But when I looked around, I noticed that someone had moved a giant fluffy rug into the bedroom I was using and Luisa was there, playing a game with stuffed toys and Ellar, who was stretched out in the sun beneath the window. I must have been completely wrecked if they’d been able to move me from the nest to here without waking me up.
When Ellar realized I was awake, he curled into a sitting position. “Mama’s awake,” he said to Luisa, who spun and ran over unsteadily, climbing onto the bed. I pulled her into my arms and she snuggled in.
“I thought you might freak less if we were here when you woke. I promise I wasn’t watching you sleep or anything creepy.”
I gave him a smile. “You’re right. It’s not that I don’t trust you guys. Well, it kind of is, but I don’t trust anyone. I trust you more than most.”
I didn’t have this problem when I left Luisa with her babysitter, and it was probably because she was a female, even though she was a teenage girl. The notion that women are naturally more maternal or something. But the Manix had turned that whole idea on its head. Luisa was so content with them and I wasn’t going to lie, the fact she was so happy definitely figured into my agreement. If she’d hated them, I would have run as far and as fast as I could, fuck them and their problems.
But Luisa liked them, and that made what I felt for them okay somehow.
Ellar climbed onto the bed beside me, staying on top of the blankets. “It’s okay, Naja. No one expects you to trust us implicitly in three days. We aren’t stupid.” He let out anoofas Luisa’s foot got him right in the gut. “That being said, you should know we have your back if you ever want to just let go. Trust us to be there when you need us—I promise you, we won’t let you down.”
I swallowed the hard lump in my throat and nodded. Ellar leaned over and kissed my forehead. “Good. Now come downstairs and try the cookies me and Little Bit made while you were otherwise occupied.” He waggled his eyebrows, and I flushed. He stood, reaching out toward Luisa, who launched herself into his arms.
“Cookies, Mama!”
I grinned and stood, realizing I was in an oversized t-shirt that smelled of Finlo. I knew enough about shifters to know they were scent marking me, but I honestly didn’t mind. It was actually kind of nice being surrounded by the scent of safety.
I looked at my pants, and decided against it. Finlo’s shirt fell to my knees, plus three out of five of these guys had just seen my vagina on an up close and personal level. Modesty had packed her bags and left, and the only person left to man the ship was a wanton hussy.
I walked out into the kitchen to see that only Gatlin was in the open plan kitchen, dining, and living area. He had some papers spread out on the dining table, and was staring intently at a computer. I raised an eyebrow at Ellar in question.
“Finlo is outside talking to his parents on the phone and, uh, warning them about you, I guess. Seven isn’t back yet but Raiden has gone to get him in the ATV.” He put Luisa down and she ran like the toddler version of the Flash to Gatlin, who lifted her onto the table, talking to her softly and letting her mash his computer keys. Something about that picture made my heart seize in my chest.
Ellar wrapped an arm around my shoulders, leading me to the island counter and the fresh cookies on the wire rack. “Don’t let his gruff exterior and Alpha bark fool you—Gatlin is the biggest softie of us all.”
The man in question looked over his computer screen and lifted his brow. “I heard that.”
Ellar grinned. “You were meant to, Alpha,” he purred back, and honestly, that voice made my body go wild even though I’d gotten off like three times this afternoon already. Jesus Christ.
I looked at my watch. Three hours until the baby went down for the night.
I could wait three hours.
Ellar got some kind of casserole out of the fridge and put it in the oven. While he was bent over, the perfection of his ass was right there in grabbing distance. I wanted to get his juicy butt cheek between my teeth and bite down.
The heat was making me fucking insane. It was here and it wouldn’t be ignored anymore. I could feel it like it was a living Beast, sitting there, waiting for me to unleash it and let it take whatever it wanted.
And it wanted this Pack badly. Clearing my throat like it would help the fact my panties were getting damper, I listened as Ellar gave me the grand tour of the kitchen. The fridge was well-stocked, as was the pantry. Everything was built for people who were over six feet tall, and Ellar said he’d get me a step ladder.
“Do you guys shop in town?” Now my brain had cleared a little, I wondered about the logistics of being a secret race of people who hid in the mountains. In this day and age, it must be almost impossible to stay hidden.
Ellar shook his head. “No, the main town for the Manix is Maxton. It was named for the first Alpha General, who decided that we had to secede from the greater supernatural community to safeguard the rest of our race.” He passed me a glass of milk and a little plate of cookies, before pouring another glass and a sippy cup of milk, and taking them with another plate of cookies to the dining table for Gatlin and Luisa.
I watched as she gnawed on the edge of the cookie with such fervor that she was like a beaver in a time crunch.
“Slow, Luisa,” I called and she gave me a dirty look, but slowed down.
Ellar shook his head, his grin wide, and walked back toward me. “The town gets shipments from the city. Fresh foods, general grocery items, all the staples. We also get fuel shipped in. It's all distributed evenly, and the Legion pays for most of it. It's definitely the perk of a small society. Some Packs choose to work as well, and use the funds for luxuries or higher education, but most of those jobs are either virtual or within the surrounding towns. We draw too much focus en masse.”
I remembered seeing them when they walked into the club, right before they hit the fire alarm and tried to kidnap me. The whole club had been watching them. Some openly, but most from the corner of their eye. They were the biggest guys in the room, and for there to be five of them? Well, they weren’t inconspicuous.
“You guys?”
“Gatlin is a stock market savant.”
I looked over my shoulder at the huge Alpha with the gray eyes. He’d closed his computer and was now touching his glass to Luisa’s as they cheersed, Luisa’s favorite snack time ritual. I looked back at Ellar, and he was looking at his Alpha with such unmistakable love that it made my chest hurt.
