Luca comes up under his arm and buries his nose in Gideon’s armpit, pulling the edge of his t-shirt up to get at the bare skin along the top of Gideon’s pants to soothe himself.
“Holy shit. Check this out.”
Leo has fast-forwarded the video ahead fifteen minutes, and then—there are intruders in Gideon’s den.
Intruders in black sweats and heavy boots, with balaclavas, going from room to room, looking for something.
Or someone.
Jay starts a low, menacing growl that sends goosebumps down Gideon’s spine, while both betas give a full-on shudder.
Strangers in a Were enigma’s den?
They had to be banking on all three of them being absent—because no one could be that stupid.
The intruders are all over the house for six minutes before the tallest of the three men looks up at the camera in the living room and, with a cocky salute, they all disappear out the back door.
The camera picks them up in the backyard, disappearing into the treeline at a fast clip. Since there aren’t any cameras along the wall, they lose sight of them quickly.
When they’re no longer visible, Gideon slams his fist down on the granite countertop, and it does nothing to appease his frustration when it cracks.
They were in his fucking home.
Where his omega had been fifteen minutes before.
A white-hot fury pulses behind his eyes.
He’s not the only one pissed, either.
Gideon has an almost-feral, fully fanged-out enigma alpha on his hands.
At least it’s just one right now.
“He left with Tsuki,” Leo offers, running the whole intruder clip again—but he has the foresight to take the tablet out of Jay’s range, just in case.
Nix hadn’t been here when they’d broken in.
But what if he had been?
It was pure luck—or coincidence, or divine intervention—that he hadn’t had to face them by himself.
Gideon had seen no telltale bulges of firearms, but a syringe of drugs that sedated? That would easily fit in a pocket.
But what if they had run into Gideon’s kitten?
It’s terrifying—and yet, Gideon lets a bark of laughter sneak past his lips.
It draws Jay’s attention like a live wire snapping loose.
“Not fucking funny, Gideon. Where is Nix?”
“I’m just imagining what would have happened if they had found Nix here. No guns or tranqs,” Gideon says.
Jay’s growl intensifies, and he slams his fist on the counter, adding his own cracks to the surface.
“He’d have kicked their ass.”
Leo’s eyes go wide while Luca pulls back just enough to giggle.
