Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Since neither of them were morning people, Jonas was surprised that they did wake up early enough to go for a morning run at dawn.
Her naked body wrapped around his had him re-thinking the plan, but she gave him a cheeky grin and climbed out of bed.
He was mesmerized by the view as she stretched up on tiptoes, arms pulled tight over her head.
Then she transformed and led the way out of the room to the cabin door.
He opened it up and pulled it closed behind them, before calling on his wolf.
He wouldn’t have thought it possible for the intensity of his feelings for his mate, for the bond that had formed so solidly, to increase, but when they touched as wolves, muzzle to muzzle, her scent filling him up, he was nearly overwhelmed.
She licked at him and twined her body around his, marking him with her scent.
They ran and explored, keeping wide of the cabins, encountering some birds and small game.
Eventually they hunted and rested, and it was early afternoon before they made it back to the cabin.
When they’d gathered their things and closed up the cabin, he decided it would be nice to come back for their anniversary.
By the time they were reaching the outskirts of Alicante, it was nearly dusk.
“If you feel like it, I can show you some land I scoped out and thought might be good for a house,” Cindy said, her fingers idly playing with his where they rested on her thigh.
“It’s on the way back to the house. I wasn’t sold on it, want to look around some more, but it will catch you up to where I am on the search. Or we can go look another day.”
“Build a brand-new house?” he asked. “I’ve never done that. Kind of like building the new pack? From the ground up?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it like that. I just hadn’t seen much that I liked for long-term, when I was looking for a place to move into. Do you think it would be too much work? Contractors and house plans and all of that?”
He glanced over, saw her thoughtful frown. “A lot of work, sure. But probably not too much. Could be kind of fun.”
“There would be a lot of lists,” she warned him, her frown turning into a grin. “Lots and lots of lists.”
“I think I can handle that.” He followed her directions and pulled the car over.
When he got out, he drew in a deep breath, considering.
She grabbed his hand and tugged him along, pointing out the boundaries, the possible views, depending on where the house went up, her enthusiasm contagious.
He could see it, could feel it, could imagine making a home that was totally theirs.
Putting his arms around her, he held her tight as he saw their future stretching out before them, the rightness of it all settling deep into his bones.
Cindy hugged him just as tightly, then turned in his arms to look at the view that could be theirs. “Ideally, I’d like to be closer to the pack house, if that becomes permanent.”
“And something a little less flat,” he added. “Like you said, this is good, workable, but I wouldn’t mind seeing more options. It gives me ideas about what could be.”
When they got back to the car, he asked her where she wanted to go first. “Home? Adam and Myra’s? My parents’? A restaurant for dinner?”
“Your parents. Then I’ll call my parents. Then we’ll take yours out to dinner.”
“Will you want to go see your parents? Your brother?”
“At some point. And it’s possible they’ll want to come out here. It’s hard to say.”
“Then we’ll play it by ear.”
His mom cried when she hugged Cindy, and his dad sounded a little choked up as he congratulated them both.
Her parents said the right things, though her mother was clearly reserving judgment until they met, and her father hadn’t been terribly impressed when told Jonas was currently working as a bartender.
When they’d settled in at the restaurant and ordered their food, Cindy asked his parents if they’d made a decision on the new pack.
“We’re definitely interested. And Myra and Adam seem receptive, although I suppose we won’t really know until we officially petition to join.
” His mom frowned at the uncertainty. “Cindy, do you know if they’ll be making decisions right away, or if they’re waiting to see how many people request to join? ”
“I don’t think they plan on waiting. While there’s some filling-of-slots type of decisions, as far as hierarchy and security, for the most part they’re more interested in finding the right fit for both sides.
They don’t feel the need to start off big, but there’s also no reason to keep real small, if there are plenty of people who do want to join. ”
“That’s good,” his dad said. “I think that’s good. And smart.”
His mom nodded approvingly.
“Have you guys given more thought to what you would want to do if you move here?” he asked.
“A bit, but your mom and I don’t feel the need to rush into a decision. We can take our time, get ourselves settled, then see what appeals. By then, with the pack getting settled as well, different opportunities might occur to us that we wouldn’t even see right now.”
