“Nick, you’re awesome. A fricking lion. And you’re ginormous. I didn’t know how big lions were. Are you normal lion size?”
Nick leaned back and stared at him. It was his patented “little brother you’re an idiot” look. Good to know he could perfect it even in his shifted form.
“He is the size of a normal lion,” Jedrek added.
Nick gave him another look, then lifted his head and roared. It echoed for a moment and everything around them silenced. But only for a few seconds. Then chaos erupted.
“What just happened?” Sawyer asked.
“He rang the nap bell,” Jedrek said.
“Sawyer,” Eduard said. “We need to go back to the house. You have a visitor.”
“Okay, in a minute.”
“Sawyer—”
“I really want to see this.”
“You really do,” Jedrek added.
They followed Nick as he wandered into one of the new buildings. Kids were coming from everywhere, some of them young enough to be carried, others teenagers who looked bored but excited at the same time. Nick went through the open door and into a big, dimly lit room. In the middle was a giant nest of pillows.
Nick yawned again, then plopped down right in the middle of them. Within moments, the youngest of the kids had him surrounded, plopping down beside him and curling up.
Sawyer looked on, stunned and touched to the core of his being. His brother had always made him feel safe, like he knew nothing would get through Nick to him. And now he was doing the same for these kids who had no one else in the world. They didn’t need anyone else, though. Not with Nick as their alpha.
They moved out of the way as a few of the older kids came in. Most of them had some sort of tablet or handheld game. They joined the fray, however, all circling around the snoring lion in the middle of the room.
Jedrek touched Sawyer’s arm and leaned his head toward the door. They all trailed behind him as he led them back outside. “He does that every day,” Jedrek explained. “I’ve never seen anything like it. But the kids all bond to him really quickly. It’s important for shifter cubs especially, and honestly, none of these kids ever had a lot of attention. Still, they trust your brother implicitly.”
“He’s really happy here,” Sawyer said. He’d known it, deep down, but hadn’t acknowledged it. His brother had never been content, not really. He’d carried the baggage of his past, even when he’d not remembered it.
“Yeah,” Jedrek said with a smile. “He really is.”
“Sawyer,” Eduard said. “We really need to go now.”
“I’ll open a portal,” Jedrek said.
He led them outside the wards to the same circle of rocks where they’d arrived. Once his mates were all gathered, the portal opened and Sawyer shared one last look with his brother’s mate before he walked through.
Eduard definitely had a sense of urgency as he grabbed Sawyer’s hand and dragged him up the hill. “What’s on fire?” Sawyer asked.
“Funny you should ask,” Eduard quipped, one eyebrow raised in challenge.
“What?”
“Your sister is here. The fire goddess.”
Sawyer tripped over his feet but Eduard managed to keep him from falling. “What?”
“Yeah. And you were more interested in watching Nick nap. Although, I must confess, that was very sweet to see. I did wonder why he asked for one room to be kept empty. It seemed strange, at the time, but we simply built it as he asked.”
“Beep beep. Back the bus up. My sister ishere.”
“Yes, dear. And you kept her waiting.”
Sawyer pulled his hand out of Eduard’s and stopped. “We don’t have to run. She’ll understand.”
