The clouds darkened overhead. I couldn’t tell if the cacophonous thunder was Ryder’s doing or Morgan’s. Either way, I knew a storm would touch down soon if no one did anything.
In unison, Vi and I jumped in between the two dragons. She put both hands against Morgan’s chest and shoved. I touched my mate’s cheek and tried to draw his attention back to me. When that didn’t work, I gave him a light slap.
Ryder narrowed his eyes at me. I grinned, feeling victorious for a moment.
“Damn demon!” Morgan howled.
Vi laughed in his face.
Ryder groaned. “They’re going to be a pain in my ass. I can feel it already.”
Confused, I twisted to face Vi and Morgan. Ryder slung an arm over my shoulder in a possessive show that I didn’t mind in the least. From here, I could watch Vi and Morgan glare at one another. The air between them rippled with heat and electricity.
I leaned into my mate and whispered, “Do you think we can get back to moving stuff into the house if we leave them outside like this?”
He lifted one brow. “Possibly. Let’s give it a try.”
While Vi ran interference, Ryder and I went back inside and began putting things away. Mom filled the cupboards and set up a coffee corner for me while Dad put the bedframe together. Slowly, the house began to empty as everyone went home.
Still, the smell of pack lingered on everything. I dropped onto the new couch and inhaled. For the first time in years, the scent brought me complete peace. The pack had come back together. They were safe and happy, and that was because of me.
Well, Ryder and me.
I turned to smile up at my preoccupied mate who was trying to set up a streaming service on the new TV. Flopping down to sit on the floor before me, he cursed at the remote that stubbornly kept him from clicking the right letter on the screen’s keyboard display.
When I yanked the remote from his hand, he leaned back and rested his head against my stomach while I finished what he’d started.
We were safe. We were happy.
Damn, I never thought I’d make it here. Fate gave us so many challenges, but we’d conquered them all. Any others that came our way would be like child’s play in comparison. Nothing would ever keep us apart.
I tossed the remote into Ryder’s lap and reached for his hair so I could run my nails along his scalp. He moaned and leaned into my touch as he browsed the streaming service.
All was normal and peaceful until Morgan blasted through the door. The sounds of Vi’s shouting drowned out the trailer playing in the background, as well as Ryder’s beleaguered sigh.
“Here we go,” he mumbled.
That was fine. This wasn’t anything we couldn’t face together. I hoped, that by the end, I would have another family member, and Ryder would have his brother back.