“Also smart,” Cindy said, as the waiter brought their plates.
“Tell us about what you do, dear.”
Cindy spent the meal stealing bites between answering questions about her work.
A lifestyle blog was not something his parents understood without lots of explanation, but she was patient and amusing, telling them examples of the kinds of articles she posted.
He interjected enough to make sure she had time to actually eat her food.
They skipped dessert and headed to the pack house, after dropping his parents off. Cindy drove so that he could call Zach and Hillary and give them the news. The alpha pair was very excited for him. Though sad to hear that he would be moving, they completely understood.
As soon as they reached the front porch, the door flew open and Myra pulled Cindy into the house with a squeal and wrapped her up in a hug.
Adam was holding a bottle of champagne. “Congratulations,” he said, popping the cork and moving to the glasses that had been set on a nearby table.
“Tell me you’re staying,” Myra blurted out. “I’m happy for you either way, but I’ll be extra, super happy if you tell me you’re staying.”
Adam cleared his throat. “But no pressure. You need to do what’s best for you as a couple.”
“Right. That,” Myra said as she handed them each a filled glass.
Cindy laughed and gave her friend another quick hug. “I won’t leave you in suspense. We’re staying.”
“Then we’re extra, super happy for you, and for us. Welcome to the pack, Jonas.”
“Thank you, I’m glad to be here. Mostly because being here brought me Cindy, but I’ve been liking what I’m seeing with the pack, as well. I’m honored to be part of the new adventure.”
They all drank, and then Myra and Adam officially welcomed him into the pack bonds. It was an odd sensation, being part of such a small group. With just four of them, and with his bond to Cindy being so intense, it was a much deeper feeling than the one he’d had with Mountain View.
He looked at his mate, smiling at her best friend as she sipped her wine. They had a rental and might consider buying land and building a house, but all of that was inconsequential. He was home.
Six weeks later
Jonas carefully lowered his end of the sofa to the hardwood floor, keeping pace with Adam at the other end.
When it was safely down, they both flopped onto the leather cushions that they hadn’t bothered to remove.
The couch had been the last item in the truck, so Jen, their new third, was now officially moved in.
Her laugh drifted down the hall from the master bedroom, where she and his father were putting together her bed.
“Another one down,” Adam said. “How many to go?”
Jonas chuckled. Since moving to New Mexico, he’d given some thought to what he’d like to do with himself full time, but he hadn’t progressed beyond ideas. He was too busy helping the new pack members get moved in and settled into their situations.
He’d helped his parents find a place and both had taken jobs at a local restaurant, to see what they thought of the food business.
His dad had claimed that learning the business from the ground up was the only way to go.
Jonas wasn’t sure if they were really going to open up their own place, as he’d suggested, but they were having fun exploring the idea that they could do pretty much anything they wanted, so he figured he’d succeeded.
He’d helped Bill and Thomas, a couple in their forties who’d moved in from Florida, get settled into a trailer on a tract of land they’d decided to purchase.
Thomas was a contractor and was going to build them a house when he had the time.
Jonas had managed not to laugh out loud when Bill had rolled his eyes behind his husband’s back.
Then there was Joe, who had come down from Pennsylvania to join them.
He was a teacher, and the local high school had offered him a position to start immediately, so Jonas, his father, and Bill had done all the moving for their new second so he could get up to speed on his class without the stress of moving.
Olivia and Tasha Keogh, the mother and daughter who’d previously been in the Mesa Pack, were due to arrive the next day.
There had been some discussion about the pair being a good fit for the pack, but everyone had agreed that the daughter wasn’t thriving in Chicago, and Myra hoped they could turn the situation around with some TLC.
Cindy had told Jonas, privately, that she’d been concerned Adam might hold some resentment that Olivia hadn’t made any move, in her old pack, to seek help regarding the rogue pack that had harmed Adam.
But once Adam had met her at the party, even though he hadn’t particularly liked her, he’d felt protective.
So the invitation to join had been issued.