Page 26 of Outnumbered
“Aw, you guys didn’t need to go to all that trouble,” I said. “I was napping on my roof and in the woods, remember? A soft bed in a warm house is enough of a bonus for me.”
“Ember’s been counting down the days, too,” Riddick said. “She bought a calendar just to mark off the days.”
“Hey!” I shouted. “You’re not supposed to rat me out.”
All of them laughed.
“Is Silverowl going to be around much?” I asked.
“All of us took two days’ vacation,” he answered.
My mouth dropped. “What!” I screeched.
“When your mate is this excited about another pack coming over, you do whatever you can to ensure it goes smoothly and she’s less stressed. For us, that meant taking the vacation days so we could all devote our full attention.”
“We’re not children that need to be babysat,” Caleb grumbled.
“Oh, it has nothing to do with that, Caleb. It’s that your aunt is excited to have another siren to train and to for all of us to offer you any advice or examples of how to navigate this type of relationship. Though, we know yours is different from ours since we didn’t have a magical connection like you do.”
“You’re not connected?” Branson asked. “But still chose to share?”
Declan nodded. “My twin and I always knew we’d share a partner, but when Leona showed up in our lives with Thor and Silverowl dating her, too, we knew we had to adapt.”
“Wasn’t it hard?” Branson asked.
Declan nodded again. “Honestly, Thor was the one that needed convincing. The jealous wolf was in love with Leona first and it took some major emotional growth for him to accept and realize that he was going to join our pack.”
Branson frowned and looked out his window. He said he was fine with our pack and the relationship, that it felt right, so why was he so curious? Was it because he couldn’t fathom doing it without the magical connection? Why did that make my chest hurt to think about?
Triston draped his arm around my shoulders, and squeezed me against his side. “Stop spiraling in your thoughts, darling.”
I didn’t respond, but relaxed into his side and closed my eyes.
Riddick and Declan chatted from the front seat and Triston started purring softly. The vibration and sound made it easy to doze.
The vehicle being put into park woke me from my nap. I started awake and immediately felt the wetness on the side of my face. Looking over in shock, I saw I’d drooled on Triston’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” I gasped and wiped at my face with the back of my hand.
He shrugged. “It’ll dry.”
My cheeks were on fire as we climbed out of the SUV, but the embarrassment was quickly forgotten as I looked at the adorable little cottage house with a white picket fence and various flowers planted along the fence line. “This is the most adorable house I have ever seen!” I gasped.
The front door flung open and Leona walked out wearing a pretty pink and yellow summer dress. “Welcome to our home!”
Declan opened the gate and stepped to the side so we could enter.
I walked through and hugged Leona. “This is so cute! The flowers are gorgeous.”
“That was Silverowl’s doing,” she said. “He is great with plants.”
“Elven bloodlines,” he said from behind her.
Leona released me and stepped to the side so I could see him.
“Is that why my little garden always flourished even in bad weather?” I asked, thinking back about the little plot I’d had.
He shrugged. “Most likely.”
“Oh, it was one hundred percent your magic,” Branson said.