Chapter 27
Nix
I let out a breath, exhaustion crashing over me as Connie and Nick’s auras finally calmed down, their warring emotions evening out, the swirling turning into a soft, even pulsing.
“They’re asleep,” I whispered, not wanting to wake them up. My eyelids felt like they were made of lead, my eyes drooping. A yawn had me burying my face against Gray’s warm chest. It rumbled with a deep chuckle, amusement echoing through our bond.
“I think I know someone else who’s ready to fall asleep,” he answered, keeping his voice low, just like I was.
“’m not…” I said, but I couldn’t finish the sentence because I was already yawning again. “Okay, maybe I am.”
Gray wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. “That’s okay. It’s been a long day. Do you want to go upstairs or do you want to stay here, watch an episode of a series and just fall asleep cuddling on the couch?”
“That.” That truly sounded like heaven, whereas getting up sounded way too strenuous. Also, I wanted to be close in case Connie and Nick needed us.
“Okay.” Gray nodded, kissing the top of my head again. “Are you in the mood for something funny or…”
I shrugged.
Did it truly matter? I wasn’t going to see much of the show anyway.
“You choose,” I mumbled, my eyes already falling shut again, my body relaxing as Gray’s warmth seeped into me.
Three auras. There were only three auras here. Connie, Nick, and Gray. And then… nothing. The forest. The street that was blissfully empty. A couple of smaller rodents outside, an owl, but no people.
My heart rate calmed down, my magic settling.
Somewhere far away, shots rang out. Someone screamed, but I didn’t react. It was just a show on TV. The barrier was blissfully quiet. No intruders. No shifters seeking refuge. Everything was calm and quiet, as it should be.
Gray chuckled, his chest vibrating, and he wrapped his arms tighter around me. His scent surrounded me, lulling me in, a cloud of warm forest scent, earthy and calm. His voice, almost inaudibly quiet.
“Sleep well, my mate.”
I wanted to tell him I wasn’t asleep yet, but my mouth refused to open, my mind drifting away into blissful sleep.
“Do you think it’s okay if we…”
“Shh,” someone hissed. “Look at the couch.”
“What do you… holy shit. Did they spend the whole night down here?”
“Looks like it.”
“Do you think we should go back to our room? Let them sleep?” The voice sounded unsure, the hesitance kicking my brain into motion.
Connie and Nick. They were asl… no, they were definitely not asleep anymore. Without opening my eyes, I sent out a thrill of magic, checking their auras, relief flooding me when they both felt fine to me.
“But I’m hungry,” Nick whispered.
“You’re always hungry.” I could practically hear the eye roll in Connie’s voice.
Ugh.
Was it morning already?
I slowly opened my eyes and blinked against the pale light filtering through the windows. The sun was obviously up already but hidden behind a wall of clouds. At least it wasn’t snowing anymore.
Sitting up, I looked around the living room, my eyes searching for a hint about what time it was. It felt early. My body was still sore, with exhaustion clinging to me. A throw blanket pooled in my lap, and I blinked at it until the room stopped spinning and the plaid pattern came into focus.
Then I looked at the two teenage shifters standing a couple of feet away from the couch and smiled. Their hair was still rumpled from sleep, sticking up in every direction, but their eyes were wide awake, darting across the room, unsure if it was okay to look at me or not.
It was. Both Gray and I were dressed in sweats and shirts. No sex on the couch for us—for at least the next two years.
“Morning,” Connie whispered.
“G’morning,” I answered, rubbing my eyes as I yawned.
Why was I still in the living room? Gray had wanted to carry me upstairs once I’d fallen asleep, but my mate was lying next to me, his chest rising and falling evenly, his hair a mess on the couch cushions.
Oops. Looked like he’d fallen asleep faster than expected.
“We’ll see if it’s a good morning once you try getting up,” Nick chirped, nodding at me and the couch. “My parents always said that this kind of shit hurts when you get older.”
