26. Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Six
Darius
“She had a what?!” I gasped, staring at Nic who was standing in my doorway wearing an apologetic expression.
“She had a fall, Darius. Old people tend to fall sometimes.”
I growled. My aunt Givanna wasn’t old! Okay, maybe she was getting there, but being seventy was not old old.
“Is she badly hurt?” Milo asked, now standing right next to me.
“She broke her arm, but is otherwise fine. She was lucky she didn’t hit her head on the ground and that her reflexes were quick to ease her fall. Even if her arm took all the damage.”
“Where’s she now?” I asked, ready to bolt out the door and see her.
“She’s at the packhouse,” Nic hurried to reply, his hands were up in a placating gesture and I forced myself to calm down.
“Why’s she there?” Milo questioned.
“She asked to be moved there permanently,” Nic explained. “Apparently, her house is too big for her to handle and she longed to be somewhere with more activity.”
“Ah,” Milo nodded. “She needed her pack around her.”
“Exactly,” Nic smiled. “She kindly offered her house to some of our new packmates and they’ll move in soon.”
“That’s kind of her,” I whispered, hating that she’d felt alone and I hadn’t known about it.
“Her house was always meant for a big family,” Nic said, his eyes kind. “When we shifters turn a certain age, we need our pack around us more. It’s why Loren and Loretta love their diner; they’re simply surrounded by people every day. Givanna was very secluded from us.”
I nodded. I knew she wouldn’t live there forever, but it had been my home too, for so many years.
It felt odd knowing she wouldn’t be living there anymore, ready to serve up delicious food for me whenever I visited.
But maybe it was the right time. I had Milo to take care of now, and she needed more eyes on her.
“We’ll go see her in a bit,” Milo told Nic.
“She’s sleeping at the moment so perhaps at dinner time instead?”
“Sounds perfect,” I replied, then closed the door as Nic left.
When it was just Milo and me again, I turned and gathered him in my arms.
“Are you okay?” he whispered into my neck, his unique scent a balm to my heart.
“I will be. I just hate that I wasn’t there, you know?”
“She wouldn’t have wanted you to spend all your time by her side,” he assured me. “I actually think she would’ve ended up kicking you out if you kept showing up.”
I laughed at that. “I think you’re right.”
“I’m always right,” he sniffed, making me laugh again.
“Well, Mr. Always Right, want to snuggle on the couch until we have to leave?”
“You know I’ll never turn that down,” he grinned, his happiness beaming out of him.
Lying on the couch, I had Milo between my legs, his head resting on my belly as we watched an alien documentary Milo had begged me to watch with him for days now.
Buzzing came from the coffee table where both our phones lay. We truly didn’t use phones as much as I pictured humans did. It was such a bother when you had to shift and remember where your phone ended up, so ours pretty much lived on the coffee table so we wouldn’t lose them.
“It’s mine,” Milo groaned, reaching out his left arm to grab it. “Hi, Silas,” he greeted, his tone warm and affectionate.
“Hey,” I heard Silas greet him back. “I have some good news.”
“Yeah?” Milo grinned.
“Yeah,” Silas chuckled. “Greg and I have decided to become chosen mates.”
“Really?!” Milo squealed, sitting up on the couch, his smile blinding.
Silas laughed. “Yeah, really. We talked and it just feels right.”
“We’re so happy for you!” Milo gushed. “How is he by the way?”
“Thank you, Milo.”
I could hear the affection in Silas tone as he spoke to my mate and once I would’ve been jealous hearing it, but now it only made me happy to know Milo had Silas in his life.
“Greg is doing great. His hearing hasn’t been affected at all and soon he’ll try shifting again. We’re also having his stuff moved to my house, our house,” Silas quickly corrected as we heard Greg grumble in the background.
Milo and I laughed at that.
“Oh, Cass is here with muffins, I better go. I’ll call you again soon,” Silas promised.
“Say hi from us! Bye!” Milo ended the call, placed his phone back on the table and cuddled back into his former position, a bright smile on his face as I resumed the documentary.
