Page 20 of My Pucking Life

He doesn't look at me; he keeps his eyes tied to the ground, just barely shaking his head.

“Your mate, my sister, was literally made for you by the Moon Goddess herself. Who the fuck do you think you are to question or deny that?” I throw over my shoulder as I stomp away from him.

The only men that are undeserving of their mates are the men like many of our fathers. Mine being a prime example of a wolf who didn't deserve his mate. Khaos' father as well. The problem with Benny's father was that when he was sober, he was the father and mate a man should be, but he had a problem with addictions, and they made him a monster. The twins never told us much about their upbringing. Now that I think about it, neither did Slate. Then you have Andrei. A man with a literal king and queen as parents who have hearts of gold, but wasn’t even able to be raised by them.

The worlds are fucked. Not just the human realm. Werewolves, witches, vampires, you name it. There are good and bad in all species of creatures. Some lean further in certain directions, but at the end of the day, every creature, walking every realm, has a conscious decision to make.

Eris better make the right decision.

By the time we return home to the townhouse, the sun has long since sunk below the horizon, giving way to the waxing crescent above. I hurry through the door, eager for a look at my girl.

I find all three of them tangled together on the couch beneath a colorful heap of fuzzy blankets. The smile that stretches across my face couldn't be contained even if I wanted it to.

My mate, peacefully sleeping on the left, with her silver hair spread across everything in its reach and her perfect pink lips parted. When she moved in, I learned she's a mouth breather, and I've found it adorable ever since. My sister, sleeping in the middle with a small smile on her own face, her dark hair intricately braided against her head with a part in the middle, allowing her hair to separate and flow over each of her shoulders. Her fingers are laced together and resting on her stomach as though she fell asleep in thought. A small chuckle escapes me at the sight of Zoey on the right side of the group. Her dark hair is haphazardly strewn everywhere, and it looks like she might even be tangled in it. She has one arm up over the top of her head and the other arm lying across Runa, and her blanket has fallen to the floor. When I grab it to pull it back up and over her, it shifts Leera's blanket, revealing that the arm that Zoey has draped across Runa was done to link her fingers with Leera's.

My heart swells at the sight, and I once again send thanks to the Goddess. Not only for Leera and my sister, but for Zoey. That the girls have each other. Even when they leave a snack disaster on the table that looks like you sent a bunch of five-year-olds to the store with too much money.

I quietly clean it all up, knowing that if I don't, Matilda will, and that woman does too much as it is.

Dolos stops by to take in the scene and smiles warmly at the girls, lingering on the one in the middle the longest. I can't imagine what he's going through, not being able to claim his mate until his brother gets his shit together. He blows her a kiss even though she's asleep and makes his way to the kitchen when I hear an “ah-ha" come from him.

Andrei and Benny also stop and smile at the girls before helping me grab some of the snacks. Benny grabs a few bites of some of the popcorn as we carry it all into the kitchen. My men and I finish off the snacks; Leera must have known we would. I don't know why else she would have ordered eight pizzas, which must have been Dolos' realization when he beat us to the kitchen.

“Don't let me forget to thank her in the morning for thinking of us,” Andrei requests, clapping me on the shoulder on his way out of the room, and I nod.

Eris slowly walks through the space, not going to stand in front of the girls like Dolos or I had, but he does slow, his gaze catching on his mate. His fists are clenched so hard at his sides that his knuckles are turning white. Just when I think he might allow himself this happiness, he mutters to himself and stomps off. I want to get mad and fight him on this, but that won't do any good. He needs to make a real decision, and he needs to do it on his own. No matter how minuscule it was, that was progress.

15

The sounds of coffee sputtering reach me through my sleep before anything else, though it’s immediately followed by the smell of nature's mojo juice. Waking to the smell of coffee again no longer brings tears to my eyes, just warmth to my heart when I remember my sweet parents. No matter who gave birth to me, they raised me and loved me like their own, and now my lifelong memories of them are being carried on through my relationship with Roman.

