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Stacy

My mate looks irritated as he moves in my direction, and I see his eyes are glowing silver. And he’s not just moving toward me; it’s more like a prowl in my direction.

His alpha body language must be loud and clear to Jase with the way Jase laughs low, setting the coffee mug down. Rising, he bumps shoulders with Grey.

“I’ll let you get on with your evening. Catch up later, bro.”

“Tomorrow,” Grey says to him, though his eyes are locked on me instead of Jase. “Thanks, J.”

“Any time,” Jase replies.

“Thank you. And goodnight, Jase,” I say to Jase, unable to pull my gaze away from Grey’s.

I don’t know what’s happened tonight, but could tell by Jase’s body language while he texted and listened on the phone out of earshot that the night was not uneventful. He did his best to put my mind at ease, telling me Grey would be home soon and would give me the full update. He did answer my burning question when I asked if anything that went wrong tonight had to do with my brother by shaking his head and saying it was all to do with the SCC visitors.

“Night Stacy. Thanks for the treats.”

I brought him out a coffee and some cookies I’d baked, and he was very nice as he tried to put my mind at ease and invited me to sit on the step and join him for some air.

“My pleasure.”

The energy rolling off Grey is concerning. I’m anxious to find out what’s happened.

“Let’s go to bed, Blossom,” he rasps, opening the door, shimmering eyes on me with intent.

My heart skips a beat as I lift the mug Jase left and move ahead of Grey through the opened door.

While I’m putting the mugs into the sink, turning the water on to rinse them, my hair is moved over to my right shoulder, exposing the left side of my throat where Grey’s lips touch, on his mate mark. His arms wrap around my middle and he inhales deeply as I lean into his warmth. He sighs with relief before the sound lapses into a purr. And now I’m thinking we’re going to bed to cuddle, but I swallow down a gulp at the look in his eyes as he scoops me up into his arms and takes me to the stairs with an expression that does not say cuddle.

“Your eyes are silver,” I tell him.

His expression changes and he mutters, “Shit. You okay to skip a run tonight? If you’re not-”

He told me he’d try to do daily runs with me when I told him how much better I feel after being able to shift more often.

I interrupt, “Since it’s the middle of the night and it feels like you had a rough one, I can skip it, Grey, but thank you for asking. It means a lot.”

He smiles sweetly. “Hate to keep you cooped up in here, sweetheart. But it was a rough night. Hopefully all this shit’ll be sorted soon, and we can drop the code orange.”

“Do you want to talk about your night?”

“Later,” he whispers, crossing the threshold into the master bathroom. “Then we’ll talk about these treats Jase spoke of, too.”

A smile splits my face wide. “Lots there for you.”

“Jase got to try them first,” he replies and he’s not returning the smile.

“Next batch I make will be extra-special and they’ll be all yours.”

“Don’t like that he got to try ‘em first,” he admonishes.

“I won’t make that mistake again,” I tell him.

“Good. Shower time?” he asks and finally, there’s amusement in his still-silver eyes.

I smile and nibble on my lip. He sets me down on the counter and turns the water on before we both strip.

He told me this morning that without a code my movement would not be restricted. That I could move freely about the village. Not only will he teach me to swim, he told me he’s going to buy me a car so I can go to town, too! He laughed when I told him I don’t know much about the rules of the road, though I did drive around the Silver Hills area on the backroads and inside our gates. I got very excited about his offer to teach me and that earned me kisses and snuggles along with more happy laughter, like he finds my excitement the best thing ever.

I grab the washcloth and soap up his back for him while he shampoos his hair, but it doesn’t take long for him to decide he’s done washing and prefers to focus on moving his mouth over my wet skin.

We wind up tangled up together first in the shower, then in the bed.

I don’t want to take anything for granted, but I’m feeling less shy with him, like things have turned a corner. Like we’re more connected day by day to one another in both shapes.

I’ve spent a lot of time today daydreaming about the future, about possibilities.

The lovemaking is quicker than usual, but just as pleasurable, and Grey holds me afterwards, telling me about his night.

My blood runs cold as he describes how the witch from the SCC sought to siphon Erica’s powers for herself, about the sight he ran to, seeing all those women unconscious, how worried he is about what could happen when the magical knife is pulled from his great aunt’s body because of how the magic link between them might work. He tells me that although he felt an abundance of magic last night when his aunt spoke words over him, tonight it feels like it has grown, and he said twice now, he’s been able to run faster than he thought was possible when first his council and then his coven needed him. He hopes to know more tomorrow about the impact of the magic knife.

“Your eyes are still silver. Not glowing as much as they do sometimes, but they haven’t gone brown since you’ve been home.”

“Maybe it’s this link.” He shrugs.

He also casually informs me that tomorrow I’ll meet much of his pack, the rest of his council, and the Young side of his family.

And I’m not casual or comfortable about it, not any of it, but at his urging, at his promises to look after me, promises that it’ll all be okay, and frankly at the determined look on his face, I feel like I’ve got no choice but to agree.

He wants to integrate me fully into his world. I know I can’t keep hiding in his house while he lives his life. I should feel happy that he wants me to be part of his life. His pack, his people, and his family are important to him. And it seems like it’s even more about how much he wants me to be part of it, to have the bounty of goodness this pack provides. I can’t not try.

I have difficulty finding sleep. Until Grey, who is already exhausted after the night he’s had, ever in tune with my emotions, does his best to comfort me by purring for me until I start to drift off.

I try to shake off the sleep when I feel him shift, burying my face in his soft fur.

I say, “I love you” before I shift to be in wolf shape like him and his wolf’s tongue swipes across my jaw as his purring resumes.