Page 44 of Finding Embers and Stars (Twin Flames Duet #1)

Chapter forty-four

W e were woken by a hurricane. Hurricane Sage. Leaping out of bed, she yells, “It’s Atlas day!” and bolts out of the room.

I love that they include Atlas in every part of their lives and now we can do the same. I’m sure there are some men in the world who would have hated this situation, but to my brothers and I, Atlas is just one of the guys. An extra furry one, but still one of us.

Grumbling in my head makes me snort. The wolf of the hour is apparently a bit put off by the early hour. “Why do we need to be awake at the ass crack of dawn?” He asks as Piper snuggles deeper into the blankets.

Usually, she is one of the first up, which makes me think that on special occasions she gives in to Atlas’s love of sleeping in.

I stand up and stretch, heading into the bathroom to take care of business before making my way down to the kitchen.

When I get there, I’m shocked to see a huge spread of food, worthy of a fancy five-star breakfast buffet. Then I remember the girl’s fairy god dragons and Rory’s habit of dreaming breakfast in for them on special occasions.

Sage is already sitting on the kitchen counter, a cup smelling suspiciously like cinnamon in her hands as she grins at me.

“Good morning, my mate. You have trouble written all over you this morning.” Her giggles are music to my ears. She spreads her legs apart, making room for me to stand between her knees.

I know I’m taking my life in my hands when I tug the coffee cup from her grip. I smother her gasp of outrage with a hungry kiss. Running my free hand through her hair, I grip the strands near her scalp and tug gently, pulling a sexy moan from her.

Grinning, I hand her cup of coffee back and leave her staring at me, looking slightly stunned as I work on making my own cup of morning mojo.

I seriously have no idea how Milo and Piper survive without drinking coffee.

By the time I’ve grabbed a seat, everyone else has joined us. Piper hops up on the counter next to Sage, who hands her a cup of hot chocolate.

Sage leans over to whisper in Piper’s ear and their shared giggles make all of us smile. There is no denying they are the sun we orbit around.

Sage clears her throat, grabbing our attention. “Since this is your first Atlas day with us, we decided to start a new tradition.” There is a bit of good-natured eye rolling from my brothers, but it wouldn’t matter what our mates asked us to do. The answer will always be yes.

“You do realize that tradition is just peer pressure from dead people, right?” Atlas’s snarky comment has me choking on the sip of coffee I just took and Maverick is laughing so hard he damn near falls out of his chair.

Piper pointedly ignores Atlas and rolls right into the rest of her explanation. “We put the heat press through its paces, and everyone gets a special t-shirt to wear today. As you can see, the league of extraordinary weirdos supplied breakfast for us, as usual. So as soon as everyone is finished eating, we can dive into today’s activities.”

Sage tosses a box across the room to Milo. “Ben sent you a special tea blend that Shasta and Rhoda make for him. You’re also the first up for your special shirt. Come get it, my prince.”

As soon as the girls found out about his royal Fae heritage, they started calling Milo prince. The guys and I give him a little shit over it, but the way he lights up every time they say it makes it clear how much it means to him that his family drama didn’t scare them off.

The way he stalks across the room towards our mates makes me smile. I don’t think they realize how much they have brought him out of his shell.

He lets out a startled laugh when Sage unfolds his shirt to reveal a picture of a manatee with the words ‘Manatees are my spirit animal’ wrapped around the picture.

Next up is Wyatt, who grins when he sees his shirt. His says ‘My horns make great handlebars’ and it fits him perfectly. There are devil horns and tail growing off the last letter and it really makes it pop.

When Walker opens his shirt to reveal a colorful Lisa Frank style polar bear, we both start laughing. It’s no secret from the girl’s books that they grew up with the 90s love of bright colors and cute animals that made Lisa Frank so freaking popular.

Maverick is acting like he’s put out having to wear a shirt, but the way he lights up when he sees the actual photo of his wolf with the phrase ‘I can make you howl like I do at the moon’ is adorable. So much for his tough guy persona.

I’m not surprised to find that my shirt has a Lisa Frank style horse on it. Though I do find it hilarious and fitting that out of all my brothers, Walker and I are the ones that read their books, and we have Lisa Frank animals to match our shifted forms.

It’s a bit embarrassing how much I know about Lisa Frank of all things, but as many times as I’ve read their books it would be more startling if I hadn’t picked up on things.

As soon as I put my new shirt on, the girls whip off their tops and replace them with new shirts of their own. There is a chorus of ‘leave them off’ from my brothers that has everyone laughing.

Sage’s shirt has a crying emoji with the phrase ‘We didn’t get tentacles’ on it.

Piper’s, on the other hand, says, ‘Thank the Goddess we didn’t get tentacles’ with a bright full moon underneath the words.

We all laugh, but what catches my attention is how hard Milo is laughing. Like he understands how much Sage is obsessed with tentacles. Which would mean he’s actually read their books. That’s something I’ll have to grill him about later.

We all crowd around our mates, giving them hugs and kisses to thank them for the shirts. When we back off to let them breathe, Sage turns to Piper. “I have one more shirt, but I need the wolf of the hour for this one.”

Piper groans and Atlas is immediately in our heads. “No thank you, ást Mín. I’m fine admiring everyone else's shirts.”

I snort at his attempt to get out of wearing Sage’s gift. Nice try buddy.

Sage starts to speak, then stops, letting out a deep sigh. She’s pouting and her words only make it worse. “Well, okay. You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to. I just didn’t want to leave you out.” Despite her words, there is a wicked gleam in her eyes that tells me she knows exactly what she’s doing.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Piper, please give me control so I can wear the damn shirt my adorable mate made for me.” Atlas’s voice is pure exasperation.

