Chapter Seven

Travis

While Sheldon disappeared through the house to help his brother, I poked around the kitchen some more. I wasn’t going to eat without him. I could always eat, but my mind was in other places. The cabinets mostly held herbs and spices along with a few other cooking staples. Each cabinet had a salty smelling muffin inside. Some of them had bites taken out of them.

“Is Heartville overrun by ghosts?” my wolf chimed off in my thoughts.

I shrugged off his question. I wasn’t worried about actual dead people or animals. Most of the time they had very little power over the living unless you killed them, and that last part usually only applied to spirits who used to be people. I imagined a little ghost squirrel sneaking into the kitchen for a nibble and my wolf barked inside my thoughts ready for a squirrel hunt.

“I’m hungry!” He protested. “Don’t tease me with invisible food!”

Sheldon walked back into the kitchen and hugged me from behind. He rested his cheek against my shoulder blade and nuzzled.

“Is the kitchen too loud for you?” I asked him.

“No,” I shook my head. “I’m still surprised you caught onto that so quickly.”

“Magic is weird on both sides of my family,” I laughed. “It really is. I’m not surprised that some sleeping part of me remembered.”

“Makes me wonder what it used to be for,” Sheldon sighed. “If you remembered it that means it’s been around in at least one other lifetime we’ve been together.”

“It’s those gorgeous pointy ears of yours,” I said, twisting around so I could wrap my arms around him too. “Their little radio towers.”

“Then turn the power off,” he laughed, and the sound wrapped around me like a warm blanket.

“Nah,” I shook my head. “I like your ears too much.”

“I don’t mind how they look,” I said as a warm blush flooded my face. “It’s how well they work for every sound.”

I raised my hands over his ears again and he let out a long happy sigh. My wolf wagged his tail, and we could’ve stayed like that forever. Except Sheldon’s stomach growled and that was all she wrote for my wolf. No mate of ours was going to go hungry in our pack’s territory.

I kissed his forehead because if I kissed his lips, I didn’t think we’d stop there. There were plenty of other places I wanted to kiss Sheldon.

“Let’s eat,” I said and slowly dropped my hands from his ears.

We’d just sat down to do just that with Sheldon’s leg draped over my knee when Cardian walked back into the kitchen with his empty bloodshake glass.

“Want mine?” I pointed to my untouched shake.

Cardian wasn’t a wolf or a canine, but Dakota was pack and keeping him as happy as possible during labor was the whole pack’s job.

Cardian shook his head and glanced at Sheldon, “Dakota wants to meet you after you eat, if you’re up for it.”

“I am, if he is.”

“It’s early stages. The doctor came and left because there was nothing for him to do,” Cardian said. “Later, if you meant it, I might take you up on that offer to swap places with Scott. They’re good friends and I know Dakota wants him here but doesn’t want to put all the work of the pups off on Terrick.”

“It’s not putting it off on him,” I huffed before I could stop myself. “They’re his kids. That work is his as much as it is my brother’s.”

“No one said it wasn’t. They just have more kids than any one person has arms,” Cardian chuckled. “Hell, you can go with him if you want. It’s not like I’m taking a proverbial crowbar and trying to pry you two apart.”

“Can they bring the puppies here?” Sheldon asked.

“They could, but they haven’t taken them out of the bedroom except for baths as far as I know,” Cardian said. “I don’t blame them. They’re so fucking tiny compared to the rest of the world.”

“Tell me where I’m most helpful and I’ll be there,” Sheldon said, shrugging and rubbing his ear against his shoulder.

“What do you hear?” Cardian asked before I could.

“Everything,” Sheldon laughed. “Seriously, everything. Now, let’s finish eating because I think what I’m hearing means his water is going to break soon. Like seriously soon, brother.”

“Can you really hear that?” I asked as Cardian left the kitchen to check on his mate again.

“I’m not sure if that’s what it is. I haven’t heard it a lot, but it feels about right for that being it. I can hear the neighbors talking about what to have for dinner. I can hear a kid somewhere singing a nursery rhyme about the first cave or something like that where Frost and Juda lived. I hear everything and can only tune it out sometimes.”

“How are you with babies?” I asked and immediately regretted the question.

“I was going to ask you that later,” he teased.

“They’re loud, right?” I arched a brow.

“Everyone is loud. Mostly, I get away from the noise and leave it alone. I don’t know what they’ve told you about me but my magic only turns into an asshole when someone is making noise for no reason or I’m overexposed. Babies crying or cooing or beating on noisy toys serve a purpose. Sure, I’ll probably need a break, especially from the last one, but I think that’s every parent, right?”

“Definitely,” I nodded, thinking about all my younger siblings and that racket they made.

“Do you want kids?” he asked before taking another bite of his sandwich.

“I do,” I nodded. “It’s funny. If you would’ve asked a few months ago, I wouldn’t have been sure. Not because I didn’t want a family but because I was spinning my wheels. Sure, I still did social media. I’m not sure I’ll ever stop that, but then I got a job working with Starscale Search. They’re positive they can not only locate the Starscales but build a spaceship to meet them if they find them. It’s backed by all these Moonscales and other dudes with too much money and not enough charitable drive.”

“What do you do with them?” Sheldon asked.

“Manage their social media presence and record a lot for them.”

“Where are they based?”

“In London and Wales,” I said.

“Close to the ocean then,” he said, a grin pulling at the corners of his kissable lips.

“Is that a deciding factor on whether you’ll come live with me or not?” I chuckled, running my hand up and down his calf.

“No,” he shook his head. “My job isn’t nearly as interesting. I just keep the books for the coven and help keep the inventory lined out. I hunt a lot too, but that’s mostly because I prefer fresh blood.”

“Hunting is an old family tradition,” I grinned.

“Whether or not our kids inherit shifting, I’ll be there on their first hunt. I can outrun a wolf any day.”

“Are you challenging me to a race?” I laughed. “That’s kinda hot.”

“Another day. I have to go meet my brother-in-law,” Sheldon said, stealing his leg away from me and pushing his chair away from the table. “Is there anything I should know about Dakota besides the fact he doesn’t like my mate?”

“He’s a good enough guy,” I shrugged as the cabinet door opened and one of the over salted muffins fell out.

“Someone’s hungry,” Sheldon laughed as he disappeared down the hall.