Jay is the best of leaders, actually—though even the best can have the worst days.
Rowan stepping back might have saved them all from a world of hurt, but the aftermath still lingered. Grayson, thankfully, had bounced back faster than expected from the BBS—no small miracle, considering Broken Bond Syndrome was a bitch. He rallied almost immediately after Nix had slid into bed with his positively green soulmate.
Luca remembers the feeling well, and as far as he’s concerned, there could have been a whole lot more crying, begging, seizing, and passing out.
It’s the worst Luca has ever felt, and that was after a week of near-constant closeness to cement the bond.
There was good news to celebrate, too. Leo had gone pink-cheeked when Nix had shown off his bite just as much as Grayson’s shimmery one.
Luca is a bit jealous, if he’s honest.
Gideon’s and his soulmate bites aren’t anything fancy—just raised where his other mates’ bites are much flatter.
Nix had noticed Luca trying to hide his envy (because pink! shiny!), but he had reassured Luca, “Since soulmates were rare, every bite must be special and different—like the pairs themselves. No one is better than the other because the bite isn’t the point—it’s the bond that’s the real key.”
Luca’s baby is smart, plus…he smells good.
Tsuki whines a bit louder this time and climbs delicately out from the nest, looking at Luca with a bit of attitude on her fluffy face.
She really must have to pee.
Well, better outside than in, Shrek always says.
Gideon was not impressed with the idea that she might pee in the house, and Rowan is on dish duty for the next millennium for not at leastmentioning to someone (Gideon) that his big romantic gesture was an actual living thing.
“Okay, missy. Let’s go,” he whispers and grabs Grayson’s t-shirt to ward off the brisk October night air.
The alpha’s scent has morphed a bit since yesterday—now more basil-vanilla—and Luca really likes it.
And why wouldn’t he?It’s two of his favorite people’s scents all rolled into one.
Tsuki handles the stairs like an old pro, and Luca isn’t far behind, but she doesn’t detour to the back door like he’d expected.
Nix and Jay had made sure she had her own corner in the yard last night, where she could safely do her business—not in the way of the pool deck or out of sight of the house. She’d taken to it so well, even Gideon couldn’t complain. So well-trained for a three-month-old puppy.
If you discount the chewing on Gideon’s shoe.
Which Gideon—most assuredly, adamantly, and with loud curses—did not.
Now though, Tsuki beelines for the kitchen.
“Look, you. If you woke me up for a Greenie, you are crazy. We are not—”
It’s not a burning desire for treats that has Tsuki up at 2:47 in the morning.
The scent of rotting black currant is strong in the space between the counter and the sink because Finn is sitting on the floor, holding a tea towel to his mouth to muffle his sobs.
Luca’s stomach drops to his toes.
He can count the number of times Finn has cried in front of him on two fingers—and one of them has been in the past week.
Finn is very private with his big emotions, both happy and sad, and while Luca has never felt unloved or undesired by him, he knows Finn just shares himself in different ways.
A crying Finn in a public space is a sign of something extreme, and he smells so bad that Luca wants to gag.
“Oh, Finnie.”
Luca tries to go around him, but his mate stops him.
