Wade frowned. “You sure it’s not a trap of some sort?”
“I don’t rule anything out, which means neither are you.”
“Well, yeah. That goes without saying.”
Jono came out of the kitchen with two lasagna pans in hand. He placed one on the trivet in the center of the table and the other on the trivet in front of Wade. Wade promptly picked up his fork and knife and dug in before Jono returned with the garlic bread.
“There’s been nothing in the news about anything weird going on in Boston while we were gone,” Jono said as he handed one-half of an entire baguette to Wade.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Wade said around a mouthful of pasta.
“Chew with your mouth closed,” Patrick said.
Wade made a face and chewed fast, the heat of the lasagna right out of the oven not bothering him at all. He broke his portion of the baguette in half and rested both pieces over his dish to soak up some of the sauce and cheese. “So I’m heading over there blind? That’s never fun.”
Patrick and Jono shared a look before Jono spoke. “You want another pack member to go with you?”
Wade shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I can handle it.”
All the rest of their god pack members had their own duties within New York City to handle. In a city still recovering from the veil being ripped open through it a few years ago, every member of their god pack was needed to help keep the peace between the packs under their protection and the rest of the supernatural community. Of those who could be spared, Wade had the unique advantage of being impervious to magic, demons, and other supernatural kind of problems. Usually, eating them fixed whatever was wrong.
He’d need to remember to pack some extra mouthwash.
“We know you can handle it, but the second you think things will go tits up, you ring us,” Jono said, pointing his fork at Wade.
Wade nodded and preened under the praise, still not above wanting to make them proud. Then he dug into his lasagna, determined to demolish it.
Jono and Patrick switched to talking about things that weren’t pack related at the table, a rule Sage had initiated in her home and which they’d carried over here. Pack business engulfed their lives so much that trying to carve out time for themselves took effort some days. Listening to them talk about mundane errands and where they should go for their next date night was a nice reminder that they’d all survived to be able to enjoy moments like this.
Their relationship made Wade sometimes think about wanting something similar one day, but it was a need he always passed on. He didn’t care about the details of everyone’s love life, mostly because he was really only familiar with the opposite from when he was a young teenager. Yeah, he found people aesthetically pleasing, but his therapist always said he didn’t have to act on it if he wasn’t ready, and that was okay.
So he looked, and sometimes he thought about kissing someone, but it never became more than a fleeting thought. His pack never teased him about his lack of a partner and didn’t letanyone else do so either. Though considering his background, Wade would most likely have to find someone with a lifespan close to his own, and there were very limited beings out there that could check that box. For now, he was content to be with his pack, spoil his niece rotten, and add to his current hoard.
“Is there dessert?” Wade asked as he put the last bite of his lasagna in his mouth. He’d finished the entire dish, along with the bread and his salad, but there was always room for dessert.
Jono rolled his eyes, but his smile was fond. Wade wasn’t surprised when he got up and pulled an entire Junior’s cheesecake out of the fridge. He cut a large slice for himself, a smaller one for Patrick, and then gave Wade the rest of the cheesecake. Wade happily ate his way through one of his favorite desserts. By the time he finished, Jono and Patrick had abandoned the table for the couch, and Wade took it upon himself to clean up the kitchen.
When the dishwasher was running, the last scraps of food eaten, and the counters wiped down, Wade claimed the part of the sectional that Patrick and Jono weren’t sprawled across, pulling out his phone and bringing up a game to play while the other two binged a show that he remembered being popular a few years ago.
“I can tell you how it ends,” Wade said absently.
Patrick kicked him in the shoulder. “You do that, and I will empty out your snack cabinet.”
Wade sniffed haughtily at that threat. “You would never.”
“Both of you shut your gobs and let me watch in peace,” Jono said.
They settled down for a comfortable night in, the companionship of pack something that Wade knew he would always want in his life, no matter how long he lived.
CHAPTER FOUR
The private jetfinally rolled to a stop in the private hangar at Boston Logan International Airport. Wade was on his feet before the flight attendant was cleared to open the door, retrieving his backpack from the storage unit in the back. His luggage was on the tarmac when he finally clattered down the jet stairs, waving a cheerful goodbye to the pilot and flight attendant on Marek’s payroll.
A four-door gray Audi waited for him on the tarmac, the driver’s-side door open and key fob handed over by the delivery person. Wade took it with a nod of thanks before chucking his luggage in the trunk and getting behind the steering wheel. He dropped his backpack on the front passenger seat, rifling through it for a can of Coke that he put in the cup holder.
Getting out of the airport was an exercise in patience that had Wade sighing heavily and drumming his fingers on the steering wheel in time to whatever song randomly popped up on his playlist. It was a better use of his hands rather than flipping off everyone who tried to cut him off. Wade often thought New York City drivers were the worst, but clearly, they had nothing on Massachusetts drivers.
His GPS was supposed to take him directly to the Ritz-Carlton, where Sage had made his reservation, but Wade detoured to the first Dunkin’ Donuts that showed up on the map. He took the last exit before the Sumner Tunnel and drove only a handful of minutes before he saw the Dunkin’ on the right-hand side. Wade parked, left everything but his wallet, cell phone, and the key fob in the car, and hustled inside.
