Page 18 of Finding Embers and Stars (Twin Flames Duet #1)
Chapter eighteen
W atching Piper shift into a giant black wolf is astounding. I could feel the power coming off of her, but when she shifts, it slams into me.
Atlas’s entire focus is on Sage. When he steps past me towards her, I catch a glimpse of a marking on his chest. I’ve never seen a shifter with a tattoo on its fur. That doesn’t even make sense because tattoos are on the skin, but I don’t know what else to call the symbol that appears to be painted in silver on his black fur.
When he turns to look at me over his shoulder, I’m stunned by the brightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. They glow in the evening light. Other than his white toes, his eyes are the only color he has. If he shut them, he would be nearly impossible to see in the dark.
Shaking out his fur, he walks straight into Sage’s lap, not caring that she is still lounging on Walker’s chest. He’s careful not to step on her as he lies on his side with his head pressed into her chest. The contented sigh he lets out as she wraps her arms around him tugs at my heart.
Sage immediately leans in to pepper kisses all over his face. Whispering quietly in his ear, he relaxes into her and his tail wags like a happy puppy.
I can’t imagine what it would feel like to be so close to your mate but never able to be with them completely. He has to make do with bits and pieces of what a mate bond should be. That must be hard on all of them.
We all wait quietly, an unspoken understanding that we won’t interrupt their bonding time. They deserve this time together and what kind of mates would we be if we tried to interfere?
Quicker than I expected, Atlas stands back up. Watching carefully to make sure he doesn’t step on Sage.
He walks a few feet away from us to shake the sand from his fur, then starts around the circle. Touching his nose gently to each of our foreheads until he’s back in front of Sage. Stepping closer until they are chest to chest, he nuzzles her neck and sneaks in a lick to the end of her nose that makes her groan and laugh. His body shimmers and then Piper is standing in his place.
She smiles at us gratefully. “Thank you for letting him have his time with Sage. He’s worried that he will be forgotten since we met our mates.”
When she winces and rubs her temple, I chuckle in sympathy. “Let me guess, you weren’t supposed to tell us that?”
She nods, her eyes flashing to Atlas’s bright blue, lets us know that he’s still giving her hell. “He says he still wants to meet your wolf, Maverick, but there is a group of women coming down the beach and he didn’t want them to see us.”
Standing up, I look at my brothers. “So, what is next on the agenda?” The thought of just packing up and going home is sending my wolf into a melt down and I’m not much better. The last thing any of us want to do is leave our mates.
Piper wraps her arm around my waist, leaning into me. “We have a few options. If you guys are tired of us you can head home, we won’t stop you.”
The snarl that rips out of my chest is echoed by shouts of ‘No!’ from all my brothers.
She chuckles and keeps going, making it clear that she was fucking with us. Little minx.
“This house was built with a harem of five in mind. You are all welcome to stay. We have a large theater room. Do you guys want to stay, and we can make a big cuddle pile?” She bites her lip. “To be honest, I’m not ready for you guys to go home yet.”
We nod in agreement as soon as we hear her say cuddle pile. I’ve enjoyed having Piper in my arms and I know that we all need to have that chance. Jealousy won’t happen between us in the traditional sense, but with five of us and only two of them, we need to make sure that we put our family first and not our own desires.
“We will need to grab a few things from the house but I’m ready to cash in my PTO so we can have a few uninterrupted days together.” Glancing over at Wyatt, he gives me a firm nod of agreement. Our boss at the firehouse has been after us to take time off for months, and we’re nearly maxed out on days.
“Liam can work anywhere that has the internet and Milo can work anywhere he takes his camera.” I glance over at Walker. “Can your manager handle things for a few days?”
He grins at me. “That won’t be a problem for me, but do you realize we went from staying tonight for a cuddle pile to you rearranging all of our schedules to spend several days here?” He turns to Piper and Sage. “Ladies, please forgive my overbearing brother. His enthusiasm ran away with his mouth. Can you both get away from your jobs for a few days? And more importantly, are you willing?”
My mouth drops open in shock, which sends Piper into a fit of giggles. I guess I did get a little carried away.
Piper tries to answer, but every time she looks at Sage, they start laughing all over again. My wolf isn’t usually one to handle being the brunt of a joke, but the carefree sounds our mates are making have him flopping over on his side in my mind and showing his belly. Rolling my eyes at my fierce beast, I wait patiently for the hilarity to die off.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Piper grins at us. “We set our own schedule, and honestly, we could never publish another book and still live comfortably.”
That tidbit has my mind spinning. Just what kind of writing do our mates do?
Piper and Sage lead us back towards the house, brushing the sand off their feet before they open the back door.
Wyatt squeezes my shoulder. “I’ll run to the house and grab stuff for all of us. I’ll be right back.” I watch him jog down the beach heading for our backdoor before I join everyone else on the pool deck.
“Let’s wait inside for Wyatt to get back, then we can give you guys the grand tour.” Sage grabs Milo’s hand and drags him inside, with the rest of us following like lovesick idiots.
There is no place they can go that we won’t follow.