Page 86 of Threads of Fate

“Oh, come on,” he whines. “Nix is here. I’ll just say hello, and then I can come right back. And besides, Jay doesn’t always wear a shirt. It’s not fair.” His wheedling tone should not be cute.

“He may not, but heiswearing pants—most of the time. You can choose.” Gideon knows what his choice will be and already has an extra shirt in hand, together with sweats and a t-shirt for himself.

Sighing, Luca stomps his foot. “Fine. Shirt then. But no boxers. I am in my own home, and I cannot abide…” Gideon nods and ushers him into his en suite bathroom, turning on the shower.

“I know, baby, in you go.” Gideon soothes, washing his soulmate’s hair and running his hands over this beautiful part of his heart that lives outside of his body. Luca is still rambling about the injustices forced upon him in his own home, but he’s willing to make exceptions forhisbaby, at least until Nix gets used to it.

“What if Nix likes to go no-pants, too? We could be without pants all the time and I would have someone else who is on my side. It would be so nice.” His love gives a pained sigh.

“Luca, you act like we complain all the time. I can assure you that we have never complained about seeing your perfect ass in this house, not one time.”

“Well, not out loud, maybe, but…”

“Not one time. Be pants-less 100% of the time as long as we don’t have guests.”

“See?! There you go! Always qualifiers. Why does the world hate me and my perfect ass?”

Gideon knows he is going to get nowhere fast because Luca is anxious and managing it with his tirade.

As soon as Gideon stops arguing, the beta huffs and pitches forward and latches onto Gideon’s nipple, using his hand to perk up the pec it’s sitting on. Letting the hot water run over them, Gideon allows Luca to settle as he needs, occasionally running hands over his sore ass just to hear him moan a bit.

“Come on. Let’s go see our boy, yeah?”

Luca is much calmer when Gideon dries him off and slides his longest t-shirt over his beautiful body; he even lets Gideon dry his hair.

“Do you think he still remembers me? That he still likes me?”

There it is—the source of his anxiety.

“First, you haven’t been away from him that long for him to have forgotten you. And second, there’s nothing you could do that would make anyone not like you. You’re my perfect boy.” Luca just grunts and crosses his arms.

“But Jay told him about us. What about that? What if he doesn’t like menow?”

Gideon had wondered how much of the story Jay might have covered in their absence. He would hate to step into it mid-explanation and set off the new Were—or worse—if they hadn’t covered all of it. It would make sense to parse it out in manageable bits and pieces, even though, personally, Gideon prefers the “rip the bandaid off in one fell swoop” approach.

“If Nix is mad, then it’s not with you. Think about how you would feel if you had all those bad things happen and woke updifferentlywithout it being your decision. Consent is important, yeah? So if he’s mad, we’ll be understanding and give him what he says he needs.”

Speaking of what Nix needs, maybe his pack texted to let him know what that might be, or at least what the fallout might be.

Checking his phone, he sees a text from Rowan

2:43 PM - from Ro

Where are you? You’re missing this

5:25 PM - from Ro

Grayson and Nix are like whoa

Whateverwhoameans. Rowan was always cryptic in his texts, claiming it helped him cultivate his air of mystery and helped with hisrizz. Goddess save us all, because that boy does not need morerizz.

Pushing down his anticipation, Gideon boops Luca on the nose with a smile. “Let’s go see what’s happening, but maybe Nix doesn’t know everything. So let’s not say too much, okay? Until we get the lay of the land.”

“Okay, waiting and seeing if Nix still loves me, and we can eat ice cream and not wear pants until he’s not mad. Got it.” Always the master of the parting shot, he’s out the door and down the hall, peeking over the balcony into the living area. “Whoa!” He whispers, frantically waving him over and Gideon has got to see for himself.

Grayson is lying on the couch, covered by a sleeping angel. Nix’s hand is curled under his chin, ear over Grayson’s heart, and they are so still Gideon can’t tell if Grayson is asleep as well. Huh. That went better than Gideon had hoped. Grayson does not look worse for the wear, and he genuinely hopes Rowan would have mentioned it if he’d challenged Jay for his position as Nix’s alpha.

Gideon is no hypocrite and, with a tiny grimace, is quick to remember what sent him running from the hospital this afternoon; he just hopes he can keep himself under the same admirable control.

---