Vivianna
The sun peeking through the blinds woke me, and I stretched, feeling a little sore after such an active night with my new mate.
“No, it’s not time to get up yet. Just because the sun has risen doesn’t mean we have to,” Koit said, dragging me back under the covers when I tried to sneak out.
Smiling, I turned to him, looking up at his face, his eyes still closed. “Well, I’m up, and once I’m up, it’s hard for me to go back to sleep.”
Bullshit. You’ve never tried to go back to bed.
Koit’s answer to this was to pull the covers over us, blocking out any light. “I will teach you my ways, young padawan. Today will be the laziest day you have ever had.”
Sounds like heaven to me, so shut up and relax!
Sighing, I decided to let him try. He began to massage my scalp and play with my hair, making my body melt against his. I just let myself enjoy the closeness, eventually drifting back to sleep while listening to his heartbeat. When we finally got up, it was almost noon.
“Would you look who finally decided to wake up?” Tav teased, kissing me on my way to the coffee machine.
“You could have joined us; I didn’t mean to kick you out of our mate’s room,” Koit said, slapping Tav on the back.
Tav just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “I wanted to let you guys have your mating night to yourselves. It’s a special moment, and I didn’t want to intrude. We have the rest of our lives together with her, what’s one night?”
As I sipped my coffee, I watched the two of them interact and was surprised to see how well both were handling this.
Tav didn’t seem to be bothered that I didn’t check with him before mating with Koit or that I’d spent the night learning every inch of him.
I knew we hadn’t been very subtle in our enjoyment.
Serves Darius right. He should be cursed with the worst case of blue balls after that stunt he pulled.
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t really argue with her. He had been an ass, and if he hadn’t left me like he did, he could have been the one in my bed instead of Koit.
“It would only be fair, though, that I get to spend time alone with her this afternoon,” Tav said as he took my hand and led me outside.
I waved to Koit as we went out to the garden to pick vegetables for dinner.
We spent some time out there weeding, pruning, and enjoying the sun on our backs with the dirt under our toes.
Tav and I worked in a comfortable silence, just enjoying the closeness, but then he started to sing softly to himself, and I was amazed.
“You can sing?” I asked, surprised.
“I don’t know, you tell me,” Tav said, his cheeks blushing slightly. “I really only ever sing when I’m alone in the garden or in my workshop.”
“I think you sound amazing! I always wanted to sing, but that was not a gift that was bestowed upon me. My choir teacher at school found something else for me to do during music class other than grace them with my vocal talents,” I said, remembering my boarding school days.
“It can’t be that bad,” Tav ventured.
I shook my head and gave him a look. “Trust me, it’s really better for everyone if we never test that theory.”
Tav laughed as he started to hum to himself as he worked, and I gathered up the courage to ask Tav the question that had been burning in my mind for a few days.
Stop being a baby and ask the man. Worst case, he won’t answer us. Put your alpha pants on and ask.
“Can I ask you something personal? If you don’t want to answer it that’s fine, I won’t push you.”
Tav stopped what he was doing and looked at me, giving me his full attention. “You can ask me anything. I have nothing to hide from you, and I hope you feel the same way.”
“Did mating with me take you away your ability to ever go home again?” I asked, closing my eyes, not wanting to see the look on his face.
There was silence for a few heartbeats before I felt Tav standing in front of me. He tucked a knuckle under my chin, urging me to look him in the face.
“Viv, you have not taken anything from me. You have given me a family, one that I belong in. My father never loved us boys; he always pitted us against each other. Sure, I was the firstborn, but to him, that didn’t mean anything if I wasn’t cruel and ruthless like him.
Sebastian is exactly who my father wants to take over the pack.
He’s my father’s clone. Thomas is more like me—we don’t want to fight to survive—but being attached to Bastian his whole life, he learned to fight.
” Tav took a deep breath as I heard the anger build in his voice.
“Not being able to go back to that version of a home is a blessing. Being with you and the others is more of the family that I always dreamed of. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, especially if that meant I would lose you. ”
Tav pulled me close, trapping me against his body like he was afraid I was going to leave him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and held him just as tightly. “I’m not going anywhere, Tav. Like you, I am making my own family full of people who I love and that love me.”
