Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
Artemis
Ifound them by the dock. Remy was sitting on the edge, bare feet dangling over the water, a fishing pole in one hand and what looked like an entire rotisserie chicken in the other.
Gumbo was about ten feet away, half-submerged in the shallows, only his eyes and the ridge of his back visible above the waterline.
They were staring at each other.
"Should I be concerned?" I asked, settling onto the dock beside Remy, close enough that our shoulders brushed. The morning was already warm, the sun cutting golden streaks across the bayou, and somewhere in the cypress trees, a bird was singing its heart out.
"That depends," Remy said, not taking his eyes off the alligator, his voice carefully casual even as his fingers tightened around the chicken. "How attached are you to me keeping all my limbs?"
"Moderately," I admitted, hiding my smile behind my coffee cup, the steam curling up to warm my face. "I've grown fond of certain parts of you."
"Just certain parts?" He shot me a wounded look, amber eyes bright with mock hurt, his dimple threatening to appear. "Chere, you wound me."
"You'll survive," I said, taking a sip of my coffee, watching the standoff with the fascination of someone observing a nature documentary. "What's with the chicken?"
"Peace offering," Remy said, lifting the bird slightly, grease dripping from his fingers onto the weathered wood of the dock.
"I figured—look, the big guy and I got off on the wrong foot.
Multiple wrong feet. An entire centipede's worth of wrong feet.
" He glanced at me, something vulnerable flickering beneath his easy charm.
"But if I'm going to be part of this pack, I need him to at least tolerate me. And you love him. So..."
He trailed off, gesturing vaguely with the chicken. My heart did something complicated in my chest. This ridiculous, beautiful man had gotten up early—Remy, who treated mornings like a personal insult—to try to make peace with my alligator. With a whole rotisserie chicken.
"You know the way to a reptile's heart," I said softly, bumping my shoulder against his.
"Hoping so," he muttered, turning his attention back to Gumbo, who hadn't moved an inch.
Those yellow eyes were fixed on Remy with an intensity that would have made lesser men run screaming.
"Hey, big guy. I know we've had our differences.
You tried to eat my hand that one time. I may have called you some names that weren't very nice. Water under the bridge, yeah?"
Gumbo didn't blink.
"I brought you a present," Remy continued, holding up the chicken like an offering to an ancient god, his voice taking on a wheedling quality that I'd never heard from him before.
"Whole chicken. Organic. Free-range. The fancy kind from that grocery store in town that charges way too much for everything.
" He paused, then added, "I even took the plastic wrapper off this time. "
"This time?" I raised an eyebrow at him, amusement curling through me, my lips twitching with a suppressed grin.
"Don't ask," Remy said quickly, a flush creeping up his golden neck.
"Point is—I'm trying here. I know you don't trust me.
I know I'm the new guy. But I love her, okay?
I love her, and I'm not going anywhere, and I really, really need you to stop trying to murder me every time I get within ten feet of the water. "
Gumbo's tail moved slightly beneath the surface. A ripple spread outward, catching the morning light.
"Is that... good?" Remy asked me out of the corner of his mouth, his body tensing almost imperceptibly.
"Hard to say," I admitted, tilting my head as I watched my old friend with the ease of someone who'd known him for over a decade. "He's thinking about it."
"Thinking about accepting my offering, or thinking about how I'd taste with hot sauce?" Remy asked, his attempt at humor undermined by the slight tremor in his voice.
"Could be either, honestly," I said, keeping my voice light even as my own heart beat a little faster.
Remy made a small, strangled sound in the back of his throat.
But he didn't move. Didn't pull the chicken back.
Just sat there, arm extended, waiting for judgment from a nine-foot prehistoric predator.
I loved him so much in that moment it almost hurt.
"Gumbo," I said softly, setting down my coffee and leaning forward, letting my voice carry across the water.
"Baby. He's pack. You know that, right? You've seen him with me.
You've seen all of them with me." I paused, choosing my next words carefully, knowing somewhere deep in my bones that Gumbo understood more than any ordinary animal should.
"They're mine. That means they're yours to protect too. "
Gumbo's eyes shifted to me. Something passed between us—that old, wordless communication we'd developed over years of shared solitude.
"I trust them," I continued, holding his gaze, pouring every ounce of sincerity I had into the words. "I trust him. He's not going to hurt me. He's not going to leave. And I need you to give him a chance."
For a long moment, nothing happened.
Then Gumbo began to move. Remy went rigid beside me, every muscle in his body locking up, his breath catching audibly in his chest. I put a hand on his thigh—partly to comfort him, partly to keep him from bolting.
"Don't run," I murmured, keeping my voice calm and steady. "Whatever you do, don't run."
"Wasn't planning on it," Remy said through gritted teeth, his voice strained but determined. "Can't feel my legs anyway."
Gumbo glided through the water with that eerie, effortless grace that had always reminded me of something ancient and eternal. The ripples spread outward in his wake, catching the light, and I watched as he approached the dock—approached Remy—with a deliberateness that made my heart pound.
He stopped about three feet away. Close enough that Remy could see every scale, every scar, every inch of those massive jaws.
The chicken trembled slightly in Remy's outstretched hand.
"Hey there, big guy," Remy said, his voice barely above a whisper, sweat beading at his temples despite the relative cool of the morning. "Nice and easy, yeah? I come in peace. Just a humble Cajun boy trying to make friends with his girlfriend's terrifying dinosaur."
Gumbo opened his mouth.
