Page 26 of Wanted by the Wolves (The Last Shifters #2)
Chapter 25
Dex
B eing in her nest feels strange. Not bad. It’s really, really good actually, but it’s almost like working together to build her nest made all of this more real. The others seem to feel the weight of it too.
We rearranged Gage’s room until it truly became Nova’s. Seeing our fierce little omega boss her alphas around made me snicker. She had us move the bed out of the room and replace it with two king mattresses that she promptly made into a comfy nest. At least this new nest won’t murder my back.
The room's essence is the same, but it feels as though it really belongs to the pack now. That’s not the only thing that’s new and incredibly right.
Nova leans into my side, burying herself under my arm and rubbing her cheek against my chest. She’s seeking my scent. Mine . Even in her human skin, she wants me.
I’m not sure what the fuck to do with that except bask in it and pull her closer. “Do you like it, sweetheart?”
“I love it.” Her sigh turns into a sweet purr.
Briggs finishes hanging a strand of little twinkling lights and plugs them in, filling the bedroom with a soft glow. “All done.”
Gage clambers into the room, a stack of bins in his hands. Besides the attic, there’s a storage room filled with clothes by the laundry. He’s brought old clothes for Briggs and me to go through and a bag of things he found for Nova. “I’m gonna make dinner.”
“You want help?” Nova’s muffled voice makes me grin.
“You guys work on these first.” The healer doesn’t wait for an answer, setting the bins down and shuffling to the door.
“All right, pretty girl,” Briggs calls. “Come pick which ones you want me to scent.”
I toss a pillow at him, but he catches it easily.
Nova laughs at us, untangling herself from my side and folding herself down into the nest. “Give me.” She makes grabby hands.
Briggs and I rummage through the piles, letting her select which ones she wants us to adopt. Most of the stuff is too small for me, but some of it will work. Given the circumstances, we don’t exactly get to be picky.
Nova is so fucking cute in the way she rubs the fabric against her cheek before deciding what stays and what goes. It doesn’t take long to get it sorted and put away, with a small pile left out for each alpha to scent mark.
We join Gage in the kitchen, where he’s taking chocolate muffins out of the oven. He puts Briggs and me to work chopping vegetables to add to his roast and instructs Nova to sit at the island. She protests momentarily but gives in with an eye roll at my growled, “Sit.”
“You’re all ridiculous,” she huffs.
Briggs points a carrot in her direction. “Let us pamper you where we can.”
“Fine. If you insist.” She gives him a soft smile, and my heart splutters as though it was meant for me.
I love that she’s both of ours. My brother and I have shared everything our whole lives, so it makes sense that we would share our omega.
“We do,” I grumble, which makes her turn that soft smile my way.
Nova picks little bites of carrots from our pile, tossing each into her mouth with a crunch. There’s something so satisfying about hearing her happy little sounds while she snacks and we work around her.That deep sense of home settles in, and I find myself smiling for no real reason.
“So, you guys are littermates. Briggs has told me stories about your travels as hunters, but I want to know how you met Gage.” Nova eyes the three of us.
Gage takes the muffins from the tin and sets them on a cooling rack. Nova reaches for one, but the healer tsks her away. “Careful. I made them for you because they have a base made with some extras that you need after so long on a wolf diet, but don’t eat too many at once. The herbs will help with your muscles and cramping, but too much will probably make you feel a little wonky.”
“You made her pot brownies, didn’t you?” Briggs asks, sounding affronted. “Where’s my stash?”
Gage smirks at my brother. “I’ll make you your own batch.”
“Great. Just what we need,” I tease.
Nova steals a muffin with a shrug. “I’m used to living with a healer and eating their concoctions. I’m not worried.” Nova makes a go-on motion. “Tell me about how you met.”
I get lost in the moan she makes around her first bite, and it takes a head shake and a dick adjustment to remind me of her original question. “We came here when the place was being built.”
“They secured the area for me,” Gage adds. “They spent a summer here.”
“And how did you get assigned this place?” she asks.
Gage busies himself at the stove, taking a moment. “My fathers were the pack alphas for the Eastern Forest before they passed with my mother the winter I turned eighteen. I didn’t want to be pack alpha, even though I was the oldest. I had a magical touch, and healing was where my wolf felt drawn. I went to live with my mother’s brother, a traveling healer, while my brother took leadership of the pack. My uncle trained me, and we worked together for a while before he passed. A few years later, I was approached by a group of elders.”
“The Council?” Briggs interrupts.
“Yes and no. They were elder healers and a few Wolf Council members who had joined forces. It was their plan to build this place and keep it secret. We planned for two years before we finally got everything together that summer you two came here.”
“It was a good summer. Full of brownies,” my brother says wistfully, his eyes on the healer.
I’m wondering, not for the first time, if something more didn’t happen between the two of them that summer. Nova gives me a secret smile; I think she sees it too.
“What about before you guys came here? Before you were hunters?” she asks me.
“I don’t remember much. Nothing about our village or our family pack.” I finish peeling potatoes and bring the bowl over to Gage.
Briggs picks up where I left off. “We grew up in the tents of the Outskirts, living there until we were sixteen. That’s when Mako found us.”
“Who is Mako?” Nova rests her chin in her hands, watching us as she snacks.
“He was an elder who kicked our asses until we stopped being little shits,” I admit, thinking of the grizzled alpha.
My brother raises his brow at me in question, and I nod. He can tell her, but I don’t have to watch. I avoid their eyes by cleaning up my mess and taking the peelings to the compost bin.
“We were punks hustling in this underground fighting ring. There was never enough food, and the fights got us extra rations. This one night, the king’s guard raided a fight, snatching up kids for work detail. The chaos started a fire, who knows how, and I got trapped with this other kid we knew. Dex could have gotten out, but he had to be a hero.” Briggs’s words are teasing, but I feel his gratitude in our bond.
The feeling makes me uncomfortable and exposed. I couldn’t leave him there. What was I going to do? He’s my brother. We look out for each other.
Nova’s gaze lands on me. “You got him out?”
The attention feels like pinpricks on my scars. I swallow thickly. “And then ran right into Mako, who chewed my ass out all the way to the healer. After that, he took us to his home, and we never left until he helped us get our first hunting gig with the Council a few years later.”
Briggs squeezes my shoulder. “Yeah, Mako was an old-school hard-ass, but he straightened us right out. He passed away a few years back, but without him, I don’t know that we would have made it.”
Nova opens her arms, waiting for me. The moment I lift her, she wraps herself around me. Maybe I don’t mind being in the spotlight if it’s her light shining on me.
“That must have been so painful, but I’m so grateful for him and for you,” she whispers. She buries herself in my neck, gently petting along my chest where the worst of my scars live.
I swallow around the boulder in my throat, leaning in to scent mark her hair. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over how right it feels to have her in my arms.
My brother joins our hug, curling himself around her back. “Get in the pack pile, Gage.”
Nova giggles against my chest. “Yeah, Gage!”
The healer runs his hand through his hair, looking embarrassed. I glare at him. If I can survive being the center of attention, he can deal.He blows out a long huff.
“Death by cuddles,” he grouses, throwing his arms into the mix.
“It’s not a bad way to go,” I remind him, folding him into my arms too. He’s a shit, but he’s ours, and at the end of the day, he’s not so bad.
“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbles.
That sets Nova off, or maybe it was the muffins. She giggles hysterically until we can’t help but join her.