Page 52 of Threads of Fate

Grayson’s scent lingers in the air, subtly aroused despite his suppressants. Gideon easily keeps him on track with practiced techniques he often uses with Rowan: a grounding hand on the back of his neck, a sharp pinch to the inside of his thigh, and, occasionally, the calm offering of his wrist for scenting. It’s a controlled choreography, and the most startling part is that Grayson needs it at all. He’d never required such guidance before, not even as a younger enigma.

It’s entirely new.

Jay thinks maybe doing it at the bedside of the vanilla-sex-bakery-scented source of Grayson’s frustration isn’t the best idea, but knowing Gideon, that’s exactly his tactic. Desensitization, coupled with the knowledge about how to understand and care for his mate, might help Grayson keep control of whatever is driving his hormones through the roof. Practice makes perfect, after all.

His labs from the day before had been so high that it had caused the doctor to hunt Grayson down in Nix’s room to be sure he was still standing. The doctor had been insistent this had to be a short-term answer if no one wanted to risk Grayson’s long-term physical well-being. Unanimously, no one does.

For now, Jay hears words likeheatandslick, and that’s when he realizes he’s going to need a crash course—they all are—in caring for their omega or helping him care for himself if even half of what’s in those books is fact instead of fiction.

He only hopes they can learn enough in time for him to wake up.Soon, he tells himself. Soon.

He heads down to the lobby to pick up dinner, and when he gets back, Leo has cleared the mixing equipment away. He looks over to where Nix is still sleeping, with Luca’s head on his shoulder for his late afternoon nap. Jay stands watching his sleeping mates while he lets the worry over tomorrow’s meeting creep up on him. He feels big arms come around his waist and a chin poke into the side of his shoulder; a sleepy Leo gives the best hugs.

“What’s got you worked up?”

Jay holds his beta’s hands against his belly and feels his nose rub behind his ear. The scent of cinnamon helps Jay’s anxiety ebb a bit.

“Just worried about tomorrow…and the next day…and the next. How are we going to keep him safe? Tell him about us? I need him to wake up, Leo. I miss him so much, and I know he’s here, which is closer than he’s been in more than nine years, but it’s only going to get harder for him, ya know?” Jay trails off and presses on the hands holding him to remind himself he’s there.

“He’ll wake up. He will, and you can hold him and tell him you love him to his face for real. Tell him the stories of how we all met, how we’ve all been waiting. We’ll all help him adjust, and when he’s ready, we’ll get him some counseling for the rest. We’ll keep him safe.” Leo pumps out more of his comforting cinnamon scent, and it mixes so well with Luca’s sleepy mocha and Nix’s vanilla; it’s like a slice of Heaven right here. He lets it ground him because his pack is together, and he can finally breathe.

After they’ve finished the second order of takeout that day and Finn’s short shift is over, Jay convinces them all to go home. Taking a seat beside Nix’s bed, he watches them all say goodnight to their Sunshine.

He watches Gray push his nose into Nix’s hair and inhale, once, twice, as if Nix’s scent eludes him. The effort is hard to watch, sending a pang through Jay’s chest. Finally, Gray kisses Nix’s forehead before placing one on top of Jay’s head, too.

Jay catches his hand as he moves away. “You okay, pretty?”

Gray gives him a small, sad smile and shakes his head. “Yeah.” But the contradiction between his gestures and his words leaves Jay wondering which is true. Probably both.

Leo is next, taking Nix’s hand in his own and whispering a soft goodbye before turning to Jay. He kisses his cheek and crosses the room to wrap Gray in a comforting hug. Rowan follows, huffing Nix’s wrist and breaking away with a dopey grin that softens the edges of the moment.

“Night, Alpha,” he chirps at Jay, his mischievous green eyes crinkling around his dimples. Without missing a beat, he leaps onto Leo’s back with a sassy, “Carry me.” It makes Jay chuckle because Rowan has nine inches and forty pounds on his smaller mate, but Leo bears it easily, even if he gives an exaggerated grunt.

The others wave their goodbyes one last time, their footsteps fading into the hallway, but Gideon pauses at the doorway, his broad shoulders silhouetted against the dim light. He turns back, his expression unreadable, and strides purposefully across the room.

With quiet authority, he settles onto Jay’s lap, his presence grounding and heavy. His hand cups Jay’s jaw, tilting his face upward as their gazes meet. Gideon’s lips brush against Jay’s with practiced familiarity, slow and deliberate, as if savoring the moment.

“Wish you were coming home. Both of you,” Gideon murmurs, his voice rough yet tinged with something softer—longing, maybe. He glances toward Nix, still silent and unmoving, before rising to his feet.

With one final touch, he leans over and presses his nose to Jay’s neck, inhaling deeply before placing a kiss on Nix’s small hand. The tenderness lingers for a moment longer, and then Gideon straightens and strides to the door, disappearing into the hall without a backward glance.

Loneliness is a foreign emotion for Jay in his pack of seven—now eight. Seeing his mates walk out the door without him makes his heart hurt. He’s not quite used to the feeling of divided desires: to be with his mates in their pack bed or here with his sweet Sunshine, who needs him, too.

It’s not late by anyone’s standards, so Jay grabs one of Dr. Spencer’s books and falls back into “his” chair, with only the bedside lamp for illumination. Losing time just looking at Nix, he’s asleep in an instant, only to wake a few hours later with a crick in his neck when the book falls to the floor. The desire to hold his mate is suddenly almost overwhelming.

Nix’s sweet scent flows out as he lifts the blanket, and Jay slides in beside him. It’s still just as alluring as it had been in the beginning, but now it’s tempered by the scents of his family, each man has taken the time to be sure that when Nix wakes up he’ll know with whom he belongs without question, and by proxy Jay feels that too.

Pressing his nose into Nix’s small shoulder, his eyes slip closed.

***

The softthudof bags hitting the floor near the foot of the bed stirs him awake, followed by the comforting aroma of green tea wafting from the bedside table.

A full nine hours of sleep has made him groggy. It might be the best night’s sleep he’s had since he’d come to Nashville years ago. Even the nurses handling Nix’s vitals had gone unnoticed. Maybe Jay’s wolf has finally been able to rest.

Stretching his arms over his head, Jay sits stiffly on the side of the bed. He lets the cold tile floor work its magic in waking him up. “Hey, baby, you look nice.”

Luca appears, cozy and fresh from bed, bunny slippers soft against the tile. Jay catches him around the waist for a quick kiss, groaning when Luca tries to climb him. “Not now, baby. We’ve got somewhere to be.”

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