75
GAbrIEL
The last thing I wanted to do was sit down at a table with a bunch of people.
But, when North issued an order, it was folly to disobey.
It was as awkward as I imagined it would be.
North sat at the head of the table with Kaelin on his right and Emersyn on his left.
Next to Kaelin was Graham and Knight. On the other side, I sat next to Emersyn, and next to me was Atlas, with Nyx at the opposite end of the table.
Dishes were passed around and drinks poured.
Atlas thrust a glass of whiskey into my hands.
When I caught Emersyn eyeing the bread basket.
I pulled it over to her without speaking, and I felt eyes on me.
I looked up to see North had stopped what he was doing.
I couldn’t read what was on his face, but there were certainly some thoughts going on that I needed to be careful of.
He’d just gotten his daughter back, I didn’t need to encroach on that.
But fuck, even I knew that wasn’t enough to keep me away from her.
“Isn’t this cozy,” Graham rumbled.
Kaelin elbowed him in the side. He grunted lightly, and his lip twitched as he loaded Kaelin’s plate with a BBQ chicken thigh.
“Don’t be rude.”
“Yeah, I think we should do this more often,” Knight said. “I definitely miss Nyx’s cooking.”
“Thanks, man,” Nyx beamed. “It’s nothing extravagant though—all I did was man the grill—”
“You manned the grill?” Atlas interrupted.
“Okay, sorry, Atlas grilled the chicken,” Nyx smirked lovingly at Atlas. “So if it’s burnt or tastes weird, blame him.”
Atlas sniffed. “I think I can handle grilling meat.”
“You can handle meat alright,” Nyx snickered. “Ouch!”
Atlas had obviously kicked him.
“Don’t downplay your chef skills, babe,” Kaelin said. She looked over at Emersyn. “Nyx is one of the best cooks I’ve ever met. I’ll have to bribe him to make his famous cookies—”
“That’s baking,” Graham interrupted.
Kaelin waved at him in playful irritation. “Whatever—his other stuff is good too. What’s that stew you make?”
“Cioppino,” Nyx said.
“Yes!” Kaelin moaned in delight. “I dream about that dish sometimes.”
“That’s weird,” Graham said. “And don’t moan like that at the table—”
Kaelin’s grin widened, and she slapped his shoulder lightly. “You don’t have dreams of food?”
“No, but now I’ll probably dream of—”
“Not appropriate!” Kaelin interrupted as she slapped a hand over Graham’s mouth. His eyes glittered mischievously.
“I’ll have to make that again once I can go to the market and get some fresh seafood,” Nyx said. “Or, better yet, maybe we should go out on the boat soon.” He looked at Atlas suggestively.
“What boat?” Knight asked. He turned to North. “Do you have a boat I don’t know about?”
North shrugged. “I have a lot of things you don’t know about.”
“Since when?”
“Last year,” Nyx said. “I’ve only been on it once though. Such a tragedy.”
Knight shook his head, but he didn’t look truly upset. “Holding out on me. I love boats.”
“You’ve been kind of busy,” North said.
“Yeah, with your boyfriend,” Nyx taunted.
“Cal is not my boyfriend,” Knight insisted. “He just insists I’m part of his team when I’ve told him a million times: I’m an independent contractor.”
“I get it. You don’t like to be tied down,” Nyx said sagely, but he emphasized the ‘tied down’ like it meant something else. “Totally get that.” He jerked again and his eyes flickered to Atlas, who had most likely just kicked him once more.
I watched Emersyn out of the corner of my eye take it all in. All the banter, the comfortable touches of friends, lovers, family—the good food, even better company. Even though I felt at home with these people, I still ached for Seven, for my team—before the mole accusations.
I could tell she yearned to soak it all in. At the same time, she carried herself like someone was going to tell her she didn’t belong there. I hated it. She kept staring at North and he at her, like they both couldn’t tell if this was real or just some fever dream they’d wake up from.
As dinner wound down, the awkwardness settled into something less noticeable.
North reached out and touched the back of Emersyn’s hand.
She jolted like she’d just been electrocuted.
But then she twisted her fingers with his, and I watched her eyes fill with tears.
There was a vulnerability about her in this house that I hadn’t seen before.
I hoped that meant her edges would soften, a door would appear in the walls she’d built, and this would be the beginning of their healing journey back to one another.
Nyx had just set dessert on the table when Tex and Knox appeared in the doorway. Tex bent down and whispered something in Nyx’s ear. He immediately stood up and left the room with them, a grim look on his face. The warmth that had once inhabited the room faded into a chill.
I knew what was coming—I’d been waiting for them to arrive.
The front door slammed open and yelling could be heard from the hallway.
“Where is he?” A voice I knew with acute familiarity echoed through the house. “What the fuck is this, Nyx?”
I got to my feet. Atlas rose at the same time and subtly shifted toward the doorway. North casually put his utensils down and sat back.
“Your team is here,” he said calmly. “They are being detained until we figure out your little problem.”
My jaw tightened. I didn’t blame him but it still stung. I got up from the table and rounded the corner to see Kyllion with a bloody lip, and a gun in Nyx’s hand pointed at his head. Tex, Lachlan and Sakari had Rune, and the four other members of my team, on their knees.
“Gabriel!” Kyllion saw me, a vicious glare on his face. “What the fuck is this about?”
“Just a precaution, Kyllion,” I insisted.
“Griff, we figured it out—” Rune said. “Tell them to stand down—”
Everyone was talking at once, when a growl rippled through the air from somewhere in the corner of the entryway and silenced everyone.
“What the fuck is that?” Tex exclaimed. “You brought a wolf in here?”
“Oh my god,” Emersyn’s breathless exclamation cut through the noise. “Fang?”