He smiled. “You relax for a moment. You should have the ability to do that.”
“Mom!” Aria interrupted before I could respond. “Jasper said we can go outside and see the astros. Can we?”
I raised my brow. “Astros?”
“Asteroids,” Jasper corrected. “There’s supposed to be a meteor shower tonight, and I thought we could watch.”
“Yeah, that sounds nice.”
I went with Hawthorne to grab some blankets and pillows, and he, Ari, and I created a comfortable place to sit out in theyard. Jasper and Leo joined us with a tray with cookies and snacks on it. Normally, I wouldn’t want Ari to have that much sugar, but after the week we had we deserved some fun. Though shifting into a wolf was exciting for Aria, I had to imagine it was stressful on her body, and confusing. She’s handling it so well, and I’m so proud of her. She’s such a strong little girl.
They turned the porch lights off and watched as little specks of light started decorating the sky. Aria got excited at each one, yelling and pointing whenever they came.
Seeing her this happy and free made me melt, made me wish every day could be like this.
After a while, she sat between Leo and me and snuggled up on one of the pillows. She fell asleep quickly, tired from a full day of play.
As soon as Leo took notice, he draped one of the blankets over her. These past few days had made it really hard not to see our entire future laid out for us in this house.
We packed up soon after she fell asleep. Leo and I got her settled in the room before going upstairs. The room she was in was directly downstairs, so I wouldn’t be far from her, and she normally slept through the night.
When I got upstairs, Hawthorne was in the bed, looking at his tablet, and I assumed Jasper was in the shower when I heard it running. Leo rushed around me and bounded onto the bed, flopping himself down.
I joined them on the bed, sitting right on the edge.
Leo squirmed towards me until he was laying across my lap, his head on my thighs. I ran my hand through his hair.
Jasper came out with a towel wrapped around his waist and nothing else. Rivulets of water ran down from his hair onto his rippling hard abs. My face heated just looking at him. What did I do to end up with these gorgeous men?
“I know, right?” Leo whispered.
“I just want to lick it right off him,” I whispered back.
Leo let out a sexy growl that had my toes curling.
“Not yet, you two,” Hawthorne said, putting his tablet aside. “We need to talk.”
Leo pouted. “That’s no fun.”
Hawthorne looked very serious, which made me nervous. “What’s going on?”
He sighed. “I didn’t want to say anything until Ari was asleep and we could talk, but I met her father today.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
“When?” Leo asked at the same time.
“Before I left for work,” Hawthorne continued. He told us about the note he never opened and the Mislulu pack.
“So now that he thinks she’s special, he wants her?” I asked, my fists balled. “What a bastard!” I yelled, getting to my feet. “After that night, I tried to find him,” I rambled. “Not that I thought we would get together or anything, but I thought having a co-parent would be nice. But no. That dickhead dropped off the face of the Earth, and it seemed so intentional. I’ve heard nothing. And now he wants us to, what? Come to his pack and play house?” I was hyperventilating. “What if they try to take her? Does it mean that much to them? I can’t lose her.”
Tears started streaming down my face. This was all so much, and I didn’t know how I was going to face it.
Suddenly, Leo was right in front of me, Jasper right next to him. I didn’t see Hawthorne, but I felt his large, warm body press against my back, enveloping me in a hug.
I took a deep breath. “Whatever you choose,” Leo said, “you won’t have to choose alone. We’re here for you. We care about you both so much, would do anything for you.”
“He’s right, darling,” Hawthorne said. “Nothing will take either of you from us. I promise that.”
