Page 73 of Threads of Fate

“He’s not feeling himself, so he’s at home. I texted him and he said he’ll see us later.” Leo can see the minute Gideon decides that’s a problem for later-Gideon.

“Then let’s go. No sudden moves and go quietly. Burgers, Leo? I said aselection.” Leo ignores Gideon’s disregard for the greatest food ever, leaving it unsaid that Gideon wouldn’t be happy anyway because his pack is once again eating food he didn’t cook, and follows Gideon into the room.

Rowan stops so abruptly that they almost collide, much to Luca’s amusement.

Seated in the center of the couch, Nix is a vision. Leo is afraid to blink lest he disappear. His golden hair sits in a fluffy halo around his small face and falls almost to his narrow shoulders; he’s got large, silver-gray eyes and a tiny nose covered in freckles. His jaw is sharp and his neck is long and slender. His bare shoulder is peaking out of the neckline of Finnie’s favorite sweater and his lap is covered by Rowan’s chick blanket.

“That idiot is Rowan Foster,” Gideon deadpans.

Nix is so beautiful, and he’s turned him and Rowan into drooling idiots. In seconds, Rowan is stepping over the coffee table instead of going around and he’s on his knees in front of their mate in what looks like supplication.

Jay almost reaches for his phone camera, like he always does when he’s happy or proud. He told Leo once that he likes to have tangible memories. In the end, he decides against it and reaches for Leo’s hand instead.

After that Leo loses track of the conversation, he’s forgotten about his hungry belly. Seeing their omega smile and giggle has turned his brain to mush. It’s not even just Nix’s scent that has him so dazzled, it’s also the light that shines from every pore. Not literally, of course; but every person in the room is basking in the glow of how sweet and gentle and kind he is.

“Sure is, baby. I want you to meet Leo, too.” Jay grabs his shoulders, and Leo has a millisecond to tune back into the conversation. Just in time to see Rowan help Nix to his feet.

The white sweater falls off his thin shoulder even farther and most of his lean legs are bare. They look so soft that Leo has to force his eyes up to meet his new mate’s gaze. He’d not expected their omega to actually approach him, as he’s been told more than once that he comes off as intimidating. Leo is the first person to admit he fosters the opinions a little bit around strangers because he’s not an alpha; he still needs to garner respect in their industry, and sometimes in the world at large.

So, when Nix is almost in front of him, he freezes so as not to startle him. Jay squeezes his shoulder and steps back a bit. His jaw drops and he hopes he doesn’t look half as dopey as Rowan had not five minutes ago.

“Hi.” Nix’s voice is so deep, and it sends that familiar zing down Leo’s spine. Up close, he’s smiling, and his eyes are sparkling. Together with the hands on his cheeks, it makes Leo’s breath catch and his face flush.

“Hi, Nixie,” he whispers and he’s smiling so wide his cheeks hurt.

“Handsome! Right, Jamie? Handsome Leo!” And Leo has died, and this is heaven. To hear that this divine creature thinks he is handsome is more than he could have expected. Oh, he knows his mates find him attractive and they tell him, but he’s fully aware that he’s not everyone’s ideal. He’s a bit on the shorter side at 5’9, but he likes to think he makes up for it with sheer muscle mass and charisma.

“Yes, baby, so handsome.” Jay smiles at him.

Then he presses his nose to Leo’s cheek, and he can feel their omega breathe him in. It tickles, so he chuckles. Then Nix’s tiny hands are around his arm, massaging the muscle there. He vows he will make working out a priority, more so than he alwaysdoes, if it means he’ll feel those soft hands on his muscles. With a last squeeze and a tiny sigh, Nix makes his way back to the couch and the modesty of the blanket.

He’s not sure how much time passes after that, but soon Jay is handing him the hamburger he’d been thinking about the entire drive over to the hospital. Except now, he’s only picking at his food as he watches Rowan feed their omega french fries and Finn holds up a juice box for him.

Nix giggles and finally takes the box from him. “I can do it, Finnie. Thank you.” He eats about a quarter of the burger and finishes the juice. Gideon clears his plate away with a frown.

“Don’t you like burgers?” Leo’s heart clenches,not like burgers? The horror!

“I did when I was a kid. Right, Jamie? We ate burgers at the beach.” His eyes are hazy, and Leo checks in with Jay, who’s frowning a bit.

“That’s right, Nixie. These are good, too.”

Nix shakes his head. “Mmhmm, I’m just not used to too much food. But you should eat mine too. Rowan. Would you like the rest of my burger?”

Rowan had fed most of his fries to their omega, but he declines politely, and he couldn’t hide his grimace at the reminder that Nix had lived in a state of starvation.

“Is there something else we can get you, Nix?” Finn has put his half-finished plate on the table and Gideon collects his plate, then works to clear up the food trash and the recycling. Leo knows that if Gideon weren’t wearing his scent blocker, the smell of a destructive thunderstorm would roll through the room in anger.

“No, thank you.” Nix smiles sweetly, then his face looks uncertain. “Can we go home with Jamie now? See Gray?”

“Can we? I want to show Nixie the nes–house.” Luca is wiggling in his seat, and he looks like he’s changed out of theskirt-and-sweater combo he’d worn this morning, and traded it for a pair of Leo’s pink sweatpants and Gideon’s purple hoodie with Quest’s logo on the front. He and Nix have hands clasped under their chins now and they look like mischievous twins, with their big pleading eyes and sweet smiles.

Leo thinks they might be in trouble. Luca’s beta chocolate-mocha scent is combined with Nix’s sugary vanilla and Leo’s not the only one wiping a bit of drool off the corner of his mouth.

Together, they’re good enough to eat.

“If you want to. Our home isn’t far from here. Let’s get this cleaned up and I’ll find out what we need to do to go home.” Jay heads out to find a discharge nurse and Gideon directs the rest of them to clean up the laundry, blankets, and things from the restroom. Leo is surprised when he points him toward the couch to keep their mate company.

Plopping down beside Nix, he’s rewarded with a smile.

---