When I got close to my office and room, I was overwhelmed by the scent of my mate. I walked in, heart full of hope that Fox didn’t leave and had been waiting on me to get back. I saw him spread out on my bed, fast asleep, and the sight made me smile.
I changed quickly and slipped into bed beside him. Causing him to wake up just slightly, “Hmm. You’re back,” he whispered groggily.
I ran my hand on his face, “I am back,” I whispered. “What are you doing in my bed?”
He smiled but kept his eyes closed, “Waiting for you to get home,” I chuckled quietly, “Did you get Kemp?”
“I did. He was arrested a few hours ago,” I kissed his forehead.
He made a sleepy noise, “That’s good.” He wrapped his arms around me, “I’m glad you’re back.”
I kissed his lips, “I’m glad you’re here.”
He opened his eyes finally and inspected me, “I’m glad I’m here too.” I kissed him again and he returned my kiss with as much passion. I curled into his chest and Niamh started purring. I quickly fell asleep to the sound of my mate’s heartbeat.
I woke up still curled into Fox’s chest. I tried to slip out of his grasp, but he pulled me closer to him. I smiled, thinking of the first and last time we slept together. I deployed the same tactics I did that time, kissing my way up his neck to his jaw, but before I got to his lips, he groaned, “Just a few more minutes.”
I chuckled, “That’s what you said the last time. I need to get up, but you can sleep as long as you want.”
“No,” he tightened his grip, “Stay in bed.”
I laughed, “No. I have things to do.”
“Nope. You have to stay in bed,” he said, pulling back just enough to kiss my forehead.
I laughed again, “Noooo. I need to get out of bed.” He grumbled and settled deeper into bed. I captured his lips between mine and bit gently on his lower lip. He moaned, deepening the kiss.
When he broke the kiss, he looked down at me, “Why is this the way you wake me up?”
“Because, as I’m beginning to figure out, it’s the only way to wake you up,” I said with a smile.
“It’s not the only way, but it is one of the more effective ways.”
“I don’t know how you made it through basic, let alone SEAL training, hating mornings as much as you do.”
He rubbed his eyes, “It certainly warrants a moment of thought,” I giggled and brought his lips back to mine. He broke the kiss again, “Go on a date with me tonight.”
“Okay,” I said with a big grin on my face.
He kissed me hard, but before he could deepen it any further, I broke away from him. As quickly as I could, I jumped out of bed and went to the bathroom attached to the bedroom. When I came out Fox was sitting up in bed, “Why do you have an apartment if you can stay here?”
“The rooms are soundproof, but it wasn’t enough to block out my screams, especially right after it happened.” I sighed, “I couldn’t stay here. Lavi was wearing herself out trying to break my night terrors and Daniel stopped sleeping for the most part, so I moved out to give everyone some peace.”
“I’m sorry,” he started but I shushed him.
“I know. I forgive you. You don’t have to keep apologizing,” he nodded his understanding.
“So are we going to start sleeping here again?”
I shook my head, “I mean sometimes maybe, but it’s not practical for you. We can either stay in my apartment, your apartment, or build our own home somewhere in the middle.”
He smiled, “You want to build a home with me? Even after everything?”
I walked over to him and slipped my fingers into his hair. He buried his head in my stomach and wrapped his arms around my lower body. “You’re here. You said you were all in, so yeah even after everything, I want to build a home with you. I want to do everything with you.”
He looked up at me and I smiled down at him. I kissed him gently. He broke the kiss, “Thank you for being patient.”
“I would’ve waited a lifetime for you. Waiting a couple of years for you is nothing,” he reached up and pressed a demanding kiss on my lips; one I eagerly returned.
A knock on my office door made me growl as I broke the kiss.I walked into my office and opened the door. “So you did make it in last night,” was all Daniel said as he invited himself into my office. He looked through the door to the bedroom, “Morning Fox.”
“Good morning, Daniel,” Fox said with a wave before walking into the bathroom.
Daniel turned back to me, “When did you get in?”
“Around one or one thirty,” I looked Daniel over, trying to figure out where we stood after our last conversation. “I’m sorry for what I said before I left. It was uncalled for, and I didn’t think about it before I said and I should have.”
He pulled me into a tight hug, “It’s okay. I understand where you were coming from, but I was worried you wouldn’t be able to keep it together when you came face to face with Kemp. I’m glad you made it home.”
“Me too,” I pulled back, “How is everyone?”
“They’re transitioning relatively well, but it’s going to be a long road. I’m going to look into building some houses, so we can start getting to some semblance of normal.”
I nodded, “Let me know what I can do to help.”
“Some of the clan leaders want to hold a meeting, well one in particular, about the fact you went rogue when we got back. That one in particular thinks you need to be dealt with and is requesting everyone meet.”
I rolled my eyes, “I didn’t do anything that put us in jeopardy.”
“Speaking of that, you revealed the world of supers to three humans.”
“Actually Joseph did. I just defended myself after Joseph had outed me.”
“Regardless, they want to call a meeting. Tomorrow morning in the conference room at eight.”
I sighed, “Fine. I’ll be there.”
“Be where?” Fox asked, walking back into the office.
“Meeting with the clan leaders tomorrow morning,” I said with irritation evident in my voice.
“Oh,” he studied my face closely, “Why?”
“Couple of different reasons, but the biggest being some of the leaders are worried about the fact I revealed the supernatural world to three humans.”
“But you didn’t. Your uncle did.”
“But the queen is supposed to lead by example, and Amaya didn’t quite do that when she decided to react the way she did. She’s been trained to take down anyone without using her abilities. She should’ve handled it that way,” Daniel said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“If she hadn’t used her abilities, we would all be full of bullets.”
“While that’s true, I’m sure it’s being pointed out that I used things like plant and earth bending rather than things no one could prove,” I said in a sullen tone. “Who all is being called in as a witness?”
“Jax, Alanza, Josie, Ian, Jace, Mona, Tex, you, and someone named Maverick.”
“At least they’re not limiting it to just dragons, I guess. Are they really going to let Jace testify?”
Daniel put his hands up in the air, “So far, that seems to be the plan.”
“Huh. That’s either going to help or hurt me big time.”
“Yep. The ones that demanded this meeting are counting on it hurting you,” Daniel said.
Fox put his hands on his hips, “Wait. Why wouldn’t I be called?”
“You’re her mate which makes you biased, and even if you aren’t biased they wouldn’t trust a word you said because for all they know you are biased.”
“Say biased one more time,” I said with a smirk.
“Biased,” Daniel said back with a smirk. “Oh before I forget. Get Fox ready for glacadh. You have three weeks.”
Author: Kailan Counahan 