Still, I keep my eyes open for a long time, staring into the dark, waiting for that feeling to fade.
“Hey, beautiful.”Knox’s voice is low and warm as he kisses my cheek when I wander into the kitchen.
I mumble a sleepy “hi,” leaning into him for a second before pulling away. My body feels heavy, my mind foggy from too many hours of half-sleep.
Alex stands at the stove, spatula in hand, flipping scrambled eggs onto a plate. The smell of butter and toast fills the air—comforting, familiar. He glances over his shoulder witha grin. “Morning, sunshine. You look like you fought a bear in your dreams.”
“Feels like it,” I say, rubbing my eyes.
Alex laughs, tossing another piece of bread into the toaster oven. “Eggs and toast—chef’s special. I’d offer pancakes, but we all know Dakota’s the only one who can make those without setting off the smoke alarm.”
Knox chuckles softly behind me as he moves to pour coffee. “He’s still asleep,” he says. “Lucky bastard.”
“Where’s Tadeo?” I ask.
“Already at work,” Knox says. “He’s got a big presentation today.”
I grimace slightly, feeling bad that I didn't know that. I probably should have woken up early to wish him good luck. But there’s no helping it now.
Moving slowly, I sink into one of the chairs at the table, resting my head on my folded arms. The hum of the coffee maker, the clink of utensils—it’s all so ordinary it almost feels like last night didn’t happen. But the tired ache behind my eyes says otherwise.
Knox slides a mug toward me, the warmth seeping into my palms as he studies my face. “Rough night?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” I admit quietly. “Just…bad dreams.” I look up at the pack alpha, trying to find any trace of a sleepless night. “How did you sleep? Any bad dreams?”
“No.” Knox tilts his head. “Why?”
“No reason,” I say, forcing a small smile and taking a careful sip of my coffee. The bitter taste helps ground me, pulling me back into the safety of this kitchen—warm light, the smell of toast, the low hum of voices I trust.
Alex glances over from the stove, his hair sticking up in about five different directions, spatula in hand. “Then I guess you’ll have to take an extra-long nap today to make upfor it,” he says, flipping another pile of eggs onto a plate. “Doctor’s orders. Well—Alpha’s orders.”
I smile, the tension in my shoulders easing a little. “Anextra-longnap?”
“Hell, yes,” he says, grinning as he turns off the burner. “Preferably post-lunch, after Dakota inevitably insists on overfeeding us again.”
I hum softly. “That sounds really nice.”
Snuggling up with Alex and Dakota in my nest after lunch is my favorite part of the day. Safe and quiet.
Knox leans against the counter beside me, a faint smile playing at his lips. “Guess we’ll have to make sure you don’t have too much caffeine, then.” He eyes my cup.
“Don’t worry, babe.” Alex slides a plate of eggs and toast in front of me with a flourish. “I’ll make sure she’s thoroughly napped and fed. I’m great at both.”
“Try not to break any furniture this time,” Knox mutters.
Alex groans at the jab, muttering something about “one time” under his breath, and Knox chuckles—low and warm, the sound vibrating through the kitchen. I’m smiling too, halfway through a bite of toast, when something catches my eye.
A thin red line across Knox’s knuckles. It’s small, almost healed over, but it wasn’t there yesterday morning.
I frown and push back from my chair. “What happened?” I ask, stepping closer and reaching for his hand.
Knox blinks, glancing down like he hadn’t even noticed. “This? Oh, I dropped a box on my hand yesterday,” he says easily, the kind of tone meant to brush it off.
“Yesterday?” My brows knit together. “I thought you said you had a good day.”
“I did.” He laughs softly. “It was a minor accident,nothing big.” But then he looks at Alex. For a second. A quick, sharp flick of his eyes.
And Alex looks back.
