Liam finally walks in, carrying our coffee and breakfast. He walks up to me right away and, while I take it all off his hands, he leans in to kiss me.
"I missed you."
"It's only been twenty minutes!" I chuckle. "Go shower, you hungry wolf!"
He gives me a wink and walks around the kitchen, greeting Ben quickly before he disappears into the bathroom. Thank Moon Goddess, coffee and donuts! With Ben's help, I get breakfast ready for all four of us, adding a few slices of toast and omelets for the werewolf stomachs.
As Liam and I decided a while ago, we're now sharing the apartment with Ben and Kelsi. Liam gave his former apartment back to his brother, since it didn't feel like his in the first place, and I asked Amy to pay her rent for real, so all four of us can share equally and live together like normal roommates. This arrangement has been working surprisingly well so far, most likely because the four of us aren't actually glued together or anything. Lately, Liam and I are rarely in town on the weekends, and since all four of us have occupations during the daytime, plus the time we spend with our respective families or friends, we just get to have breakfast or dinner together like this from time to time.
"How is Bonnie?" I ask Ben while taking a sip of my coffee.
"Oh, she's doing great. I think she's dating a guy, but she didn't want to talk about it yet, so..."
I smile and nod. Bonnie is still rather private, but I do see her almost each time I'm in town, and she comes here when she can. She's always more curious about how we can apply some of the witches’ healing methods to wolves and humans... Just as I am about to ask something else, their bedroom door opens, and Kelsi steps out. Her long hair is a mess and her eyes are half-closed, but she still automatically runs over to hug me, wearing that gigantic bubblegum pink T-shirt I bought for her birthday.
"Boo! I missed you so much..."
"I missed you too. How are you?"
"I'm good... Do you have any tips for curbing a wolf's territorial issues?" she asks, sending a frown toward Ben.
"A leash? A collar?" I suggest with a chuckle. "Sorry, no tips from me. Oh, come on, don't fight when we just got home... We got you breakfast too."
"Oh, yes, donuts!" she exclaims, taking a pink one enthusiastically. "So, how did it go? You met the witches as planned?"
"Yep," I nod. "Two young Fire Witches, teens. They were pretty nice and open. A bit surprised to have me come for real and help out, but it was high time. One set her own school on fire, and neither of them had received any guidance from older witches before... In any case, they should be fine now, and they can call or write to me anytime."
"You must be a real superstar among witches now," chuckles Kelsi. "You've met more than a hundred across the world now, right? I mean, the new dean did say they were receiving more applications than ever for the paranormal course. Silver City is turning into the place to be for all the werewolves and witches around. Did I tell you? I got an email from the professor last week, she actually wants me to become an assistant..."
"Really? That's great!" I exclaim. "You love that course, and that professor we have now only came to temporarily fill Vutha's spot, right? Wouldn't you be interested in becoming a professor eventually?"
"I don't know," she sighs. "I love occult arts and being able to help you out, but if I accept, I'll have less time for my blog and I'll have to fulfill a ton of obligations... plus, you know I'm not very comfortable with public speaking."
"You'd do great!" says Ben. "You're super passionate and you already know more than that teacher anyway!"
"That's true," I nod, grabbing a donut too before the boys eat them all.
"I don't know..." mutters Kelsi, blushing a bit. "I'm still not too sure about taking Professor Vutha's... you know."
Just as she finishes her sentence, Liam comes back, half-naked with a towel over his head, and sits next to me, grabbing a donut. He puts his other arm around my chair, and we exchange a smile, but first, I take Kelsi's hand.
"Kelsi, Vutha was arrested three months ago now. Everyone knows she isn't coming back to teach at the university, and they need a professor. You should just accept the assistant's job for now and see if you like it! You did great at taking over to organize her things with Ayesha!"
"Yeah... I'll think about it."
We move on to chat more about the university, but since we are both taking free classes now, we have a much more flexible schedule. Even Liam and Ben have fuller schedules than we do as they work for the packs, although both are seriously thinking about their careers. Ben wants to become a paramedic to help out his sister while keeping his position as Selena's Beta, and Liam is seriously thinking about taking the exam to become a cop next year... Kelsi goes to her bathroom to get ready while Ben updates us on the pack matters, although everything is going as well as usual in Silver City.
Since there are no more borders of any kind, all werewolves just live together in harmony with the humans, and the Alphas and Lunas now only intervene to resolve issues between the wolves or when foreign packs appear outside of town. It sounds a bit utopic, but since the curse is gone, Nora and Selena both agreed there has been a lot less conflict. For a while, wolves and humans were just focused on building back what was destroyed in Silver City, and it helped create new friendships. Of course, there was also a period of mourning for those we had lost... The first few days were hard, but we all had enough to keep ourselves busy and not think about it too much, and slowly heal. Then, life went back to its usual course. Everyone wanted to cherish their loved ones and spend some time in peace, while Liam and I left at the first occasion to spend time together outside of Silver City while looking for new witches. I didn't abandon Silver City, and I was there when they needed me, but I was glad Selena and Nora could handle a lot without me, and Ayesha stayed around to help too. We actually came back so often, I don't believe they noticed much of our absences until we began leaving for longer periods, or whole weekends like we do now.
"Nora invited us for dinner tonight," I suddenly remember as we all get ready to go to work or university. "Are you guys coming?"
"Sure!" Ben smiles. "We're having fondue bourguignon! The whole family will be there so prepare yourselves, it's going to be packed and cramped for sure!"
"We will," I chuckle.
Liam gives me a little wink and takes my hand as we leave the apartment. I'm sure he and I can find the right time to escape the craziness...
The four of us walk to the car; as usual, Ben will drop us girls at the university while he and Liam go to the other side of the city. My mate and I get in the backseat, but I notice Liam doesn't want to let go of my hand at all, even as we drive away. Ben turns on Kelsi's favorite pop music to try and have her stop pouting toward him, both of them unaware of the two of us flirting behind them.
