Titan frowned,wracking his mind. “Did I forget something? What do I owe you?”
“I’ll tell you later,” Mathlin sang, tugging on Titan’s hand to lead him back into the bakery.
Titan hesitated. “I should help with the slugs—”
“I think they’re okay,” Mathlin said, looking around.
Titan followed his gaze and saw their friends fighting the slugs, which were starting to fight back. Uriel blasted through five slugs at the same time. Titan’s brothers flung the slug carcasses onto a growing pile.
“I want to check on Jannie,” Mathlin said.
Jannie.Titan’s focus snapped back to the bakery. “Right.” He followed Mathlin into Twin Buns, frowning at the back door. “How the hell did Wildcart get out? I remember closing that door.”
“Valberdon might’ve used magic to open it.” Mathlin shuddered. “I’d rather not think about that.”
Titan growled. “I’ll ask Uriel for an anti-tampering spell.”
Mathlin nodded fervently. “Thanks.”
Titan gave Mathlin a quick side-hug. Then they chased down Wildcart, who thought they were playing again. They spent ten minutes racing around the bakery, before Mathlin finally got Jannie back in his arms. Jannie giggled and kicked.
“I’m so fucking glad we’re no longer in danger,” Titan muttered.
“Language,” Mathlin said, grinning cheekily when Titan raised a disbelieving eyebrow.
“Of course, my dear,” Titan said dryly.
Mathlin blushed. So beautiful.
“Oh! I have an idea,” Mathlin said. “We should prepare some drinks and snacks for everyone who came to help.”
“Thatisa good idea.” Titan rumbled, pleased. “You have the best ideas, sweetheart.”
The big feelings in his chest swelled bigger.
Mathlin beamed. “Of course my ideas are amazing. It’s why your big wolfy butt purrs for me.” Then he paused, making a face. “Ugh. I don’t know why my mouth said that.”
Titan laughed and turned Mathlin toward the kitchen. “Me neither, but I love—having you around.”
That had been close. Titan swallowed, his heart thumping.
Mathlin peeked at him from the corner of his eye, his face turning pink. After a while, he spoke quietly. “I was worried foryou, you know. When you jumped in front of me to take that blow.”
He patted down Titan’s chest, but the bruise from that attack had already healed thanks to Mathlin’s accelerated healing spell.
Titan shook his head. “Math, that was nothing. I wasterrifiedwhen I landed on you. You’re so... sotinycompared to me. I thought I’d killed you when I landed.”
Now that he had time to mull over those events, they chilled him to the bone. He could’ve lost Mathlin so easily, in a single moment of bad luck.
Titan’s hands shook. He pulled Mathlin and Jannie into his arms, tucking his nose into Mathlin’s hair. Just breathing him in. Proving to himself that Math was alive, that no one was going to steal him away.
Mathlin sagged against him. “Oh, Ti. I’m okay.”
Titan held him for several long moments. He gingerly checked Mathlin’s head again, then the rest of his body. “I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if anything happened to you.”
Mathlin scowled and leaned back with a glower. “It wasn’t your fault. It was Valberdon’s.”
“Even so.” Titan sighed. “At least that wretched stain of a man is dead.”
