6. Nicolai

- Counting Stars—OneRepublic-

It’s been four days since I last saw Grace. Two days after we walked in the garden, Griffin stopped over at my office and filled me in on all the horrible things I’ve missed. How Grace is as calm as she is amazes me. From what Griffin tells me, it’s taken a while for the family to settle in. Grace doesn’t fight having at least one of her alphas with her at all times anymore.

There have been several attacks since the last one we were all called for. The rogue attacks on the smaller packs, however, have increased almost tenfold. At the last council meeting, the heads of all the packs started hunting the rogues. Surprisingly, Ethan mentioned the strengthening of the defenses at home before going on the hunts. His concern was more for the safety of the females we would leave behind.

Having brought that concern up, stopped the entire meeting dead in its tracks. Ethan is usually the warmongering brother out of the three triplets. Griffin, his identical twin, usually balances out his blood thirst.

Conrad, the third fraternal triplet, basically shared the womb with them and none of the dominant traits. He’s level headed, calm and easy to talk to. I would have to say he’s the least likely to lose his temper out of the three of them. The video meeting took up a good part of the morning and threw a wrench in my plans. I stare at my computer screen, looking at all the requests for quotes and it makes my head hurt.

When will we see our mate?It’s the first time since the wedding since I have heard my wolf.

Tonight.I tell him. Turning my gaze from the monitor, I see the six tubes that have the house plans in them. I showed the guys and they agree there’s two they are pretty sure that Grace will lean towards.

“Alpha?” My best friend and beta Jason knocks on the door as he pops his head in.

“Yes?” I wave him in as I send off the last of the quotes for today.

Jason has my dry cleaning slung over his arm and in the other arm a packed bag. “I brought two selections of clothing. One relaxed the other dress.” He raises the items as he mentions it and smiles.

“Did Griffin say where Grace wanted to go to dinner tonight?” I shut off my computer and stand up to stretch.

“Yes?” He winces and curls in on himself.

“Is it somewhere bad?” Walking around the desk, I take my dry cleaning from him.

“She wants to go to Ricks Ribs and Rodeo for dinner. I told Griffin that wasn’t an appropriate choice for a date.” He says so calmly, then looks over at me as he slowly pales. “Grace took the phone from him and threatened to disembowel me the next time she sees me. She wants ribs. Then she hung up.” He purses his lips as his eyebrows knit together. “I don’t wish to die over ribs.” He shoves the packed bag in my hands and takes my dry cleaning out of the office with him.

Shaking my head, I take the bag into my private bathroom and change out of my suit into a black fitted tee-shirt and stone-washed jeans. My phone rings as I’m tying my shoes. “Hello?” I don’t bother looking at who’s calling since it’s not the work ringtone and put it on speaker.

“It’s Grace. Griffin will be with us if that’s okay. Well, he’ll be at the bar and don’t be shocked if Ethan is at the outside bar because it’s him.” Hearing Grace’s tone makes me turn and look at the screen of my phone. It’s a number that I don’t have saved. She called me from her personal phone.

“Whatever makes everyone comfortable, I am all for it.” Smiling, I stare at the number and commit it to memory. “Before I forget, I have a present for you for after dinner.” Glancing from the phone to the plans in their white rolls, I hope she likes what my engineers created.

Grace squeals and it almost makes my ears hurt from the pitch she hit. “Damn, can’t make that sound anymore. That hurt.” The melodic tone of her laughter makes me smile and the innocence over her forgetting certain tones will hurt now was adorable. “Griff,” she yells and I can hear him respond in the background. “Nic has a present for me.” He says something to the effect that it goes with the present he and his brothers have for her. “Oh okay, a joint present sounds fun. I’ll see you at dinner Nic, get there safely.” The line goes dead and I stare at the screen longer than I should.

As much as she initially railed against the idea of me, Conrad’s idea of slow introduction has worked wonders for us. I really need to send him his favorite whiskey the next time I go to the store for myself. The alarm on my phone goes off, reminding me it’s time to leave. I grab the plans and head out of my office and down the stairs. Making it to the lobby, I pass my secretary and she calls for me. I look at my watch, knowing time was tight. “Sarah, can it wait until tomorrow?”

“Well…” She slides up alongside of me and runs her hands up my chest. “I’m not busy later if you want to stop by. I’m sure you could use a massage or a blowjob or something.” She angles her body so the top button of her dress shirt pops open and her breasts almost pop out.

Dropping my bag and the plans on the floor, I gently grip her wrists and remove her hands from my body. “Thank you for the offer, but I decline. I have a mate and you are almost out of your professional attire.” She steps back and re-buttons her shirt, leaning against her desk.

