Page 15

He’s right, and just being kind, but Nix isn’t ready to let go of his anger about the high-handed, possessive, overly protective behavior of his mates.

“No. You’re right. But I don’t have to like how they’re going about it.”

Luca mutters under his breath, fooling no one, “I said I wassorry, jeez.”

“I’m not really mad at you, Luc. Except for that completely unnecessarytext, you only had Gideon on your mind. It’s the rest of them. I bet they’re all gathered in there, pretending they’re not watching for me to roll up and suddenly faint at their feet. How am I going to get through the next twenty-five weeks? I’m going to go crazy, Artem.Crazy.”

He sighs and leans his head onto his friend’s shoulder.

Artem’s sandalwood scent soothes him, and Nix finds the edges of his anger smoothed away. His friend stills at the physical contact, but eventually, there is a tentative hand patting his head gently.

Pat, pat, pat.

It is unbelievably sweet and kind, and so needed.

“They want you to be safe, no? And the baby is ramping up all those alpha pheromones. Instincts are strong. Stick with your betas when you can.”

“Yeah, stick with us…we’re less annoying, and are where we say we are when we’re not where you are.”

Artem smiles, obviously unsure about the last bit, which Nix knows was aimed at the ever-mysterious and often-absent Gideon.

“You will go home with your alpha?” he asks. “Or would you like me to stay so I can take you home afterward?”

“I wish you could come in.” Nix really does. Thinking about Artem leaving gives him a flutter of anxiety. “A friendly face, you know?”

Not that his family won’t be happy to see him, or make him feel loved, but…having Artem stay would mean someone was there 100% just for him, for once. Like his mom or dad would have been. The thought makes his eyes prick with unshed tears—he misses them so suddenly it hurts to breathe.

It’s been happening more and more lately thoughts of his mom leaking through when he’s washing dishes, or when Jamie and Leo had hauled in a Christmas tree last month; or when he thought he heard Ivy’s squeal when Luca had run naked from the house to the hot tub in the middle of a surprise snowstorm just last week.

His memories of his family had been a treasure he’d buried deep, and now that he was happy, he was inadvertently digging at the place in his mind where “X” marks the spot.

“I will come in if you need me to, Nix,” Artem says, gently.

The offer is so sincere, and Nix badly wants to take him up on it. But this is no way to spend a day off, and who knows how long it will take for Finn to do his check-up or how many delays the five alphas will invent.

“No, it’s okay. But maybe you could come for dinner soon?”

His friend’s eyes get comically wide at the invitation to an alpha’s den.

Nix knows it’s against Were social practices, but they keep telling him it’s his home, too. Just asking makes Nix’s wolf settle that much more.

“If you would like. Ah, I think they are waiting on you.”

Artem nods toward the glass doors and—sure enough—Jamie, Leo, and Grayson have their metaphorical noses pressed to the glass.

At Nix’s sigh, Artem pats his head once more. “Don’t be too hard on them. You are very special.”

Squeezing his friend’s calloused hand, he sighs. “Thanks for everything. Come on, guys, let’s go.”

Nix opens the car door and then the back door for Luca and Tsuki, leaning back inside the car for a moment. “Drive safely. I’ll text you tomorrow about dinner.”

Watching until his friend drives away, he smiles and waves until Artem is out of sight for the second time that day. His smile immediately falls when he turns and sees his mates inside scrambling away from the door.

“What am I going to do with them, Luca?”

But Luca is checking his phone, lost in thought, and Nix can’t tell if he’s happy or sad.

“Damned if I know. Hey. I’m going to wait out here. I think Gideon might show. Don’t start without us.”