“See something you like?” he asks, and I strip off my tank and underwear and stalk toward him, desperate to get my mouth on him, but his eyes widen in panic, and he holds his hands up.
“No, no. Shit, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the others will kill me if we start anything, because if we do, my wolf won’t stop until you smell thoroughly of us.”
I shrug, taking a step closer. “I’m okay with that.”
He yelps as he steps backward and his back hits the cold tiles. “No. Unfortunately we have too much going on this morning.” He pouts before stepping around me, giving me a wide berth and getting out of the shower. He grabs a towel, swiftly drying off his body. “I need a goddess damn medal for my restraint,” he mutters. “Wash up and come out to the living area. Nox, Titus, and Gem are all waiting to work with you on their respective shifts, and there is some breakfast on the table. My job is to wake the sleeping beauties and get them ready to leave. We can work on your wolf shift when we return to Aramis. It doesn’t need as much open space as the other three.”
“Fine,” I grumble, and my creatures roll in complaint, but I do as he instructs. Washing my hair and body, I enjoy the warm water rushing over me, but I don’t take too long, and when I get out, I find a watch uniform on the counter for me. I didn’t even hear anyone come in and leave it.
When I emerge from the bathroom, the bedroom is empty, so I follow the voices out to the living area and find everyone having breakfast. Gryffin hands me a mug of coffee and gestures for me to take a seat at the table. I give each of my mates a quick kiss on the way past, and when I sit, my skin buzzes like there is a swarm of bees sitting beneath the surface.
“Whoa,” I mutter, rubbing my arms.
“Your power is astronomical,” Titus observes. “Now that all bonds are sealed, it may take a little while for you to get used to it, but eventually, you won’t even notice anymore.”
“I never knew it would be like this,” Gem murmurs. The fire in his eyes is bright today. In fact, all of them seem to be buzzing with their own aura of power.
“I don’t think it ever has been before,” Gryffin muses. “Dad and my moms certainly never felt like she does.”
“It’s the mate bond. I’m not sure anyone else will feel what we feel.” Micah passes me a plate of pastries, and I take a couple, smiling my thanks.
“Make sure you eat plenty. Shifting frequently burns through calories.” Nox adds a couple more to my plate before taking some for himself. My heart wants to burst out of my chest at all the careful care they are giving me.
“Are you ready to shift?” I ask him, assuming this might be a sore subject for him.
He blanches, and his gaze flitters around the others before resting on me.
“I was always teased for being a pink pegasus, but I did shift and fly here. It was nighttime, and I wasn’t risking running into any ferals in the rift before the tunnel. It was so nice to fly again. I’m looking forward to joining you in the sky,” he admits.
“There is nothing better,” Hunter rumbles. “I will join the three of you to keep watch as you practice.”
“That would be great, then Nox and I can concentrate on Colbie while you keep a lookout for anyone who might show a little too much interest in us. I’m sure there are quite a number of beings who can fly in Chaos Kingdom,” Gem agrees, looking at Titus for his thoughts.
“There are, but I doubt any of them will be brave enough to bother us if we’re escorted by both a dragon and a phoenix. If I remember correctly, pegasus are quite lethal as well. Control of lightning, am I right?” Titus asks Nox, who nods, his cheeks turning a little pink.
“Yeah, control of all weather really, and I can cast illusions, which isn’t very helpful.” All of us hear the self-doubt that I’m sure has plagued him for years. It’s something I’m familiar with, my mother’s passive-aggressive tendencies causing the same mental and emotional damage to me.
“Like hell it isn’t. You will be a major asset. Imagine being able to show our enemies one thing when we are really doing something else,” Micah argues.
“Not to mention getting my sisters off my back when they are nagging me. You can help me escape and leave them arguing with an illusion of me.” Gryffin chuckles at the idea. I plan on staying far away from that one. I’m not getting caught in the cross fire.
“I’m sorry,” Nox blurts out, and we all frown.
“For what?” Brodie asks, taking a sip of his coffee.
“For not searching you out in the first place. I should have trusted the goddess. I shouldn’t have assumed the worst, and I should have put my faith in the team I had been blessed with.”
The guys all murmur words of reassurance, and I smile, feeling all warm and tingly. “I love my new family so much.” They freeze and stare at me with wide-eyed shock. “What?” I ask, patting at my hair and wiping my mouth. “Do I have something on my face?”
“You said you love us,” Liam replies, smiling broadly.
“Well, duh, of course I do.”
“We love you too, cookie,” Gryffin tells me, his eyes glassy with emotion.
“We sure do. Now how about you get your cute ass moving, and we can do some flying on this beautiful morning?” Titus looks happy. I haven’t seen him look quite this way since I met him. Shit, was that only yesterday? Is a side effect of the mate bond the feeling of having known them all your life? Until now, I’ve only seen the slightly sarcastic, stoic assassin version of him, as well as the sexy, seductive, lusty version, which I’m kind of partial to, but this is nice as well.
I drink my coffee and scarf my pastries down before standing up. “Are you coming?” I ask the non-flyers, but they shake their heads.
