Page 193 of Beasts of Mine

Luca turned his hand palm-up beside mine rather than simply taking it.

“I'm proud of you.” Luca told me as he waited, his quiet sincerity tightening my throat. “It's a good opportunity, and they asked for you.” I slid my fingers into Luca's, the familiar calluses rough against my palm.

“Thank you.” I told Luca as I squeezed his hand, appreciating that he understood why being asked specifically mattered without needing me to explain it.

Malek held my gaze from across the table.

“I still hate the distance.” Malek admitted as cedar deepened faintly around him, his voice level but honest.

“I know.” I told Malek as I gave him a small nod.

“But I want you to take the work you want.” Malek continued, his expression serious. “I don't know what every part of this will feel like yet. We'll deal with that when it's real.”

Something in my chest eased at the fact that he hadn't promised he would suddenly be perfectly comfortable with everything. He was offering effort instead.

“That's what I want too.” I told Malek before looking toward Tavian and Luca. “I don't expect any of us to know exactly how this works yet. I just don't want us deciding it can't work before we even try.”

“We won't.” Luca assured me as his fingers remained loosely threaded through mine, his purr warming the quiet space between us.

“I've already decided I want to see an airport someday.” Tavian reminded me as he leaned back in his chair, some of his usual humor finally returning. “Even though nobody has explained why they require so much warning.”

“You'll understand when one makes you take your boots off in front of strangers.” I told Tavian as I smiled at the confusion immediately appearing on his face.

Tavian stared at me.

“I no longer want to see an airport.” Tavian replied gravely, his amber eyes narrowing as though airports had personally betrayed him.

“You'll survive.” I told Tavian as I laughed and turned back toward the laptop.

Then I typed my acceptance.

I read it through once because I was still a professional even while my personal life became more complicated by the day, corrected one unnecessary comma, and rested my finger over the trackpad. Nobody asked whether I was sure, tried to change my mind, or made me prove that wanting the job didn't mean I wanted them less.

I clicked send, and a moment later the message appeared in my sent folder.

The Patagonia assignment was officially real.

Excitement came first, carrying my thoughts toward pumas, mountains, cold-weather gear, and the photographs I might bring home. The ache followed, but it didn't spoil any of that.

Tavian leaned his shoulder against mine without speaking, his warmth solid along my side. Luca's fingers remained threaded through my hand, while across the table Malek's purr started low enough that I felt the vibration before I properly heard it.

I was going, and I wanted to go. I also already knew I would miss them.

For most of my adult life, leaving had been easy because there had rarely been much attached to the place behind me. Falling in love with Malek, Tavian, and Luca hadn't changed the part of me that wanted the next assignment, the next animal, or the next place I'd never seen.

It had simply given me somewhere I wanted to come back to.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

EVIE

A week after I accepted the Wild Terrain assignment, nothing had fallen apart, even though some part of me had expected three months in Patagonia to make things strange between us. Tavian had hated the length of it, Luca had started thinking about how we would handle the practical parts, and Malek had admitted he hated the idea of me being somewhere he couldn't reach. I'd gone to bed that night expecting at least some awkwardness afterward, but the next morning Tavian had complained about how much space Malek took up in the nest, Luca had made breakfast, and Malek had kissed the back of my shoulder before I left for work.

Apparently, accepting another job hadn't broken anything. Tavian still appeared with food I hadn't requested and opinions I definitely hadn't asked for, Luca still asked before touching my equipment even when whatever I was doing made his fingers visibly twitch with the desire to fix it, and Malek remained quiet, attentive, and impossible to forget was nearby even when he hadn't spoken for twenty minutes.

The changes were smaller. Tavian scented me more often when I arrived at the temple, Luca's purr tended to start soon after I settled into the nest, and Malek had begun appearing along my routes a little more frequently than before. His hand also occasionally stayed in my hair or against the back of my neck for a few extra seconds before he let me go. My own instincts weren't being particularly subtle either. I rearranged the nest more often, kept Malek's charcoal shirt near my pillow, and noticed immediately when Luca's blanket or one of Tavian's little gifts wasn't where I'd left it.

None of that had stopped me from working, and I hadn't quietly moved out of the station. I still slept there whenever my route, editing schedule, or morning plans made it the better option. When an overnight in the western field zone made professional sense, though, I had started using the same general sleeping area near the old stonework that Mara already had in her notes instead of hiking back to the field shelter.