Once she’s far enough away from me, I grab the plans and my bag and leave as quickly as possible. Getting in the car, I realize I have another female’s scent on me. Quickly, I fire off a text to Griff and explain the delay, and he agrees it’s a smart move. Thankfully, my body wipes and an extra tee-shirt were in my bag, and I change my shirt yet again. That was too close for my comfort. I throw the car into drive and head to the outskirts of the city. Hitting my Rob Zombie playlist, I cruise along singing the lyrics, making my drive feel so much shorter.

Pulling up to the rib shack, I see Griffin’s truck and Ethan’s bike parked out front. I leave the plans in the car for later in the evening and head towards the front door. Country music can be heard coming from inside the establishment and it’s a catchy tune. Stepping inside, there’s a mechanical bull in the center that Ethan is on, making it look like a magic mike audition. His shirt is off and his muscles are flexing with every rock and spin of the bull. Grace is leaning on the rail with a churro in hand, watching her mate move.

“Hey Nic.” Griffin closes the distance between us and we shake hands.

“I see you found a way to buy me some time.” I motion to Ethan on the bull and he chuckles.

“Well, since he is her ‘husband’, I deferred.” Griffin motions to the bar and we pull out two stools, letting Grace enjoy the show.

“Solid plan. My receptionist hit on me on the way out.” Shaking my head, I shiver, feeling disgusting. “How long until our reservation?” The bartender drops our drinks off in front of us and we clink glasses.

“About fifteen minutes. Conrad and Barrett will meet us after you two have your dinner, so we can give her our presents.” Griffin’s gaze slips over towards Ethan and Grace. “I have to admit, I’m jealous of their relationship. But, the relationships are unique with each of us. We have a once a week talk now about how the relationship is going.” He sips at his drink and looks back at me.

“Poly families are harder to manage until a clear leader is chosen and the nurturing one. Everyone needs to pitch in equally and work together.” I watch Grace fawn over Ethan until she notices we are at the bar.

Grace comes walking over, and Griff leans over to the bartender and whispers an order to him. When the bartender returns, he hands Grace the glass, and she smiles. “I hope you had a good day at work Nic.” Grace sips at what looks like a Long Island Iced Tea, but her scent screams she’s pregnant. I shoot a questioning glance over at Ethan, and he pulls out his phone and sends me a text.

Looking down at my phone when it pings, it says it’s a virgin drink just the rim is dipped in alcohol. “Sorry work message. No more work for tonight.” I silence my phone and slip it into my back pocket.

The hostess approaches our group, looking us and Grace over. “Volkov, party of two, your table is ready.” She sweeps her arm in the direction she would like us to follow her.

“After you Grace.” I motion for her to walk ahead of me and she smiles, pleased with the offer. Grace follows the hostess, and we are seated in a large private booth in the back corner. We are still in direct line of sight of Ethan and Griffin. If what they told me is true and she’s being hunted by a few crazy exes, I don’t blame them for wanting to be close.

“How did your day go, Nic?” Grace’s tone holds concern and curiosity. It gives me hope we are going in the right direction.

“It’s vastly improved in the last twenty minutes. How was your day today?” I slide the menu over to her and take one for myself.

Her eyes dart up and over towards the guys, then back to me. “They’re up to something. I can feel it in my bones.” She narrows her eyes, staring at them, trying to puzzle out what’s off about their behavior.

Reaching out, I place my hand over hers, and her eyes dilate staring down where our skin is making contact. I know she feels the same hum of energy under the surface from the bond trying to form. “I’m sure whatever it is, it’s for your safety and best interest. You are their world. One day, I hope you will allow me to treat you the same.” I throw it out there. I’m too old to be playing teenage boy games of I like you but … I know what I want and that’s my mate by my side until one of us dies.

“I’m sorry I’m being difficult, Nic. First I was human, then I found out my ex is a wolf shifter and my daughter is one, too. Then there are these four incredibly hot guys that are my fated mates from when I was five, and they are wolves, too.” Shaking her head, she raises her gaze to look deep into what I feel is my soul. “I was abducted and almost died. Ethan gave me a wolf to save me.” She raises her free hand and looks down at it, turning it over slowly as she partially shifts it. “It’s a lot to come to terms with. Thankfully, their mom is a turned wolf like me, so she’s been a tremendous help.”

I get up from my side of the circle booth and slide in next to Grace and pull her to me. “However fast or slow you need to take things with me is fine. All I ask is that you talk to me and be honest about how you feel. Everything else will fall into place when it’s time.” I take a chance and kiss her on her temple, leaving my lips there for a little while. Not wanting to push my luck, I get ready to get up and go back to my side and Grace stops me.

“Stay with me.”

Those three words almost made my heart stop. Maybe there’s hope for us yet.