Chapter Twenty-Two
Cypress
I woke up early, as I always did, and snuck out of bed. A twinge of weirdness caught my chest as I looked at my wife, her face against Birch’s heart. A mark on the opposite side of her neck from mine.
It didn’t last more than a second. Last night had been incredible. We shared her. Mated her. Marked her as ours.
I’d been happy with Zephyr all to myself but this…our life clicked into place in a way I didn’t realize it was disjointed. Nothing was missing from our lives before, but so much had been added in a night.
I had my best friend back. And my mate had another to love.
“Hey,” Zephyr said, turning over. She always woke up when I did but fell back to sleep. “Everything okay?”
I nodded and walked back to the bed to kiss her lips. Lips that were not only mine now. And contrary to human social norms, that made me happy. “I’m fine but starving. I’m going to make breakfast for the pack. Our little pack. Go back to sleep.”
She did. This time turning over not to an empty side of the bed but to Birch, who, in his sleep reached for her and tucked her into his hold without even opening an eye.
Downstairs, after a shower, I whipped up something easy but filling. Eggs with peppers and onions. I sliced and toasted what was left of the cheddar sourdough. Yogurt bowls with local granola that my mate always kept stocked. Coffee. A pot this time, since there were three instead of two.
Upstairs, I heard the shower come on and the undeniable giggle of my mate.
She and Birch were sharing their first morning together, and my wolf loved it.
The giggle meant she was happy, and her joy was all that mattered.
I put on some music and gave them their privacy. Their love and devotion were new.
Zephyr and I had gone on our honeymoon to the Bahamas, a wedding gift from her parents. We didn’t leave our hotel room for the first three days, even though we’d been mated and marked for a while.
It was one of the best times of my life, and I was grateful for the years it was us two against the world.
Footsteps on the stairs told me they were coming down and I didn’t have to brace for awkwardness. There wouldn’t be any.
And if there was, we would fix it. It would be temporary.
“Good morning.” Zephyr lingered by the doorway, leaning on the frame. Birch came down behind her and nodded at me. No one spoke. The weirdness began to slip in, but no way in hell I was allowing that. Not in this house.
“Good morning, mate. Birch. I made breakfast. I’m sure we’re all hungry.”
Birch snorted while Zeph’s face reddened like never before. “Cypress,” she said.
“What? You’ve never been shy about it before. Why start now?”
She blew out a breath and shook her head. “That’s true. But that was before.”
“Well, we’re not going to let you change.” Birch swatted her on the ass and she yelped but smiled. “I’m starving.”
I joined them and kissed her until her needy scent filled up the room. She was also hungry, and my wolf demanded we feed her. We. “Come on and eat. I made eggs the way you like them.”
We sat around the table as if we’d had breakfast together all our lives. Zephyr turned the sourdough and eggs into a loaded piece of toast, adding some slices of avocado, and we followed suit. Yum.
“This coffee is great,” Birch said. “I need to try some more at your shop.”
My mate, our mate, nodded. “Come in anytime. You get coffee on the house now unless you want to be stubborn like Cypress and pay. Benefit of…” Zephyr looked at me. “You know.”
“No, I don’t, love. Benefit of what now?” Birch was getting a kick out of this and so was I. Keeping our humor along with being completely honest would get us through anything.
I watched the metamorphosis of my wife, our mate. She smiled and squared off her shoulders. “Benefits of being my mate. Coffee and treats on the house.”
Birch nodded and, through our bond, I felt his pride. “Pack benefits. I like it. You two get to eat for free at my restaurant as well.”
That left me. “I’ll fix your computers? Not as exciting, but useful. Websites. Social media. All of those things covered. Branding too.”
“Hey, that’s more useful than anything. There’s no restaurant or coffeehouse without tech these days. We’re a pack now. We help each other.”
Since we were talking about things, I decided to bring up something important. We were all being open. It felt like the right time. “Can we talk about moving in?” I reached for Zephyr’s hand under the table. “And logistics?”
She sat back and sipped on her coffee. “Are you moving in, Birch?”
“Are you inviting me, mate?”
Zephyr looked at me. “Are we?”
“We are,” I repeated, but not a question then realized she hadn’t decided. And everything was her decision. “We are?”
“We are,” she replied. “What kind of pack lives all over the place.”
Birch laughed. “Two places. Only the two places, and I know this is moving fast, so if you need time…”
“We don’t.” Goddess, her making these decisions did things to me. New things. I was seeing a side of her I hadn’t before. Powerful. Bold. More her. Much more Zephyr than before. “Unless you don’t want to move in with your mate.”
Birch’s mouth opened. “That was low. Cut me to the bone, woman.”
She threw back her head and laughed. We both did. “I highly doubt that.”
“I’ll move in. Cypress, that’s okay with you.”
“More than.” I stopped him before the last word left his mouth. “We’ve spent enough time apart. We’re right where we belong.”