My heart isn't the only thing that's warm, though; I can feel the sun beating down on me through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the townhouse. Reminding me that we all fell asleep on the couch to see if we could stay awake until the guys got home.

I slowly, and only slightly, open one eye to take in our sleeping arrangement and immediately close it again and bring my hands to my mouth to hold in the giggle that so badly wants to be released. From what I can see, we're a wild, static mess of hair and fuzzy blankets. Zoey is quietly snoring with her head tipped back and mouth wide open. Runa is obnoxiously gorgeous and peaceful-looking as she sleeps. Her dark lashes resting gently on her high cheekbones and twitching faintly with what I hope is a happy dream.

Just as I decide to go ahead and fully open my eyes for the day, I'm greeted with the sight that I do my absolute best to commit to memory for always. Roman rounds the couch, coming towards me holding a pink steaming mug of coffee. He's shirtless, his hair damp from his usual morning shower. His maroon sweatpants are hanging low on his hips, leaving all his completely drool-worthy muscles on display. He notices I'm awake, and the smile that stretches across his unnaturally handsome face could make nuns reconsider their life choices. Speaking of nuns, well, kind of, with the sun shining on us through the windows, he's illuminated and looks like an answered prayer with the rays beaming around him. He looks like he's glowing.

When my eyes make it back to his, his smile has morphed from the previous sweetness to all cocky orneriness, causing me to release the previously contained giggle.

“Good morning, Princess,” he greets me, and even his words wrap around me like a warm embrace. He hands me the mug of my life force, and I accept it with one hand, using my other to grab him by the leg of his pants to tug him towards me as I lean over the mug between us for a morning kiss.

“Hmm, good morning, handsome,” I purr a little more than intended and hope I'm not blushing.

When he's righted himself to his full height, he leans back in with his whole body, and I look at him curiously with an eyebrow raised, wondering what his next move is. He grabs me just under my ass, sparking a fire in my core that can't be tended to with company. Once he's lifted me and carefully extracted part of my blanket from Runa's clutches, he slips beneath me and settles me on his lap, tucking my blanket back around me to keep me warm.

I nuzzle into him beneath his chin, resting my head on his chest and listening to his heart. The amazingly caring organ he keeps tucked away just for me. I sigh in total bliss and continue to sip on my coffee while we sit in the most comfortable silence. We're just soaking each other in while his hand lazily trails up and down my legs and back, and I continue to listen to the beat of his heart.

When I've finished my coffee, I move to set the mug on the table, but Roman quickly pulls me back into his embrace while taking the mug out of my hand and setting it down for me simultaneously. Both arms are now wrapping me in my safe space, and I thread my fingers through his where they meet around my legs. “I love this,” I lean into him and whisper, not wanting to break the magic of the moment.

“Hmm,” he growls, “I love you.” And now he's the one nuzzling into me.

I reach up and take his face in my hands, spending a moment looking into each of his gorgeous eyes. One blue. One green. “I wish there was a word that could even measure what you mean to me,” I breathe. I move my arms, wrapping them around his neck, and kiss him, trying my hardest to pour all those emotions into our connection. He answers my every movement flawlessly. I moved again, untangling blankets from my legs and moving myself to straddle my mate.

A small cough sounds from the other end of the couch, and I freeze completely. “I mean, I can't blame you or anything,” Zoey laughs. “I just wanted to make sure you remembered I was here so that I didn't have to witness something I shouldn't have.”

We all burst into laughter, startling Runa awake, and I launch myself off of Roman's lap so we don't give his sister the ick.

Benny must have heard us laughing and takes that as his cue to join us. “Ugh, I'm so glad you're all awake,” he whines dramatically. “Someone,” he stresses and playfully glares at Roman, “wouldn't let anyone near this part of the house until you lovely ladies woke up.”

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