Liv sighs against me, snuggling closer as she slips her fingers under the hem of my basketball shorts. “He needs to be ready now.”
“This has been a lot for him, too, love.” I look toward the french doors and watch Rune lumber back and forth on the other side of them. “And I’m sure those three are annoying the shit out of him.”
“He’s not annoyed,” she says with a small chuckle. “I can’t quite put my finger on what he is, but Rune isn’t annoyed.” Liv pauses as she starts tracing designs against my thigh. “Worried. Edgy. A little confused maybe. I don’t know what to call that.”
“An alpha,” I deadpan, then smile when she laughs.
“Yeah, okay. He’s definitely acting like an alpha.”
I open my mouth to reassure her, to make sure she knows that it all comes with the territory of bonds and matches, but stop when her fingers flex against my leg hard and Liv pulls her knees up to her chest with a stuttering breath.
“Are you okay, love?”
She nods against me. “I’m fine.”
“No you’re not.” I frown down at her as my girl tries to curl into the tiniest ball ever. “Don’t bother trying to lie to me about it, my love, it’s insulting to both of us.”
“I think I just need some water.” Liv slowly unfolds herself, sits up, then gets to her feet. “And I have to pee.”
“You go do that, I’ll handle the water.” I stand and follow her to the hall but stop her just before she heads down it. I grab the side of her neck and search her face, my brow furrowing when pain briefly flashes in her eyes. “Liv…”
“Water,beta.Unless you want to come with me to the bathroom first?” She arches her brow and smirks.I swear she talks like an alpha sometimes.“We might be mates with a million bonds between us, but I’m not really ready to start peeing in front of any of you.”
“Not at that stage in our relationship yet?”
She shakes her head and gives me a beautiful smile.
“Soon, though? I’m not sure I can stay committed if you’re not willing to shareeverythingwith me.” I dip my chin and press my lips to hers, grinning into the kiss as Liv giggles and grabs the front of my t-shirt to pull me closer.
Finding these five people has made a believer out of me.
I never fully understood what my mother meant about beingstruck by a cupid's arrowwhen you find your mates, how your soul literally recognizes the bond before your brain can fully comprehend it, but I do now.
Falling fast for Leon gave me the push I needed to get there, especially with how open he is when it comes to love and relationships, and he helped me embrace it even more as our pack grew. I didn’t question or fight how I felt, I let it fly, and I found myself falling in love just as fast and hard with four people I barely knew.
My mother is going to hit the ceiling when I tell her.
I haven’t had the chance to tell my parents about anyone besides Leon yet, and when I do, that woman is going to start planning a commitment ceremony and pushing for more grandbabies immediately.
Both things I’m more than ok with, but Róisín Adder can be a lot for most people and considering who I’m packing up with, I’ll have to expose her to them in small doses at first.
“You're stuck with me, you don’t have a choice,” Liv says as she gives me one more small kiss. “You’re mine forever, and commitment has nothing to do with it.”
I bark out a laugh as she grins then turns around and heads down the hall.
Fucking head over heels for my mates, that’s what I am.
Sliding a hair tie from my wrist, I pull my rust-colored waves up into a bun then walk to the fridge, my brows shooting sky high when I see how full it is.
I know we were getting a little slim with all of us being here the last couple days but when Leon took Niko shopping, I didn’t realize they were planning to stock for the apocalypse.
Thirty-seven years old, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much fruit and bottled water in my life. There are some veggies,eggs, cheeses and milk, too, but the bulk of what I’m staring at is spring water and cut fruit.
I hope they got more than this.
I shake my head as I open the freezer. Of course they did. Three alphas alone means we need at least an entire cow’s worth of beef, factor in me and my other omega, and our girl we have to cook for so she doesn’t starve, my freezer is packed to the gills with various meats.
Curious about what else happened when those two went to the store, I check the pantry and find every shelf stocked with all kinds of shit. Cookies, chips, crackers. Protein bars, protein drinks. Cereals. Cooking and baking staples. More herbs and spices than I knew existed. Wine and beer. All sorts of shelf stable things like potatoes and onions, garlic and tomatoes. Three big ass bags of dog food. And more fruit.
