Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
ROMAN
Lochlan unbuttons the silk shirt that he borrowed from Cassius and carefully drapes it over the little white garden fence, then does the same with the slacks he’s wearing.
A lazy kind of lust stirs in my gut as I take in my mate, healthy and well fed enough to stand in the sunlight now without any harm, aside from a possible sunburn, the bright afternoon rays almost making his pale skin look like it’s glowing.
He sweeps a strand of auburn hair off his forehead and grins at me, shrugging.
“I didn’t want to ruin Cas’s clothes in the dirt.”
“I’m not complaining.” I make a show of sweeping my eyes over his nearly naked body, appreciating his lean muscles and the dusting of freckles that make random shapes in different places, like tiny constellations all over his skin.
Eventually, I’m going to map every one with my tongue, learn every inch of his body the way Jareth already knows it, and memorize all the spots that make him gasp and squirm.
I can hear Jareth inside his cottage, his quiet humming just barely audible over the sound of running water filling the bath and his clothes rustling as he strips out of them.
There’s a contented note in his scent wafting through one of his open windows, and it’s more satisfying than a hundred orgasms.
My mates are happy. My mates are safe. I breathe out slowly, then I get down on my knees in the dirt and start carefully pulling any weeds that have started to creep into the garden, tossing dandelions into one pile because Jareth has mentioned before that they’re useful for healing and medicinal potions, and making a separate pile for the less useful intruders.
Loch joins me, not at all shy about sinking his fingers into the dirt to get at the roots.
“So, how’d you end up working for Auri?” he asks conversationally.
I chuckle under my breath. The fated mate bond really is strange.
Loch and I hardly know anything about each other, but I would literally tear out my heart and present it to him if he asked.
That’s okay though; there’s plenty of time to get to know all the details that matter, and even the ones that don’t.
“Honestly, I signed the contract with him because I thought it was my best shot at getting over Jareth and giving him the space to get over me. My pack—the one I grew up with, anyway—lives on the other side of the forest, and I didn’t trust myself not to give in to the temptation he was offering.”
“Pack’s a big deal to wolf shifters though, right? Or have I just read too many werewolf fanfics?”
I sputter a laugh. “Don’t tell me you’ve read those over-the-top horny stories with full-moon orgies.”
He shrugs and shoots me a coy smile. That’s a yes. I chuckle again.
“Don’t break my heart and tell me none of that’s real.”
“Fifty-fifty,” I say. “There are two types of wolf shifter packs—family packs and chosen packs. Family packs obviously aren’t having orgies.”
“They were your family? I just realized that you’ve never mentioned your parents at all.”
“No, actually, they were more of an adopted family, but the pack as a whole was a family. Whoever my parents were, they dropped me off on that pack’s doorstep when I was only a few weeks old, and I haven’t heard from them since.
I’m grateful that they left me with a wolf pack, at least. It would have been rough as hell growing up in human foster care, not knowing what I was. ”
Loch nods sympathetically and leans over to brush a kiss to my cheek.
“So, is it normal to leave a family pack, then?” he asks.
“Yeah, eventually everyone grows up and goes their own way, starts their own pack for the most part. They’ll always be my family, but…
” I shrug. It’s hard to explain to non-wolves how it feels.
I’ll always have loyalty and love for them, I would die for any member of the pack that raised me, but they aren’t my pack anymore.
I glance over at Loch again, squinting in the sunlight, tugging on a particularly stubborn weed, and I smile. I have a new pack now.
JARETH
I stand by the open window, letting the warm breeze dry the droplets of water on my skin and watching Roman and Loch tend to my garden. It feels strange to let someone else care for my plants, but I trust them to be careful and only put good energy into my babies.
Loch says something I can’t hear from here, and Roman throws his head back and lets out a booming laugh, then reaches over and smears his dirty hand over Loch’s cheek, leaving a streak of soil.
Loch retaliates by throwing a handful of loose soil back at him, and it turns into a playful tussle that ends with a kiss.
Emotion wells in my throat and I try to swallow it down but fail miserably. It bubbles up anyway and bursts out of my lips as a choked bastardization of a laugh and a sob. They both freeze instantly, and in a blink, they’re rushing across the garden to my window.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Roman asks before they even reach me.
Loch gets to me first with his super speed. He’s a blur for a moment, and then he’s right in front of me, cupping my cheek and brushing something damp off my skin with his thumb. Oh, I’m crying.
I wave my hand dismissively and laugh, feeling another unexpected rush of tears.
“I’m happy.” I reach up and wipe the wetness off my cheek with the back of my hand.
