As cute as ever, she smiled and stood up on her tip toes to kiss my cheek. “I have work, silly. Javier offered to drive me there and back, so I won’t have to bike. I’ll only be gone maybe five hours maximum.”
“Ah, right.” Somehow, I had forgotten Ven still had a job outside of our bubble. She’d reduced her hours a lot and had called off for our adventure with the final two brothers, so it had slipped my mind. Really, with all the support from the wide-flung shifter community, she didn’t need to work at all. I couldn’t help but wonder if Ven was clinging to it as one last form of normalcy she had control over. She still didn’t talk much about her spontaneous magical abilities, and I figured it wasn’t the right time to push her. Maybe once things calmed down a little or stopped interfering with her day-to-day life…
“Do you want me to cook dinner?” I offered rather futilely. I wasn’t one of those douchey alphas who didn’t even know how to make themselves a sandwich. I’d cooked for myself and Ricky when we were younger, but my culinary skills weren’t up to snuff when compared with Ven’s or America’s aunties.
“No, I think someone said something about barbacoa, so we’ll be set. But thank you for asking. I wouldn’t mind if you played with the cats and checked in on Andromeda, though. I don’t think she’s quite up for solid food, but I do have bone broth with some silken tofu chunks in the fridge that needs to be reheated.”
Well, it wasn’t quite saving the world, but I was more than happy to do that for her.
“Sure, sounds like a plan.”
“Thanks!” She kissed my cheek again, then hurried off.
Although I felt a little melancholy at seeing her go, I was overjoyed that we finally had enough peace and steadiness that the only reason she had to leave was her work. I didn’t have toworry about any warlocks in the background or enthralled bear shifters who could take her out on her bike ride.
All in all, things were most certainly looking up.
I went about finishing the pruning in the garden, then walked around and exchanged words with everyone who was still on Ven’s little chunk of land. Part of me wondered if we could go to the landlord and ask about renting a larger area so we’d have more room, but I didn’t want Ven to get in trouble if he found out how many people were staying with her at the moment. In all honesty, I’d have loved to go back home and restore the small piece of land our pack had inhabited before we’d been scattered, but the memories of it were bathed in misfortune. That piece of land was only double the size of Ven’s plot, and the houses were all dilapidated, but we’d put so much work into making them cozy houses for the lot of us. We’d had chickens—something I knew Ven desperately wanted—and the woods surrounding it had been perfect for hunting and our monthly runs.
Granted, it wasn’t like our pack lands had been too far considering the fact that the cave was so close to Ven’s home. Perhaps there was a way we could connect the two territories? It seemed a bit impossible since I had no idea who owned Ven’s little plot of land, but perhaps it was something to look into. Especially if we ended up finding more of our pack members.
Thankfully, there was no great drama, so my walk lasted maybe an hour or so, and only because I got involved in a conversation with Ricky. My beta was doinggreatsince our victory with the last two brothers. I was pretty sure it was only his enhanced healing that stopped his cheek muscles from burning with how he was constantly grinning from ear to ear. I didn’t begrudge him the happiness. Of all of my pack members, it seemed that I, for some reason, had suffered the least—only because Ven had freed me from my curse first. Everyone elsebut Ricky and me had to wait for the brothers to die before their curse was broken. While I still didn’t understand how or why Ven had been able to break the enchantment that had kept me locked in my wolf form, I had a feeling it had something to do with her ability to control plants. Some sort of healer magic. I only wish we knew what she was so I could give her the peace she so longed for. Although the battle had been a haze of stimulation and a cacophony of noise, I remembered Frederick saying something strange to Ven. Nothing that quite made sense but did seem like he knew—or at least thought he knew—something about Ven.
It was too bad we couldn’t have kept him alive to interrogate him. But that was the problem with warlocks. Once the upper hand was gained, it was easily lost if not taken advantage of immediately. Although I hated them down to my very core, I had to admit they’d known how to fight.
Once I’d done my rounds, I went inside and reheated the bone broth for Andromeda. While she had never been one for lengthy conversation, I did want to ask her if she was all right. I knew firsthand how confusing it was to go from being purely an animal to regaining humanity again, and I’d had Ven to walk me through it. Andromeda had woken up alone and cold in some place she wasn’t ready to tell us, then wandered in a random direction until she found us. Her connection to me, her alpha, had guided her in the right direction, but she didn’t know that. It must have been so confusing and so utterly lonely.
So, yeah, even if she didn’t remember me, I wanted her to know she’d never be so alone again.
“Hey there,” I said, peering around the doorway. It was funny how all of us had adapted that way of checking to make sure whoever was on the couch didn’t want privacy, as there were no doors on the lower floor besides the half bath. “You hungry?”
Andromeda tore her eyes away from Goober, who had been purring up a storm on her chest. Now I was certain my mate had special healing powers, I also had to wonder how much of her miraculous results were from the healing power of her cats and their purring.
“Yes, I am, but I’m a bit trapped right now.”
“I can see that,” I said with a chuckle. Crossing over to the coffee table, I put down the tray, then gently picked Goober up. As soon as I put him on the floor, he hopped back up on the sofa and settled at her feet, earning a squeaky complaint from within the knitted blanket.
“Who’s that now?” I asked, moving some of the cloth to see none other than Fork’s furry orange head peek out. He really was a character. I was used to him causing far more chaos in the house, but with so many people to pet and play with, he was pretty tired on the regular. No energy for shenanigans with all the love and play time. What a problem to have.
“Come on, the both of you. You’ll get plenty of cuddle time later.”
They stared at me like I’d grown another head. Sighing, I went and got the treats. What could I say, I had no backbone when it came to Ven’s kitty children. At least they wouldn’t tattle on me.
I gave the treat container a few solid shakes. Naturally, the two boys launched themselves from wherever they were and skittered across the floor like their lives depended on it. I gave them each a handful, which was probably about five treats too many, then waited for Mudpie to saunter in. She loved treats and would throw a hissy fit if one dared to short her, but she at least tried to pretend she wasn’t absolutely mad for them.
Once those clawed terrors were handled, I returned to Andromeda and helped her sit up. She looked a lot better. The color had returned to her cheeks and her hair wasn’t stuck to herscalp anymore. America and Ven had helped her in the shower, and I was immensely grateful for that. I knew the experience was likely very different from how my first time with Ven had been, but I was glad she’d had someone there to help her.
“Here you go,” I said, carefully setting the tray on Andromeda’s lap.
A warm smile spread across her features as she leaned in and inhaled the scent of the soup. I was all too familiar with how the delicious warmth after far too long in the cold could leave one speechless, so I didn’t say anything for a while. I settled into the only other chair in the room and picked up the book I’d started reading a few weeks ago.
It was only a matter of time before Ven’s three felines joined us, Mudpie settling at the top of the couch behind Andromeda’s head, and Goober and Fork settling along her legs and feet. Although Ven did indulge her babies, she’d trained them to keep their distance when someone was eating.
“I… had a cat.”
I set my book aside and leaned forward. I tried to sound casual, as I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it and freak Andromeda out.
“You did. Do you remember that?”
