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It’s nearly an hour later by the time they pile everyone into the van and set the code on the safe house. Jay doesn’t bother looking back—he’s not sorry to see it go.

Oh, it had served its purpose. A haven when they needed one. A place for Finn to catch his breath. A rare moment for Jay to slow down, to think, to plan their next steps.

But now, it’s time to move forward.

It had been the place they’d first felt their babies, and a place of pure freedom for his beloved. Nix had spent the entire week naked as the day he was born, pregnant belly on full display and a reminder to them all of how far they’ve come.

He was the reason they’re in Florida at all, and the reason they need to deal with Carnell for good.

But aside from the good things, Jay has the sinking feeling that whatever happened with Grayson is not the last they’ve seen of it. Jay feels a twinge of self-doubt as he drives out the gate.

Magic.

What does he know about magic users? Abso-fucking-lutely nothing.

Jay hates a steep learning curve, especially when it involves protecting his family.

What if Carnell has some superhuman kid who can wield Grayson’s soul like a weapon?

Yeah. That’s exactly what it sounded like to him. And that’s a problem.

How were they supposed to combat that if Nix felt it in their bond and it drained him, too? Jay needed answers, and he needed them now.

The drive isn’t one Jay can make with his mind elsewhere. The narrow laneway gives way to larger roads on the ride back to civilization. Gideon drops into the navigator spot, map in hand.

“Everyone settled back there?”

“Yes, dear. Everyone had too much cotton candy and excitement for one day.” Gideon hands him a bottle of water, utterly unbothered. “We’ll need to stop soon and feed them. Nix has burned through Rowan’s food stores, and besides, it’s almost lunch.”

Lunch already? Jay had no idea how far behind them Carnell was in deploying his men, if what Grayson said was true. Or how accurate a read his spy could even get on their location.

Either way, they were taking the long way around to their next safe house inside Clearwater proper. No sense making it easy for anyone to catch up.

Jay exhaled, fingers tapping against the wheel. “Sounds good. Where are we headed?”

“Place in Island Estates? Or Northwood? Lauren said to take our pick. She figured we’d go more unnoticed in Northwood—we don’t exactly scream bougie. We’ll need to dump the truck and switch back to two cars again, too.”

Northwood? That was the Renas’ old stomping ground. Jay caught Leo’s smile in the rearview mirror.

“Think you can find us a place to rent cars near Northwood, Leo? Then text your mom—she’ll set it up.”

There’s a whisper of air, and the entirely naked Nix is sitting in Gideon’s lap. “Did you say Northwood, Jamie? Really?”

“Yes. Do you think that would be okay? Gideon says we’ll be less conspicuous, and I can’t help but agree.”

“Yes, please! I am excited to see some of our places again. I wish Carnell were gone already; he’s ruining my good mood.”

Jay’s, too—and for more reasons than ruining their return home. “Mine too, Baby Boy. We’ll make time to see some places.”

“Good. Thank you, Big Daddy ,” Nix giggles, and Gideon manages a single smack to his sweet butt before he leaves them to the drive.

“Excuse me?” That’s new. Luca had used it in the nest earlier, but not in the way he normally would.

The name was going to cross some wires in his head, for sure.

Laughing, Gideon pats his shoulder like he can read his mind. “You better get that worked out before July, Jaybird.”

“No fucking kidding.”

An hour into the drive, Gideon spots a small family restaurant, and Jay parks under a cluster of trees behind the building, safely out of sight from the road.

Finn and Gideon head inside to order takeout while the rest of them stay put—Rowan and Grayson are still asleep, and the others are either pregnant or famous.

The last thing they need is a Long Road Home sighting blowing up on socials and putting Carnell on their trail before they’re ready.

Whatever “ready” means, though, Jay is less and less sure as the days pass.

“Jaybird?” Leo slides into the seat beside him and offers the iPad with a secure, incognito browser. “Here are two separate car rental spots. Mom says it’s best not to be memorable, so two spots make sense.”

“You okay with your mom, now?” Jay asks, running a hand through Leo’s fluffy black curls.

“We have to talk when this is all over, but I’m not mad, just hurt. I can’t do anything about it here, so I’m not going to let it interfere for now, know what I mean?”

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. ”

“She is mean. 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 way through 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 curse you , 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.

“I don’t think so, pretty. Wish it were.”

“Why me?” he asks with his forehead resting on the glass. It’s the question that had been lurking in the back of Jay’s mind, too. “What made him interested in me? How did he find me?”

“I don’t know.” In the next second, he’s got an armful of mate, and Jay eases onto his back, letting Grayson press his nose into his neck.

