Chapter 4
Effie Harlow
The next time my eyes opened, the atmosphere of the room was vastly different.
Instead of being freezing and alone, I was surrounded by the familiar scents of all my mates, and the warmth radiating from their bodies told me that more than one of them was in bed with me.
A content sound left my lips. There was literally no other way I would rather wake up than surrounded by the men I loved.
Letting out a yawn, I stretched out and noticed that I was slightly sore—not in a bad way, but there was a deep muscle ache that came from both the overexertion of my magic…
and Caedmon. Totally him as well. I also had the sneaking suspicion that I’d slept far longer than I’d intended to.
I felt extremely well rested, which wasn’t something we had the luxury of recently.
Hopefully I hadn’t slept so long that we’d missed the new moon…
That thought spurred me to open my heavy eyes.
I was greeted by the same room as before, but this time a brighter light filtered through the partly opened curtains, telling me it was morning, if not afternoon.
It also allowed me to see the full luxury of the room, leading me to believe that we’d made our way to one of Ryder’s many properties.
The more time I spent at each one, the more I realized that he had a specific style he gravitated towards—masculine, expensive, and still managed to feature some cozy elements.
That was one of the things I’d loved about the London property.
A muffled snore had a smile flitting to my lips as I moved my gaze to where Julian was spread out next to me.
Although ‘spread out’ was only partially correct, because the man’s arm was wrapped around my hip possessively as he laid on his stomach, showing off his muscular golden back.
I loved how he was practically glued to my side, so I didn’t hesitate to run my fingers over his skin in a way I hoped was soothing, a soft sigh of my name leaving his lips as he continued to sleep.
I couldn’t help but blush at the way he said it, and I had to force myself to sit up just slightly or else I knew I would stay in this bed forever. I was entirely too cozy.
My fingers continued up his back to his neck where his dark, nearly navy hair lay messy and a bit longer than when we’d first met.
It was also damp, like he’d showered before falling asleep next to me.
A barely-there smile lifted his lips, and I could almost see exactly where his dimples would be, the faintest indent apparent.
I moved my fingers to trace the spot before pulling my hand away, knowing that if I kept touching Julian, I would never stop.
I mean, you could hardly blame me. The bitten wolf was charismatic and charming.
From the day I’d reunited with him on the train, I’d been engrossed in everything about him, and that didn’t even account for the other side to Julian, the one Coffin inhabited and brought out in him—the one that was more feral and primal, an intoxicating mix of two contrasting personalities within one man. A man that I absolutely loved.
It had been easy to fall in love with Julian, and not just because of our recently discovered shared history—no, it was everything about him.
Which is why I was continuing to stare at him like a lovesick idiot, just waiting for him to open his golden brown eyes and say ‘good morning.’ Maybe if I just woke him up—
No. He needed sleep. All of them needed sleep.
“You should be sleeping as well, little wolf. I know your magic isn’t fully replenished yet; I can feel it,” a deep voice rumbled from my other side.
I turned my head to find Dakota propped up on one elbow, staring at me after having just woken up.
His obsidian eyes were filled with a hazy lightness that told me he’d been sleeping for a while and had me wanting to curl up against his chest—a chest that was currently covered in a tight white shirt that showed off every single inch of the muscles underneath.
My toes curled as I looked fully over him before meeting his gaze again.
His eyes were filled with a knowing light, and a slightly embarrassed smile stole onto my face as I tried to recall what he had just said.
“I have a feeling I’ve been sleeping for quite some time now,” I reasoned, my fingers darting out to smooth a piece of hair that fell against his brow.
I loved that his hair was getting longer.
It made both him and Julian look a bit more relaxed, a bit more wild.
Something about that really appealed to me.
“Nearly a day and a half,” Dakota admitted. “I would’ve been worried if I wasn’t aware that Caedmon checked up on you last night.”
