Chapter 25

"I have a boyfriend now. There will be no shovel talk," Wade announced as he banged his way into Sage and Marek's home. "Patrick already gave it."

The rest of his pack, sprawled across the couches and chairs watching a game, stared at him in silence for several seconds before they started talking over each other.

"What do you mean you have a boyfriend?" Jono demanded.

"Patrick left him alive?" Marek asked.

"I'm getting my laptop to start a background search," Sage said, already standing. "What's his name?"

"Uncle Wade!" Lillian shrieked.

Wade made a face at his pack before striding over to steal his niece off Marek's lap and toss her into the air above him before catching her as she screamed in glee. "This is why you're my favorite."

Jono stood, peering past them at Patrick, who was closing the door to the apartment. "Who is it?"

"I can't believe you're asking Patrick and not me," Wade said.

"One of the selkies who was involved with the whole fae mess up there," Patrick said as he came over to greet Jono with a kiss. "Wade saved his sister, then saved all of them from some sea serpent."

Sage came back into the room, laptop open and cradled in one arm as she tapped away at the keys with her other hand. "I want to know his name."

"Oh, come on. You don't need to do a deep dive on him," Wade protested.

Sage ignored him, looking at Patrick in order to get all the information she wanted, which Patrick happily gave her. "Riordan Maguire. He's a selkie."

"Thank you," Sage said, settling back down in her spot and focusing on her laptop. "I'll tell you what I find."

"Cheers," Jono said. "Wade, come help me in the kitchen."

Wade groaned and handed Lillian back to Marek after blowing a raspberry on her stomach, making her giggle. Then he dragged his feet all the way to the kitchen, slumping against the counter as Jono rummaged through the pantry and came up with a bag of tortilla chips and a jumbo-sized jar of queso.

"I'm allowed to have a boyfriend," Wade said.

Jono nodded. "Yes, and we're allowed to vet him. So what's he like?"

Wade perked up when he realized that Jono wasn't going to try to talk him out of the nascent relationship he was building. To be fair, neither had Patrick, and he knew Sage wouldn't as well. His pack just wanted the best for him, and Wade was pretty damn certain that was Riordan.

So he rambled about his time in Boston, explaining everything that had happened and going off on multiple tangents about Riordan. He went through three bags of chips, two jars of queso, and an entire casserole dish of chili cheese fries that Patrick decided to make and which Lillian loved because she was the best snack niece ever before Wade's story finally wound down.

"He's at least four hundred years older than you," Sage said at the end of his story.

"So?" Wade said.

"So I'm glad he'll be around." Her words came with a gentle smile to take the sting out of them. They all knew Wade would outlive them, and while that fact was one he never liked to dwell on, it wasn't something they fully shied away from.

Wade knew he'd always be there for their pack and the generations that followed. But it was nice to know he'd get to share that with someone.

"Yeah," Wade said. "Me too."

He hadn't ever been in a relationship before, and while he didn't know what to expect, he knew what he wanted—a devotion like what was shared between Patrick and Jono, as well as Sage and Marek. He'd had a front-row seat over the past several years to what love looked like, and Wade thought he'd felt it in the way Riordan had touched him, had held him.

Wade stayed over that night, reinserting himself into the flow of the pack and the bustle of New York City. Lying in the bed in his room that had been his for years, Wade video called Riordan, who answered with an easy smile. "Did you make it home, mo chroí ?"

"Yeah. I told everyone about you."

"Yeah?"

"Sage did a deep dive on you." Riordan winced, and Wade laughed. "Nah, it'll be fine. She's happy for us."

"I'm glad."

Wade settled down in bed and smiled at Riordan. "How's everyone in Boston?"

They talked until midnight before reluctantly ending the call, and Wade went to sleep missing Riordan breathing beside him. He woke the next morning to a text from Riordan that put a smile on his face.

Morning, mo chroí. Hope you have a great day with your pack. I know you missed them. Call me later whenever you want.

Wade didn't stop thinking of Riordan over the next few days. The texts they exchanged and the video calls weren't a replacement for having the other man by his side like in Boston, but it was good enough for now.

Three days later, Wade left his condo, ready to head to the bar, and rocked to a halt on the sidewalk, eyes going wide at the sight of Riordan getting out of a taxi in Manhattan with a suitcase and a box of what smelled like cannoli. "What are you doing here?"

"What?" Riordan replied teasingly. "You're not happy to see me?"

