Like a big cat, Rowan twists midair, taking the brunt of the impact on his back—Gideon clasped to his chest.
Later, Gideon will say he was breathless from the impact—not the sheer muscular athleticism it took, or how it pinged his libido,hard.
“I can smell them. You gotta let me go. I can track them, and we can at least know who they are and why they were here.”
Rowan sits up, and Gideon slides off into the pine needles and fallen leaves.
He can’t let his mate run off half-cocked (even if that were still more than the average amount of cock), not just because they don’t know who these intruders are, but also because only the Goddess knows what an enraged Rowan Foster would do when he figures out why they were here.
“Come on, I can’t let you go. Let’s see if Nix and Finn are back.”
“I want to go on record as saying I could have had them.”
A brisk breeze rustles through the trees, and Rowan climbs to his feet.
“It’s almost gone now. Dill pickles…and dirt? Maybe licorice. I’ll remember them for next time.”
Next time? Shit. Gideon hadn’t thought about that.
He brushes off the back of Rowan’s shirt and pants, copping a feel as he does.
It’s a testament to how unsettled his mate is that Rowan just allows it.
When they get back to the house, the entire pack ispiled together on the floor, with Gideon’s kitten nestled in the center.
Jay is underneath, eyes closed and jaw clenched, while Nix listens to his heartbeat.
Finn is curled up close on Nix’s left side, nose buried in the back of his head, while Grayson lies on the right, rubbing noses and pressing soft kisses to their omega’s mouth.
Luca is sprawled across Nix’s back, face tucked behind his ear, trying to steal kisses from Grayson—all while Leo cradles Jay’s head in his lap, taking turns running his fingers through everyone’s hair.
Tsuki is stretched out on the couch, eyes closed but ears perked.
The dread finally eases now that everyone is here and together again.
Finn might even be asleep—relaxed in a way he hasn’t been in ages. Strange, given that they’d surely received a scathing rebuke from Jay about Nix being out of the house, no matter the reason.
Rowan joins them and pretends he’s about to flop onto Luca’s back, just to hear everyone but Nix shout, “Rowan, no!” without even opening their eyes.
Instead, Rowan nudges open the tangled limbs of the three-stack of mates and scoots in until his head rests on the back of Luca’s thigh. It’s weird, but no one complains.
For the second time in twenty-four hours, his pack has curled into a puppy pile of comfort. He hates that they need it, but he’s glad they can have it—that it isn’t so much worse.
Taking a seat on the couch beside Tsuki instead of joining in, he accepts a lick to his wrist, then dials the only person he knows who can fix what they didn’t know was broken.
“Gideon Carnell, what a pleasant surprise,” Logan Frost—Arlo’s mate and owner of Sentinel Security—answers in less than two rings.
“Hey, I’ve got a Code Bravo at the compound. Would you have time?”
Gideon swallows his pride by asking. The new place had been wired under his watch, despite Logan offering his expertise. Gideon had been so sure he could do a better job, keeping any outside risks to a minimum. Now,he blames himself that they’re in this mess—and that it could have been so much worse.
There’s silence on the other end, and for a second, he thinks his friend is going to decline.
“Fuck, of course. Everyone alright?” Logan shifts from amiable to professional in a blink.
Gideon sighs, grateful he can say yes.
Logan continues, “You probably need me ASAP, no? The reason I’m asking is that I’m the only one home with Arlo right now—”
