Page 35 of Mage’s Marines (Underworld Mages)

GETTING HALF a dozen teens taken care of and settled into hotel rooms took hours, especially when one of them kept disappearing.

The kid’s scent was a complicated jumble of grief, relief, anger, and fear, and Lukas had no idea what to do with him other than keep his senses open for danger.

Thankfully, Eva seemed to realize her packmate needed someone and kept near to him.

By the time the adults started returning and he and Quinn could leave, it was late in the afternoon.

Lukas settled in the passenger seat in a borderline coma. He hadn’t slept in two days. Or was it three now? Four? Everything that happened since Quinn was shot was a fuzzy haze, and he wished he could wake up to find most of it had been a PTSD-fueled nightmare.

They trudged into the house together, and Quinn caught his wrist when he started to peel away towards his own room. “Hey, hungry?”

Lukas’ stomach woke up to inform them both that he hadn’t eaten in almost the same time he hadn’t slept. “Starving.”

“Grilled cheese?”

He snorted. “Sure.”

“You don’t like my grilled cheese?”

“It’s not really grilled cheese.”

Quinn narrowed his eyes. “It’s an adult grilled cheese.”

He shook his head with a soft laugh. “Okay.”

Quinn rolled his eyes and stretched on his way to the kitchen. “Go shower, you stink.”

“Yessir,” Lukas drawled, before shuffling into his room and tossing his clothes in the general direction of the hamper.

He stood under the hot spray of water for several long minutes, fighting against falling asleep on his feet.

He finally scraped together enough energy to wash up, letting out a soft, pleased sigh when he pulled on clean clothes after.

When he reached the kitchen, Quinn was finishing up at the stove, his hair damp and dripping down his bare back. Loose sweats hung low on his hips .

Lukas stopped at the island where a plate with a double grilled cheese was waiting, but he hardly noticed it. He was too busy staring at Quinn’s ass and imagining following the path of water droplets with his tongue.

Quinn glanced over his shoulder, smile turning smug when he noticed Lukas’ stare. “Like what you see?” he asked with a shimmy of his hips.

“Always,” he murmured, far too tired for his filter to work properly. But the deepening twist of cinnamon in Quinn’s pleased scent more than made up for his indiscretion. He forced his eyes off Quinn’s ass and sat.

As soon as he took a bite, the entire world narrowed to the sandwich in his hands. He vaguely remembered Quinn sitting beside him, and then walking downstairs, but he was fading before he was even off his feet.

The next thing he knew, he was waking from a nightmare of being shot, mages hurling lightning at him like fucking Darth Sidious wannabes.

He rolled over and sat up with a groan, belatedly surprised he hadn’t jammed his toe against his nightstand. Then his nose started working again and he breathed deep, sinking into Quinn’s sweet-and-spice scent. “Sorry,” he murmured, scrubbing his hands against his face.

Quinn pressed closer behind him but didn’t touch. “Take your time,” he said, sounding half-asleep. “Anything I can do?”

Lukas exhaled sharply and shook his head.

This was usually the point he would call it quits on sleeping and go for a run, but a glance at the clock told him he’d only been out for three hours.

That might have been enough a few days ago, but he didn’t have the energy to get up, so he leaned into Quinn, letting him tuck them both back into bed.

Quinn hooked an arm and leg over Lukas and kissed his shoulder. “This okay?”

“Mmhmm.” He wrapped his fingers around Quinn’s wrist, burying his face in red hair as he drifted back to sleep.

He woke briefly when the front door opened and Caius and Max headed upstairs, immediately slipping under again when there was no sign of a threat .

His internal clock finally forced him out of bed late in the afternoon, and he hoped he’d only lost one day and not two.

He stole Quinn’s bathroom for a quick shower, rolling his eyes at the special shower heads with a dozen different pressure options.

Then he found an oversized pair of Quinn’s sweats that were borderline indecent on him and dragged himself upstairs.

He froze at the sight of Leon in the kitchen with Quinn. On the table were several plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes that were all but demolished, like an army had already picked over everything.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Quinn said with a grin, looking far too perky even if it wasn’t morning.

Lukas grunted and sank into a chair at the island, letting his head thunk against the cool granite.

A moment later, Quinn set dishes beside him.

He lifted his head as he sucked in a lungful of the hot black coffee aroma.

“Bless you,” he muttered and drained half the cup.

It didn’t help him want to speak yet, but it helped with the wanting to stab people for being near him.

