The restaurant is beginning to fill up, and I notice that Marie looked anxiously around until she found Lore. Once she did, her entire body relaxed.
“He’s not going anywhere,” I murmur, taking her hand. “I get it though. He doesn't know it, but I woke up last night, looking for him in bed. He was in between you and Storm. Once I saw him, I went back to sleep. It didn’t matter to my brain that we all went to bed together, I still had a moment of panic.”
“Exactly,” she sighs. “I hate this feeling. It’s like I’ll never be normal again.”
“I know we just told a little boy that normalcy isn’t a terrible thing, but I’m going to offer a different perspective,” I say. “Our normal will always change, because of our positions in the club. We may do our best to minimize the risk, but it’ll always be there in some way. Your bond with Lore? It’s an example of how fate wants to tie you even closer to us so we’ll always be able to keep you.”
“That’s dangerously close to an alpha bark,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“I mean, you could have rejected him and been done with it. Storm lifted the bark,” I say.
“Ugh, your logic sucks, Wilder,” she laughs. “Lore is under my skin, and in my heart. There’s nothing I can do to kick him out. After knowing what life is like without him? No fucking thank you.”
It’s loud enough in the restaurant that no one can hear her, and she’s also speaking so only I can hear her.
“Then consider us yours,” I say. “We’re a package deal, whenever you want us. We haven’t made life easy?—”
“You’re kidding, right?” Marie asks. “The house, my nest, and bending over backward to stay in Minneapolis alone; I would say my life is definitely changing.”
“We’d want to do that either way,” I reply. “When we bought the house, we knew there would be things we wanted to do to upgrade the house. Our idea of making things easier is giving you a place in both our club and our lives. You should be able to move in the world and know you can take care of yourself. Not because we aren’t there to snap necks, but because you’re a force to be reckoned with.”
“I don’t see myself the way you do,” she admits. “I don’t enjoy using a gun.”
“How about a knife?” a blue haired woman asks, dropping into a free chair.
We’re in a corner of the restaurant, and this table just happens to have three chairs. I didn’t think anything of it, but now I narrow my eyes.
“I heard you were here, and wanted to drop by,” the woman says.
“Hello, Cerenity,” Marie murmurs, lips twitching. “Are you stalking me?”
“No, not exactly. I was driving by and saw a couple of motorcycles outside. They were too nice for one to belong to Jasper’s brother, so I took a chance it might be you,” she says.
I have a feeling I may know who this is just by the sound of her voice, and I wait to see if I’m right.
“Cerenity, this is Wilder. She’s bonded to my idiot brother,” she says finally.
Yep, I clocked that.
“I’m sorry to hear,” I say, making Cerenity snort.
“So why are you talking guns?”
“She’s wearing one now, and you can’t take a knife to a gun fight,” I explain. “Sometimes, you have to be willing to play dirtier than everyone else in the room.”
“I’ll agree with that,” Cerenity says. “I may prefer hand to hand, but I do know how to shoot a gun.”
Marie looks around nervously and Cerenity shakes her head.
“Everyone who eats here is mafia,” she explains. “If they’re not, they know whose establishment this is. Antonia has the best Italian food I’ve ever had, though she fights for that honor with another restaurant in town. We won’t talk about that, or I’ll get thrown out. I wanted to see how you were. You’re not taking calls.”
“I went out of town again,” Marie explains.
“You don’t have to work?” Cerenity asks, surprised.
“She’s on leave,” I say. “Marie also doesn’t have to work unless she wants to.”
“Cute,” Cerenity mutters. “Where’d you go?”
