7. Grace

-Miss Independent—KellyClarkson-

There’s something soothing from the way Nicolai presents himself. He’s not an in your face alpha, not like Ethan and Griff. He’s also not as reserved as Conrad is either. With him sitting next to me, I feel calm and relaxed enough I’m not on high alert watching the room. I pull out my phone instead of looking at the menu and pull up my photo app.

“Smile Nicky.” I scoot in closer and take a selfie of us together. The smile that graces his lips is mesmerizing. Gently, I rub my cheek on his and I freeze. The faint scent of another female on him causes me to growl. “Did someone touch you before you came here tonight?” Climbing up on the bench, I bury my nose against his throat, then across his shoulder. The scent is faint, just barely there. My anger spurred Ethan and Griffin to join us at the table.

“Unwanted contact, yes. My receptionist invited me to her place as I was leaving to head here. I firmly declined her offer and changed my shirt and cleaned up the best I could before coming here.” His tone of voice rings with honesty and I sit down next to him again.

With narrowed eyes, I study him. He’s not lying. My wolf says softly to me. I know she’s right, but it seems I have developed a possessive streak.

“Darlin, you’re making me nervous. One minute you’re ready to attack, the next nothing. What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Ethan’s tone pulls me out of the thought cycle I was stuck in.

“I accept your truth, Nicolai.” Turning to face Ethan, I smile. “Sorry, something came over me and I had to settle myself down.” The waitress comes over and looks surprised seeing Griffin and Ethan in the booth. “We need ribs enough for four people, oh and hush puppies with apple butter and cran jelly.” The waitress gets ready to address the guys and Griffin just raises his hand to stop her.

“Grace placed the order, and that’s what we’re having.” He doesn’t give her a chance to say a single word. I can only guess he knows it would piss me off further.

“So, since you two decided to crash our party. Why are you two acting so sketchy? You’re up to something, I know it.” I look between my mates and then over at Nicolai. He hasn’t learned to avoid my questions.

“Nic? What do you know?” I turn and face him and grip his chin, forcing him to face me. Thankfully, he has a short beard because I give it a little tug, so he knows I mean business.

“You know I can’t not answer her.” He looks over at Griffin and Ethan, and they nod at him. “I have a mating present for you, as do your mates. After dinner, we were going to head back to your house and share the presents.” Nic bites his bottom lip and I can’t help but stare at him as he does it.

Releasing his beard, I slide my hand to the back of his neck and pull him down to me. “See, that was easy.” I whisper against his lips, letting mine brush against his. “If that bitch ever touches you again…” Pausing, I let my wolf show for a moment. “It’s not Ethan’s temper anyone will have to worry about. You’ll find her head on your desk.” I press my lips against his briefly and sit back in the booth like nothing happened.

The ribs and hush puppies arrive within moments of me kissing Nic, and I dig in, not waiting for the others to start. Griffin and Nic are staring at me barely blinking, and Ethan is reaching for a second rib already.

“Ethan, I know you’re her sire but damn, she has some of your more volatile traits.” Nic says as he reaches for a small rack of ribs.

“Battle born, that’s all her. I’m just an asshole who has zero fucks to give.” Ethan smirks as he waves a rib bone at Nic.

“How are you feeling?” Griffin tilts his head, looking at me. That’s become a thing with him that makes his question less demanding and more concerned. The slight change in position has helped our communication much easier. The difference is when he questions and his head is straight up, he’s in serious alpha mode. When he tilts his head to the side, he’s a concerned mate. It’s a change he’s made for me for silent cues for when we are in public to temper my rage.

“I’m getting tired.” Laughing a little, I lean on Nic’s shoulder and muffle a yawn with the back of my hand. “Lately when I eat, I want to sleep. It’s really freaking weird.” Reaching out, I grab the basket of hush puppies and apple butter and start eating them with the cran jelly.

“Do you want to go home, Darlin?” Ethan lowers his head slightly and softens his tone.

“Can we? I don’t want to cut your time out with me short, Nic.” Lifting my head off his shoulder, I turn to face him.

“If you’re tired, I’d rather you be comfortable at home. I can always join you there if you would like?” He raises his eyebrows and smiles. When the waitress comes to ask how we are doing, Griff takes over getting us ready to leave. Nic pulls out a black credit card and hands it to the waitress and she runs off to do my mate’s bidding.

“Thank you guys for understanding.” I feel bad cutting the night short, but I’m tired and want to curl up with my soft blanket in the window seat. They all tell me not to worry about it and my comfort is their priority.

“Who do you want to ride home with?” Ethan’s question catches me off guard.

All things considered, I’ve been forced to ride in Griffin’s truck or in Conrad’s car. Then it makes sense. They are offering to let me ride with Nic. I slowly turn to look at him and smile. “I play games on my phone or read when they drive or I sing along with whatever is on the radio. Oh, and I get to control the music, I hope that’s not an issue. Passenger picks the playlist the driver shuts his pie hole.” I smile, having flipped the Supernatural’s quote to suit me. Nic signs the check when the waitress returns.

