"Then Ayla and Kanik get midday," Lansin suggested. "Xav can stay up tonight."
"No, we're good," Rymar insisted.
But I could already see the problem. "Neither of you have a dog. I can let you use Holly, but I'm not sure Pepper will listen."
"Demon will," Xav said, referring to his dog. "I mean, if you two would rather be alone..." And he grinned at Rymar.
"Fuck off," Rymar grumbled. "Okay, Xav, you just earned yourself a long night. Everyone else? Go to bed!"
"Did you want Holly to stay out here?" I asked as I stood - because lying down sounded amazing.
"No," Zasen assured me. "Just leave the bottom of the door open. If she needs to come out, she will, but Demon needs to pull his share too."
"And the rest of us are just here for decoration," Xav joked.
"Very nice decoration," I pointed out even as I slapped my hip, encouraging the girls to follow.
But Zasen and Rymar shared a glance. Both had smiles. I wasn't sure what I'd done, but they liked it, and I liked that. Even Kanik, who was holding the cloth door open to the tent, was smiling at me like I'd just done something good, but I waited until I was inside before asking.
"What?" I begged. Then, "Girls, lie down."
Holly and Pepper found an open space at the side, and while Holly curled up quietly, Pepper groaned as if she was being put out. It made Kanik chuckle as he secured the fabric door so the wind couldn't blow it open.
"So, we don't have actual beds yet," he said, gesturing to the mat of blankets on the ground, "but the wool padding will keep it from getting cold."
"It's better than the forest floor," I pointed out, easing myself down and then working off my boots. "You're sleeping here too?"
"Unless you mind."
Which made me feel flustered for some reason. Likely, that was because Kanik was now standing over me. His freckled tail swayed slowly behind him, proving he was having a few thoughts, but I couldn't figure out which ones.
"I was hoping you would," I admitted.
"Well, get comfortable," he told me, pointedly turning his back to remove his excess clothing.
I stripped off my leather attire and swapped out for a soft shirt with long sleeves and a longer hem. It was almost a dress, but not quite. Rymar had brought it back with him, saying it would make sleeping easier.
Once changed, I pulled the blankets over myself then turned to find Kanik staring at the wall. "I'm good," I said, assuming he was waiting for me to be covered.
The very tip of his tail twitched, and then he turned, joining me in the bed as if I'd been right. But when he scooted closer and thrust out his arm, I didn't wait for him to ask. I simply slid up against his chest. It was a position I was starting to enjoy with these men.
"It's going to keep getting colder," he explained softly. "The tents don't keep the heat in very well, but we're working on a way to fix that."
"Do you think we'll be out here long?" I asked.
He shrugged, then reached up to guide the baby hairs away from my face. "I don't know. Ayla, we've never been this close to actually stopping the Moles before. With the Reapers helping us? I don't know, it actually feels possible."
"And then what?" I asked.
"I don't know," he breathed. "Then we get to go home and be happy? Settle into nice, boring lives? At least, that's what I've been hoping for."
"And me?" I pressed.
"What do you mean?"
"Will I have to become a good wife? Well, partner? And what does that even look like if we're not - "
"No," he insisted, cutting me off. "Ayla, this is you. This is not necessity or temporary. We didn't want you to wear that hunk of gold around your neck to remind you that you only get so much freedom. We did it because we like this version of you, just like you are now. When all this is over, if you want kids or not, then we'll talk about it. If you want puppies, we'll talk about it. If you decide to learn new things, or settle down with something you've always enjoyed, we can talk about that too. What is never going to happen is us expectingyouto become like your sister, okay?"
