Page 28 of Claiming Xan (Shifters of Greymercy #7)

RIVER

It was a sweltering evening in August, and the full moon feast had just begun. I watched from the living room window as cars pulled up and parked in the lawn and people—pack members—carried lawn chairs and coolers towards the big fire pit in the middle of Gracie’s back yard.

The fire was already roaring, flames licking up to the sky. I could only imagine how much heat it was throwing off. Why anyone wanted to have a fire in the dead of summer was beyond me.

Everyone was outside. There was a banquet table set up with hotdogs, buns, and all the fixings, potato salad, cookies—you name it, someone probably brought it. Colorful coolers were positioned underneath the table, and people grabbed sodas and beers out of their icy depths.

They’d already begun to party.

I jumped when the screen door banged open and someone came into the house. I was on my feet in an instant, hoping that Xan was home from work early.

Instead, I turned the corner to see his brother, his dark hair shower-damp and his arms and cheeks sporting a sunburn. Kace looked at me, his hazel eyes questioning.

“Hey. You gonna join us?”

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “I’m waiting for Xan,” I said, as if that explained everything.

“What time does he get off work?” Kace walked past me and began rustling through the condiments in the fridge, tucking them under one arm, one after the other. Mayo. Mustard. Ketchup.

I glanced up at the clock. “Six-thirty.”

Kace looked down at his watch, then smiled at me. “Great. Should be any time now, then. You should join us tonight, River. It’ll be fun.”

With a knowing nod, he turned and walked back out the door, his flip-flips flapping against his feet. The door swung shut behind him, echoing between my ears.

I growled under my breath. I normally didn’t participate in pack activities. Too many people. Too many wolves. I felt unsteady. My inner-beast became restless and agitated.

I’d never really felt accepted by the pack. Partially because of the Alpha-Omega fears that Gracie had struck in the hearts of everyone, and partially because I did feel like a danger sometimes…or at least, I used to.

The more I was around Xan, the less feral I felt. Xan’s gentle Omega energies calmed my wild Alpha beast. A balm to my aching soul. All he had to do was touch me and I felt the cool kiss of relief.

Was that what Gracie had meant when she said that bonding with our future mates would help stabilize me and my brother’s fragmented souls? That one day, when we settled down and found love, we’d be able to be reunited?

I didn’t know, and honestly? I wasn’t even sure I wanted to find out.

The next time the door swung open, Xan shuffled in with a groan of relief.

“Home sweet home,” he said around a sigh, kicking off his shoes in the entryway. “God, my feet hurt. What a long-ass shift. I swear, if one more person asks me if saltwater taffy is made with real saltwater, I’m gonna play in traffic.”

“Please don’t,” I said, reaching my arms out to him.

His dark eyes brightened as he collided with my chest, hugging me around the middle. I squeezed him back, then pecked him on the lips. When we parted, my heart felt a little lighter.

“Are you gonna come to the bonfire tonight?” he asked. I must’ve hesitated a few seconds too long, because he turned those big brown puppy-dog eyes on me and wibbled out his bottom lip. “Pretty please? For me? It’ll be fun!”

How could I say no to that face? He looked so hopeful…

“Fine,” I finally relented. “For you.”

“Yay!” He did a little jig and clapped his hands together. “You won’t regret it. Let me change into something more comfy and we can go out.” With that, he darted off down the hall, to our room.

I called after him, “Make sure to cover Mr. Sparkles’s eyes before you get undressed!”

“Mr. Sparkles is a grown-ass cat! He can see me naked if he wants to,” Xan shot back with a laugh, and I shook my head, smiling to myself.

That oversized rainbow plushie was an eyesore, but Xan loved him so much…and I had to admit, he did make a nice pillow. Still felt kind of awkward to fuck in front of an audience, though.

It wasn’t long before Xan bounced back out in a pair of hot pink short-shorts and a tank top with a glittery cactus on the front that said “Not So Prickly.” I rolled my eyes at his fashion sense.

He held his hand out to me. “Ready?”

“I guess,” I mumbled. “Not really.”

He squeezed my fingers in his. “It’ll be fine, babe. If you get overwhelmed, we’ll go in, okay? Promise.” Leaning up on his tiptoes, he kissed me on the cheek, then guided me out the front door and towards the roaring bonfire, and everything else that went along with it.

