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“He’s your Triad brother,” Claire admonished softly. “And you just threw him to his mother.”
Desmond chuckled. “I would do it again if that’s what my reward will be.”
Claire rolled her eyes but pushed herself up, ignoring her aching muscles. The bed was so inviting, Desmond’s warmth even more so. “Come on. Let’s go get breakfast and save them.”
Desmond sat up and kissed her softly. “You’re too good for this world.”
“I’m really not,” Claire said. “I’ve been dying to get one of you alone for a few days now.”
“Just one of us,” Desmond teased, lifting an eyebrow.
Claire rolled her eyes again. “One or more,” she teased back. “Have to get in that practice for the bonding ceremony somehow.” She enjoyed how both of Desmond’s eyes lifted as his eyes widened. It wasn’t often she got to shock her wizard.
“Now I really don’t want to let you out of bed,” Desmond said, reaching for her.
She pushed away with a laugh, getting up and enjoying how Desmond’s eyes traced over her still naked body. “We can canoodle later.”
Desmond groaned. “That’s never going away.”
“Never.” She threw over her shoulder as she walked over to where their packs lay next to a wardrobe. She rifled through her clothes quickly before ducking into the bathroom to get ready. Everything in the bathroom was carved from the dark stone of the mountain and polished till it shone. There was a large bathtub in the corner she was going to have to put to use later.
For now, she ran her hands over the smooth bowl of the sink before turning the handle and letting cold water splash into the bowl. She cupped her hands under the icy stream and splashed it on her face, chasing the rest of the sleep away from her eyes. She got dressed in the pants and light blue shirt she had gotten from her first shopping trip with Holly and Bethany.
Thinking of the shopping trip brought thoughts about her friends. By now, Holly should have gotten word to Bethany and Cody. At least hopefully she was able to with the new Council restrictions. Most territory or clan leaders had locator orbs so hopefully Frederick’s was keyed to Bethany’s Pride Leader or Cody’s Alpha. Hopefully, her friends were staying safe and not becoming targets with this new information.
After she got dressed, she exited the bathroom. Desmond was standing in the middle of the room, already dressed and waiting on her.
“Come on, little love.” He held out a hand to her. “Let’s go save your other mates from their mothers.”
19
When they reached the dining hall, Malcolm and Everett were sitting at one of the tables.
“I’m going to kill you,” Malcolm growled.
“Where are Mommas Mara and Everina?” Desmond inquired innocently, barely holding in a laugh.
Everett lunged at him and Desmond let out the laughter as he dodged away, using Claire as a shield. Malcolm stole her away from Desmond as Everett got him in a chokehold and started messing up his hair.
“Not the hair!” Desmond cried out, breathless from the laughter.
“Just you wait,” Everett promised darkly. “Payback is sweet.”
Claire giggled. “Was it really that bad spending time with them?” she asked as she sat. Malcolm and Everett made Desmond go get them all food as punishment.
“I love my mother,” Malcolm said. “She’s just…”
“Overprotective, nosy, extremely invested in her son’s life?” Desmond asked, setting down a few plates.
Malcolm slid one of the plates in front of Clire and waited for her to begin eating. “All of that.”
“They mean well,” Everett said, letting out a small shudder. “But there is a reason we stayed at the Academy after we graduated.”
“I thought it was to search for your Fourth?” Claire asked around a mouthful of eggs.
“That too,” Everett said. “But also to keep the Academy’s neutral protection and get away from our families for a bit.”
“Like Everett said,” Desmond chimed in. “They mean well, but everyone seemed to have an expectation of the youngest-formed and most powerful Triad since the Great War. Our families ran interference with the Council and the Academy ran interference with our families. Win, win for everyone.”
