Chapter 15
EMME
The next few hours felt so normal that I briefly forgot the crisis we were facing.
The Reeves pack were right—Kellan’s family were everything good in the world.
From his bubbly, kind, and sweet mother to the stoic and calm silence of his father, not to mention the way the brothers ribbed each other with a million inside jokes but never made me feel like an outsider.
It was nice to just bask in their comfortable glow.
Slade eventually left to beat up his enforcers, but not before reminding me he’d be waking my ass up for dawn training. Everyone else departed soon after, to get ready for hockey tonight. I was thrilled to watch our Celtic Wolves take on the Greenville Demons.
It had been too long since I attended a game.
“Hunter will meet us there, so you’re driving over with us, Shortcake,” Kellan said after we’d waved off his family, who would also meet us there.
“Sounds good to me,” I said. “I’ve just got to get my jersey on, and paint your numbers on my cheeks, and then I’m set.”
Finley and Kellan pushed in on either side of me, their alpha dominance washing over my tingling skin, leaving my legs like Jello. “We had a special jersey made for you,” Finley murmured, his voice deepening as his scent spiked. “Florence left it on your bed.”
Desperately searching for moisture in my mouth, I swallowed roughly. “You guys had a jersey made?”
When they nodded, curiosity pushed through my breathless state.
Which was how these alphas always affected me.
Popping up on my toes, I pressed a kiss on Finley’s lips first, and then Kellan’s, before I took off up the stairs.
They attempted to grab me but I got away.
I was on a mission, and their warm laughter followed me all the way to my room.
Inside, their scents were strong, and tingles fluttered across their bites as the bond shimmered in my mind. Their beasts were closer, so my wolf was all but pressed against them, and we could have communicated if we wanted, but instead chose to just let our essences dance together.
Until we were almost one and the same.
Our full quintet was a complete circle, with no beginning or end. All sharing one power.
Pushing aside the curiosity of sharing power, I focused on the pile of neatly folded clothing on the bed. Above all of it, though, was new piece of origami.
I lifted it, examining what was clearly a flower.
It took me a minute to recall the name: lotus.
The dark pink lotus was intricate, and I couldn’t figure out how many pieces of paper Finley had used to make it, but it was more than one.
My pulse fluttered as I sent a happy sigh toward my bear.
Thank you, mate. I love all these heartfelt gifts.
Kellan’s wolf butted in closer to mine, as if he wanted to see what I held, and I sent him a mental image of the flower. I didn’t expect that to work, but to my surprise, he yipped. Did you ever unfold any of them, pretty mate?
Finley’s bear bellowed with that, and it was clear he’d heard those words too. But he didn’t say anything. All I got through the bond were waves of his love and gentleness.
I’ve never opened them.
Kellan’s wolf nudged me again, and I retreated from the bond, re-positioning my beast so she was blocking the conversation once more. It had only been hours, but already I’d figured out how to single out and communicate with the alphas, mostly due to trusting the instinct of my wolf.
I focused on the lotus once more before deciding it was far too intricate to unfold. This would have taken him hours to create. It was so delicately perfect, I refused to mess with it. Moving to the drawer of origami, I slid it open and swapped out the lotus for the horse.
Finley had made this one for me on the day we went to therapy together, and as much as I loved it, I wanted to know what might have been in his heart that day.
It took me many minutes to unfold the paper without tearing it, marveling all the while at how tiny some of the folds were.
Finley might be a huge bear, but it didn’t show in the dexterity of his fingers.
A truth that made me one very lucky omega.
As the paper unraveled before me, the occasional word appeared, and when I finally had the creased paper open, there was also a drawing in the middle.
It was my face with a pair of familiar hands cupping my cheeks.
Such a beautiful and simple line sketch and written along Finley’s hands were tiny words—adore, cherish, crave, desire, need, want, love, mate, peace.
Love, peace, and mate were repeated multiple times.
Above all of that, almost like the title of the piece, was a single word: HEALING.
His feelings for me coated his arms, but the sketched version of me couldn’t see them, as my eyes were closed. Oh, Finley. My beautiful bear.
My eyes were wide open now, and I wouldn’t be closing them again. Not ever.
Wanting to keep this with me, I slid it into my bra, leaving it close to my heart. Finley’s bear pressed in against my wolf, waiting for me to let him in, so he’d know what piece I’d chosen to unravel. I sent him a mental picture of the navy horse, and a huge rumble shook the bear’s chest.
Not what I expected, but I should have known you’d be drawn to the one where I left most of my heart.
I’ll keep it safe for you, I whispered back. I love you, Grouchy.
There was not even a second delay from him. I love you too, baby. I’ll keep every part of you safe. Now get your jersey on and get that sexy ass downstairs. We’re waiting for you.
