Chapter 29 - Veronica

I wake up slowly, wrapped up in Percy, breathing in slow, all the anxiety of the previous days gone. You'd think that an epic fight in the middle of the forest might make someone more anxious, but it seems like it was the outlet I needed for my stress.

Pulling his arm off of me as gently as I can, I slip out of the bed and hurry to the shower, cranking it up hot and climbing inside. A moment later, the bathroom door creaks open, and I see Percy step into the bathroom, already naked.

He's gorgeous, even with his scars and the always-present scruff on his chin. When he walks toward the shower, a little shiver of awareness runs through my body, and I step back when he opens the door and steps in.

My body is soft and warm from the water, and his fingers are cold as he runs them up and down the length of my sides, sending shivers that ricochet throughout the rest of my body. Slowly, he trails the tips of his fingers over my shoulders and back, and then, finally, he grips my hips, turning me around.

I gasp when he kicks my legs apart, pushing on my lower back until I press my hands against the glass. He reaches up, grabbing my hair and gently tugging it back. The water sprays on my lower back when he slides inside me.

" Fuck , Veronica," he says, and it sends a tidal wave of lust through me. He slides out slowly, teasing me, taking his time, his other hand massaging my ass, grazing against my hip, then settling on my lower back as he increases the tempo and pressure, slamming into me harder and harder until I'm worried we might shatter the shower's glass.

But we don't, and a moment later, he's pulled me back, running the soap and water over me, washing away the remnants of what we've just done.

"Pack meeting today," Percy says, tipping his head back to run his head under the water. I watch, mesmerized, ready for another round with him already. When he sees the look on my face, his eyes darken, and a moment later, he's on his knees, his mouth between my legs, his fingers deep inside me, one of my legs draped over his shoulder.

Later, when we're finally toweling off, I snort, and Percy looks over at me, alarmed.

"Waterboarding," I laugh, and he laughs, too, then he drags me back to the bed.

We're late to the pack meeting, but apparently, that's pretty normal, and they forgive him as soon as he shows them the donuts we picked up along the way.

"Good morning, everyone," Aris says, sweeping into the room. "We have a lot of things to cover today, so let's try to get through them quickly."

He starts by recapping what happened with the vampires, which authorities will be involved, and his new efforts to talk to a vampire leader.

"Eventually," he says, "they'll have to pick someone to lead who isn't an idiot."

"Or a cardboard cut-out," Percy adds, and everyone laughs. I squeeze his hand under the table.

Apparently, the last leader had sacrificed his life, breaking the life pact to give his goons a chance at getting me. Aris covers this, and talks about the threat we might face if anyone finds out about the hybrid baby our pack will soon have. He impresses the importance of keeping this quiet, and says that we could try and keep my current "vampire" status under wraps as well, for safety's sake.

"I would like everyone to welcome the newest member of our pack and the newest member of this team," Aris says, and when the door opens, Rafael walks in, smiling broadly at all of us.

"Were you waiting behind that door the entire time?" Percy asks, laughing and giving him a little bro hug.

"Yes," Rafael says, "and it was totally worth it."

"Rafael is transferring from his agency to ours."

"To ours?" Bigby parrots, and this makes Aris smile again.

"That's right, that's the next big announcement. Starting now, we are integrating into an agency, taking on agents, training, and expanding. I'm tired of leaving this stuff in the hands of people who are just going corrupt, taking money, siphoning power, and leaving the innocent and weak behind to deal with the damage."

"Wow," Bigby says, blowing out a breath.

"You're accepting agents?" Olivia asks, raising an eyebrow. In a quick movement, she stands, her, chair rolling out from behind her. Rosa reaches out and grabs it before it can roll all the way across the room. "I'd like to become an agent."

"Oh," Aris says, clearly not expecting that. "Well, yeah, of course, you'll just have to go through the training and pass the tests."

"Excellent," Olivia says, smiling and plopping into her seat, which she's just trusted Rosa to fetch for her. I lick my lips, then stand up as well, heat flooding through my cheeks when everyone turns to look at me.

"Me, too," I say.

"You're pregnant," Aris says, looking flustered.

"Yeah," I say, laughing, "well, obviously, after that's done. I want to train and become an agent, too."

"Okay," Aris says, then looking around the room, "anyone else?"

His gaze settles on Rosa, and she laughs, shaking her head and crossing her arms.

"No, thank you," she says, "but you guys have fun."

"Alright, then," Aris says, "that's everything I have—"

"There's actually one more thing," Linnea says, bopping him to the side and taking her place at the front of the podium. "I didn't want to overshadow anyone else's announcement," she says, adjusting the mic so it's better for her. I don't understand why there needs to be a mic. There are only a handful of us here, but it's funnier that she's moving it down, so Aris will have to raise it again later.

"I'm pregnant!" she says, and Aris's mouth drops open. I glance at Percy, shocked that she waited to tell everyone together, even Aris.

"Honey," he says, stepping closer to her, "is that true."

"Would I lie?"

"Yeah," he says, looking her over, "you would."

"It's true," she says, her voice lower as she looks up at him through her lashes. Aris grabs her around the waist, picking her up and spinning her around. Everyone claps and whistles, and then Linnea comes over to squeeze my hand.

"Our kiddos are going to be best friends," she says, "I'm just sure of it."

"I know it, too," I say, smiling right back at her.

To my left, Percy and Rafael are chatting. Bigby and Ado are congratulating Aris. Byron is absorbed in his laptop, and Olivia in her tablet. Rosa is making her way over to us, likely to punch Linnea for not telling her first about the pregnancy.

Right now, amidst the chaos, I feel more at home than I have in a long time.