Greg and Silas were now chosen mates. I was happy for them, I truly was.
I just hoped if one of them found their fated that their friendship would remain.
It was always a risk when you took on a chosen mate.
Your fated could show up at any moment and no one rejected their fated, meaning the chosen mate would be left discarded. I didn’t wish that on anyone.
“I’m fine!” Givanna snapped, batting my arm away. “You’re acting like I’m a dying woman!”
“You really are,” Milo easily agreed with her.
“Well excuse me for wanting to escort my only living relative to her table!” I huffed, walking past them and sitting down on a chair. They can apparently fend for themselves.
“Oh, hush you,” Givanna scolded with a fond smile. “I might need help grabbing my food.”
“I’ll do it,” I hurried to offer, standing in an instant.
Milo and Givanna laughed as I joined some of my packmates in line for the buffet. I didn’t mind being laughed at, I knew that they only meant well and I would forever take care of those I loved.
Oric bumped into me playfully, wiggling his brows before scooping up some lasagna on his plate. “So,” he began in a cheerful tone that spoke of mischief. “I sense things between you and Milo are going well?”
I chuckled and decided Givanna would love some lasagna, too. “They are,” I replied, keeping it at that, knowing it would drive him mad.
“Oh, come on! We used to tell each other everything.” He pouted at me.
I laughed. “We’ve fully mated, relax. Our ceremony will be held as soon as we’ve found the perfect date.”
“Yes, yes,” he waved that off like it meant nothing. “We’ve all seen your marks. What I want to know, is how Jeremy took everything.”
“Jeremy?” I questioned, fearing Oric had somehow known about Jeremy’s former feelings for me.
“Yeah? You’re fucking his little brother, that can’t have been easy on your friendship.”
His words almost made me stumble. I truly hadn’t thought about that part. We sort of had some bigger issues at play that Oric would never learn of. Our friendship could survive this because of our fated bonds. It was hard blaming fate for choosing our perfect matches.
I decided to answer truthfully. “I think things between us have been easy because we both found our fated at the same time. I doubt things would’ve gone as smoothly if Milo and I had casually decided to be chosen mates.”
“Yeah,” he sighed. “I sometimes think I’ll pick a chosen one for myself, this waiting around is really tiring.”
I shrugged. “Look at Silas and Greg, they waited for years before choosing each other. If they’d only gotten together sooner, think of how happy they could’ve been.”
“True,” he conceded. “But what happens if one of their fated shows up?”
We both winced.
“Yeah, I don’t wish that on any of them, but speaking as someone who’s found their fated, there’s nothing like the love you feel for your one true person.”
“Damn,” he muttered, adding some steamed carrots to his plate. “I think I might as well just wait for my person to show up anyway.”
Grinning at him, I said, “You won’t regret it when they do.”
I joined my aunt and Milo at their table, the plate now overflowing with food.
“Darius,” Givanna giggled. “You know I couldn’t possibly eat all of this.”
“I know,” I shrugged. “Saved me from another trip.”
She only laughed more as I placed the plate in the middle of the table and sat opposite of her.
“What about me?” Milo asked indignantly.
“Oh, I guess you could’ve grabbed something for me,” I said, acting innocent. “I could actually use a cup of water, one for auntie, too, please.”
Milo glared at me but still stood and went to grab the waters.
“He’s such a sweetheart,” she gushed, taking a big forkful of her lasagna.
“He really is,” I agreed, because Milo was just perfection.
Speaking with her mouth full, ever the classy lady, she asked, “How are things with Paul?”
I shrugged. “Milo invited him over for a chat tomorrow, so we’ll see.”
“He better treat our Milo right.”
It warmed my heart that she saw him as ours. “I agree. Milo wants to see if they can save their relationship or not, and I understand he’ll need closure if they can’t.”
She shook her head sadly. “I’m just glad he has you there, guarding his heart.”
“Always,” I agreed.