Chapter 8

Chapter

Eight

W ade heard the powerful engine coming up the mountain road, and he knew Daniel was arriving out there in moments. He steeled himself to see his old friend, and enemy, because it really had been decades.

He wasn't sure whether to expect a hug or a punch.

Morgan was asleep on the couch, and he wanted to let his mate rest as much as possible. He was cheerful, but the lines on his face spoke of tiredness, the business of growing a baby wearing him down.

He walked outside, in fact, to keep whatever happened between him and Daniel as quiet as possible.

The vehicle that pulled up was a huge SUV, and he chuckled. Daniel was never one to do things by half.

"Ah, here we are. Max's house hasn't changed a bit," Daniel said as he climbed out of the truck. He studied Wade. "Neither have you, Atherton."

"Hmm. You look older."

Daniel scowled for a moment, then broke into a great gale of laughter. "I no doubt do. Very clever." He sniffed in the way he'd done in the 1790s when snuff was all the rage. "Where is Morgan?"

"Asleep on the couch." He sobered. "His body changes every day, and he's having trouble keeping up."

"Mmm." Daniel looked him over. "Well, we'll both help take on the house stuff so he can rest. Let's unload the cold groceries and produce first, shall we?"

"Sounds good." The durable goods could all wait, but he'd had some very specific requests from Morgan to fill about things he was craving.

Pineapple, for example. And blueberry muffins with real blueberries. Not a mix.

"You are looking good, old friend," Daniel said, and Wade raised his eyebrows.

Was Daniel willing to let all the water under their bridge go?

"Thank you, Daniel." He looked, really looked, at his friend of so many years. "As do you."

Daniel smiled, that rakish grin he knew so well but hadn't seen in a very long time. "Come along. I have a wondrous variety of things to tempt your mate."

Wade beamed. "Yes. My mate. I swear, Daniel, every time I even think it, it warms my soul."

"It was always going to be you, and I think we both know it." Daniel grabbed grocery bag after grocery bag.

"Yes, but he made me wait a good long while." And the game had been an exhilarating one. But now Morgan was pregnant, and it was Wade's duty, and pleasure, to keep Morgan safe and well.

"He did." They headed inside, Daniel clearly searching for Morgan, who was just a mound of blankets on that awful couch.

They laid the bags out, and he began unpacking while Daniel made more trips.

"Did you get the cereal he wanted?"

"The only thing they didn't have in stock was the popping candy, so I went to another store to grab it."

"You're a prince among men."

"Daniel?" Morgan's voice was soft with sleep, but he burrowed out of the covers, coming to smile at their friend. "Oh, hello! Look at you two, standing in the same space and no one is bleeding." He held out his arms, and Daniel hugged him.

Wade did have to bite back a growl, but that was just a natural alpha reaction to another male touching his pregnant mate.

He'd put the coffee he'd made earlier in a carafe so the smell wouldn't bother his mate. "Coffee, Daniel?"

Daniel patted Morgan's back, then let him go. "Please. And a cinnamon roll. I can smell them."

"Of course." He chuckled. Daniel wasn't afraid to just tell people what he wanted. "I'll heat one up for you."

"Thanks." Daniel sat with Morgan at the counter.

"How was your drive?" Morgan asked.

"Not bad. The truck handles well." Daniel waggled his eyebrows, making Morgan laugh. "And I was coming to see you."

That made Morgan smile, his face lighting up. Wade reminded himself he didn't have to be jealous. He had the pregnant mate. Daniel had a friend.

Morgan's expression went sober then. "Any news on Wendy or Max or?—"

"No." Daniel sighed, taking the coffee Wade had fixed for him. "It's as if they vanished, just like Wendy's apartment."

"How can an apartment disappear?"

"I don't know, but the building is gone as if it was never there." Daniel pulled out his phone to show Morgan a picture. "This is what my contact sent me."

Morgan stared at it, then looked at him, not Daniel. "So how is this still here? Like if Wendy is gone and so is her house, why is Max gone and his house is here?" That voice had gone plaintive.

Wade put another cinnamon roll in the toaster oven for Morgan. "I've been thinking about that a lot."

"Do tell." Daniel lifted a brow.

"Don't make me beat you." He winked. "But I think—I think the house is still here because you needed it."

"Is that possible?" Morgan tapped his fingers on the counter, which brought Ava from where she'd been roosting on the big hanging pot rack.

"Oh, hello," Daniel said. "Aren't you pretty?"

"She is. Her name is Ava."

"A familiar already. Good going."

Morgan put a hand on his belly. "Yeah, we're moving right alo—oh! Wade, come here. Come here."

Wade rushed over. "What is it?"

"Put your hand here."

He did, and to his utter amazement, he felt a little punch of movement. "The baby!"

"Yes. Wow."

"I—yes." He took a kiss, glad for the distraction from their siblings' disappearances.

They would figure out what had happened to them. He vowed it. But his mate needed to be stress-free right now.

That baby was the most important thing for the near future.

Their baby.

The idea just filled him with immense joy.

Even if Daniel was there.