Beside me, Bram leans his shoulder against mine, staring out the window and watching the streetlights catch the falling snow.
His phone vibrates on the wood. He catches it before the first ring ends, giving Ash and Reed a warning look. “No eavesdropping,” he tells them, his thumb hovering over the screen. “I want to tell you myself.” He slides to answer. “Yeah?”
Ash stops mid-sentence, his coffee cup suspended an inch above the saucer. Across the table, Reed’s fingers freeze on the edge of the plate.
Bram stares at the glass sugar shaker in the middle of the table, listening, his boots scraping once against the floorboards. Whatever he’s feeling, he’s holding it behind a wall. Through the bond, I only get the hard, static hum of Ash and Reed’s anticipation, vibrating against my ribs. “Thanks, Warren,” hesays, and his voice is low, almost flat. He pulls the phone away, the screen going dark in his hand.
“Bram,” Reed says, the cardamom knot still caught in his fingers. “Well?”
Bram looks up. His eyes are bright, the rims slightly flushed. He takes a slow, heavy breath, his chest expanding under his green flannel, and lets it out in a long, ragged whistle.
“It cleared,” he says.
Ash blinks. “The whole thing?”
“Every cent. Warren’s bank released the wire. Two million.”
Ash lets out a long, shuddering breath, his forehead dropping straight onto his folded arms. Reed lets out a laugh. He hits the table with his fist, rattling the spoons, then grabs the back of Ash’s neck to shake him before reaching across the booth to slam a heavy hand against Bram’s shoulder. Then he leans over and presses his mouth to mine, tasting of cardamom sugar.
Bram just sits there, the stiffness in his collarbone dissolving as he leans back against his chair.
Maren comes back, holding a copper pot of hot cocoa. She looks at Bram, then at Reed, who’s gone from kissing me to trying to wrestle Ash into a headlock.
“I’m guessing the wire cleared,“ Maren smiles, filling the first mug as the dark, rich steam curls up between us.
“Yep, we’re officially official,” I say, beaming.
Reed releases Ash, grabs his cup, and lifts it. “That we are. To the orchard!”
“To the orchard,” they echo.
I lift my mug. “To our pack, tous.”
Bram looks at me, his slow, rare grin breaking across his face. Under the table, his hand finds my wrist, his thumb pressing warm against my pulse.
“To us,” he murmurs. “And to our new life.”
Four months later
It is seven in the morning on a Sunday, and my kitchen is currently three sizes too small. Reed is flat on his back on the linoleum, his boots sticking out past the refrigerator, his shoulder wedged against the radiator valve, tapping the pipe with a wrench.
“Nothing like a little mechanical noise to start the morning,” I say, leaning against the counter with my tea.
Reed grunts from the floor. He hits the pipe again, another sharpclankthat vibrates through my floorboards. “You had air pockets in the return line. Another month and you’d have had a steam leak behind your drywall. You’re welcome.”
“Don’t discourage his only talent, Luna,” Ash says. He’s sitting on the stool by the counter, wearing nothing but grey sweatpants. He reaches out, his fingers hooking the front belt loop of my jeans, and pulls me a half-step closer.
“I have other talents,” Reed says, standing up and pouting.
“None of which belongs in a kitchen,” Ash murmurs. He leans down, pressing his nose against the warm skin of my neck, inhaling slow. A shiver ripples down my arms.
Through the bond, I send a dry, teasing image of me bent over the very counter we’re leaning on. A prompt, dirty promise.
Ash’s fingers tighten on my belt loop. Reed’s eyes flash, and his scent spikes, sending a pulse of heat straight to my belly.
But on second thought, my thighs are still heavy from last night, an ache behind my hips making me wish for the endless stamina of my last heat.Later, actually,I send back through the bond, a brief mental nudge of retreat.
Ash huffs against my skin, his teeth scraping my collarbone in a lazy threat.Any time, sweetheart,his voice ripples back.We’ll only be hungrier when you’re ready.