“Whatever makes you happiest, Grace.” He smiles as he slides out of the booth and offers me his hand.

Staring at his hand, it takes me several moments to engage my brain and accept his help. I slide out of the booth then nuzzle both of my mates and kiss Ethan, since everyone knows I’m his ‘wife’. Heading outside, I look around the parking lot, trying to pick out what Nic would be driving.

He winks at me and hits the unlock button and a pitch black dark horse mustang’s lights blaze to life. “That better be a stick or I’m kicking you out of the pack.” I say seriously. Honestly, I never understood the point of a performance vehicle being an automatic. Half the fun of controlling that much power is shifting through the gears.

“It’s a stick. Trust me, I feel the same way about muscle cars. It’s either a stick or nothing. I won’t drive an automatic sports car.” He flashes a megawatt smile at me and I swear my ovaries just burst. He’s the dangerous mate, the one that when he wants to turn on the sex appeal, he goes from zero to sixty in seconds.

“I’m glad we agree.” Beaming, Ethan walks me over to the car with me tucked into his side and opens the passenger door. “I’m okay Wolfie, I swear. I’m not fragile anymore.”

“I’m allowed to worry about you, Darlin, just like you’re allowed to worry about me.” He bends down and kisses my lips softly, lingering there for several moments before pulling away.

Ethan walks over to his motorcycle and I watch him put his helmet—or as he calls it his brain bucket—on. Griffin looks around, then approaches the car and kisses me briefly before walking to his truck. I watch my mates curiously until I hear Nic open the driver-side door.

“Are you ready to go, Grace?” He reaches over and grabs the seatbelt and buckles me in. Sitting back, he fires the beast up and the rumble of the motor makes me smile.

Reaching over to the huge digital center console, I find the radio and go bluetooth and pair my phone to his car. Flipping through my playlist, I put on Falling in ‘Reverse Voices in My Head’. Glancing over at Nic, he’s smiling. “I assume you like my choice?” Arching my brow watching him, he chuckles.

“Yeah, I like your choice. I can get us VIP to their next show. My company built the studio they use exclusively.” Nic depresses the clutch and drops her into first and launches us out of the parking lot.

Being thrown back into the seat by the g-force is exhilarating. I giggle and bouncing along with the music. “So, on a serious note. Tell me about you. I know next to nothing about you and I’m sure Griffin has spilled all the beans about me.” Nic nods slowly and I can tell that I’m right by the smirk.

“Well, you already know about Nina and that her mother died in childbirth. I have a sister that still hasn’t found her mate and my mom and dad. Other than that, I have a demanding job in the city and a pack to run. Two of my betas help maintain order on the days I have to go into the office.” Nic taps his thumb on the steering wheel as he bangs through the gears.

“With all things considered, how do you intend to adjust things for the family?” May as well drop my main concern in his lap. He apparently will be the main breadwinner since Ethan quit being a mercenary the minute we exchanged bites and became the deputy sheriff in town. Griffin is mayor, so his job can be done from anywhere. Conrad has his office in the house and runs his business from there. Barrett has quit his job as an interior designer to be a stay at home dad for Ashina. The only one I’m not sure how he’s going to handle the transition is Nic.

“That’s a well thought out concern, and I’m glad you are addressing it now.” He pauses for a moment, then motions to the back of the car. A half dozen white cardboard tubes rest on the back seat. “In those tubes are my mating present for you. They are plans for different styles of a grand alpha house. In the basement, I planned out several styles of office layouts so that Conrad and I can work from home.” He bites his bottom lip again and winces. “I hope I didn’t overstep.”

Turning in the seat, I look at the tubes more and nod my head, agreeing with his line of thought. “Planning is good. Making arrangements so that the family can be close, especially for our daughters, is important.” I sit back in the seat properly and watch the scenery as it goes by. “You did good, Nic. You made a move for the family, but you’re leaving the ultimate decision up to me. You satisfied your alpha drive to provide and protect and still managed to give me a choice.” I reach over and rest a hand on his and give it a squeeze. “Thank you for being so thoughtful.”

Nic chuckles and shakes his head slightly. “I was scared that my planning was going to piss you off to the point you rejected me.” The forced smile tells me it was his honest concern and I think back about how I had reacted that made him think that way.

“I’m sorry for my reaction. I didn’t know I could have more mates than I already do. The thought scared me, so I ran.” I give his hand another squeeze, and I don’t know if it’s more for my security or his.

“Honestly, I came to see one of my oldest friends get married. I never expected to find you.” He turns his head to glance at me, and that’s when I see it.

A full sized black truck is launching out of nowhere at us. “Nic, look out!” I scream and by the time the last syllable leaves my lips, the nose of the car has already been hit. Suddenly, I feel weightless, and we are spinning out of control. Nic is fighting the wheel and not making progress. It’s the sudden impact, then the flipping end over end that makes me scream. I was scared before, terrified doesn’t even begin to cover how I feel now. I curl into a ball, knowing that any sudden impact can break bones in a heartbeat.

The last clear image I have before the world goes black is Nic diving across the center console. He hugs me, pressing me into my seat with all his strength.