Wade scoffed and then couldn't help but drag Riordan into a kiss once he made it onto the sidewalk. The carry-on nearly rolled away, and the box of cannoli was held to the side so they weren't crushed as Wade did his absolute best to map out the shape of Riordan's mouth with his tongue.

"Hi," he got out when they finally broke apart. "I missed you. Are those for me?"

"Freshly made today from Modern Pastry, the superior cannoli shop." Riordan kissed the corner of his mouth, his arms tightening around Wade. "And I missed you too, mo chroí ."

"I was about to head to the bar. I'm meeting the others there. You can meet them too."

Riordan winced slightly but gamely agreed to a date night in pack territory. "Sure. Sounds fun."

Wade laughed. "Don't worry. They like you because I like you." Wade stepped around him to grab the escaped carry-on and then took Riordan by the hand, tugging him toward the front door. "Let's put your stuff away."

He happily led Riordan back inside his home, showing off his condo that no one but the core of his pack had ever been inside. It was his home, the place where he hid his hoard, and Riordan didn't say anything about all the things Wade couldn't bring himself to part with.

"How are Saoirse and Donal doing?" Wade asked.

"Good. They're good. We're working on finding a new place to live in Boston." Riordan dragged his gaze away from Wade's shot glass collection and all the funny sayings on them, a hesitant look in his warm brown eyes as he set down the box of cannoli. "We're also looking for a home in Manhattan. Well, I am."

Wade stared at him, heart beating fast as those words sank in, no translation needed. "You are?"

"Figured if we're going to make this long-distance relationship work, I should have a place to stay. I have an appointment with a real estate agent tomorrow."

They'd talked about it over the past few days, how they each had their responsibilities to their pack and clan that they couldn't and wouldn't give up. But spending time in each other's cities every other week or so was possible so long as there weren't any emergencies to deal with. Marek had already promised Wade he'd buy him a private jet for both of them to use.

Wade knew he and Riordan had the support of their pack and clan, and they could make this work, because he wasn't giving Riordan up, not for anything.

"You don't need to buy a place in Manhattan. You can share with me." The idea of Riordan living in Manhattan but not living here with him made Wade want to lock the door and keep Riordan right where he was.

Riordan smiled, shoulders loosening. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Wade watched as he shrugged out of his leather jacket, the shape of it flowing into the soft pelt of his sealskin. Riordan stared down at it for a moment before he looked at Wade again. "I want you to have this. I never thought I'd ever find my mate, but I'm glad it's you."

He extended his hands, sealskin gripped in his fingers, offering up the whole of him for Wade to keep. Wade made a desperate sound he refused to be embarrassed about as he reached for the sealskin. He took it from Riordan, stroking his fingers over the soft fur, the weight of what it meant a priceless gift Wade had no intention of sharing with anyone.

"I will hoard this like I've hoarded nothing else," Wade promised, finally looking up to meet Riordan's eyes. "But I'll give it back whenever you want it."

Riordan's smile was something Wade knew he'd always want to see for years to come—sweet and warm and full of what he realized just then was love. "I know you'll keep it safe."

"I'll keep you ."

Riordan groaned, and Wade found himself being yanked close to the other man, sealskin pressed between them, as he was kissed with a thoroughness that left him panting and wanting more.

"I love you," Riordan gasped against his lips, stealing little kisses that Wade happily gave up. "I've wanted you since I first laid eyes on you."

"I love you too." He did, he realized with a dawning awareness. "I love that you make me feel safe. That you give me space. That you don't judge me for everything I've gone through."

Riordan pulled back, swiping his thumb over Wade's lips. "I will never hurt you."

Wade smiled, tasting the truth of those words. "I know you won't."

Riordan kissed him again, and Wade wrapped his arms around Riordan's neck, keeping him there. After a few more kisses, Riordan reluctantly pulled back a little. "We're going to be late if we continue like this."

Wade thought about his pack waiting for him at the bar and how he knew they'd probably interrogate Riordan the second he arrived, but that they'd be happy for him.

"We can be late," he said, pushing Riordan toward the bedroom that used to be Wade's and now was going to be theirs. "So long as we're late together."

Riordan laughed, willing to follow Wade's lead, already yanking off his shirt. "Whatever makes you happy, mo chroí ."

"You make me happy." Riordan's smile was blinding in response, and Wade couldn't wait to make him smile like that again for the years to come.

They might spend their long lives in opposite elements—Riordan in the sea and Wade in the sky—but Wade knew they'd always meet in the middle at the horizon of a brand-new day.