Chapter 17
Nix
I can do this.
I was allowed to go downstairs on my own. I was allowed to get coffee for myself. Besides, it was barely six a.m. There weren’t gonna be dozens of shifters waiting for me, and even if there were, I was allowed to go downstairs.
I’m not a prisoner, I told myself, taking a deep breath as my hand hit the railing and I set my foot on the first step. I’m allowed to go downstairs. I’m not doing anything wrong.
My heart was hammering in my chest, hands sweaty as I gripped the wooden railing tighter.
I sent out my magic, feeling for auras. Fifteen wolves in this house.
Gray wasn’t one of them. I knew because the bond kept pulling me away from his office and northward.
I also knew because he’d told me he wanted to check on his house, make sure everything was okay.
Something about bursting pipes. I had no idea about pipes in general, bursting, frozen, or normal ones, so I’d kept quiet and nodded, agreeing that going home was the sensible thing to do.
And it was.
I just hadn’t expected that the distance his spending the night away from the packhouse created would mean I wasn’t able to sleep at all.
A yawn made its way out of my chest, and I stopped on the stairs, putting my hand in front of my mouth, waiting for someone to react, but no one did. There were still fifteen shifters in the packhouse, but everyone was in their room. Two or three were awake, though.
You are allowed to go downstairs. Still, part of me expected all hell to break loose at any moment. Waited for someone to shout at me, to shoo me back upstairs.
My cold feet hit the bottom of the stairs, and I released a shaky breath. Okay. Done. I just needed to go to the end of the big entry hall and walk right into the dining room. Then turn right into the kitchen, and… yes!
I smiled triumphantly as I laid eyes on the prize—the old coffee machine, just sitting there, waiting for me to put it to use.
Levi might not like it, but I was kind of glad he hadn’t talked Rhett or Gray into buying an espresso machine yet.
This, however… this thing was easy. Especially because someone had already prepared it.
There was fresh coffee sitting in the filter, and the water was all filled up.
The only thing left to do was hit the start button, and I did so with a small sigh, listening to the coffee maker come gurgling to life.
Just a couple of minutes and I could go back up, treasure in hand, and it’d be as if I’d never been down here.
The burnt aroma of coffee started filling my nose, the coffee machine gurgling and hissing, steam wafting over, promising relief for my tired body.
Had Gray been able to sleep at home, or had he been lying awake the whole night too? Maybe he was able to relax at home because my not being there didn’t mean he felt unsafe. He was in his own home.
I, on the other hand…
“Good morning,” someone said, and I jumped, pulling up a shield around me as I whirled around.
Holy shit, why hadn’t I noticed her approaching? Had I been so lost in thought that I hadn’t noticed a shifter coming up from behind?
“I’m allowed to be here,” I said before I could stop the words from tumbling out.
“If you share the coffee, you definitely are,” the shifter told me with a smile on her face, rubbing her eyes.
“The jet lag is killing me. For some reason, it gets worse with age. Not that you’d know about that.
You don’t look a day over… twenty?” She cocked her head at me, eyes tired but sharp as she studied me intently.
I was glad I’d put on the biggest hoodie I’d been able to find.
“I’m actually twenty-six,” I said when she just kept looking at me expectantly.
“Twenty, twenty-six, you’re still very young. But you need to eat.” She was still smiling at me kindly, but it was unnerving. Her aura was calm, all happy, her shoulders loose as she came closer and walked past me, opening one of the fridges.
“Do you like pancakes? My son says I make the second-best pancakes in the world.”
“The second best?” I asked, shaking my head at myself. Why was I asking questions?
The coffeemaker started humming louder, then there was a tinkling sound, and the first drops of coffee started falling into the glass carafe.
“Yeah.” The shifter was pulling out eggs, bacon, and buttermilk. “According to my son, my husband’s pancakes are the world’s best ones, but he cheats.” She gave me a smile, eyes crinkling at the edges. “My husband, that is. Always drenching the pancakes in maple syrup or butter.”
I had to suppress a laugh, but I could feel the smile on my lips.
“But today, I’m gonna take the win, you hear me, honey?” She winked at me as she started whipping up the batter. She knew exactly where everything was, pulling out bowls and pans from cabinets.
“How do you like your pancakes, sweetie?”
“Oh, I don’t—” My stomach grumbled, cramping as if warning me not to reject food, or else.
“Nonsense. Look at you, you need to eat. So tell me, how do you like your pancakes? Or do you prefer waffles?”
“Pancakes are fine,” I quickly said, swallowing the nerves that had started rising in me at the prospect of having to stay here longer. I’d just wanted to grab a coffee, and now someone was making pancakes for me, and I couldn’t just take them up to my room… could I?
“Perfect.” The shifter smiled at me. “Do you want them sweet? With chocolate? Blueberries? Or plain with maple syrup or butter. What about bacon?”
My stomach rumbled again, and I pressed a hand to it, willing it to stay quiet.
“Sounds like a yes to bacon.” She laughed, the sound echoing off the walls, calming my heart a little. “I get that. I mean, we shifters sure like our meat.” With a wink, she added several thick slices of bacon to a pan, the sizzling music to my ears. “Looks like the coffee’s ready.”
I turned to the coffeemaker, and sure enough, the coffee pot was filled to the brim.
“The cups are in the cabinet right above the coffeemaker,” the shifter told me.
“Thanks.” I took a deep breath before turning around all the way, putting my back to her.
Not a comfortable position, but her aura was calm, and she was still several feet away, clattering and tinkering with the pans as the aroma of bacon and pancakes started filling the air.
Still, I hurried to get two cups out of the cupboard and turn back far enough that I could keep her in my periphery.
