"Their snickerdoodles are otherworldly." Adam’s eyes go wide as he presses a hand to his stomach. It’s the most animated he's been all evening.
I lean toward him and grin.I can't help it.
After the day this pack has had, Adam looking genuinely delighted about cookies feels like the first clean breath of air in twenty-four hours.
“Hey.” Perrin materializes behind his brother a second later. He looks between Cliff and me. "Are we leaving?"
"In a minute," Cliff says.
Perrin looks at his brother. "You riding with me or Cliff?"
Adam doesn't even hesitate. "Caddy."
"Of course." Perrin smiles as he rolls his eyes.
Cliff pushes off the desk and reaches into his pocket, pulling out the keys. He holds them out to Adam. "Go warm her up. I'll be right there."
Adam happily takes them, then he points at me on his way out. "Don't keep Cliff too long. The bakery closes at ten, and I will not be robbed of their sugary goodness."
"Yes, sir," I say with a smile.
“Elowen’s taking a bath.” Perrin points up at the ceiling. “I got her some towels and clean clothes.”
“Thank you, Perrin,” Cliff says. “I really appreciate it.”
"I'll be outside." Then the beta follows, pulling the study door halfway closed behind them. A second later, the front door opens and shuts.
The second the house settles into quiet, something shifts in the set of Cliff's jaw.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
Cliff doesn't answer right away. He straightens off the desk and moves to the door, pushing it fully closed with a quiet click. He stands there for a second, head slightly tilted, listening.
Above us, through the ceiling, the faint sound of water running carries through the house.
Then the water stops, and everything goes quiet.
Cliff turns back to face me. "I heard you ask Elowen to sleep in your room tonight."
"Yes.” I straighten my back, happy he brought it up. “And before you say anything, I meant what I said to her. I'm not trying to fuck her." I look right into my pack alpha’s eyes so he knows I mean it. "I’m concerned about her. It's not good for omegas to sleep alone. I’m not trying to?—”
"Raff."
I stop.
"I'm not telling you no," he says simply as he crosses back toward me. "Her health is our priority. If she needs you tonight, you have my permission."
My brows lift, and I can’t help but be impressed. He has every right to be pissed that I asked her without discussing it with him. “I am sorry I didn’t ask you first,” I say. “It kind of jumped out of my mouth. I fully understand that you have first rights to establish a bond with her.”
"She and I are mated,” he says. “You can’t get much more bonded than that.” He smiles, but the tension in his shoulders tells me there’s something more going on here.
I glance back at the door, then lower my voice. "Is everything okay?"
Cliff exhales and his smile fades. "I’m really worriedabout her.” His eyes narrow as if he’s trying to focus on something in the distance. “I can feel everything she's feeling through our bond, and she's bouncing between emotions so fast I can barely keep track. Happy, then scared, then guilty, and worried. And underneath all of it, something that sits heavier than the rest."
"What?”
"I think it’s grief," he says, like he’s not quite sure. "It’s a gut-deep, painful emotion. The kind that's been there a long time." He looks down at the hardwood floors. "And all I can think is that she said she had no family."
