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It’s pure wisdom, and it soothes Jay’s wolf to know his mate seems to have his equilibrium back. A surge of pride rises in his chest—sharp, overwhelming, and all too familiar when it comes to Leo Costas. He knows it puts a stupid look on his face, but he’s never been able to stop it. Not in almost ten years.

“What now?” Leo smirks, shaking his head.

Jay exhales, warmth bleeding into his voice. “I’m just so proud to call you mine.”

“Leo already had a confession today. Got married, even,” Rowan rumbles from his spot underneath Grayson on the makeshift bed in the back. “You better watch out. I heard his wife is mean.”

“Sheismean. Are you hitting on my husband, James?” Gideon asks, handing him a bag of food through the open window before shooing Leo off his seat.

Finn slides in through the side door, and the scent of the food he’s carrying hits Jay like a punch—he’s suddenly starving.

Nix takes the bag from Jay and settles himself neatly in his lap. It makes Jay a little homesick; he misses their quiet dining table at home. Still, it’s nice to have his mate’s butt in his lap for a meal, and he aims to be grateful.

“Love, I already had your man. He’s been mine for longer, haven’t you, Leo?”

“If you could all quit the awkward flirting and wake Sleeping Beauty so I can feed my omega, it would be appreciated. He’s got his teeth in my neck…so if you could do it carefully?”

Luca pokes Grayson in the shoulder with a whispered, “Gray,” to no avail.

“I said carefully. Ow.” Rowan isn’t kidding, and given how Grayson had gone for Jay’s throat this morning, Jay isn’t eager to do the honors.

“Gray, come feed me,” Nix coos sweetly, and his sexy, deep voice makes more than one of them shiver.

“Food?” Grayson asks and slides off Rowan onto the floor like he’d never been asleep in the first place. “Where are we?”

In the small space between the front seats, Rowan digs through the bags of food, searching for whatever the wolf thinks Nix needs. They watch as he selects items with a precision that seems guided by instinct. He hands Nix a carton of raw veggies to hold, then cuts the Chicken Parmigiana into bite-sized pieces. Offering a forkful to Jay, who holds their precious cargo, Rowan then does the same for Nix.

“Thank you, Rowan; so good of Alpha to feed Jamie, too.”

Once their ritual is set into motion, Finn hands food containers back and forth until everyone has something they enjoy. The sounds of his pack enjoying their lunch means Jay’s wolf can relax for the moment.

“This is pretty good. Are you sure you didn’t make it yourself?” Grayson asks around his mouthful of some double-decker sandwich.

Gideon has three soft tacos of various fillings, and he’s working his waythrough them slower than normal. “They’re adequate. Just too much…” His eyes go wide, before he shakes his head. “Nope.”

“Too much onion? Too much lime? No? Could it be too much—” Luca goads.

They all laugh except Nix, who wasn’t there and doesn’t know Gideon has never once said the ingredient Luca complained about since the day they met. Their omega grabs Gideon’s hand, though, and takes a big bite. Wrinkling his tiny nose, he coughs but still swallows.

“Too much cilan—” he tries, but Rowan stops him with a finger over his lips.

“Shhh. You must not name it, or a curse will befall us all.”

“I’ll explain later, Baby,” Jay whispers loudly.

“I’ll curseyou, Rowan Foster,” Gideon mutters, stuffing his uneaten food back into the take-out carton. “Now move your juicy butt, Jay, so I can get us to our safe house before I’m yet again eating someone else’s mediocre cooking. Shoo.”

They switch seats, and Gideon gets them on the road again.

They’re about twenty minutes out when four black SUVs blow by them at top speed. It’s a main road; one they couldn’t avoid. It’s a miracle they didn’t recognize the big lumbering Mercedes, and Grayson kneels on the makeshift bed to see out the back window and to be sure they don’t turn around and follow them.

“Holy shit,” he mutters.

No doubt that had been Carnell’s convoy, headed straight for wherever they thought the pack was holed up. A sinking feeling settles in Jay’s gut. It validates everything Grayson said. He hadn’t realized, not fully, that he’d been holding out hope that this was all just a bad dream.

Shaking it off, he grabs a blanket, settles Nix into the passenger seat, and climbs onto the bed at the back of the truck beside Grayson.

“I didn’t believe it myself. Not really. That could have been something else, right?” Desperation rings in the plea.