She might look like a sweet lady, hell, she might behave like a sweet lady, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t strong as fuck. “How do you like your coffee?”
“Black with two teaspoons of sugar, please. And thank you, honey.”
She was the one cooking for me, so I figured making her a cup of coffee was the least I could do.
“Here,” I said as I slowly walked up to her. She’d be able to hear my pulse speeding up and sense the thrill of fear creeping up my spine, but there really wasn’t anything I could do about that, so I just placed the cup next to her before deliberately putting a bit of space between us.
Another shifter was rousing in their room on the second floor, but they didn’t seem to want to come downstairs immediately. Good. One was more than enough for me to handle.
“Thank you, dear.”
I busied myself by taking small sips of coffee. It tasted fucking awful. Then again, I hadn’t added any milk, and black coffee was just… ugh. Too bitter. But my bravery was waning quickly, nerves flaring as a door fell shut upstairs.
“Looks like I’m done for now,” the shifter said, and I looked at her, surprised to see she’d already prepared two plates of pancakes with a heaping side of bacon. “Now, I know it’s freezing outside, but I just love to have my morning coffee out in nature. Would you care to join me?”
I breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. Outdoors I could do.
“In that case, come get your plate and follow me.”
By the time I’d grabbed my plate and cutlery and picked up my cup of coffee, the shifter had already opened one of the sliding glass doors and was heading outside barefoot.
I looked down at my own bare feet and willed an air bubble around them, heating it up until my feet felt toasty and warm, then followed her to a table on the patio.
She put her breakfast down and started moving chairs, then quickly darted back inside, gathering blankets.
“Here, take them,” she said, gently placing two thick woollen blankets in my arms, careful not to touch me. “My son will kill me if you catch a cold because of me.” The words sounded serious, but her laugh and the twinkle in her eyes told me she was at least half joking.
Still, the words hit me like a punch to the gut.
“Your… son?”
There was only one person I could think of who’d get mad if I got sick.
One person whose parents had flown in to meet me.
Jet lag.
The shifter had been talking about being jet-lagged.
Fuck.
I felt the blood draining from my face as the realization hit. Nerves tightened in my gut, and the coffee I drank turned into acid.
“Yes. I don’t think Gray would be impressed if I got you sick.
Then again, he might not be impressed with me either way, seeing as I sneakily weaselled my way into talking to you.
” She winked at me. “I’m sorry for that, by the way.
I really only wanted to get a coffee when I came downstairs, but when I saw you…
the opportunity was just too good to pass up. ”
I swallowed, the lump in my throat making it hard to breathe.
“It’s… it’s okay,” I managed to say, then held out my hand to her. That was the polite thing to do, wasn’t it? I mean, yeah, I was trembling and everything, but shaking your mate’s parent’s hand when officially introducing yourself was what you did. Right? “I’m Nix. Phoenix. Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, it’s so nice to meet you too.” Gray’s mom took my hand and shook it carefully, her skin incredibly warm, just like Gray’s. “I’m Wendy. I really hope you can forgive me for roping you into having breakfast together.”
I sipped at my coffee, needing a moment to work things through. It was still awful, but the scalding hot liquid running down my esophagus kinda helped me focus.
“I don’t mind,” I said, surprised that I actually meant it.
“Good. You can tell that to my son when he comes barging out here in about thirty seconds. I’m pretty sure I just heard his car pull up.”
I smiled when I realized she was right. The pull was getting stronger, Gray’s aura shifting from happy to nervous as he came closer, obviously letting either my scent or our bond guide him.
“Nix? What are you doing out… wait, Mom?”
I couldn’t help but laugh as Gray came running over, glaring at his mother just like she’d predicted. “What did you say about waiting until he was ready?”
“It’s okay,” I said, reaching for him before I could consciously make the decision to do just that. “We met in the kitchen, both looking for coffee. Then she offered to make pancakes to prove hers are better than your dad’s.”
Gray’s eyes widened, a bewildered look on his face as his eyes darted between his mom and me.
Seeing them next to each other, the resemblance was obvious.
He had her thick black hair and the same nose.
The shape of his eyes matched his mom’s too, even though the colour was different.
If I’d been a bit more awake and less focused on the fact I was talking to a shifter, I’d have realized their similarities way earlier.
“Sit down, Gray,” Wendy said, nodding to a third chair standing a couple of feet away.
“Let’s have a quiet family breakfast. I’m afraid the peace won’t last. Your dad heard something about a pack possibly trying to abduct one of our own to force you to hand over your mate.
Did I gather that correctly? He was rambling a bit.
Pretty upset. But he said you already had a plan.
Something about connecting people to the barrier.
I’d like to volunteer. Anyway, that’s for later.
Tell me, Nix, how do you like the pancakes? ”
I stared at Gray’s mom, then quickly shoved a piece of pancake into my mouth, chewing thoroughly, the fluffy texture pure heaven.
“Best ones I’ve ever eaten.”
Gray laughed, finally pulling up the chair right next to me. I breathed a sigh of relief when he put an arm around my shoulders, my mind finally quieting down, the tension draining from my body with every second I felt Gray’s warmth seeping into me.
“You look like hell,” Gray whispered, pulling me even closer until the armrest started digging into my ribs.
“Didn’t sleep well,” I admitted. The without you here part went unsaid.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, casting a quick glance at his mom before focusing back on me. “Next time I’m sleeping at my house, you’ll come with me.”
It wasn’t a question. It was a statement. A statement that probably should’ve had my hackles rising, but instead, I felt nothing but relief. I sighed, resting my head against his chest and closed my eyes.
Maybe there were shifters who weren’t all bad.
Maybe I’d never been able to find them because they were all hiding up here, in a small town near the Pacific Coast.
God, I really hoped that was the case.