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“Okay,” I agreed. “As long as we get to turn on some K-pop and dance.”

He smiled—unguarded, for the first time since I’d brought him home with me. “I promise everything is going to be great.”

And for a minute, I wondered about his words. Because he was a seer. He saw things most of the rest of us could never imagine. “Do I need to cook?”

“No. Gwen is delivering food.”

“Even better end to the day,” Angel grumbled as he headed for our bathroom to clean up.

“Grandpa will be here in an hour,” Ivan predicted.

“Is that how long it takes him to get up the stairs?” I teased, following my mate toward our room.

“Beau built him a lift,” Ivan said as he picked up Peanut Butter and hugged the cat to him. Nox wove his way around Ivan’s legs as though comforting the teen, though I had no idea why.

Beau had been magically adding onto our building for a while now. Rooms. An entire unit for Victor. Even an elevator made of vines that made me a little queasy. And what the witch demanded for payment, I had no idea, since neither Victor nor Ivan shared. I only hoped it didn’t come back to bite any of us in the ass later.

I followed Angel into the bedroom, and by the time we emerged—showered, changed, and marginally more human at least in appearance after a long day slogging through case files and bodies—the apartment had transformed.

The tree still dominated the corner, but now it was finished. Garland woven from living vines spiraled through its branches. Tiny lights pulsed in a slow, hypnotic rhythm, like fireflies at dusk. And the presents beneath it had been arranged with the kind of precision that suggested Ivan had spent hours getting it just right.

Someone knocked on the door.

“I’ll get it!” Ivan shouted, already halfway across the room. Nox trotted at his heels, tail high, apparently satisfied that whatever crisis he’d been comforting the teen through was over.

The door swung open, and Gwen swept in like she owned the place. Which, given that she was a goddess and had probably been alive longer than the building had existed, she technically might.

“Delivery,” she announced, balancing three massive trays in her arms, and several bags looped around her wrists. The scent of roasted vegetables, warm bread, and something sweet and spiced flooded the apartment. My stomach growled in response.

“You’re a goddess,” I said, taking one of the trays before she could drop it. “You can’t just... conjure the food here?”

“Not my kind of magic.” She set the other trays on the kitchen counter with a satisfied smile. “Besides, where’s the fun in that?”

Before I could answer, the door opened again—this time without a knock—and Grandpa shuffled in, leaning on his cane. His face lit up the moment he saw the tree. He patted Ivan on the arm.

“Well, would you look at that,” he said, eyes crinkling. “Haven’t seen a tree that big since your grandma and I—” He stopped. Cleared his throat. “Well. It’s beautiful, Ivan.”

Ivan beamed. “Beau helped.”

“Beau,” Grandpa repeated, shaking his head. “That witch is going to turn this building into a forest one day, mark my words.”

Wade appeared behind him, carrying a covered dish that smelled like cinnamon. “Sorry we’re late. Nikki got distracted by the lights on the way over.” He blinked wide eyes at my kid brother. “The entire building is covered in strands, inside and out.”

“I did not get distracted,” Nikki said, stepping around him. She was wearing a bright red sweater and a headband with tiny felt antlers, and she was carrying a bag that clinked suspiciously. “I saw one wink at me.”

“Lights don’t have faces with eyes to wink,” Wade corrected her.

“That’s exactly my point.” Nikki set the bag down and pulled out bottles of sparkling juice instead of wine.

The apartment filled with noise and warmth as everyone found their places. Gwen commandeered the kitchen, directing traffic like a general. Grandpa settled into his favorite chair with Peanut Butter immediately claiming his lap. Wade and Ivan wrestled with the folding table, trying to figure out where to put it without blocking the tree.

“Not there,” Nikki said, pointing. “The lights are brighter on that side. It’ll cast shadows.”

Angel pressed a kiss to my temple and slipped away to help Gwen in the kitchen. I stood in the middle of the chaos, for once not needed, not fixing anything, just... watching.

I wandered over to the kitchen and found Gwen unpacking bags. One of them was open on the counter, and I caught a glimpse of something that made me do a double take.

Baby formula.