“I always thought ‘crying happy tears’ was one of those poetic exaggerations, but I saw you two together in my garden and I just…” I shake my head and a few more tears fall.
“I guess I’ve never been so happy it made me cry before. ”
They take turns kissing the tears off my cheeks until I finally pull myself together.
“If you guys are just about finished with the garden, you probably need to clean up a bit before we go out anywhere.” I smear the dirt on Loch’s cheek a little more with my fingertips to show him what a mess he is.
“You go ahead, Loch. I’ll just finish up and then I’ll be right in to rinse off real quick.”
“Thank you,” I murmur, leaning out the window to give Roman a quick kiss before Loch nudges me out of the way so he can climb through it instead of just using the front door. “Do you want me to call anywhere for a reservation, by the way? You didn’t say where you wanted to go tonight.”
Roman grins. “Already taken care of. I made a call while Loch was playing dress-up with Cas. There’s a demon Auri had us do a job for last year, and he owns a restaurant in the city.
Rooftop dining with an incredible view.” He grimaces at Loch.
“Shit, is it insensitive to take a vampire on a date to a restaurant? I’m going to need to workshop some new date ideas that don’t involve food. ”
“I don’t mind,” Loch assures him. “I can drink some wine without getting sick, and it’ll be nice just being with the two of you.”
“Okay, perfect. I am going to make a list of date ideas though.”
“We’ll work on it together,” I promise, not wanting Roman to feel like he’s responsible for all of the planning and heavy lifting in this relationship. I know he likes it, that he wants to take care of us, but we’re in this together. All of us.
He trots off to finish up in the garden, and I turn away from the window so I can get dressed while Loch sinks into my leftover bath water to quickly clean the dirt off.
“This is kind of sexy.” He waggles his eyebrows, scooping up a handful of water and splashing it on his face. “All this water caressed your gorgeous, naked body and now I’m soaking in it.”
“That is kind of sexy.” I bend over the tub to catch his lips in a slow kiss. “I still feel like I’m dreaming and I’ll wake up any minute, alone in my own bed with the two of us still broken up and Roman still stubbornly waiting for his fated mate to come along,” I confess.
“It’s not a dream. Need proof?”
I nod, my nose bumping against his. He smirks and sinks his teeth into my bottom lip, catching it with the tip of his fang just hard enough to draw blood.
I gasp at the small shock of pain and the coppery flavor that hits my tongue.
Loch laps up the droplet of blood, and the wound heals almost instantly.
It’s enough proof that I’m awake though.
LOCHLAN
It’s after nightfall by the time we’re all cleaned up and dressed. Roman uses the freaky demon teleportation power he got from Auri to bring us to an alley right next to the restaurant. I haven’t been to the city since I was turned, and for a few seconds all the scents and sounds are overwhelming.
“Yeah, the city isn’t my favorite either,” Roman says, reading the discomfort on my face or through our growing bond, I’m not sure which.
“I think the view will be worth it though, and this restaurant is supposed to be incredible. It’s for supernaturals only.
It has a glamour that makes humans see it as generic office space, and all the waiters are demons.
They don’t have menus, they just read you and bring you your favorite food. ”
“Like the dining room at Auri’s?” Jareth teases, and Roman huffs.
“Yes, but this will be even cooler because it’s on a rooftop in the city.”
“It’ll be amazing,” I assure him, patting his arm, then reaching for Jare’s hand.
My senses are adjusting now, recalibrating to handle the barrage of information.
One scent in particular tickles my nose and pings something in the back of my brain that I can’t quite place.
It can’t be that important though, or I would recognize it, right?
We head inside the building and make our way up to the rooftop.
The scent of humans and garbage and car exhaust is replaced by the tangy smell of magic and the sulfur scent of demons as we step out onto the rooftop.
My nose twitches again, but I ignore it.
I’m on a date with my mates; I don’t need to worry about weird smells.
I really don’t mind that I won’t be able to eat anything here, but even if I did, Roman was right, the view and the atmosphere more than make up for it.
There are small lanterns flickering with blue flames hanging magically in the air above each table, and the sprawling city lights surrounding us in every direction.
A host greets us and takes us to our table.
“Rome, this place is fucking amazing,” Jareth whispers as we sit down.
“Good. I had to impress on our first date.” He grins at both of us.
That damn smell reaches my nose again, and even though I can’t place it, something in the back of my mind is starting to get nervous. Why? I frown and look around.
“Is everything okay?” Roman asks.
“Yeah, I just keep smel—” My eyes land on someone sitting a few tables away, his eyes locked on me with a menacing glint that tells me he noticed me long before I pulled my head out of my ass and saw him. “Shit.”