Chapter 15 #3
“They’ve always been family. Now it’s just official,” Leo murmurs, low enough that only Jay can hear.
Leo grew up in a house where safety was assumed, where his pack expanded instead of fracturing under pressure. Neighbors and co-workers are treated like family, and their door is always open in welcome. Of course he would want that same certainty for their pack, and Rosie, Mari, and Skye.
Antonio clears his throat gently, already shifting back into logistics as naturally as breathing. “Blair will follow up with the filings this afternoon. Thirty days to get the ritual done is generous, all things considered.”
Blair nods, her expression calm. “You are not required to perform the ceremony immediately. Rest first.”
“Rest sounds good,” Nimue murmurs beside him.
“We’ll get you back to your hotel, and then we can get together tonight for dinner and make some plans to partay.” Leo rubs his hands together, and Jay can already see the wheels turning on champagne and catering.
“Thank you both. For everything,” Jay says, shaking Blair’s hand.
“My pleasure to finally meet you. Tony speaks highly of you both.”
Antonio grimaces at the nickname, and Jay wonders how far back these two go for her to even attempt it.
Leo gasps before breaking into laughter.
“Don’t even think about it, Boo-Boo.” Antonio pulls Leo in for a hug and then does the same to Jay. “Proud of you, son,” he murmurs near Jay’s ear, careful not to make a spectacle of it.
It’s a good thing. If he did, Jay might lose it completely, crying right there on the sidewalk, in front of his new pack mates and that enthusiastic chipmunk.
He’s thinking about doing it anyway when Jay’s bond with Nix goes taut—like a hand closing around his ribs from the inside.
It carries that same unsettled tension Jay hasn’t been able to shake since they learned what Dahlia Kirwan had been doing.
Since the realization that someone had been touching Grayson’s magic without his consent.
Instinct, raw and unfiltered, surges up his spine. His wolf’s hackles go up.
Leo’s laughter cuts off mid-exhale. “Jaybird?” Leo’s brows knit, his own instincts catching on the shift. He steps in closer, shoulder brushing Jay’s. “What is it?”
Jay doesn’t answer right away. He presses a palm to his sternum, feeling the bond burn with Nix’s anger.
“Something’s wrong,” Jay says finally. “At the Guild.”
Antonio is already moving, expression sharpening from warmth to readiness in the space of a heartbeat. “Then you should go.”
Jay nods, “Yeah, thanks. Will you be alright if we—”
“Of course. Antonio will see us home,” Elysia says. “Take care of your mates. We’ll wait to hear from you.”
Antonio pats Jay’s shoulder one more time. “Son, you’ll call me later.”
“Sure thing, Dad.” Leo has the key fob in his hand.
“Time to go?” Ignatius looks faintly disappointed, still craning toward the planter. “Oh…I see. Yes. Good luck!” He waves at them and floats off down the street in the opposite direction from the courthouse’s parking lot, his mismatched shoes six inches off the sidewalk.
“Shit,” Nimue murmurs. “Lys, we better—” she nods after her friend. At the last minute, she turns around, dragging Elysia to a full stop with her. “Kick ass, Alpha!”
Elysia chirps, “Woo!” racing after her husband before he can float into traffic or actually find a pigeon to talk to.
Their unwavering support fills Jay to bursting despite Nix’s anger pouring across their bond. It’s enough to get him moving, climbing into the passenger seat of the Lexus with a sharp exhale.
“Are you ready for this?” Leo asks, pulling out into traffic.
“No,” he says honestly. Then his jaw sets, resolve sliding into place with the same inevitability it always does. “But they’re about to learn what it means to come for my pack.”
Jay’s phone vibrates in his hand. His thumb is already moving before he thinks about it. “Nix?”
“He’s okay,” Nix says immediately, like he knows Jay needs that first. “He’s with me. We’re not hurt.”
Jay closes his eyes for half a second, relief cutting so clean it almost hurts. Leo’s hand tightens on his thigh.
“But,” Jay says quietly.
“But,” Nix agrees. “They’ve suspended him. Effective immediately.”
Jay’s wolf bares its teeth.
Something Grayson says carries through the phone then, indistinct and sharp with adrenaline, and the noise in the background swells until Jay has to pull the phone away from his ear.
“They’ve suspended him?” Jay snaps. “Where are you?”
It sounds less like a school now and more like a battleground. He supposes, in its own way, it is.
“The Guild’s main foyer,” Nix says. “The kids are…impressed.”
Impressed with what?
“Nix,” Jay growls, “tell me what the fuck is going on.”
“Are you on your way?” Nix asks. “I think it’s better if I explain somewhere less populated. If you know what I mean.”
A brief pause. Then, sharper, to someone else: “Excuse me. You should really get your hands off my mate.”
The words land like a dropped blade.
“Nix?” Jay’s grip tightens on the phone. “Are they detaining him?”
“No. That was just an adolescent admirer.” A beat. “But Kirwan? She wanted to.”