“Is that what we’re calling it?” Julian chuckled sleepily but didn’t open his eyes, causing me to snap my gaze over to him. My cheeks were bright pink, but I wasn’t really embarrassed that they knew, just a little flushed at the idea of them hearing us.
“For now,” Dakota mused, running his fingers over my arm and drawing my attention back.
I could tell that despite his teasing he viewed the Caedmon thing as a positive step, and I more than agreed.
I mean, it was more clear than ever to me where we stood now.
Before last night I’d known he loved me, but now we’d given every part of ourselves to each other, and there was a true completeness to that.
Our bond was strong and vibrant, shimmering with magic.
Which meant Caedmon was nearby… Where was he?
“Couch.” Dakota nodded towards the sitting area on the opposite side of the room from the windows.
I smiled at the sight of Caedmon’s tall frame spread out on the couch, his rich brown hair glinting in the firelight.
Ryder was nearby in an armchair, both of them sleeping deeply, their faces peaceful and relaxed.
“They should be in bed,” I murmured as I slipped from the bed myself, Dakota’s hand grazing my hip in passing as I made my way towards my other two mates.
Both of them were still dressed, and while I wished they’d changed into pajamas, they’d both taken steps to make themselves more comfortable.
Ryder had a blanket pulled over his lap and had propped his feet up on an ottoman in front of his chair, a book nearby as if he had fallen asleep reading.
Caedmon’s shirt was unbuttoned and his shoes were off, but I still put a blanket over him while taking a moment to appreciate just how gorgeous my mate was.
The firelight made his olive skin seem to sparkle like the wealth I knew he came from.
The man breathed luxury; it was just an innate part of him.
But as I was finding out, wealth didn’t remove the darkness in people, it often just allowed them to hide it better, which is why he didn’t view it as a good thing.
Then again, that insecurity regarding his wealth had been mostly put to rest at this point.
Which is why I would never stop him from giving over-the-top gifts.
It seemed to not only make him happy, his forest-green eyes filling with contentment with each gift I accepted, but it also seemed to satisfy a part of him that I didn’t fully understand.
Once covered in a blanket, I brushed a kiss to his lips, right by the thin scar there. He continued to sleep, his breathing deep. He was truly and deeply relaxed, which meant that he felt safe. I couldn’t express how happy that made me.
I let out a surprised noise as I passed by Ryder, his arm shooting out to grip my waist and pull me down onto his lap.
I sighed happily as he nuzzled my neck and let out a low deep rumble.
When I turned my head and found his eyes closed, I realized he was at least partly asleep still…
although harder parts of his body would make me believe was more than awake.
“Morning, kitten.”
His voice was rough, and the way it vibrated against my neck had me curling against him as his hands tightened on me possessively. When he pulled back after a moment, his orange gaze looked far more alert than I would have expected, filled with a not-so-subtle amount of heat.
“Morning.” I brushed my nose against his. I wasn’t positive if it was just time or everything we had been through, but I felt more and more emboldened to express myself to these men. I mean…they loved me. I wasn’t going to overthink it anymore.
“How do you feel?” he asked as he ran a hand through my hair. “You healed nine adult shifters; I can’t imagine you’re fully recovered.”
“I healed all of them?” I asked. I was mostly unsurprised because I’d meant to heal all of them, but I also hadn’t considered the consequences of that at the time. “And maybe not completely, but mostly. I am hungry though—”
“I’m on it.” Tore strode out from the bathroom, my gaze eating up his massive frame.
Truly massive. A tattoo of my handprint over his heart showed prominently on his shirtless chest, and I found myself nearly sighing because my mate just looked like something out of a fantasy book.
A man you would see on one of those romance covers at the bookstore.
His dark blond hair was damp as he tugged it back into a knot, and his icy blue eyes ran over me as if examining me for injuries.
My reason for examining him wasn’t for nearly as innocent a reason.
