochie back with Mom and Dad.
I know they’re no safer there from the curse, but I feel like Golden Claw could end up front and center of a war.
” He shifted Lachlan closer to the couch.
“You should go too,” Kellan said, guiding me down to sit beside him on the couch, his palm wrapped around my thigh. I got the sense he was barely stopping himself from pulling me completely into his lap. “I want all of you out of the danger zone.”
Julien snorted, as if that was the dumbest thing he’d ever heard. “Rocket, you’re crazy if you think I’m leaving my baby brother alone. I’ll be here if you need me.”
“Me too,” Tyson said. “My mate is staying too, but we don’t have any babies to consider. Golden Claw is our home, and we will fight for it.”
I appreciated everyone taking this seriously, but I hated the thought of anyone else we cared about going into battle. We’d already lost Marcus, and that was one good shifter too many.
How many more would we lose before this was over?
Needing a subject change, I said, “As much as we should discuss the witch, there’s one thing I have to know first.” Kellan raised an eyebrow at me, the slightest hint of a smile on his lips.
“How did you get the nickname Rocket?”
As I asked the question, Finley returned with my coffee and Slade’s tea. The dragon had remained back near the entrance, giving me time to bond with the Jacksons.
Finley handed me my sweet, milky heaven with a kiss on my cheek, and I thanked him before taking my first, perfect sip.
“Anytime, darlin’,” Finley murmured, the nickname still sending shivers through me.
Slade continued to silently observe us as he drank his tea, and Finley sat to finish off his cup of sadness, all green and healthy. There was nothing unattractive about my mates, but that drink was a tick in the negative column.
“So… Rocket?” I repeated, looking at the mostly blond family.
Julien snorted. “Kellan was such a shit of a kid,” he said, before shaking his head when his son toddled over to us.
Lachlan held out his hands for Kellan and chanted, “Ke, ke, ke.”
My ovaries nearly exploded when Kellan leaned down and scooped up the little cutie, cuddling him against his chest. “Your son doesn’t think so,” he fired back at his brother.
Okay… Kellan with a baby was too fucking hot for me to handle.
When Golden flashed me a smirk, I realized my emotions had slipped through the bond. “It suits you,” I whispered near his ear, and his eyes got all shiny.
One day, Shortcake, he mentally said, his wolf nosing against mine.
The thought of having kids with my pack was enough to send terror and joy through me. It was a secret wish for the future, that I hoped we’d get a chance to fulfil.
“He was definitely spoiled, and Mom’s favorite,” Tyson continued, relaxing back into the couch as he reminisced. “He got away with everything, and we were the ones who got our asses kicked.”
Danielle gasped as she shook her head. “I don’t recall any of you ever getting a beating, even when you deserved it. Your daddy has too gentle a soul.”
Conrad snorted before he coughed to cover it up. This was the alpha who’d trained my mega-skilled, weapon’s expert of a mate. Yeah, I wasn’t sure there was much gentle in his soul for anyone other than Danielle. The way he looked at her was exactly how my pack looked at me.
Like there was no other shifter in the world.
Julien eyed his mother with scrunched brows but didn’t call her out.
“Anyways, one day when he was about five, Kellan was out in the back yard. He climbed this huge oak tree, and no matter how many times I told him to get down, he ignored me and kept climbing higher. When he reached the top, I taunted him and asked how he planned on getting down.”
“You told me it was much harder to climb down than up,” Kellan said with a laugh, rubbing a hand over his face. “I told you that you were wrong, and I was a rocket that would land at your feet.”
“And land you did,” Tyson added with a snort. “You plummeted out of the damn branch headfirst and almost gave us a heart attack.”
“But you caught me,” Kellan said, bestowing his brilliant smile on his big brother. “Stopped me from breaking my neck, before you then proceeded to kick me in the ass, screaming…”
“You spoiled little shit,” Julien burst out. “And we called you Rocket ever since, to remind you of the first stupid decision you made.”
“But not the last,” Kellan conceded with a sheepish grin, reminding me of how he’d driven around the racetrack like a shifter with a death wish.
On my other side, Danielle moved forward, shaking her head. “He has a free spirit, and I wasn’t about to tarnish his light by trying to cover him in bubble wrap.”
“You were the exact parent Kellan needed to grow into our Golden Boy,” Slade noted, his voice soft. “We are grateful for his light too.”
Kellan’s smirk grew. “Okay, then. We have our squishy Care Bear, and our fluffy little drago—”
Slade’s growl reminded the room he was a deadly killing machine, and Kellan took the warning seriously by immediately shutting up.
“Yep, still stupid,” Julien noted with a shake of his head.
“Still Rocket,” Tyson added to the sound of laughter.
I was fairly sure even the fluffy little dragon joined in.