Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Rin
“I need one more hoodie from each of you,” Rodney says, staring at the nest he’s putting together in the living room. “Pretty please with sugar on top?”
Kei grumbles something under his breath but he goes into his room without further complaint, coming back with a hoodie. I just take off the one I’m wearing, handing it over.
Rodney puts our hoodies on the edges of the nest, tucking them this way and that. Eventually, he stares down at it, his hands on his hips and gives a soft nod.
“Perfect.”
“Fucking finally,” Kei says, grabbing the giant bowl of popcorn from the table and getting into the nest. Despite how much he pretends to hate Rodney’s nests, he’s always the first one in.
I’ve found him in his cat form, napping in one of Rodney’s nests more times than I can count. I have so many pictures of him on my phone. He hates it but I can’t help it! He’s just so cute in his cat form!
I crawl into the nest on Kei’s right side, Rodney tucking himself into Kei’s left side. We snuggle together. I might only be human, but I love our nights like this, all tucked together as a family unit.
Shifters are really sensitive to scents and touch. Kei needs nights like this. He needs to feel close to us, he needs us to smell like a unit. Rodney needs it as well but it’s slightly different for him. He’s not a shifter in the same way that Kei is.
It’s all complicated and confusing but I’m happy to help however I can.
Taking a handful of popcorn, I grab the remote. Normally, we’d throw on a movie during our snuggle party but tonight, I pause.
“Can I talk to you guys about something?”
Rodney pops his head up off of Kei’s shoulder, narrowing his eyes at me. “Is this the dreaded ‘I’m leaving’ talk? If it is, then no, you may not say something.”
“What?”
Kei nods his head. “Your request to leave has been denied.”
“I’m not,” my words cut off. “What? I’m not leaving? What the fuck are you guys talking about?”
Rodney sighs. “We know you’re like thoroughly in love with Maki. We know, Rin. But we refuse to lose you in our pack! Alpha has denied your request!”
“Alpha has denied your request,” I murmur to myself, half in disbelief. I cannot believe he just said that.
Kei pokes Rodney. “Never say that again,” he grumbles before turning back towards me. He runs his wrist against the side of my neck, a gesture he does when he’s upset or nervous. “We don’t want you to leave us for Maki.”
I cover my face with my hands, breathing deeply. I do my best to keep myself calm instead of tackling both of my idiot best friends and knocking their heads together. “I am not leaving!”
They both freeze, staring at me. “Okay,” Kei says slowly. “Then what did you want to talk about?”
“I love you both so much but you’re really dumb sometimes,” I tell them, shaking my head. “I wanted to see how you’d feel about adding one to our pack, not taking one away.”
Rodney blinks at me. “Is Maki pregnant?”
“What?”
“Damnit, Rodney,” Kei says, flicking his cheek. “He means Maki, not a baby!”
“Oh shit. Right. Yeah. That makes sense,” Rodney says, looking over at me. “Why didn’t you just say?”
“I did! Literally just now! It’s not my fault your mind went straight to a baby!”
Kei groans, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. “Oh my gods,” he murmurs before we’re all falling together in a giggling pile of limbs. We are all ridiculous and I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way.
Eventually, we all calm back down. The television is still silent and my heart is leaping up into my throat.
“It might take me a bit to fully accept another person into our pack,” Kei finally says, his voice soft and serious. “I can see he’s good for you. You’re more grounded now that you’re together.”
“I really like him,” Rodney says with a grin. “I’m not alpha but I’d let him in one of my nests if he wanted.”
“Thank you,” I say softly, looking at Kei.
He rolls his eyes. “Alpha approved,” he finally says, making a chuckle burst from my chest. I pull Kei into a tight hug, squeezing him tight until he finally fights against me, pushing me away.
“I’m going to mate him,” I tell my best friends once we’ve settled down again.
“You’re sure?” Kei asks, his eyebrows raised. “That’s a huge step.”
“I don’t think I’ve been more sure of anything before. I can feel it right here,” I say, touching the center of my chest. “He’s my mate.”
Kei nods his head. “Then yes, he can be part of our pack.”
“I’m really happy for you,” Rodney says, reaching over Kei’s chest to hold my hand. “You deserve to be loved the way Maki loves you.”
“Thanks,” I say, emotion welling up inside my chest. “I love you both.”
“We love you too,” Rodney says.
Kei rolls his eyes. “Yeah, what he said.” Then he adds on, “can you warn him about the scenting and stuff? I don’t wanna explain it when I get the urge to scent mark him. It’s so embarrassing.”
“I’ve gotcha,” I tell him with a grin. Now that all the serious stuff is out of the way, I sink into the nest, resting against Kei’s side. I turn on the movie and enjoy my time with my besties.