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“I knew Steelwick wasn’t going to let him go of their own accord. Beckett was too convinced of your guilt, and as lead in the investigation, he had a lot of pull. But I wasn’t going to let you or Pol stay there. Not when we knew Silas was innocent.”
“You lied? For me? For us?” Pol said.
“I gave them the truth as I knew it. And luckily, Nathan woke up shortly afterward and confirmed what I already believed.”
I felt the emotion through the bond. Pol wrapped his arms around Morgan. “Thank you. I know that couldn’t have been easy.”
“Everything is easier when you are doing it for family.”
Because that was what Asilo was; a family.
Chapter 16
Pol
It had been a week. A week of catching up on work, answering questions for Steelwick, and organizing my house in a new way to fit all of Silas’s things that my pride members had managed to retrieve for him from his old pride. Our to-do list was a mile long and kept growing with a little thing here and a little thing there.
It became a foregone conclusion that Silas and I would stay at Asilo. I was happy for it, as was my mate. Morgan was already talking about how Silas could do the bookwork and maybe some other tasks for Asilo Pride. He also discussed how Silas might use his skills to help some local packs who were struggling with their bookkeeping as well. Good accountants were always in short supply, and shifter packs tended to have very different operating expenses than a random apartment complex.
The day after Silas and I returned from Steelwick, Mortimer had worked on his leg. It had taken three alphas to hold Silas down while Mortimer and Thomas re-broke the leg and adjusted his hip so that the joint set correctly. I had to leave the room, my beast wanting to bleed them all for daring to harm our mate. He didn’t understand that this harm was needed.
Then they gave him a hefty dose of a tonic meant to speed up healing, courtesy of the secrets from the centaurs. Silas promptly passed out and didn’t wake again for several hours, which was the amount of time it took for his leg to heal. It was mind-blowing. We called the twins and asked them to mail the centaurs some cookies. It was a tiny gesture, but one I hoped they’d enjoy.
The entire day had been an ordeal. But seeing him now being able to walk around without pain made it worth it. That and his lion made an appearance. His beautiful, beautiful lion.
Silas had gotten out of bed to go to grab a drink when a mouse ran across the floor. Usually they stayed away from our homes, the scents of our beasts warning them danger was present. This mouse ignored the warnings, and he paid. One second my mate cried out, startled by the creature, and the next, his lion was swallowing the tiny creature whole.
“I guess you’re feeling better.” I walked over to his lion and wrapped my arms around him. “I’ve been waiting to meet you.”
He stayed in lion form, curled up on the bed with me that night. In all my years on this planet, I had never felt safer than right then. My mate was badass and cuddly. It was the perfect combination.
The next day the two of us had shifted together and spent a lazy afternoon sunbathing near the pond. Our animals needed the time together just as our human forms had. When our bellies rumbled, we fished together. Silas could out fish me, that was for sure. It was mesmerizing to witness. We didn’t go back home until well into the night when we took a shower, climbed into bed, made love, and fell asleep in each other’s arms.
An omega could get used to a life like that.
We were settling into a routine easily. I was more than happy about it. It was nice to get back to normal… better than normal because my mate was a part of it all.
Nathan was getting better by the day and had started to venture out of the house and join the therapy sessions we offered. I had been worried I might feel some sort of residual jealousy or something over his presence. But nothing could be further from the truth. I loved having him here and was happy my mate had a friend as good as him. He was a good guy, and if Silas had had to settle for someone not his mate, he’d have been a good choice.
Thank goddess he hadn’t. But still…
Steelwick still hadn’t found the Alpha responsible, but his Betas had been caught, and they had revealed everything. It showed how little he had been in control when they all rolled over so easily. I wasn’t sure if they made some kind of deal or not, but I didn’t care. They were going to have consequences.
Their arrests were a relief for everyone in Asilo. Silas was officially innocent, his record clean. We had cake to celebrate. Lots and lots of cake.
Now with our bellies full and our bodies all sugared up, we were ready for bed. I’d just come out of the bathroom after washing my face and brushing my teeth to find Silas had already snuggled into bed. He looked at me expectantly. I crawled in beside him and cuddled up next to him.
“I’ll never take for granted sleeping in a bed again,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me and held me.
“Me neither.” I kissed his cheek. “Although I still really enjoy camping.”
“I know you do. I’m surprised when you’re out there you don’t sleep in your animal form, though.”
“Sometimes I do.” It always depended on what was going on with my work here. Sometimes I wanted to fall away and let my beast take control. Other times, I needed the quiet to meditate.
“We’ll try that next time. How often do you go on those trips?”
The fact that he wanted to go with me made my insides feel warm. He knew how much I enjoyed my trips, and he wanted to be a part of them with me. I loved that.