Mav chokes on his coffee but manages to sputter, “I’m glad to see we aren’t the only ones to fall for her tricks.”

Piper just shakes her head, her eyes glowing with Atlas’s light before she shifts into his form. He sits at Sage’s feet with a resigned sigh.

Sage holds up the material that says, ‘Give me all the puppy piles and snuggles.’ Right below is a picture of Sage snuggling with Atlas while she’s shifted into her wolf form.

Sage kneels before him, wrapping her arms around his neck. I can tell they are having a private conversation when he licks a single tear from her cheek.

She holds the shirt up and that's when I realize she was yanking Atlas’s chain. It’s not a shirt at all, but a large bandana that she ties around his neck.

The enthusiastic sigh of relief that rolls through our minds sets off another round of laughter. Our mates have brought us so many things, but the pure joy that clings to them, and now us, is my favorite.

***

As we head outside, I see Sage grabbing her grimoire and flipping through the pages before laying her hand on the paper and whispering something.

My ears pop and a strange feeling of pressure passes over me. Sage nods and snaps the book closed, laying it on the patio table. When she turns around and freezes, I realize I’m not the only one staring at her in confusion.

Her cheeks flush bright pink with all our eyes on her.

“She spelled the area so that everyone can shift without being seen.” Atlas’s explanation shakes me from my thoughts, and I have a whole new respect for Sage’s powers. To spell an area as large as this beach is no small feat.

I watch in amusement as Walker immediately shifts. I can get away with shifting on occasion because a horse, even a draft horse, isn’t that uncommon. A polar bear in Florida, however wouldn’t go unnoticed.

He drops into the sand, rolling onto his back to scratch an itch. Seeing a giant bear wiggle around like a puppy is entertaining as hell. Sage squeals in delight before crawling right up onto his chest, giving him the mother of all bear hugs, all puns intended.

Wyatt shifts into his demonic form next. I know Sage will love his wings and horns as much as his tail, but he’s also close to seven feet tall once he’s fully shifted. If what I’ve heard about Felix is true, then I imagine that Wyatt is pretty close to his king’s size. Though his demon fire is bright teal instead of purple. None of us have ever heard of a demon with teal fire before. Maybe the girl’s family connections can help him figure out why he has an unusual color.

He swoops down and grabs Sage off Walker’s chest and carries her into the sky. She wraps her legs around his waist and leans back away from him, her arms thrown over her head, trusting him to keep her safe.

We spend hours swimming and playing in the sand in our shift forms. Milo takes a million photos of us all and I have a feeling that many of them will end up framed and hanging in the girl’s house.

Eventually, I shift back and head over to the cabana. Atlas is lying on Piper’s usual lounge chair in the shade, his eyes never leaving our group. I’m sure all the Florida sun on his black fur is quite hot.

I take the chair next to him. “You seem deep in thought. I’m always here if you need to talk, Atlas.”

He looks over at me and I can feel both his amusement and his sadness through our bond.

“Seeing her with you guys is both amazing and gut wrenching. On one paw.” He ignores my amused snort and keeps right on talking. “I’m thrilled that she won’t be alone anymore. Her and Piper have always been a team and always will be, but I know how important a physical relationship is to both of them. On the other paw, I hate that I’ll never be able to be with her as a mate should.”

He shakes his head, making his ears flap. “The Shadow Goddess didn’t die a painful enough death to make up for all the torment she inflicted upon the worlds. Now that the girls have found their mates, I’m looking forward to the day I rip my father’s throat out.”

I lay my hand on his back, offering what comfort I can through the touch he clearly craves. “I can’t imagine what it’s like for you to have to see us with Sage. Interacting with her in ways you wish you could. Just know all of us will gladly step back to give you time with her. It doesn’t matter when or why, say the word and it’s yours, even if that’s snuggling with her to sleep at night.”

I can see the longing in his eyes, but he quickly shakes his head. “No, I can’t do that. It’s bad enough that I steal one of your mates when Piper shifts to let me out. I can’t take them both away from you, Liam.”

“Don’t be a stubborn ass.” Atlas whips his head around to look at me, clearly shocked. “It’s taking the time you both need with each other. Mate bonds go both ways, and she needs you just as much as you need her. Letting the two of you have private time together is a small price for the peace it will bring. In the end, it will make all our bonds stronger.”

My brothers must pick up on the tension because we’re soon surrounded. Sage pushes past them and lays her hand on the wolf tattoo on her inner arm. She whispers, “Run,” and shifts into a stunning wolf. Her fur is deep black with purple and silver streaks running through it, just like the marks on her raven form.

She licks his face before climbing into the lounge chair and snuggling down beside him.

“Liam is right, brother.” Milo takes the chair on Atlas’s other side. “I think it’s healthy for all of us to include you in our bond. Tonight, I think you should have some alone time with Sage.”

Sage lets out a contented sigh when Atlas curls his huge body around her slighter form.

“Thank you. I can’t tell you how much it means that you are willing to accept my bond with her.”

Maverick shifts and tries to climb onto the lounger with them. When the frame starts to bend, they all climb off and curl up in the sand. Walker shifts next and joins the pile, his huge polar bear making a pillow for all three wolves and Milo.

Everyone looks up at me and I shake my head. “There is no way my shifted form will fit, but I’ll still join you.”

Wyatt puts his wings away to save room and the two of us join the fur pile.

Once we’re all settled in, we hear Piper’s voice float through our minds. “I’ve always felt like I was missing something. Some key piece was absent from my life. Now I know the piece is you guys, my mates. You all complete me in a way I never realized I needed. Thank you for accepting Atlas and showing me what it feels like to be home.”