25. Finley
Finley
The shrill ringing of a cell phone startled me awake out of a deep, dreamless sleep.
The sun drifted into the treehouse through the windows, giving me light to maneuver from between the two men wrapped around me.
I tried to do my best not to step on, a knee, or elbow anything too important or sensitive, but the grunt Mason made told me I wasn’t successful.
“Snuggles, where are you going?” he whispered, his voice rough with sleep.
“The burner phone is ringing and it could be Margaret calling me back,” I replied as I got to the phone just as the call ended.
Scooping it up out of the pile of clothes we all left behind, I saw it showed a missed call from a blocked number.
Now I had to hope that she would call me back.
It was our protocol that if we couldn’t answer, we would let it go to voicemail, and they would leave a coded message or try to call back.
My gut told me she wouldn’t leave a message—too risky with a phone neither one of us bought or set up.
As I was holding it, the phone started to vibrate in my hand before it began its song, only this time Lane’s name appeared.
“Good morning,” I answered.
“Oh, ah, good morning, sweetheart. I wasn’t expecting you to answer so quickly or at all the first time,” Lane admitted with a chuckle. “How are you? Did they let you get any sleep?”
I could hear the others in the background arguing about something as Lane waited for my answer. It seemed everyone was awake back at the house. “Yes, I did get a little sleep, but I’m thinking a nap later would be a good idea.”
“Sounds like a wise choice. Can we expect you for breakfast in the near future?” Lane questioned.
Glancing over my shoulder, I found the twins sitting up, watching me with blurry eyes awaiting my answer.
“Yeah, everyone is up, and I think Margaret tried to call me, so I think it’s best for us to be awake.
I’ll have to shift and run over since someone had the bright idea to literally tear my clothes off me. ”
Mason grinned at that, giving me a thumbs up. “Best choice I ever made.”
Returning his grin, I looked out the window to find the sky was clear and the sun bright. “It’s a nice spring day. Who knows, I could just go for a walk in the nude. I hear from people it’s incredibly liberating.”
Snarls from the room and on the other end of the line told me everyone was listening.
“Little dove, I would advise against that if you want to be able to sit for breakfast,” Zander called from the background.
“Sounds like shifting is the best plan,” Lane suggested, humor in his tone. “We’ll see you in a bit.”
After I hung up, I looked at the twins sitting before me, looking as exhausted at I felt. Coffee would do us all wonders, but if Margaret called back, we would need to head out to meet her.
“What are the chances the others will let me meet with the contact without all of you coming with?” I asked, cocking my head slightly, taking in the sight of them standing to get dressed.
My wolf stood up and took notice of her sexy mates, and my scent filled the space, revealing my thoughts.
How was it that I could possibly still crave them so much when we indulged in each other so freely last night?
Something told me I would always want them, just like my other mates.
Yes, omegas tended to be more hyper-sexual to encourage breeding, but I don’t think that was what this was.
My feelings for them were far deeper than needing to reproduce.
No, it was the feeling like I was no longer complete without them.
“Babe, you need to stop looking at us like that or we are never going to get to breakfast. My willpower is only so strong,” Noah warned with a smirk on his full lips.
“As for your question, snuggles… no. I don’t think there is a snowball’s chance in hell that you can meet up on your own.” Mason raised a hand to stop me from speaking. “What you might be able to do is get them to stay in the car while one of us goes with you.”
I mulled that over a moment and nodded. “That is something I could work with. I’m just worried that having all of you around will make it hard to keep this exchange from going unnoticed. Zander can’t go anywhere without someone recognizing him.”
“That’s a good point, and I’m sure as an assassin, that type of person around you makes things challenging,” Noah commented as he pulled on his pants.
“I would never ask Zander to change his life, but it does mean I need him to sit things out on occasion,” I agreed.
Once they were dressed, I dropped down out of the treehouse and shifted.
My wolf was pleased to be going on a run after so many days trapped in my human body.
Stretching, I shook out my fur and lifted my nose to scent the area around us, taking in a deep breath.
My magic seeped out of me and into the ground, greeting the trees and plant life.
Leaves rustled in the light breeze as if they were waving back at me.
A sense of tranquility floated around me as the forest reached out, telling me what was happening in the woods around us.
I got images of a hiker lost in the foothills of the mountain that was wandering in our direction but was still a day’s walk away.
Sending my thanks, the forest released me and settled back into its normal routine, leaving me to deal with the problem.
“The forest just told me a hiker got lost in the foothills, heading our direction. You might want to let the scouts know to the northeast to keep an eye out,” I relayed to Mason and Noah. They both looked at me with raised brows.
“Damn, this new connection is going to be so nice now that we can talk while in wolf form,” Noah muttered as he shoved his hand in his pockets and headed off in the direction of Zander’s house.
“I’m going to run ahead so I can shower and change,” I informed them before I darted off into the woods.
Mason’s deep laughter filled the air. “Afraid if we join you that you won’t get clean?”
“That’s exactly what would happen,” I shot back.
Even though that was a real outcome, the other part was that my wolf was begging to stretch her legs.
I also knew I could get in a run burning off some of the energy I had stored from being a human for so long.
Now that the trees and other plants of the forest were watching out for me, I wasn’t worried about getting caught off guard while on my home turf.
My muscles sang as I pushed my body to go faster, digging my claws into the soft earth, propelling me forward.
The joy I felt couldn’t be contained, and I let out a howl, scaring a flock of sparrows up in a tree, causing them to burst out into the sky.
While being a werewolf wasn’t something I had planned on happening in my life, now that I’d embraced it, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
When I finally arrived at the house, the patio door was open and I darted inside but didn’t account for the fact Zander had all hardwood floors and came sliding into the kitchen.
