Miller nodded. “Tell me about it.”
A minute passed in which I watched Hadley’s face. Eventually, she turned back to me with a smile. “Anyway.”
“Anyway. I came next and married them all. I don’t think I sat for weeks unless it was in a lap before Gale and then almost right away Zilan followed.” Smiling at the memory of when Gale walked into our lives. Just the peace and surreal feeling that he brought. It was almost overwhelming when Zilan came soon after. Before Gale, or I even, had settled, a third storm in a short handful of weeks made us six.
“We had only a handful of months before Aratiri joined us. And while it was good, he was justours, it wasn’t the immediate charge that came between him and any of us. It was a strange year that followed because he kept waiting for the easy, innateshockof physical need to surge between us—any of us. But it didn’t come until Notus. It was nice to see Arat finally get the rush he was waiting for. Even if I was a little stumped at why I didn’t have it with either of them and yet, my heart was bursting at the seams to have them here.”
“Packs don’t need a reason to fit like they do,” Miller said. “Some stars shine brighter, but not everyone sees the stars the same way.”
“Poet,” I said, grinning at him.
Miller smiled in return. “We don’t all fuck, either, honey,” he told Hadley. “You’ll find it’s actually really rare to find a household that’s all a big fuckfest and shares equally.”
Her brows knit together. “Really?”
He nodded. “Just in our close-knit crew of thirteen families, just shy of half are equal opportunity lovers. Otherwise, we fall like connect the dots.”
“Huh,” she said. “I didn’t realize that.”
“It actually makes for stronger bonds, I think,” Miller said. He looked at me. “Who are you closest with, B?”
I tilted my head to think about it. “Koh,” I said, frowning. “I’ve never been in his bed. You know, sex and all, I mean.”
“I didn’t realize you’re close with him,” Hadley said. Then she smiled. “But then, I’m still learning.”
“Things have been a little off since the mountain,” I said. “And the newness of you being here and us focusing on getting to know you, but yeah, in-house, Kohara is my bestie.” I grinned when she laughed at my use of the childish word.
“Exactly. And mine is Kormak. I spend at least an hour a day cuddling my dark god of a pup, but I’ve never, ever been sexual with him,” Miller said. “You find closeness in different ways. Sex doesn’t equate to intimacy and love. It’s a way to express it sometimes but sometimes, it’s just a cherry on top. And other times still, you don’t even know it’s not there.”
Hadley smiled, leaning against my shoulder as she closed her eyes. “I like that.”
I smiled at Miller. Yep, I liked that, too.
Hadley
“Not quite a year later,Nephele and Tempest joined us almost simultaneously. It was quite the trip,” Bronte said, his hand absently stroking my arm as he leaned his head against mine. “I honestly didn’t know where to go. I felt them both like a drug. Different drugs, but both calling me in a fucking wild direction.”
I felt him shiver. Sharing a smile with Miller, we waited for him to continue.
“It’s kind of funny. The way we connect physically makes up rings where I connect them as a center. They’re stationary with me, though the one with Saar and Tem didn’t close until Kohara joined us almost exactly a year after Tem and Neph. The rings don’t rotate, but they’re all there. Completely closed circles.”
He looked down at me, smiling. His eyes shined with a happiness that I could nearly feel come off him as if it were his body heat.
“But I think you’re going to be the new center. The one that everyone touches.” He paused, laughing. “I didn’t mean ‘touches,’ Just that everyone…”
“Yes, touches is right enough,” Miller said, smirking.
“When did you move into the house?” I asked.
“We began building it right before Notus joined us. The third floor was supposed to all be guest suites. Or maybe kids’ rooms. But you know… we kept growing.”
The mention of kids made me tilt my head as I stared at the table. Their profile didn’t mention the subject a lot. Like mine, it was left open. ‘We can discuss offspring.’
“We’re going to have kids,” Miller said, likely knowing exactly where I was in my head. When I looked at him, he was grinning. Yep, he knew. I couldn’t stop smiling in return. “But not for a while yet.”
“The world is too scary a place right now for them,” Bronte said, nodding.
“If you wait for a safe world to live, you’re going to end up a hermit, sweetheart,” Miller said.