My eyes darted down to the ‘V’ of his abdomen where low-rise sweats hung from his hips, and I had to tear my gaze away and back up to his face.
Ryder chuckled, but I tried to ignore him, not wanting to give away my not-so-subtle checking out of Tore.
Then his words clicked.
“You don’t have to go get me—”
“You’re eating,” Tore rumbled, walking over and pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Actually, I’m going to take you right to the kitchen. It’s been way too long.”
“I agree,” Ryder said, his voice portraying his worry.
“Okay,” I huffed, “but I’m going to shower really fast.” After sleeping for so long I was relaxed and well rested, but a shower would both be refreshing and help me wake up. “Don’t wake the others yet though. I want them to get as much rest as possible.”
“Got it,” Ryder said. “I could use a bit more sleep myself to be honest.”
“Come on, lil bit, up you go.” Tore easily lifted me from Ryder’s lap, but not before Ryder stole a kiss, nearly causing me to let out a giggle.
But in the next second I was huffing as Tore prodded me into the bathroom, and I knew I didn’t have much time—if there was one thing my mates were obsessively focused on, it was my wellbeing.
I would never complain about it though. It made me feel…well, a lot of things. Cared for. Safe. Loved. The list could go on and on.
After a longer shower than Tore probably preferred, which included vigorous scrubbing to get rid of any physical reminders of the cave and the lake, I stepped out and wrapped myself in a robe.
I dried my hair with a towel before putting some lotion on and then realized that I had absolutely no clothes with me.
Luckily, Tore must’ve come to the same conclusion.
A quick knock preceded the door opening, Tore handing me a pile of clothes.
“I feel anxious that you haven’t eaten for nearly two days,” he grunted.
It was his way of trying to apologize for ‘rushing’ me, but he didn’t need to—it didn’t feel like that to me, and I completely understood being worried about your mate.
I mean, I had woken up during a snowstorm because I didn’t like the idea of all of us sleeping during it in case anything happened; I could hardly blame him for feeling a way about this.
“One minute,” I promised, quickly getting dressed and returning to the bedroom.
The others were still sleeping, allowing my wolf to relax, and I intertwined my hand with Tore’s as he led me into a small foyer-like room that led into the bedroom itself.
Two heavy double doors closed behind us as we turned down a long hallway, and I let out a small yawn in the comfortable quiet between us, Tore’s lips brushing on top of my head.
“How long have you been up?” I asked him curiously, looking around the lavish modern hallway.
Light carpet ran down the middle like a runner, with dark wood on the sides.
The walls were a neutral gray with modern art that stretched every few feet, a small info panel to the side of each making me assume that these were…
originals? I didn’t even know how you got something like that.
“Few hours.” Tore brushed his lips over the top of my hand. “I was paranoid about the food thing so I went to work out at the gym to get my mind off of it. I was fucking thrilled when I heard your voice.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.”
He stopped mid-stride and met my eyes, bending to brush his nose against mine. “I’m just a crazy bastard, lil bit, and insanely in love with you. Don’t apologize for that.”
I sighed into his kiss, then had to skip-step to catch up as Tore hurried our pace down the hallway.
Passing a few large archways, I tried to look into the rooms we passed—the setup more traditional than the open concept of our dorm. I had a feeling that the building was much older, and considering the view from the few windows we passed, we were in a skyrise.
When we neared a door at the end of the hall, Tore paused for a moment before nodding towards a set of french doors to the side. “Head through there. It’s an indoor greenhouse—you’ll love it. I’ll bring your food to you.”
“Thanks, Tore.” I went up on my toes and pressed a kiss to his lips before doing as he instructed. It was odd for him to leave me alone like this, but I knew that Ryder’s apartment was safe and that Tore would keep an ear out for any potential danger.
When I opened the french doors, I found two things—one, a gorgeous indoor greenhouse with a glass ceiling, just as he’d described.
And two…Aanya and Ruby sitting there drinking coffee.