I felt the caress of his bear, and then I was once again alone in my essence. Or at least my wolf was, standing in the center, with beasts quiet and dark around her.
When my focus returned to my room, I moved toward the pile of clothes finding jeans, socks, a tank, and the new jersey. I quickly ditched my tights and dress and had another quick shower, though Slade had already cleaned me thoroughly.
I pulled on the underwear and jeans first, followed by my bra. Not worrying about the tank, I held up the jersey, smiling when I saw that on the back they’d had Jackson and Thornton printed, with their numbers below, both in separate circles. Beneath the numbers was a single word: Ours.
It was a clear claim, and I wasn’t remotely upset about it.
There was no universe in which I’d ever be upset about carrying their claims. I wore their bites proudly on my skin and loved the new scars that adorned me.
Which reminded me that Finley had almost finished drawing up a quintet concept to tattoo on me. After I’d finally seen his third tattoo, which was on his right thigh—a crown wrapped around a beautifully intricate snowflake, representing his Ice Queen nickname for me, I wanted my own tattoo.
Sliding the jersey on, it fell to mid-thigh, custom made to hug my body. It was thicker and warmer than my usual ones, and they’d also left a matching scarf and gloves in the Celtic colors.
Once I was dressed, I brushed and braided my mop of hair, drew their numbers on each cheek, and dotted some gloss on my lips.
Wrapping myself up in all their thoughtfully provided gifts was heartening, especially with their scents clinging to them.
For tonight at least, I looked like a shifter without a care in the world.
No one would know that I feared the way magic would steal everything from us tomorrow.
As I started down the stairs, Kellan, Finley and Talon were already waiting for me in the entrance hall. The dragon’s gaze locked onto me, and I enjoyed his unwavering stare. Heat rose from him, and I was suddenly too warm in my hockey gear.
Now that we’d sealed the bond in all ways, a new craving tore at my body to claim them all again.
Over and over. Circumstances prevented us from having a true honeymoon period, a time when most packs holed up in their bedrooms for weeks.
But that didn’t mean I wasn’t feeling all those drives and desires to hide away with them.
Talon’s boots hit the bottom step. “Sweet Honey,” he breathed, his voice a whisper of a prayer.
“Tal,” I gushed, basically throwing myself into his arms as I skipped the last few steps.
He caught me with ease, barely even rocking back. “I missed you, mate,” I said, our bond thrumming strongly as his dragon’s snout caressed my wolf’s flank.
“I don’t like being apart from you,” he admitted. “I don’t like not being able to see you. Darkness creeps in around the edges of my mind, and I don’t want to go there again.”
Wiggling my arms free from where he had them pinned against my sides, I cupped his face. “You can find me anytime you need. In our bond, or out here in the real world. I’m always available when you need me.”
Kellan and Finley hovered closer, as if drawn forward by my words.
Talon, to my surprise, turned to include them in the connection.
“We all need you in our own ways,” Kellan said, his smile slipping until he no longer looked his normally cheery self.
“I hope we don’t take too much from you, Shortcake.
You need to tell us if we’re pushing too hard, because without limitations, there’s a real chance we could devour you whole. ”
Finley rumbled until his bear was visible in his gaze.
“Whatever time and energy you have for us, will be more than enough,” he said.
“We’re all grown alphas, and it’s not your job to ensure our happiness.
Just having you in our lives makes us whole and happy.
You will drive yourself crazy constantly trying to keep us all functional.
Trust that we’ll come to you if we are real need. ”
Talon looked between Kellan and Finley, a thoughtful expression tugging at his face, as if he hadn’t considered that before.
Unable to help myself, I leaned in and kissed the taunt skin of his scar.
“One,” I said, “it is my job to ensure your happiness. And two, please find me if you need me. Trust that I will speak up if it’s ever too much, but I can’t imagine a time when I wouldn’t want to be close to all of you. ”
Even with five mates, there was never a sense of too much or being overwhelmed. If anything, I missed Slade and Hunter, and wished they were here with me too. My greatest wish right now would be to wrap five alphas around me, crawl into a huge, soft bed, and maybe never come out.
As that thought filtered out through my pack, there was a rumble from the beasts, along with an overall feeling of satisfaction.
Here in the entrance hall, I got kisses and hugs from all three of my mates, and then we headed for the garage.
“Constantine’s not coming?” I asked, not sure if I cared or not.
We’d had very little time to get to know each other or build any sort of relationship thus far. I might have misgivings about him being in my life, but I knew I couldn’t avoid him forever.
“He’s researching,” Finley said as he opened the door to the Benz for me. “He said he’d see us after the game.”
After the game. Where all normalcy would vanish, and we’d once again be fighting to save shifters and our cities.
Not that I was going think about the future until I absolutely had to.
Living in denial and all that.
Worked like a charm.