Perrin looks at her mug, then up at the ceiling where we can hear her moving around overhead.
"Well," he says. "She’s eager to go." He takes a long sip of his coffee, then sets the mug down and pushes off the barstool. "I'm going to grab my shoes." He looks at Raff. "You need to put a shirt on."
"I was going to," Raff says, already following him toward the stairs.
"Were you though?" Perrin teases.
Their voices fade as they head up.
I look at Adam.
He's staring at the counter, his thumb tracing the rim of his mug. His jaw is set, the way it gets when he's having a conversation with himself that nobody else is invited to.
"Hey." I angle my head down, catching his eye. "Come here." I hold one arm open, beckoning him close.
Adam places his mug on the counter without a word. Then he steps into me, his cheek finding my chest, his arms sliding around my waist. I close around him, one hand moving slowly up and down his spine, the other cupping the back of his head. He's warm and solid and he smells like home, and I press my lips to the top of his head and hold them there for a moment.
He doesn't say anything, and neither do I.
We simply stand there in the quiet kitchen while the house moves around us, footsteps overhead, the distant sound of drawers opening and closing.
"You don't have to come," I say quietly. "If you want to stay home, stay home. No explanation required."
Adam exhales through his nose, then he leans back, making my arms fall away from his body.
"I don't know why I feel like this," he says. His voice is low and a little rough, like he’s annoyed with himself. "I know it's not her fault. I know that. And I know she's—" He stops. Swallows. "I don't know why it's so hard to accept her into the pack. I mean, I didn’t give a shit when Perrin joined and he’s my damn brother.”
"You don't have to know why," I say. "Tell me where you're at."
He's quiet for a moment.
Then he pulls in a long breath, his chest expanding, and something in his face settles into a decision.
"I'm going to give her a real chance," he says. "I promise. I mean it." He meets my eyes. "I just need a little more time to get my head around it. But I'm trying, Cliff. I really am."
I cup the back of his neck and pull him in, pressing my lips to his forehead and holding them there.
"You are the first beta I ever loved," I murmur against his skin. "You made me and Raff a proper pack, and nothing will ever change that. Not ever."
His fingers curl into the front of my shirt.
"I know," he says after a moment, his voice muffled against my chest. "I know that you love me and no one is replacing me.”
"Good." I bring my hand down hard on his ass, the crack of it sharp in the quiet kitchen. "Because you're irreplaceable and I'll spend the rest of my life proving it."
Adam laughs against my chest, then he huffs dramatically. “Fine.” He looks up at me, rolling his eyes with a wide smile on his face. “I'll come to Elowen’s apartment."
I can’t help but smile too. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." He straightens up, smoothing down his shirt.Then he tips his chin toward the kitchen. "Someone needs to make sure Perrin doesn't try to carry everything in one trip and throw his back out." He shakes his head. “And I want to be there if Perrin finally builds up the nerve to touch her. Knowing him, it'll take six months and a formal written request, but you never know.”
Elowen’s Apartment
Adam
Elowen's apartmentends up being only forty minutes away.
Perrin spends most of the drive telling the story of how we all met, his whole body turned to where she's wedged between us in the back seat.