I heard Remy's sharp inhale, saw his whole body brace for impact— Then Gumbo, with a gentleness that belied his size and reputation, took the chicken from Remy's hand.
Not his fingers. Not his arm. Just the chicken.
He didn't even graze the skin.
Remy stared at his hand—still attached, still whole, still possessing all five fingers—like he couldn't quite believe what had just happened. "I... he... did that just...?" he stammered, his voice climbing an octave, his amber eyes wide with disbelief.
"Yeah," I said, my own voice a little thick as I watched Gumbo settle back into the water with his prize, ancient eyes still fixed on Remy. "Yeah, he did."
Gumbo swallowed the chicken in two efficient bites. Then, while we both watched in stunned silence, he glided forward again—and bumped his massive snout against Remy's dangling feet.
Not a threat. Not a warning.
A greeting.
"Oh," Remy breathed, something cracking open in his voice, his amber eyes going suspiciously bright. "Oh, okay. We're doing this. We're friends now. This is happening."
Very slowly, very carefully, he reached down and touched Gumbo's snout. Just his fingertips, barely there, trembling slightly.
Gumbo rumbled.
It was the same sound he made when I scratched behind his eye ridges. The same sound he made when he was content, when he was pleased, when he'd decided something was good and right and worthy of his prehistoric approval.
Remy let out a laugh that was half sob, his whole body shaking with it, his hand still pressed against Gumbo's scales. "Chere, your alligator likes me. Your terrifying murder dinosaur actually likes me."
"Looks like it," I managed, my voice thick with emotion, and I was definitely not crying, absolutely not, it was just the morning light making my eyes water.
"I gotta tell Harper and Silas," Remy said, still laughing, still touching Gumbo like he couldn't quite believe he was allowed. "They're not gonna believe this. I've been trying for months and he finally—"
He stopped. Swallowed hard. When he looked at me, his amber eyes were swimming with emotions I'd rarely seen him let show.
"I'm in," he said quietly, his voice raw and honest in a way it almost never was.
"I'm all the way in. You know that, right?
This pack, this family, you—I'm not running.
I'm not leaving. I'm staying right here, even if your guard dog is a nine-foot alligator who's definitely judged me for every bad decision I've ever made. "
Gumbo rumbled again, as if in agreement.
"He probably has," I admitted with a soft laugh, reaching over to lace my fingers through Remy's free hand, his skin warm and slightly sticky from chicken grease. "He's very judgmental."
"Fair," Remy said, his dimple finally appearing, some of his usual lightness returning. "I've made a lot of bad decisions."
"And yet, here you are," I said softly, squeezing his hand, watching the sun climb higher over the bayou, watching my alligator and my Alpha finally make peace. "Still standing. Still here."
"Still here," he echoed, lifting our joined hands to press a kiss against my knuckles, his lips soft and warm. "And planning to stay." Gumbo chose that moment to splash both of us with his tail—a great sweeping arc of water that left us sputtering and soaked.
"Hey!" Remy yelped, jerking back, nearly losing his balance on the dock. "I thought we were friends now!" I burst out laughing, wiping bayou water from my face, watching Gumbo sink back into the shallows with what I could only describe as a smug expression.
"That means he likes you," I managed between giggles, wiping water from my eyes, my soaked shirt clinging to my skin. "Trust me."
"Your definition of 'like' needs some work, chere," Remy grumbled, but he was grinning, his golden curls dripping water down his face, his eyes bright with joy instead of fear for the first time since he'd started his campaign to win Gumbo over.
I leaned in and kissed him—soft and sweet and tasting like forever.
"Welcome to the family," I murmured against his lips, feeling his smile form beneath mine. His answering grin was brighter than the Louisiana sun.
Later, after we'd dried off and changed clothes and Remy had told Harper and Silas the story at least three times—complete with dramatic reenactments—I found Gumbo back at his favorite basking spot near the cabin.
I settled down beside him, close enough to touch, and scratched behind his eye ridges the way he liked.
"Thank you," I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper, watching the way his ancient eyes half-closed with pleasure. "I know that was hard for you. Trusting someone new."
Gumbo rumbled, low and content.
"He's a good one," I continued, my fingers tracing the familiar patterns of his scales, rough and warm from the sun.
"They all are. Harper's steady and strong.
Silas is quiet but he sees everything. And Remy.
.." I smiled, thinking of amber eyes and easy charm and the vulnerability he hid beneath both.
"Remy makes me laugh. Makes me feel light. I need that."
Another rumble, this one almost questioning.
"I'm going to bond with them," I said, the words feeling real and solid and right as I spoke them aloud to my oldest friend, my voice steady with certainty.
"All three of them. I know it's not traditional.
I know it's not what most people do. But it's what I want.
It's what I need." I paused, letting my hand rest against his massive side, feeling the steady rhythm of his ancient heart.
"And I think Aunt Marguerite would approve. "
Gumbo's tail twitched—a small movement, but one I'd learned to read years ago. Agreement. Acceptance.
Maybe even blessing.
"I love you, you know," I said, my voice thick with affection, leaning my head against his sun-warmed scales, closing my eyes and breathing in the familiar scent of mud and water and home. "No matter how many Alphas I bond, you were my first. My best. My grumpiest."
Gumbo rumbled one more time, and if I didn't know better, I'd swear he was laughing. The bayou stretched out before us, wild and beautiful and ours. Somewhere in the cabin, I could hear my Alphas moving around—Harper's heavy footsteps, Silas's silent ones, Remy's cheerful humming.
My pack. My family. My home.
I closed my eyes and let myself believe in forever.