Page 58 of Free Me

“Me too. Like I told my parents, I’m nervous but also crazy excited. I hope our brothers are jealous.”

Miko chuckled. “Me too. Once word gets out, we’ll probably start a trend of our friends asking Frey to borrow the cottage. I’m kind of surprised Frey and Gaven didn’t go up there more before they had a baby.”

“Gaven was pretty busy in nursing school, and now he’s super busy working at the hospital. I’m sure they’d have gone more if he’d had the time.”

“True. And look at us.” He puffed his chest a little. “Doing something first and starting our own trend.”

“Yeah. Maybe Frey will let us make it an annual trip.”

“You know he will if his sire says yes. Frey is the most generous person I’ve ever met.”

Frey had grown up the middle of five children, in a mansion in the best neighborhood in Sansbury, with a very strict alpha sire and a doting omegin. But despite all his privileges and opportunities and a bank account full of credit, Frey was sweet, down-to-earth, and would give you the shirt off his back without hesitation. Miko had so much respect for the older omegin.

“You know,” Miko continued, “when we get back, we should invite Gaven and Frey over for dinner as a thank you.”

“That’s a good idea.” Linus nuzzled the side of his neck. “Should we invite his sire, too? It’s technically his cottage.”

“Probably.” It was the polite thing to do, even if Miko silently hoped the man turned them down. He’d formally met Monte Porter years ago, at Gaven and Frey’s mating celebration, and seen him from a distance at other functions held at the Porter mansion. He struck Miko as uptight and old-fashioned, and not someone he really wanted to socialize with. “What do you cook for rich people?”

Linus laughed. “Who knows? Maybe he’d get a kick out of the novelty of peasant food.”

“Peasant food?” He tickled Linus’s ribs and got a hoot of laughter out of him. “Those are fighting words, Higgs. I do not cook peasant food.”

“Figure of speech! Uncle!”

Miko stopped tickling his bondmate and pretended to huff. “Thought so.”

“I’ll text Caden or something. I’m sure he knows what Gaven’s favorite food is. We’ll plan from there.”

“Okay. Yeah, let’s worry about that when we get back. All I want to think about is our trip and how much fun we’re going to have.”

“Me too.” Linus kissed him on the mouth. “Very much me too.”

FOURTEEN

Linus had only takena long train ride one other time in his life, three-and-a-half years ago during a group trip to the territory zoo in Buckman Province. He’d been seventeen and eager for the experience—not just a chance to see so many exotic animals in real life, but also to see new parts of the territory. It had also given him a better idea of just how expansive the Northern Territory really was, since Buckman was just east of center. The farthest province to the west was Rainier Province, and it was a two-day train ride from Sansbury.

The ride north to Ampshire was about six hours, and Linus and Miko shared an eight-person compartment with two other couples, plus one solo traveler. Linus wasn’t sure how many compartments were in each car, but they had shared bathrooms and a small refreshment station near the car’s entrance. They’d opted out of purchasing tickets that included a meal, so Miko had packed a small cooler of drinks and snacks.

His sweet, adorable Miko, who was vibrating with nervous anticipation as they waited for the train to depart the station. Their window faced opposite the platform, so they couldn’t see their parents, who’d all come to see them off on their new adventure. Linus had seen his brothers yesterday at brunch—well, three of the four. Tarius had given him and Miko goofy gifts of ear muffs shaped like donuts, complete with fake icing and sprinkles. Linus loved his and couldn’t wait to wear them. They were neatly packed in the large rolling suitcase they’d decided to share. That way Miko didn’t have to wrangle a lot of luggage.

Linus had chosen to use only his crutches this trip, rather than try to bring the walker along. After calling his PT for ideas, Linus had bought metal ice grips for the bottoms of his crutches, as well as fleece covers for the handholds. The grips would help him traverse the expected snow without slipping. The very last thing he needed was to sprain his only remaining ankle.

He’d even made that joke to Miko on the drive home from the pharmacy with his new crutch gear. Miko had looked briefly horrified, and then he’d cracked up. “Dude, we are dancing together at the gala, even if you’re in a wheelchair again,” Miko had said between long cackles.

Yes. Yes, they absolutely were.

The train station had been mildly chaotic, but now in the peaceful car, Linus relaxed into his seat and held Miko’s hand as the train itself began moving. It kept a slow, steady rate as the western side of the province passed by outside the wide windows, until civilization gave way to nature. This had been Linus’s favorite part of his first train trip: seeing the wilds.

The Northern Territory was a vast land mass, but more than half of it was undeveloped, wild land, with everything from thick forests to mountain ranges to vast stretches of arid desert. They’d learned about all the provinces in primary school—their locations and climate differences, and what their economy contributed to the overall territory. It had made Linus want to visit all of them someday, and that had been part of his long-term soccer goals. To make the Sansbury professional team and travel all over the territory to play for his native city.

Grief reached up and squeezed his throat tight, forcing hot tears into his eyes. He probably gripped Miko’s hand too hard, because Miko leaned in and whispered, “What’s wrong?”

Linus didn’t want to lie, but he also didn’t want to talk about it in a car full of strangers, so he obfuscated. “I’m okay, a little nervous, I think.”

“You boys ever been up north before?” an elderly beta man asked. He was the solo traveler, and he’d come onboard with a book and a small duffel bag.

“No, sir,” Miko replied when it took Linus a moment to find his regular speaking voice. “It’s our first time.”

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