I can’t help it—I laugh. It bubbles up out of me, bright and real, and all three of them are smiling at me like I’m the best thing they’ve ever seen.
“And you?” I look at Nate. “No statistics? No romantic dialogue practice?”
“Just this.” He moves closer, cups my face in his hands. His love hits me—fierce and protective and absolutely certain. “You’re home. I’m not letting go.”
He kisses me. Soft, sweet, nothing like the desperate heat-driven kisses of the past few days. This is something else. Something slower. Something that tastes like forever.
When we break apart, my eyes are wet. But it’s not sadness—it’s joy so big I can barely hold it.
“Pack?” Theo asks, offering his hand.
“Pack,” Lucas agrees, covering Theo’s hand with his own.
“Pack,” Nate echoes, adding his hand to the pile.
They all look at me. Waiting. Happy. Their love surrounds me—three different flavors of devotion, all of them aimed at me.
I put my hand on top of theirs. “Pack.”
And just like that, it’s real. We’re real. This ridiculous, impossible, perfect thing we’ve built together.
“Now.” Nate’s voice turns businesslike. “First order of pack business—you need a shower. You smell like sex and slick and three days of heat.”
“Romantic,” I say dryly.
“I’m serious. It’s actually impressive how much you smell.”
“You could join me.” I raise an eyebrow. “All of you. Make sure I’m... thoroughly clean.”
Three sets of eyes darken. Their interest spikes, sharp and sudden.
“The heat’s over,” Lucas points out, but his voice has gone rough. “We don’t have to?—”
“I know.” I let the blanket drop, watch their gazes track down my body. “I want to. Not because of heat. Because I love you. Because you’re mine. Because I plan to spend the rest of my life finding new ways to make all three of you fall apart.”
Silence. Then Theo moves, fast, scooping me up out of the nest.
“Shower,” he says firmly. “Now.”
“What happened to the patient golden retriever?” I ask, laughing as he carries me toward the bathroom.
“He’s been waiting ten years.” Theo grins down at me, and it’s brighter than sunshine. “He’s done being patient.”
Behind us, I hear Nate and Lucas scrambling to follow.
I wrap my arms around Theo’s neck, press my face into his shoulder, and breathe in the scent of pine and cedar andhome.
The heat is over. But this—this—is just beginning.
Chapter 25
Cara
Three weeks into living at the farmhouse, and I still wake up smiling.
It’s becoming a problem, actually. I’ve never been a morning person. I’ve built an entire career around staying up until 3 AM writing and sleeping until noon. But now I wake up at seven, surrounded by warm alpha bodies and rumbling purrs, and I can’t stop grinning like an idiot.
This morning, Theo’s chest is pressed against my back, his arm heavy around my waist. Lucas is curled on my other side, one hand tangled in my hair even in sleep. And Nate—Nate is awake, watching me from the edge of the nest with those gray eyes that still make my breath catch.
