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“I wish I could read to you now,” he said with a self-deprecating laugh.
“Someday we can work up to that. I’ll read to you later. I love doing it,” I said around a yawn. “It’s okay to not be perfect. Lord knows I’m not.”
“You are,” he protested but I couldn’t even argue as sleep pulled me under.
The smell of spices woke me from sleep and I was happy to find I wasn’t alone. Drew was snoring lightly under me and I felt someone at my back.
Drew didn’t wake right away as I shifted and I turned to see Lake watching us. He smiled down at me and held his arms open. I grinned back and lunged at him, his laughter soft so he didn’t wake the beta as he squeezed me.
His hugs were always one of my favorite things and I hated that I denied myself of his embrace for so long.
“You’re mine, Lake. No looking back,” I said into his neck as I clung to him.
“You’ve always been mine, baby.”
“The bear,” I said. “That was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. It meant so much to have him here with us. I don’t want to forget him, I just want to adapt. Living with his memory is much easier than living with his ghost. It’s not tearing me apart anymore. I miss him with my entire soul but I know he’d be proud of me for choosing you guys.”
“I wanted him to be a part of this, too,” he whispered. “I always wondered what a pack with him would look like and now he has a permanent place here.”
“How did you get his scent in the bear?” I asked.
“I found a shop who specialized. I told her the notes in his scent and she recreated it.”
“That’s incredible,” I said as I glanced around.
“Micah is washing him. We took out the scent beads and are cleaning it up now that your heat is over. He’ll be good as new as soon as he dries.”
“Thank you,” I breathed out, relieved we didn’t ruin him.
“Do you have any regrets about the heat?” He sounded worried but he didn’t need to be. I was happy.
“No,” I said without even thinking it over. “It was perfect. You guys were incredible and helped ease me into it. I was expecting it to be traumatic since it was my first off of suppressors but you made it amazing.”
“Good,” Riven’s deep voice said as he walked in. “You did so good for us, baby girl. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you,” I said as I leaned my face up. He chuckled and moved closer to press a kiss to my lips.
“Come eat, baby girl. I need to see you get your strength back,” he said as he held out a hand. Lake let me go as Riven helped me to my feet.
“Maybe I should put clothes on,” I husked as Riven’s eyes slowly ran over my body.
“You need to before I fuck you on that table instead of feeding you,” he rumbled, turning and walking away.
Lake chuckled and helped me find clothes. I felt so pathetic struggling to do the basic things but the heat had truly stolen my strength.
The others were all waiting at the kitchen table. It was full of enough food to feed the whole town.
“Who cooked?”
“Me,” Drew promised as he stumbled in. “It’s safe. They just reheated it.”
“Hey,” Micah protested. “I helped.”
“You did,” Drew conceded, giving me a wink. “We knew you’d be starving. What can I put on your plate for you?”
“Everything,” I said as my mouth watered. He’d made an entire feast for us and from the mix of spices in the air, everything was seasoned to perfection.
Once the plate was in front of me, I took the first bite. The flavors burst across my tongue, a mix of smoky and spicy.
