Chapter One

Dakota

I frowned at the empty bedroom, afraid I'd forgotten something important. I imagined some poor cleaner coming across a forgotten spell or sex toy and checked everything again.

"Dakota," Scott sighed from our video call.

The phone was propped on the dresser that came with the place and I didn't need to glance at it to know he was frowning at me.

"I have a process," I sighed back at him.

"If I knew you'd get so stressed out about the move---"

"Don't start that again," I shook my head as I felt along the baseboards ensuring I sanded all my spells away. "I'm moving. Both of the people I study magic with decided to move to the middle of nowhere. You need help and I have two hands. So, please, for the sake of us both not talking this in circles until we're hoarse, don't say you wouldn't have asked. Am I stressed out? Yes. Have I changed my mind? No."

"Okay," Scott said, tentatively. "Are you okay? I'm sure if you asked, someone would help you check the apartment and---"

"I'm okay. I really am," I said, standing up and walking back to the dresser to look at him. "Just do me two favors."

"Okay, I will if I can," he said and bounced the phone down to remind me that he was plump with pups and recently the village doctors had put him on bedrest.

"First, you gotta get it out of your mind that I ever had a crush on Blithe. We're too old to tease like that now. You have a true-mate and pups on the way. Blithe has kittens. I never liked Blithe like that. If anything, we were brother husbands both married to magic."

"Okay, no teasing that might upset mated people," Scott gave a slow nod.

"And if I'm supposed to keep the twins away---"

"That's why Arrakia is sending a guard," Scott reminded me.

"Yes, but do you really want Trista to get into a fight with this guard?" I asked him.

"Why do you say her and not Travis?"

"Because I think she's the more volatile of the pair," I shrugged.

"Maybe," Scott said and pressed his lips together.

"I don't like that look, Scott," I said, leaning my arms against the dresser.

I was more exhausted than I wanted to admit. In my rush to get to Heartville, I packed the whole apartment in a weekend.

"No one knows where Trista is, not even Travis. He's in Europe interviewing for some space mission or something. He's not an astronaut. So I don't know what they'll want with him, but at least we know where he is."

"We don't know where Trista is?" I arched a brow. "That's probably not a good thing. Are we sure she isn't with Travis and just hiding?"

"No. They got into an argument too. Apparently, Travis might've thought the video was fine, but breaking into Duke and Blithe's house and going down to their den was too much. He still hasn't properly apologized, but at least he has a brain somewhere inside him."

"Probably in his wolf," I sighed. "About that possibly traveling through the Other World gateways instead of driving, is that still possible? I know I said no before, and I had every intention of making a road trip out of it. I just didn't realize how much crap I had."

"I'll have Duke talk to Cade. I would but I'm too fat to get out of bed apparently," Scott sighed.

"It won't be forever. What do you have left?"

"Another month," he sighed at me.

"Not too bad and I'll be there soon. How's Terrick holding up?" I asked.

"As good as can be expected. He's on the phone with Salta explaining that we're going to miss some weekends. I was willing to still have her come to visit on our weekends, but he's already stretched thin in the emotional departments between the babies and well, finally grieving his father's death," Scott whispered the last part.

"Poor guy," it was my turn to frown, "that's not an easy one."

"How are you holding up?" he asked me.

"Why me?" I laughed.

"You look like you're going to fall over into a dragon sleep and you're not even a dragon," he laughed.

"That's why I asked about the other way of traveling. What about my car, though?" I sighed, realizing the obvious flaw in my plan.

"We'll have someone drone it over or something," Scott shrugged.

"It's nice to have trust fund babies as friends," I teased him.

"Yep, and this one is married to a prince too," Scott nodded. "We'll get you here. Don't you worry about that. Then once you're here it's like everyone's a trust fund baby. You don't really need cash except to order things that aren't in the village."

"That might be a nice change," I grinned.

"Plus, there are so many single Alphas here right now. Some came from the war in London and others just came for whatever reason."

"I'm not going down that path," I shook my head. "I'm coming to help you, not make babies of my own."

"I bet you'll be pregnant before Yule gets here," Scott teased.

"Bite your tongue," I said, glancing at the clock, "and it's almost time for your next bloodshake."