People were gathered around, beers and sodas and plates of food in hand. Someone wolf-whistled at Xan, who laughed and flipped them the bird with his free hand.

“I know, I know,” he crowed. “The party has now officially begun.” As he gave a mock bow, the crowd erupted into hoots and hollers, but his fingers around my own squeezed a little tighter.

He tugged on my hand with a gentle smile. “C’mon, let’s get some grub. It smells so good and I am starving!” He patted his slightly-rounded tummy and winked. “Eating for two now, remember?”

I rolled my eyes, but followed him over to the table where all the food was.

We grabbed a couple of paper plates and began loading them; fire-kissed hotdogs on buns, piled high with onion, relish, ketchup and mustard, a plop of potato salad, a plop of macaroni salad, and a big handful of wavy potato chips. And a cookie, for good measure.

Xan took two. Because of course he did.

We both grabbed a cold soda out of one of the coolers, and Xan led me over to a blanket spread out on the ground nearby his brother and Nevin.

I held my breath and followed him. The press of energies from the other wolves was already sinking in. My beast growled softly and pinned his ears. I sat down next to my mate and stuffed a bite of hotdog in my mouth to try and appease my inner-wolf.

Just chill out. It’s fine.

Except, it wasn’t. It felt like the world was closing in all around me. Chatter and laughter filled the spaces between my ears as people made jokes and talked about this, that and another thing. Little kids were running around, kicking a large red ball around—thankfully, far away from the fire.

Pike Harmon was telling bad jokes, while everyone else chuckled and groaned. His mate, Phoenix, simply smiled on, rocking their daughter in his arms. She sucked on her binkie, admittedly adorable in a cute little sundress with gumdrops on it.

Meanwhile Xan alternated between stuffing his face with food and cooing over his nephew, who Nevin was rocking gently in his carrier. “Are you staying for the full moon run?” Xan asked, glancing up.

Nevin shook his head. “Nah. Kace and I are going home when the pack heads out. Zee has been really fussy the past week or two. I don’t think he’s tolerating the heat very well and I’m exhausted, so I wanna catch up on my sleep if he’ll let me.”

Kace leaned in, kissing his mate’s cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll take baby duty tonight, babe. You need your beauty sleep.”

I watched as Nevin all but melted, his expression one of pure love, and I felt a strange tugging sensation in my chest. A soft ache bloomed there, and I had to look away from the couple.

Instead, I found myself staring across the clearing at Gracie, who was chatting with a couple of packmates, laughing over the top of a red Solo cup.

She must’ve caught me looking, because she met my gaze and stared back before giving a curt nod. Not warm, but not cold, either. I’d take it.

A breeze stirred, bringing with it the smell of firewood and roasted marshmallows. I closed my eyes. Music played faintly from a Bluetooth speaker, some sort of country twang that wasn’t my thing at all. The din of voices was getting a little more bearable, but I was still on edge.

There was a shout from behind me—frantic, worried—and when I turned, it was to see a toddler running right towards me, way too close to the fire.

Something inside of me jerked, my wolf snapping to attention. Before I could even think to stop and question myself, I reached out and snagged the little boy around the waist, pulling him to safety before he could go tumbling into the burning flames.

There was a moment of stillness. No one spoke, no one moved. They all stared at me, at what I’d just done, and for a moment, I felt my heart might beat right out of my chest at the silence.

Then someone clapped me on the shoulder. “Hey! Nice catch,” he said, right as the little boy’s mother came rushing up with tears in her eyes.

“Thank you! Oh, thank you so much. Come here, Colton. I told you not to go so close to the fire! It’s dangerous. Burn you!” She whisked her son away and I sat there, half in shock.

Xan beamed at me, his smile slow and wide. Praising me without ever having to say a word—and that was good enough for me.

Darkness settled and Gracie addressed the pack. It was time for the full moon run. All around me, people began to shift into their animal forms. The magic that sparked all around me was kinetic and raw. It made my wolf bristle and growl, but Xan placed a hand on my arm, his gaze searching.

“You wanna run, or…?”

I swallowed and gave my head a small shake.

Xan smiled, suddenly impish. “Well, I’m sure we can find other things to do. We’ll have the whole house to ourselves, after all.”

With a wink, he stood and crooked a finger. I let out a low, rumbly laugh and followed him.

As wolves howled and yipped to the moon, I stalked after my giggly mate, and we showed our gratitude to the full moon our own way—naked and sweaty.