Page 125 of Starting a New Life

“Home?” I asked, looking at his—well, rather our bedroom.

Sadness echoed through our bond, gone before I could really grasp it. “Our real home. My house—the place where you can let your guard down and just… be.”

Oh.

“But what about you?”

He needed to be close to his pack. He loved the connections. He loved spending time with the pups. Chasing them around in the snow with the smaller kids, letting the teenagers braid his hair or crush him in Mario Kart. He loved the easy conversations over meals in the dining room.

Gray pressed a kiss on top of my head. “I need you to be happy. And it’s not like I won’t ever be here. But now that I have you, I think I need to start treating being the Alpha as a job. That means going home after a workday. That means being on call for emergencies rather than being on the clock twenty-four seven. That means having time for us to be Gray and Nix, not the Alpha and his mate.”

He smiled at me, his eyes so warm and filled with… love.

My heart lurched, my throat clogging up when I realized the emotion on his face and in my heart were one and the same.

“I love you,” I whispered. I didn’t know when I’d fallen for the scary, rage-filled Alpha who’d thrown me into a cell when he’d first laid eyes on me, but I had. Completely.

Because he kept showing me who he really was. And that person, the impulsive Alpha with a strong sense of justice, was one of the best people I’d ever met.

“I love you too,” Gray said, the smile on his face widening as he leaned in, his love filling my chest, spreading to every cell in my body.

Our kiss was slow, deep, and filled with all the emotions we couldn’t articulate. A promise to show up for one another. To take care of each other. To stand by the other one’s side no matter what, all sealed with one kiss.

“Now,” Gray said, caressing my cheek with his thumb. “Why don’t we go have a shower and then talk to Connie and Nick?”

“About what?” I asked, raising my brows. Our conversation had gotten completely derailed, and I hadn’t even told him about my worries regarding them.

“Their living situation.” Gray kissed my nose and snorted. “That’s what you’re worried about, right?”

I didn’t even have to ask how he knew that because the answer was obvious: he knew me. And he knew how much I cared about those teens I’d saved in the woods.

Connie and Nick were nervous. I didn’t need to read their auras to know that. The fidgeting was more than obvious and enough to clue me in on their feelings.

“Come on, sit down,” Gray said, gesturing at the couch in his living quarters within the packhouse. “It’s either here or outside.”

Nick looked out the window and scrunched up his nose as he saw nothing but a flurry of snowflakes.

“We can talk here, Alpha,” Connie said, grabbing Nick’s hand and pulling him down. “What is this about? Is something wrong? Did my brother…” He stopped and swallowed, his throat bobbing.

“No, nothing like that,” Gray reassured him. “Everything’s fine. But now that we know you’ll be staying with us permanently, we need to start making long-term plans, don’t you think?”

Nick bit his lip and looked at Gray. “What does that mean?”

“School, for one,” Gray said. He purposely sat down on the hardwood floor in front of the couch, criss-crossing his legs, his palms resting in his lap. The only thing missing was a yoga mat, and I’d expect him to start meditating. “We’ll get you enrolled tomorrow. You’ll have to make up a few weeks, but we have people willing to tutor you after school.”

Nick rolled his eyes, but Connie kept his gaze averted, clinging to Nick with a death grip.

“I have to make up more than a few weeks,” Connie said quietly. “My brother kept me out of school for at least two months.”

Gray nodded. “Right. So, you might need more help. If none of the people volunteering work, we’ll hire outside help. A real tutor.”

Connie nodded, eyes shining.

“And where will we live?” Nick asked. For a moment, his eyes darted to me, then went straight back to Gray. “Will we stay here?”

“It is an option,” Gray said. “There are also a couple of families within the pack who offered to take you in.”

“We don’t want to be separated,” Nick stated, his voice firm as he met Gray’s eyes head on. “We’re a package deal.”