“Pack meeting as soon as you eat,” Quinn said, moving to stand next to Lukas as Leon slipped out the back.

He caught the sound of teenagers yelling and pelting each other with snowballs before the door slid shut.

He devoured the still-warm food Quinn had apparently saved for him, leaning into the fingers smoothing out his hair.

“Thanks,” he murmured as he finished, then drained the rest of his coffee and went for a refill.

He’d need another three cups before he was ready to deal with two dozen strange wolves, but he didn’t get a chance for more than another sip before the door opened again.

Caius and Max led the procession. They both looked exhausted, but Max smiled as he moved towards Lukas and wrapped him up in a hug. “I never got to thank you,” Max whispered. “And I’m glad you’re not dead.”

Lukas snorted and squeezed Max tight. “Me too.”

Max kissed his cheek before pulling away, groping Quinn’s ass on his way by before taking his spot at Caius’ side again.

He couldn’t deny they looked good together, and as they started the meeting, he could see how well they worked together now too. He wasn’t sure what had changed to push Max out of the shell he’d been hiding in, but it was obvious Max was lighter. Like a weight had lifted off him.

Lukas expected the meeting to be a formality, letting them know Caius was taking over his old pack and they were moving to Wyoming. But apparently a lot of work had been done while he was sleeping. Not only were they not moving, but Caius was taking over the pack in name only.

Wyoming would become a branch pack, and Leon would assume leadership as an alpha who technically reported to Caius.

They’d reevaluate in six months to see how well the change took and if it would survive with Leon assuming full control.

Caius had Quinn set up a few accounts and transferred in money taken from Savino for Leon to use for the pack.

Then they piled into their cars and headed back home, taking the mage Max had freed with them.

Lukas helped Quinn clean up the mess from breakfast as Caius and Max collapsed on the sofa. “So we’re not taking in any new wolves?” he asked, scraping rubbery egg remnants into the trash.

Caius let out a long sigh. “No, not right now. I’d rather not uproot any of them. My family has held that territory for centuries.”

“You sure you don’t want to go back?” Max asked.

Caius lifted his head where he’d let it fall against the back of the couch and looked at Quinn and Lukas. “Both of you wanted to try to reestablish a pack presence here.”

Lukas nodded, then shrugged. “I prefer being in a city over a big forest.”

“Same,” Quinn agreed. “We have plenty of space here. The lack of other shifters around is weird, but I prefer that over dozens of packs fighting over a fire hydrant,” he added with a visible shudder.

“New York?” he guessed.

“Ugh. Yes. Absolute worst territory.”

“Chicago is a nightmare too,” Lukas said, before turning to Max. “What about you?”

Max looked at him in surprise. “Me?”

“You’re pack too. Do you want to stay here after everything?”

“I don’t mind staying, but….” He trailed off, staring across the room. “Christmas is next week. Can we get a tree soon?”

Quinn groaned. “Fuck. I haven’t gotten any gifts. ”

“Me neither,” Lukas said with a grimace. He’d never bought presents before, but he’d also never had a pack he truly belonged to before.

Max brightened. “We should go shopping.”

Caius let out a long groan and rubbed his face. “Now?”

“No. I want more sleep,” Max said, slumping against Caius. “Let’s go in the morning.”

“Oh, good, I have plans for tonight,” Quinn said, dumping the last plate in the dishwasher.

Lukas raised an eyebrow at him. “You do?”

With a smirk, Quinn grabbed his hand and tugged him to the stairs. “Yeah, you.”

He nearly tripped down the stairs, ignoring Max’s laughter as he stumbled after Quinn. Nerves exploded in his gut as Quinn pulled him into the bedroom. He might have already crossed the threshold with the blowjobs, but he didn’t have the excuse of a lost bet or Max as a buffer this time.

Quinn reached the bed and turned to him, tilting his head as he nudged Lukas to sit. “Is this…. Fuck, did you mean for that to be a one-time thing?”

Lukas snatched Quinn’s hand when he started to let go. “No,” he said firmly. “I definitely wanted this to be a long-term thing.”

“Good.” Quinn buried his free hand in Lukas’ hair and tugged. “’Cause I really want to mark you.”

“Yeah?” Lukas breathed, heat flooding him and going straight to his groin. “Please.” A sharp groan escaped his throat when the fingers tightened in his hair and forced his head back, tingles of pleasure racing down his spine.

Quinn leaned in, brushing their lips together in a teasing touch. “Tell me what you like.”