Chapter 15 #3
Connie and Nick were still in my room, their bickering filling the air as they played a board game they’d grabbed from downstairs a couple of minutes ago. They’d originally been on a quest to find food and something to drink, and I’d thought they’d just stay with the rest of the pack.
Instead, they’d returned. Without food, but with games, books, and drawing supplies. I hadn’t said anything when they’d set up one of the games on my desk. What could I have said? That this wasn’t their room but mine? They were teenagers. Being mean to kids was just… wrong.
So, in lieu of me throwing them out, Connie had resumed his spot on my windowsill while Nick had finally figured out how to use a chair.
I’d grabbed a book, but I wasn’t reading.
My mind wasn’t having it. The barrier had stopped screaming; the threat was gone.
I’d felt the intruders leaving, had felt them crossing the barrier.
I’d also felt Gray standing right in the barrier, had felt him and his wolf, and their combined anger.
My whole body had felt the pull, the demand to get out there.
Now that he was back, I needed to make sure Gray was okay, needed to lay eyes on him.
You’d know if he was injured.
Yes, probably, but I hadn’t seen it for myself.
I’d seen him return, had felt his aura, felt his turmoil, his frustration, but then he’d been out of my field of vision, and now here I was. Waiting for him to get up here, fighting the urge to go downstairs.
He needed to make sure his pack was okay first and possibly needed to debrief or do… whatever. And I didn’t want to be in the way. Didn’t want everyone to stare at me, but also… God, this was a mess. I closed the book and placed it on the bedside table next to me.
Maybe I could sneak downstairs just for a minute. Just to get a good look at him and—
No, I didn’t need to.
Gray was already on his way up, and quickly at that.
My breath hitched, my magic wanting to reach out, the bond in my chest pulling at me, urging me to meet him halfway.
I didn’t. I’d only just managed to get up when there was a knock on the door, and a second later, the door opened, and Gray was there, his dark eyes fixed on me, lips moving, but he didn’t get a chance to speak because I crashed into him, wrapping my arms around him as best as I could.
My magic roamed over him, checking for signs of injury even though I knew, on a logical level, that there were none.
Warmth surrounded me, the scent of forest and snow still clinging to Gray as he returned the hug, pressing me against his chest, one arm flung across my back, the other one cradling my head.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, voice gentle but raspy.
“No, I’m sorry. I overreacted.”
Gray chuckled, his chest shaking against my cheek. “I’m the one who overreacted.”
“Agree to disagree.”
Fuck. I never wanted to let go. Like this, the bond was happy, my magic was happy, and I was happy. And Gray was too. I could feel his wolf excitedly yapping while Gray’s aura calmed, turning peaceful and content with every breath he took.
I didn’t know how long we stood in the middle of my room like that, but at one point, I felt Gray stiffen a bit, and then he chuckled.
“I see you have visitors.”
Oh.
The pups.
My cheeks heated, and I instinctively hid my face against his chest.
“Uhm. Yes, Alpha,” Connie stuttered, his voice thin, demure in a way it hadn’t been when he’d been bickering with Nick. “It was nice to talk to you, Nix, but we’ll, uh, we’ll…”
“Go,” Nick supplied. I caught him smirking at me as he pulled his friend up, and they quickly passed us before leaving the room with a respectful nod at Gray. “Alpha.”
Connie repeated the gesture, even tilting his head to the side, then stumbled out the door.
“What were they doing here?” Gray asked, one eyebrow raised in amusement.
“Fuck if I know,” I mumbled against his chest. “They came to thank me and just… didn’t leave.”
Gray chuckled, his arm tightening, pressing me even closer against him, but there was a sliver of something that started clouding his laugh. A hint of sadness. “Maybe you made them feel safe.”
The thought was absurd.
Me making someone else feel safe when most of the time I didn’t feel safe myself. Then again, there had to be a reason they’d come back to my room even when they could simply have gone to theirs.
Maybe it wasn’t me making them feel safe, but rather them not wanting to be alone, just in a way that didn’t overwhelm them.
I didn’t know, and right now, I had other things to do than figure it out.
There was time for that later. Because I knew without a sliver of a doubt that the boys would be back.
After all, they’d left their game all set up.
“Soo… want to talk about what happened in the woods?”
Gray sighed. “Not particularly, no. I was being an idiot. I’m sorry. Can we maybe put a pin in it and talk about it later? Right now, I just want to hold you close. Being apart is agony. And being apart while on bad terms is pure and utter hell.”
“Agreed,” I whispered and closed my eyes. If being apart was hell, being wrapped up in his arms was heaven.