I barked out a laugh but quickly slapped a hand over my mouth, my eyes darting to my sleeping mate. Gray kept breathing evenly, though, his aura completely calm. I let out a breath of relief.
He needed his sleep. Desperately so. Yesterday, I’d woken him way too early with my worries, and then the day had just swept us along.
Debriefings, becoming foster parents for two teenagers, introducing Callum to the pack, healing Callum, holding a fucking pack meeting so everyone was informed about what was going on, and then it’d already been dark outside, the day over before we’d noticed it’d just slipped by us.
Focusing back on the pups, I rolled my eyes. “I’m only twenty-six.”
Nick shrugged. “That’s still nine years older than me. And ten years older than Connie. Anyway… is there a chance we’ll find food in the fridge? I’m starving.” His stomach gurgled loudly as if trying to prove his point.
I let out another yawn and carefully got up. Ouch. I tried to hide a wince as my cramped-up muscles were put to work, and quickly sent a thrill of magic through my body, easing the pain.
Maybe Nick was onto something. Maybe I really was getting old. I mean, I basically had two kids now. Teens at that.
“Honestly,” I said as I walked to the kitchen, Connie and Nick in tow. “I’m not sure. I didn’t check.”
I probably should have, but by the time we’d arrived home, it’d been past eight, and we’d spent the next hour setting up an air mattress in Gray’s home office because his guest room wasn’t suited for guests.
Another thing we’d have to take care of. The list was ever-growing.
Opening the fridge, I grimaced when I saw the leftovers from dinner two nights ago.
Aside from that, the fridge was painfully empty.
There were a couple of slices of bacon, a few eggs, but not much else.
Originally, we’d planned to go grocery shopping together, but then the whole Otto thing happened in such a short time, we’d never actually gotten to it.
“That looks like the answer is no,” Nick said, pressing a hand to his stomach.
I eyed the counter. “I mean, we have leftover pizza?” At least a few slices. “Or coffee?”
Nick shrugged. “I’ll start with coffee.”
I nodded and walked over to the cupboards. At least I knew where the cups and coffee pods were stashed.
“What about you?” I asked Connie.
He scrunched up his nose, hair falling into his eyes. “The pizza is a hard pass for me, but I’ll take the coffee,” he said quietly.
“Sure,” I said and started preparing the coffee machine, filing away all the things we’d need to do today.
Grocery shopping.
Furniture shopping.
Clothes shopping.
Fuck, we also needed school supplies for the kids. Right?
It felt a bit like we needed to shop for everything.
And afterwards, we needed to clear out the office and the guest room. We’d need to build the furniture we purchased today.
And what about paint?
“Do you want to paint your rooms?” I asked after I put a pod into the coffee machine, listening to it hissing and gurgling as the water was heating.
Connie leaned against the counter, eyes focused on something outside the window, a thoughtful expression on his face. Nick placed his ass on the counter, dangling his legs.
“I mean, yeah,” he said. “The office is just… white. Kinda bleak. I assume we’ll have to share the room, right?”
I handed him the first cup of coffee, watching in amazement as he just took a sip. Black. Ugh. I shuddered, then placed another pod in the machine.
“That’s actually what we wanted to talk to you about.” I pressed the start button and watched more steam coming out of the machine, the scent of burnt coffee beans filling the air. “Gray and I have been thinking…”
I’d thought it was just an innocent sentence, but Connie flinched, his face going blank, knuckles turning white as he clutched the edge of the counter.
“Yes?” he asked, aiming for nonchalance, but thoroughly missing the mark.
His nerves shone through in the way his voice was high and tight, the tension making it sound almost thin.
I walked over to him and gently squeezed his drawn-up shoulder the way I’d seen Gray do. It worked. Connie started relaxing, his shoulders dropping. Still, his eyes were pleading with me, begging me not to… what? Throw them out again?
“Nothing bad is happening,” I said gently.
“I promise. We were talking about room arrangements yesterday.” For a brief minute in between meetings.
