Castor and Alaric started before us, sitting on either side of our woman, halfway through their meals, greeting Zethan and me with cursory nods. We did the same, taking in the food in grave silence.
Fuck. Pressure burned at the back of my neck. I was normally the loud, flirty one and I felt the heat to keep it up. Lighten the mood.
I summoned the old me, the one before all this shit crashed into my life. “Have you got time tonight for a hot date, Nurse A?”
If this was our last few days, then I’d make the most of it, take her out, just her and I. Dates were getting scarcer with Mia, and if we lived, they’d be less frequent when Aaliyah birthed our pups.
“That depends.” Her eyes adopted the devilish flame that I loved and called me out of my darkness. “If my husband allows me to go out.”
I barked out a humorless laugh and shook my head. “Don’t get smart with me, woman.”
She scratched at my beard. “Why not? You love it, Mr. Vincent.”
I fucking did. But it killed me that she was wed to Castor on paper. Something I’d rectify tonight if she agreed to go camping with me.
“How about it?” I pressed. “You me, the moon, the stars, camping.”
“Sounds like fun.” Her eyes twinkled with devilry. “I’ll run it past my husband.”
I caught the cheeky little devil’s knee under the table and squeezed, making her jolt. “He’ll say yes, or I’ll break his nose.” I communicated that with my eyes.
Castor gave me his model smirk. “I’m inclined to say no.”
Alaric made a round O with his mouth, enjoying the back and forth. “I’m smart enough to stay out of this.”
Aaliyah leaned her head on his shoulder to reward him, and he kissed the side of her head.
She broke off two bits of her crust and threw them at us. “Behave, or no pastries!”
I enjoyed getting her riled up and fiery. Battling her was my favorite thing in the whole wide world. Teasing Mia, a close second. I was getting my fill in the next three days. Hopefully for another fifty years at least.
“If I lose my pastry, someone’s gonna pay.” Zethan cracked his knuckles underneath the rings and ink of his hands.
Aaliyah pinched the bag from the center of the table, dragging it away to tease him, and he laughed. The noise roused my jackal, and it rumbled with contentment after holding its fucking tail between its legs for two days.
United as a front, we kept the mood light in spite of the challenges facing us. This is how we wanted to be remembered, not as paranoid fucks, stressing out our pregnant mate.
Fuck. This was it for me. Home. Family. I had my best friend and brother back. I was so fucking glad I got the chance to salvage the friendship before… No… I wasn’t going to think about this with her here.
“If that sexy asshole gets a date, then I want one too,” Alaric piped in. “A moonlit flight. Mile high club.” He winked suggestively at her.
Nice. That left space for my old lady to squeeze in time with Castor and Zethan too, before the big ride.
“It sounds perfect.” The rejection in her voice sounded anything but and we knew we were all in for a no. “But I want to spend the next couple of nights with Mia and her daddies.”
Alaric drooped in his seat. “Sure. Another time then.”
We weren’t sure if we’d have another time. Bells of doom tolled in my head and along the bond, and Aaliyah crushed her eyes shut for a few seconds.
Zethan put down his sandwich, brushed the crumbs from his fingers, and leaned over the table to take her hand. “I think you should make time for us all. Separately.” Finality rang in his words like the fucking tolling bells.
Make the most of what might be our last few days. Colton didn’t want to hurt her, he wanted to hurt us. Make us bleed and suffer for causing his empire to fall and crash.
My old lady’s throat worked hard against the lump in it that we all felt constrict our link. “Yeah, okay.” She tried to put on a brave face, but all it did was crush my heart to dust. “It’s a date, Slade and Alaric. Let me know what you want to do, Daddy and Hellhound Dick.”
Everyone murmured their agreement and went back to eating, even though the food tasted like dirt and scraped down my throat like razors.
Aaliyah sipped her coffee and set her cup down. “Have we thought of names for the babies?”
