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The two of them still need to resolve some issues. As much as I love Seven, he can be an annoying bastard at times, so I’m inclined to side with Jude on this.

“Of course not,” Jude mutters, scowling. “Will you quit throwing challenges in my face? I claimed her first.”

“On the table,” Seven says, smirking now. “Mealtimes will never be the same… You know Eiden is borderline obsessed with you, too?”

Jude swipes a hand down his face, and his tension drains. “I have noticed him eyeballing my junk. And I have witnessed first-hand his skills with you.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Eiden and Fawn enter the room and stop as they hear what Jude says. Seven, Jude, and Gideon all have their backs to them and do not notice they have arrived. Instinct tells me not to interfere, to let Jude say his piece.

“If he wants to have at it,” Jude continues. “I’m not going to complain. Fawn was fucking mesmerized when he was sucking you off like it was his calling, so I don’t need to worry about her being jealous. To be clear, I came here for Fawn. Not for Eiden, nor the rest of you, nor this stag city with its weird-as-fuck districts where there are lumbering beasts with one eye.”

“I saw that too,” Gideon interrupts, then promptly shuts his mouth.

“What I’m trying to say, badly,” Jude continues, fixing a glare on Gideon. “Is that Fawn may be the center of my world. But I consider it a boon to find myself sharing her with men I respect, who I can have differences of opinion with and learn from, and who are willing to learn from me in turn. Who make me feel welcome, even though I am different. As for Eiden, it would takea harder man than me not to love him. I did not expect any of this, but now that I am here, I could imagine no other way.”

For a wolf shifter, he has a way with words.

Eiden’s jaw is gaping, and his face is a little flushed under the praise and acceptance. Fawn’s eyes shine with joy. She has her hand clamped over her lips while her other hand clutches Eiden’s.

“Likewise,” Seven says. “I met her as a young stag and when she was a child. I told my late father I would not rest until I had reunited her with her people, right the wrong done by her former herd leader. But then, when I met her again, she was so much more than I anticipated. I did not expect to share her with a wolf.” His eyes sweep from Jude to Gideon, who stands a little straighter. “Nor did I anticipate my sisters would stir the pot. But it feels right. It feels complete.”

Fawn can take no more; she dashes over to Jude and throws her arms around his neck, peppering kisses all over his face. Then she kisses Seven, Gideon, and finally me. Eiden is a little slower in making his way over. He shares a shy look with Jude and can barely meet his eyes. I foresee their first coupling being spectacular. I throw my arm around him and plant a kiss on his lips. It will always amaze me how such an imposing male can be so sweet and unassuming.

Fawn

It feels as though everything has changed in ways more than the events within Wormwood. I have learned something about Eiden—about all my mates—and about myself.

I also learned that I loved them more than I thought it possible to love anyone, and I learned that they loved me, too.

However, I would be lying to myself if I said there were no scars from what happened beyond my obvious cuts and scrapes.

A strange restlessness is building up inside me, one that demands I run. “I want to go to the Royal Woodland,” I announce.

We are eating a late breakfast at the table on the balcony. The sun is warm, but the many potted plants and creepers that hang down provide some shade. I sit on Seven’s lap, and he feeds me a croissant. I am not allowed to feed myself because, apparently, I must be coddled within an inch of my life after my ordeal.

I can’t say that I mind. I very much like sitting on his lap, how his scent wraps around me, how it makes me all needy and squirmy, even though I have had more attention than I know what to do with.

Seven takes the croissant from me and puts it down slowly.

Silence greets my words.

“What?” I glance around the table and meet the five sets of eyes— Gideon no longer stands attentively at the side but has claimed a seat for himself. I pin each man with a look. “They are gone. They are all gone. And good riddance to them.”

Eiden’s eyes soften as though the mere mention of it pains him. I am sorry to have caused him stress. But also, they do not deserve to spoil our happiness even for one moment.

“I want to run. Is that so bad? All my life I have been told not to run and hide what I am. I don’t want to live in fear of running again. I don’t want to hide my doe. She’s a little skittish, I admit. But I believe we should all feel a lot better if we let our inner sides out.”

Seven’s lips curve into a smile. He presses a kiss to my temple. “There are no gardeners today. They have been sent away. The Royal Woodland is all yours, my Fawn, for howeverlong you need. Extra guards are posted at every entrance. Besides all this, our schedules have been cleared. We shall join you, and you shall be eminently safe. I’m glad that your doe wants to play. It seems as though I’m never around every time she feels playful. I would very much like to meet her, as would my stag.”

His brows shimmer, and as I stare up at him, two giant antlers sprout. They really are the most spectacular antlers, seeming to reach up toward the sky, and have so many points that I cannot easily count them.

Nox chuckles darkly.

I cut him a glare but do not glare at him for long, for I’m distracted by Seven’s antlers once again.

“They are so beautiful,” I say. “Can I pet them?”

“No,” everybody says in unison around the table.