“We were thinking that you and Nick might like taking over the second floor. Gray and I would move into the office, and you could have the primary bedroom and the guest room. We’ll just need to clear it out first, because it’s filled with, uhm… ”
“Junk,” Gray finished, walking over from the living room, eyes still half closed. He grabbed the coffee cup from under the machine and downed a big gulp, then wrinkled his nose. “Ugh. That’s horrible.”
“That’s because it’s missing sugar and creamer.”
Connie looked at Gray, then at the cup of coffee in his hands. He pursed his lips but didn’t say anything. I squeezed his shoulder again before letting go of him and started preparing another cup. I gave Gray a pointed look when I handed the steaming mug to Connie.
Gray got the message, then grimaced, thoroughly chastised. “Did I steal your coffee?” he asked Connie.
Connie nodded.
“I’m sorry. I thought it was Nix’s.”
I snorted. “And that makes it okay?”
Gray nodded seriously, but his eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Of course. We’re mates. What’s yours is mine.
Those are the rules.” The next moment, he swooped in and pressed a kiss to my mouth.
He tasted bitter, the burnt coffee aroma still heavy on his lips, but that single contact still made my stomach swoop, my heart pounding in my chest as my body melted against him.
“Ugh,” Nick protested. “Connie, what were we thinking choosing a newly mated pair to live with?”
Connie’s eyes turned wide, his aura swirling as he glanced at Gray, but when he noticed Gray chuckling, he relaxed. “No idea,” he quipped, then took a sip of his coffee before turning back to me. “What were you saying?”
“We thought you and Nick might want to take the two rooms upstairs,” I said. “We’ll probably have to do a bit of remodeling because the only bathroom upstairs is the en suite, but…”
“We can get that done quickly,” Gray interjected. “We have a contractor in our pack. I checked, and he’s free within a couple of days to get this done. Apparently, no one wants their homes remodeled before Christmas.”
Connie snorted. “Ah yes, construction site flair is not what most families are going for as far as Christmas décor is concerned.”
Gray laughed louder, his shoulders shaking. “Fair point. If it bothers you, we can wait.”
Connie quickly shook his head. “No, Alpha, it doesn’t bother us.”
“Gray,” Gray gently corrected. “Not Alpha.”
Nick set his cup down, a frown on his face. He even hopped down from the counter. “Are you really okay giving up the primary bedroom?”
Gray nodded. “Yeah. To me, it makes sense. You’re almost adults, so having your own floor grants you a bit of freedom. Besides… if we’re sleeping on the first floor, you can’t sneak past us.”
Nick and Connie both laughed, and the last bit of tension slowly drained away as we started planning our future. Together. The pups might only be staying a year or two until they went off to college or did whatever, but for that time, we’d give them what they needed. A home.
Nick kept chatting with Gray, going over possible remodeling ideas, while Connie quietly drank his coffee, looking out the window with a thoughtful expression on his face.
All the while, Gray kept his arms wrapped around my middle and rested his chin on top of my head, watching the pups like I did. He was radiating contentment, his wolf relaxed in his chest, aura calm and happy.
Was this what our lives were going to be like?
Quiet, shared mornings in the kitchen?
Making plans over coffee and hopefully breakfast, once we’d gotten to the store.
It wasn’t what I’d envisioned for my life, but then again, I’d never envisioned ending up with a shifter for a mate either. And it was possibly the best thing to have ever happened to me.
“Hey, Nix, stop daydreaming. We need to get dressed!” Nick shouted, and I blinked. He and Connie were halfway through the living room already. “My phone says it’s more than two hours to the closest IKEA. We need to get going.”
I snorted and shook my head, turning in Gray’s arms so I could face him.
“What were we thinking?” I asked with a smile on my face as the door slammed shut behind the pups.
“No idea. But I don’t hate it.”
“Yeah. I don’t hate it either.”
My life was loud, chaotic, filled with a frenzy of shifters and mages—and it couldn’t be more perfect.