Nix joins them, his hand gliding soothingly down Grayson’s back across Jay’s stomach.

It doesn’t take long for Jay to start sweating with two super-warm bodies pressed up against him, but he doesn’t mind.

He doesn’t sleep, though. Instead, he lets his thoughts roam, turning the problem over and over in his mind. By the time they roll into the parking lot of the first car rental place, he’s no closer to an answer than he had been when he started.

They follow Lauren’s instructions, and in no time, Finn and Gideon return with the keys to a forest-green Honda CR-V. It’s just like one Leo had driven as a teen, and it makes him grin.

“Come on, Gray,” Leo says, his grin infectious as he claps the alpha on the shoulder. “You and I can test this baby out between here and the next place.”

Grayson sighs, but the corner of his mouth lifts slightly as he leans down to kiss Jay’s cheek. His hand runs absently down Nix’s spine, soothing even in sleep. “Not too far, Leo. Gray’s had a rough day, and we don’t want BBS on top of it.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Leo replies, sliding behind the wheel. He doesn’t even suggest that Nix join them. The omega is fast asleep on the makeshift bed, bare-ass naked, his brown curls sticking to his forehead.

“Where are his shorts? At least?” Jay asks.

Luca looks away suspiciously, but he scrambles into the passenger seat for the drive four blocks over to the next rental place. This time, Gideon and Rowan go in, and they come out with the fob to a cranberry-red Buick SUV.

“You’re up, Jaybird,” Gideon murmurs, tossing Jay the key fob. “Let’s head over there, and we can leave the truck for someone to come pick up later. Then I want to call Lauren and let her know about that convoy.”

Finn rides with Jay until they get to the park .

It takes moments to empty the truck of their shit and a little longer to entice the sleepy Nix into Jay’s vehicle. Once Rowan is seated in the back, he starts by shaking the half-open bag of peanut butter Oreos as an incentive.

“I’m not a dog, Rowan. You cannot offer me treats and expect me to perform tricks. It’s rude,” he mutters around a mouthful of chocolate cookies, wrapped in his blanket toga.

Jay takes one more look around the truck and spots a flash of red sticking out of the glove box—no doubt thanks to Luca, Nix’s partner in no-pants-wearing crimes. After retrieving Nix’s shorts, he jumps down, clicks the lock, and throws the keys in, knowing Lauren’s crew will figure it out.

He waves the shorts at Nix through the window, and it lifts his spirits to hear his deep laugh.

“Baby, what if someone found these? They smell like pack.” Jay tosses the shorts into the back seat, only for Rowan to snatch them mid-air.

“I’ll take those, thank you,” Rowan crows like he’s just won a prize at the fair.

“Nix, you have to wear those when we get to the house. We may not be fancy enough for the Island Estates, but a naked, pregnant man is still too much for Northwood.”

“ Blarg . You’re no fun. But also, not wrong.” Nix pouts, nibbling the edge of another cookie.

“Just out of curiosity,” Rowan begins, turning the shorts over to their rightful owner, “where might one find such a place in Clearwater? You know, a naked-pregnant-man-style location? Asking for a friend. And I get those back when you’re done with them, Nix,” he adds with a smirk.

Jay doesn’t answer. He’s not sure such a place exists, and even if it did, he wouldn’t trust Rowan with the information.

“The safe house is about twenty minutes from here,” Finn offers tiredly, and after checking the rear-view mirror for Leo’s CR-V, they’re off.

“You hanging in there, Baby?” he asks, sliding a hand over the console, enjoying the jolt of pleasure he gets when Finn places his soft, cool palm in his.

Finn squeezes and nods. “Tired. It’s been a long week. I could sleep twenty-four hours straight.”

“Agreed.”

After several turns, it doesn’t take long before Jay gets a sense of creeping dread. “Fuck,” he whispers to himself, but not quiet enough that he doesn’t get the attention of every person in the car.

“Jamie? Are you okay? What—wait. Is that…Are we—? That’s our school, and I used to live over there…” His voice tapers off.

“We can go somewhere else, Baby. Finnie, get the address from Gideon for the Island Estates place…”

“No. I want to go here. Please,” Nix whispers, unclasping his seat belt so he can lean up between the two front seats and plead his case.

“Nix, it’s a lot,” Jay hesitates, his protective instincts kicking in.

“I can handle it. Please. I’m so close,” Nix pleads, his voice trembling with determination.

Jay exhales slowly, holding back the urge to turn the SUV around and drive in the other direction, because no matter how much Nix wants to do this, it’s not going to be anything but hard.