Tav kissed me gently with tears on his cheeks before he turned back to finish his work. I felt lighter and promised myself that I wouldn’t hold things back from my mates anymore.
When we were done in the garden, we brought our spoils back to the kitchen to wash and store for later use.
Darius was just where we left him hours before, typing away at his laptop—only now he was in the kitchen.
Curiosity won out over my hurt as I walked up to him and peeked over his shoulder.
I saw a lot of strange code that didn’t make any sense to my brain.
“Can you read that?” I questioned.
Darius stopped and tensed before he looked up, like he hadn’t realized I was standing right behind him. “In a way. It’s not really a language, it’s more like commands telling the program what I want it to do in a way it will understand.”
I nodded my head, pretending to understand. I could read an EKG report or an ultrasound, but looking at this was making my brain hurt. Darius must have seen my confusion, because he gave a small quirk of his lips.
“We are going to move Dr. Faulk out of the safe house tomorrow, and this program I’m working on will not only shield the vehicle he will be riding in from being tracked, but it’ll also keep any other technology from taking control of the computer system in the car.
That way, we know Vadik can’t get to him.
Just one less thing to worry about,” Darius explained.
“That’s cool—I had no idea anyone could take control of your car. That’s a scary thought,” I said, shivering at the idea.
Darius pushed back his chair and gave me a penetrating look.
“I will do everything in my power to keep you safe if you let me. I know you resent me for how overprotective I am on top of how I handled things yesterday, but know that I’m doing it to keep you protected.
This is bigger than the five of us, and you play a large role in our future as werewolves. ”
“Thank you for keeping me safe… even if I’m not thrilled with how you do it sometimes.”
What? You’re going to let him off that easy? Let me at him, I’ve got a few choice words to share.
Enough, we both agreed that we are not fighting for someone that doesn’t want to be part of this family, so let it go. We have plenty of other things to deal with.
Darius grunted and turned back to his work, dismissing me.
I sighed and headed towards the living room, looking for something to do.
I found Rik sitting on the couch reading a book, looking mouthwatering in his snug jeans and V-neck T-shirt.
His feet were propped up on the coffee table, and with the sun streaming in from the window, he looked like a cover model for those erotic books I liked to read.
I wandered over and sat down next to him, waiting for him to finish what he was reading.
“What are you reading?” I asked, peeking at the spine of the book.
“Jane Eyre,” Rik said, shifting the book so I could see the title.
“Really?” I said, surprised as I settled in at his side, leaning my head against his shoulder. “Isn’t that a chick book?”
“It’s classic literature that forgoes gender norms,” Rik said, getting defensive. “Have you read it?”
“Nope, wasn’t part of our required reading in school. The Scarlet Letter, on the other hand, was required reading for good little girls to learn not to let their skirts up around just anyone,” I said, chuckling to myself.
“It has more to it than that,” Rik said, giving me a patronizing look. “So, what would your choice of books be?”
“I haven’t had a chance to read for fun in a long time.
If it’s not textbooks, it’s medical journals to keep up with the changes in my field.
I don’t even know what I would choose to read now—probably some smutty romance to make my life feel more normal.
” I paused to think. “Do you think they have books about relationships like ours? You know, with multiple partners?”
“I don’t see why they wouldn’t; it’s not a new idea. The world got more monogamous as we evolved and advanced. Society seems to think it’s a more hedonistic way of living, but I’ve never seen it that way,” Rik said, making me smile with his big words and historical tone of voice.
I lifted my head and looked into Rik’s vivid green eyes.
“I want you to know that even though we haven’t made it official yet, I do consider you one of my mates.
Circumstances with the others just seemed to arise, and I need you to know that I’m not rejecting you in any way.
I want you, Rik. This wouldn’t work for me without you. ”
Rik set down his book and took my hand in both of his, raising it to his lips.
Then he rubbed his cheek along the back of my hand, marking me with his scent.
“I told you I would wait. I’m not in any hurry to rush through this.
I want to savor every moment with you, and when the moment is right, it will be amazing. ”