Trying to stop the sound of my nails on the wood drew my other mates’ attention, but Colt, who was right in my path, didn’t turn around fast enough to see me coming right for him.
Crashing into his legs, he toppled over onto me, and we both landed on the floor in a heap.
“Finely?” Colt blurted, surprised to see it was me. “First time on wood floors?” he asked with a chuckle.
I snorted at him, picking myself up off the floor, shaking my head, frustrated at how foolish I’d just appeared.
Lane came and squatted down in front of me, reaching out a hand, scratching behind my ear.
“Don’t take it too hard, sweetheart, all of us have made that mistake at least once or twice in our lives.
There’s no instinct for knowing how to deal with slippery flooring.
Go on head up, shower, get dressed, and we’ll pretend this never happened. ”
Glancing at the others, they nodded with smirks on their faces, making me second guess if they would really let the matter drop.
Either way, I needed to get ready for the day and clearly needed to do that on two legs.
Letting out a huff, I flicked my tail at them and carefully made my way to the stairs that were thankfully carpeted, so I could bolt up to Zander’s room without further incident.
Ready for the rest of the day, I came back down to the kitchen and found the counter filled with almost empty platters of food.
They’d gone all out and made eggs benedict in different ways, but I was more excited about the two chocolate chip pancakes left.
There was even a canister of whipped cream to add to the experience that made me smile.
The guys were already seated, even the twins, with plates full of food which explained the lack of food left.
I looked for a plate, but I couldn’t find one sitting out, so I went to the cabinet.
“Little dove, what are you looking for?” Zander called from his seat.
Glancing over my shoulder, I showed him the plate I’d grabbed. “Need something to put the food on.”
“Am I to believe that you think we wouldn’t have made you a plate before we dove in?” Zander demanded, his brow creased.
Pausing, I looked over the table and found a plate with a cover over it to keep it warm in the spot I normally sat in. “Oh.”
“Come sit, nin mel. He’s just being testy because you weren’t in the house last night and he missed you,” Rath shared, reaching out a hand to me.
Zander glared at Rath but didn’t correct the statement, making my heart melt a little, knowing he missed me that much. Taking my seat, I started in on my food, my stomach growling its delight at being fed. After the pace the twins put me through, I shouldn’t be surprised that I was starving.
“Didn’t they have snacks or something for you in the treehouse?” Zander asked, concerned.
Between him and Mason, I’d never had people care about how much or how often I ate. “Ah well, I can’t say that was something that we were worried about...”
“Honestly, Zander, let the woman eat her meal in peace,” Colt grumbled, waving a fork at him.
“None of us got much sleep last night, so we’re all acting like assholes, but she doesn’t deserve that from us.
At some point, we’re all going to want alone time with her, and that means we can’t make her feel bad for doing it. ”
“While I wholly agree with you, Colt, I’m more surprised you’re the one who came to that conclusion first,” Lane commented, smirking at Colt from behind his coffee cup. Colt just huffed and shoved more bacon into his mouth, ending the conversation.
The table fell into a comfortable silence as we ate only for it to be broken by a cellphone ringing. Mason pulled the phone out of his pocket and looked at it before tossing it to me. “Looks like it’s for you.”
“Hello?” I answered the moment I caught it.
“Knoxville zoo, two hours. Reptile building, look for the maintenance man by the poisonous lizards,” a voice on the other end of the call said, then hung up.
The guys watched me expectantly as I set the phone aside. “Who wants to go to the zoo?”
“The zoo…” Colt repeated. “Why the zoo?”
“It’s a place with plenty of people and it gives you a clear reason to be somewhere.
What could be more normal than a woman and her boyfriends enjoying a date at the zoo?
” I asked, resting my chin on my hands as I looked at them.
“I think I’ve been to almost every zoo in America at this point.
Although this will be a first time at Knoxville’s, not much demand for assassination in Tennessee, if I’m being honest.”
“Why do I feel like we should be offended?” Mason asked. “What makes Tennessee less worthy?”
“While I’m sure that is something we all need to mull over, shouldn’t we be getting ready to leave?
” Lane pointed out, looking at his watch.
“It will take us a half hour to get there or more depending on traffic. Then we need to park, get tickets, and I feel like we should spend a little time there before heading to the meeting, so it’s not suspicious if the Senate has someone keeping an eye on us. ”
“God, could you sound any more like a dad?” Mason teased, shaking his head. “Zander can’t come, though.”
This had the man in question snapping his head in Mason’s direction. “Why the fuck not?”
“Ah, because you’re an international superstar who has people following after him, watching his every move. Come on, man, think about it. We are going on a stealth mission and you are like a neon beacon to the world around you.”
Zander looked like he was going to argue but then took a moment to think about what Mason was saying.
“Fine, I need to meet with my manager at the office downtown anyways. You can drop me off, so it gives a reasonable excuse for why I’m not with you guys.
If the Senate or Dark Ring is watching, they will notice I didn’t come with you. ”
Getting up from my seat, I walked over to Zander and let him pull me onto his lap. “Thank you, I know it's not what you wanted to do, but it will be the most helpful thing you can do for me. When we get back, I think a group nap is in order, don’t you?”
Zander started to purr, running his nose along my neck as he nodded his agreement.
“That sounds like a perfect plan, little dove.” He pressed a kiss to my neck right where my pulse was just under the surface before lifting me off his lap to stand next to his chair.
“If I let you sit there much longer, I won’t be able to leave you when we get into town. ”
Bending over, I grabbed his face and pulled him into a deep kiss reminding him what he had to look forward to later. “Just to get you by until later.”
“Hmm, little dove, being a tease is a dangerous game to play with me right now,” Zander warned.
I just pulled back, grinning at him as I headed off to find shoes and a jacket, getting a slap on my ass as I walked away.