Shortly after Lynx mentions where he saw the Skellig Rock picture, Lennox calls it a night and promises to give us more information about the Trail in the morning. So, we say our goodnight and shuffle back to our room. Moni and Chester go to their bed in the dome, and once they walk in, the dome turns black, blocking any light.‘Nice touch,’I send to JP, who turns and winks before crawling into our massive bed next to Zeke. I pull off my hoodie and move to get into bed, only to find a plethora of bodies in the process of undressing, standing before me, all for my unguilty visual pleasure.
Damn. I am the luckiest woman in Hell right now…or wherever this place is considered.
Knox pulls off his shirt and sends me a flirty wink before flexing his pecs, allowing his nipple rings to glint in the overhead light before slowly crawling into bed.Yum.Levi shocks me most out of everyone; instead of his usual suitjamas, he’s just wearing sleep pants and showing off his upper body. Both Ryker and Lynx do a little strip tease, but while Ryker does it like he’s beena pro all his life, Lynx almost falls on his face when he kicks off his pants, leaving him in his boxer briefs. As all my guys line up along the pillows, staring at me, I find one missing. Glancing over, I spot Knots sprawled out on the lounge, his wings laid out in a beautiful arc as he gives me a lazy smile.
“What, no special show for me?” I tease as I go over to him first.
“Nah. Didn’t want to overexert myself.” His small smirk says anything but.
“Suuure, I believe that,” I tell him, leaning down and giving him a scorching goodnight kiss. I tuck a blanket over him before turning around and take in my guys lined up along the pillows, watching me. A few of them yawn and bury deep into the covers, too tired to have anything turn into something steamy, and I don’t blame them. It’s been a taxing day.
“Well, what are you waiting for, Goddess?” Ryker calls out as he pats the empty spot between him and Lynx. I can’t help the smile on my face as I crawl in. Ryker plays big spoon and chuckles as Lynx and I keep our tradition of whispering what we love about each other as we fall asleep.
The next morning, I wake up to puppy kisses and find Reaper cuddling between me and Lynx. Sitting up, I notice everyone is still sleeping, so I kiss Reaper before climbing out of bed and heading to the bathroom. I quickly brush my teeth, get dressed, and return to the bedroom to find everyone stirring and in different stages of getting dressed. Moni and Chester are swinging through their treehouse in their translucent dome. Peering around, I notice I’m missing someone as I gather Reaper into my arms and pepper him with kisses. “Where’s JP?” I ask, and Levi smiles.
“He got up while you were in the bathroom and said he wanted to help with breakfast.”
“Well then, let’s not disappoint,” Lynx says, leading the charge into the kitchen.
As soon as we walk into the living room, the rich aroma of food hits me, and my stomach answers.
“Did you swallow a monster last night, bestie? Is it trying to claw out of you?” Moni asks, her eyes going wide.
I laugh before setting down Reaper and pulling her into me. “No, but you sound the same when you’re fiending for coffee, so you have no room to talk. Speaking of….”
“I got it right here,” she says, pulling it out of her S.I.N box and smiling up at me.
“You can go ahead and put that away, Moni. I have a fresh brew of Sparks for you,” JP calls, walking out of the dining room to the right.
Moni jerks to a stop as her eyes widen and her bark turns glitterbomb before neon green.Never seen that color before.
“Are you serious? Oh my god! I have a fresh batch? Is it all mine? You promise? I don’t have to share? Did you use the all-purpose room? How much did you make? Is that the heavenly scent that I smell? I think I’ve died and gone to heaven….nope, I forgot I’m in Hell.” She stops and smiles at our group before crashing to the floor with a plink.
“That’s one,” Lynx calls out as his mother screams.
“What? What’s wrong?” Lennox rushes into the room from the medical room and takes in the scene. “Why are you all just?—”
“It’s okay, we got it,” Ryker says as Chester quickly picks up Moni and gently rouses her.
“I guess that’s one,” she says, slightly turning pink.
“Yep, and I saved your cup,” Knots says, holding it up. I didn’t even see him move. He must be feeling better if he’s able to get it that quickly.
Sierra steps closer to our group and looks over Moni. “Does this happen often?” she asks, slightly shaken.
“Oh yeah, I’m holding the record of fainting. Or I would, if they actually counted it as a sport,” Moni says proudly with chin held high, shrinking down to her preferred four-inch self.
Sierra smiles oddly and heads back into the dining room. Lennox gives us a curious look and shakes his head, laughing to himself. “It seems you guys will have no problem entertaining yourself, hmm?”
“Not at all, Dad,” Lynx agrees as we all head to the dining room.
The table is set like I would expect with JP in his element—with a flourish and everyone’s favorite dishes laid out on the table. Fresh fruit, tullë strips, omelets, pancakes, JP’s signature milkshake for Zeke, and even steak. Reaper has a fresh plate of his own steak and something that looks raw, so I try not to look too closely at that.
Tempest is sitting in her highchair and smacking on a pancake with blueberries. I don’t know much about babies or baby shifters for that fact, but I hope she doesn’t choke on them.
As we sit down to eat, Lennox catches us up on what we need to know about the Trail as we start dishing up food and eating.
“First of all, I want to apologize about last night. I wasn’t fully prepared to go over everything with you,” he starts. “Normally, I ward off intruders, or, if they passed the first test, warn them off and then allow them to the Trail. But,” he looks at Lynx with warm eyes and then at us. “Since it’s my son and his family, I needed time to research what my limitations were on what I could tell you.”
