Their soul bond is suddenly bright, flaring with affection.
Luca shouts, “Yes! Fucking finally. Phoenix Rising. I am so excited, I might die.”
He falls backward, and Leo catches him over his arm—only to blow raspberries on his tummy.
“Phoenix Rising,” Rowan says with awe, looking right at their own rising Phoenix for his reaction. “We had talked about it before. We wanted to…uh, have you with us, you know?”
Nix’s eyes well up again. “Really? But I’m here now. Surely you’ll want to choose something else?”
“Something else? No fucking way. It’s awesome.” Luca sighs at the last part, and Gideon knows it’s true.
“It’s exactly right. Wouldn’t change a thing. As far as making the announcement and new socials, we’re working with our own public relations company. Logan referred them to me and says they do great work for his firm. The rep’s name is Margot Duponte. What was it, Leo? I think Logan said she went to school with you?”
Jay is trying to keep a straight face—and failing.
“Ha, fucking ha. And before you make a big deal of it, I dated her in seventh grade. Before I met Luca.”
“Ooh, you had more than just hot boys in your room, then? I don’t think I’m going to like her at all.”
Nix sounds like he’s joking, but if Gideon puts his nose into his omega’s neck, he can smell that he is genuinely jealous.
It’s beyond cute—especially when those days are long gone, and there’s no one more loyal than Leo Costas.
“Before you figured out you were strictly dickly, you mean?” Finn mutters.
Gideon is saved from separating Leo from Finn’s throat by the buzzer at the gate. Checking the security camera on his phone, he spots a huge delivery truck outside. He stands Nix up so he can get the gate, but the momenthe does, Nix just sits right back down—this time with Finn and Tsuki.
His camera app shows two adult heat signatures—one male, and one female. The truck’s registration comes back as company-owned when he runs it (No, don’t ask how he has illegal access to DMV records, among other things). Seems innocent enough, but Gideon isn’t taking any chances.
“Hey! Quiet down. There’s a truck with a huge-ass delivery. Who ordered it, and why is it shoes, Rowan?”
Curse that man and his sneaker addiction.
Gideon allows the truck to lumber through the gates but catches Jay’s eye. With a wave of his chin, Jay herds Nix, Finn, and Tsuki out the back door—toward the yard and out of sight of the clear glass doors.
“Wasn’t me! This time. I swear,” Rowan whines as Gideon keeps a close eye on the delivery workers.
“It’s for Nix. He and I ordered shit yesterday. Replacement stuff for his room and—hopefully—a new mattress.”
Leo stands so he can open both front doors, making it easier to unload.
By the time the truck clears the gate—now empty of the Rhodes pack’s purchases and none the wiser about Gideon’s sweet-smelling omega—there is a six-by-six-foot stack of boxes piled in their living area.
A mattress stands against the wall, which Leo and Rowan immediately carry upstairs, with Luca hot on their heels, shouting:
“Pivot! Pivot! Pivot!”
Gideon has a split second to prepare for the moment Nix spots the boxes. He goes pale and stops in the doorway. He’d been first in the line of those trying to pass through, and he creates a bottleneck until Jay pushes the door wider.
Tsuki runs in circles, sniffing and growling at the new smells. Shit. Their mate is obviously overwhelmed, with his scent burnt around the edges.
Hoping he can head Nix’s rising panic off at the pass, he starts everyone in motion. “Gray, why don’t you start opening these so the mountain looks more like a mole-hill, okay? Finn, help, please. Jay, why don’t you make sure Luca isn’t scenting the mattress so much that he’s gotthe others naked in the process? He does not have permission until later.”
Everyone disperses except for Nix, who is still frozen. “Kitten?” Still no response. “I’m picking you up, kitten. Try not to get those claws out, I like my eyes in my head.”
Gideon sidles up slowly, tentatively touching his mate’s shoulder. Nix jolts but puts his arms around Gideon’s neck so he can lift him up, koala-style. He presses his nose in under Gideon’s ear while he walks them into the kitchen, where he places his bare butt on the counter.
“Ew, not up here—this is where food goes.” Nix’s nose wrinkles adorably.
