Our beasts were close enough in the bond that I knew everyone was aware of my morning activities and none of them had an issue with it. We were a pack, and as the heart of this quintet, I would bewithall of them.
In truth, we’d adapted surprisingly well considering how new it all was.
Would there be teething issues down the road? Most likely, but I wasn’t going to worry about them before they arrived.
“You should have joined in,” I said with a cheeky smile, before I pushed up from the counter to press a good morning kiss to Slade’s cheek.
The dragon shot me a heated stare, and not only did he not flinch from my contact, he reached out and captured my face to pull me in for a longer, more intense kiss. He pulled away and I was met with Talon, who stood right behind his brother.
“Morning, Honey,” he said, leaning down for a gentler but no less powerful kiss.
Both dragons were forces of nature shifting the very atmosphere of the space around them every single time we touched.
“I like the shortened version of my nickname,” I said as I sat again in my spot, reaching for the plate of sandwiches and pancakes. There was no more time for conversation as I focused on eating through the deliciousness.
Slade huffed out a smoky grunt. “It’s good to see you finally eating like a shifter. A wolf should never pick at food like a baby bird.”
His observations were correct, but for most of my life food was scarce. I still wasn’t sure I’d ever grow used to the abundance this pack had. “This is the first time in my life that there’s more than enough food available. But my wolf has adjusted quickly, and you should all know that I’m spoiled now. I can’t go back to rations, so you’d better stay rich.”
I laughed so they’d know it was a joke; money was the last reason to be in this pack. It wasn’t even on the damn list.
To my relief, all of them laughed too, including Florence. “I second you staying rich,” she chimed in, hands on her hips. “I enjoy this job too much to give it up, and you pay better than everybody in Golden Claw.”
Slade’s eyes were light, which was a good sign he was amused. “Both of you are safe. We have more money than even Kellan can spend, and he has expensive habits.”
Kellan scoffed through his chuckles. “Says the dragon who custom-made his Lambo to the sweet tune of three million.”
I choked on a bite of sandwich, and Slade clapped me hard on the back to bring it up. “Wait,” I managed to say. “Did you say three million dollars for a Lamborghini?”
SVJs were expensive, of course, and Slade’s was bigger than usual with other customizations. But three fucking million…
I waited for him to deny it, but clearly that wasn’t going to happen. “I’m fairly sure I made that much by mid-day on the morning it arrived.”
Talon and I exchanged a glance, and he just shrugged as if to sayrich people are weird.
True story.
I’d never asked them how much money they made, and even though I had a sleeve of credit cards to use, I found I rarely needed them. They provided everything I neededand wanted. Most of the time before I even knew I wanted it.
Talon sipped his tea as he asked, “How much money do you all have?”
The dragon was perched on his stool in borrowed clothing, without a phone or possession to his name. He legitimately cost zero dollars outside of the food he ate.
If there was a shifter here who cared less about money than me, it was him.
Finley shrugged. “Kel and I make about five million a year each from hockey, plus playoff bonuses. Hunter and Slade make about five hundred million a year from the company. Same same.”
Kellan cracked up. “I really thought I was going to have big boy money when I got drafted into the NSHL. Then these fuckers came along and reminded me that it’s just spare change.”
“Wehave,” Slade said suddenly, and Talon gave his twin his full focus. “You saidHow much money do you all have?but it’swe. It’s yours and Emme’s money too. Pack money.”
I leaned over him to high five Talon. “Look at us go. Overnight billionaires.”
Talon shook his head as he tapped his hand to mine, the smallest of smiles playing around his lips. I lowered my voice and added, “If you joke about it, it doesn’t feel as real and overwhelming.”
Finley leaned back against the bench, his expression thoughtful. “I didn’t grow up rich, so I think I’d adjust fine if we lost all our money.”
“I’d miss affording tech,” Slade said, steepling his hands in front of him in his classic thinking pose. “And I’d miss our house and compound. It’s comfortable here with plenty of space and a nice yard. My beast enjoys swimming too, so I’d miss the pool. But as long as I had this pack, I could live in a cave. I’d figure out how to outfit it with Wi-Fi.”
