Page 25 of Delivered to My Mate’s Best Friend

Birch snorted while Zeph’s face reddened like never before. “Cypress,” she said.

“What? You’ve never been shy about it before. Why start now?”

She blew out a breath and shook her head. “That’s true. But that was before.”

“Well, we’re not going to let you change.” Birch swatted her on the ass and she yelped but smiled. “I’m starving.”

I joined them and kissed her until her needy scent filled up the room. She was also hungry, and my wolf demanded we feed her. We. “Come on and eat. I made eggs the way you like them.”

We sat around the table as if we’d had breakfast together all our lives. Zephyr turned the sourdough and eggs into a loaded piece of toast, adding some slices of avocado, and we followed suit. Yum.

“This coffee is great,” Birch said. “I need to try some more at your shop.”

My mate, our mate, nodded. “Come in anytime. You get coffee on the house now unless you want to be stubborn like Cypress and pay. Benefit of…” Zephyr looked at me. “You know.”

“No, I don’t, love. Benefit of what now?” Birch was getting a kick out of this and so was I. Keeping our humor along with being completely honest would get us through anything.

I watched the metamorphosis of my wife, our mate. She smiled and squared off her shoulders. “Benefits of being my mate. Coffee and treats on the house.”

Birch nodded and, through our bond, I felt his pride. “Pack benefits. I like it. You two get to eat for free at my restaurant as well.”

That left me. “I’ll fix your computers? Not as exciting, but useful. Websites. Social media. All of those things covered. Branding too.”

“Hey, that’s more useful than anything. There’s no restaurant or coffeehouse without tech these days. We’re a pack now. We help each other.”

Since we were talking about things, I decided to bring up something important. We were all being open. It felt like the right time. “Can we talk about moving in?” I reached for Zephyr’s hand under the table. “And logistics?”

She sat back and sipped on her coffee. “Are you moving in, Birch?”

“Are you inviting me, mate?”

Zephyr looked at me. “Are we?”

“We are,” I repeated, but not a question then realized she hadn’t decided. And everything was her decision. “We are?”

“We are,” she replied. “What kind of pack lives all over the place.”

Birch laughed. “Two places. Only the two places, and I know this is moving fast, so if you need time…”

“We don’t.” Goddess, her making these decisions did things to me. New things. I was seeing a side of her I hadn’t before. Powerful. Bold. More her. Much more Zephyr than before. “Unless you don’t want to move in with your mate.”

Birch’s mouth opened. “That was low. Cut me to the bone, woman.”

She threw back her head and laughed. We both did. “I highly doubt that.”

“I’ll move in. Cypress, that’s okay with you.”

“More than.” I stopped him before the last word left his mouth. “We’ve spent enough time apart. We’re right where we belong.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Zephyr

Two weeks later

“Mate, we’re home.”

I heard the voices, both of them taking turns saying cute things about being in the same house as our home, and when they left to pick up the last of Birch’s things, I’d been very excited and planning a special dinner to celebrate. But halfway through mixing the batter for a dark-chocolate peanut-butter cake, I’d felt funny and had to hold onto the counter to stay upright. It was nothing I could describe in terms I’d heard before. Dizzy, maybe? Nauseated for sure. And a deep pain in my body that knocked me to the floor. Muscle cramps in my arms and legs. And why would my face hurt? My fingertips?