Page 63 of Threads of Fate

They hold a collective breath, waiting to see if Nix will balk at Gideon’s presence in the room. When their omega seems okay, Finn holds up the pants. “These have a pizza stain on them, and Nix doesn’t like the smell right now. That’s okay, though, because I told him there were more pants out here if he wanted them. Hey, Gideon. This is Nix.” Nix is hiding behind Finn’s shoulder, hands around his biceps, and eyes on the floor.

Gideon avoids eye contact as well, just going about the business of tidying up the first aid supplies. When he’s done, Nix has peeked around Finn, so Gideon gives him a small smile. The alpha looks so soft.

Unsurprisingly, Nix has him wrapped around his finger already. “I’m Gideon. Nix, would you like something to eat? I had Leo order all kinds of takeout because I wasn’t sure what you wanted.”

Nix’s tummy makes itself known with a grumble and Luca giggles. “Nixie’s hungry, Sugar. Can I have a hamburger? Ooh, did you get pasta? I want pasta. Please.” Luca rolls out of the bed again, careful of Nix’s sorting, and into Gideon’s open arms.

“Sure thing. Cream sauce or marinara?” Nix is watching how the bigger man is treatinghisLuca with an eagle eye. He’s crept even farther out from behind Finn but won’t let go.

“Nix, do you want pasta with Luca? It’s not as good as Gideon’s, but it’ll still be delicious.” Jay offers him his hand, happy that Nix takes it without hesitation.

“That’s okay? I haven’t behaved very well. Maybe I should have some rice instead? Or maybe water?”

Finn’s scent turns sour. “Behaved well?Nix, we don’t earn our food in this pa–family. Good or bad, happy or sad, we always eat until we are full. You never have to worry about that.”

“I don’t?” He’s looking from face to face and stops at Luca. “Luca eats all the time?”

“Yes! Sometimes I eat more than my share if it’s really good. Gideon makes a pesto that tastes like Gray, and I eat it on everything. It’s so good.” The beta’s enthusiasm for basil-flavored dishes is renowned in their household. He once tackled Rowan to the floor for the last piece of pesto bread Gideon had made. He’d won it, too.

“Gray? Like the color?” He looks at Jay and wonders if he’s missed something.

Gideon smirks. “It’s short for Grayson. He’s another one of our partners.”

He looks at the three men in the room and finally at Jay. “You have partners? More than Luca?” His eyes are wide; polyamory in the human world is rare. Not so much in the Were community, where packs like Jay’s hide in plain sight. The world of entertainment allows for packs to exist as groups, living and working together under the guise of good business practice.

Gideon hugs Luca from behind. “There are eight of us now.” Jay sucks his breath in and presses a hand to his heart, which is beating harder at hearing it said out loud.

“Eight? You love seven people?” He asks Jay.

“I do. Gideon, Leo, Gray, Luca, Finn, Rowan, and Nix.” Nix processes the information slowly, and there’s a shock in his eyes.

“Do you..uh..know another Nix? Besides me?” Confusion on his face.

Laughing, Luca approaches their new mate slowly, “No, silly. It’s you. We’ve missed you for a long time. We’ve been waiting, right ?”

“Feels like forever,” Jay sighs.

“We hope you’ll want to get to know us too, Nix. When you’re feeling better?” Gideon asks, uncharacteristically shy.

Nix freezes again. “I am better, right, Finn?” He shakes, pale legs visibly trembling.

“You are, I promise,” Finn says.

Jay isn’t sure why he’s suddenly so upset. “Nix, what’s wrong, baby? Let me fix it.”

“If I leave here…I’m afraid to go back to Dawson’s—the apartment. What if he’s still there?” Seeing Nix so shaken and smelling that burnt cookie smell has Finn growling. Their steadfast, dependable Finn has his fangs down and is trying not to scare the shit out of their new mate. Jay thinks Finn’s wolf might never let Nix go anywhere without him.

Jay takes his omega’s thin shoulders and turns him subtly away from Finn’s internal battle. “You never have to go back there again, baby. Never. AndDawsonis in prison, which is not as much as he deserves.”

“He is? He can’t hurt us anymore? Luca! He can’t hurt you!” His smile is so blinding that Gideon’s jaw drops open. The scent of a thunderstorm on a hot summer night rolls gently across the room. He’s even opened his mouth, panting to get the scent of Nix’s happy vanilla-and-sex scent on his tongue. Gideon is rarely at a loss for words, so seeing him like this is a novelty.

“I’m so happy, baby! Isn’t that amazing, Gideon?” He is not-so-subtly rubbing his butt back on Gideon’s dick, who must have popped a boner at Nix’s smile. Jay can relate because that smile is lethal.

“Do you have anything you want from there, Nix? I can get it for you.”

“No, Jamie. Nothing there. Oh! I need my wallet. There’s something in it I need. Did I bring it to the hospital? I must have used my bus pass, so…I can’t remember.” He goes quiet as he tries to remember how he got to the hospital.

“Nix, it’s okay if you don’t remember. Sometimes that happens.” Finn has his emotions under control and has stepped into doctor mode.

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