Page 29
Why didn’t you use the CB?
Because you fucks were all asleep and not answering my attempts to hail you.
Shit, sorry, we keep it in the kitchen pantry.
“Waters on. Roark, could you swap places with Logan and pass him something for Wild to wear? Sounds like his snowy trek out here has something to do with our mate.”
“On it,” Roark said, while Rusty filled tea balls and retrieved a bottle of whiskey from the top shelf of the cupboards and set it on the counter to add to their tea once it had brewed.
A quick peek into the living room showed that Wild was swaddled in thick, fluffy blankets with just his beak and eyes peering out.
“Feeling any warmer?” Rusty asked.
This is heaven, thank you.
“Thank me by telling me that there is no threat headed this way, hellbent on getting at my mate,” Rusty said.
That’s what I’m here to assess.
“Fu…” Rusty let the word fade to a growl at the sound of someone coming up the steps and whipped his head around to see Logan in sleep pants and Roark’s t-shirt and probably would have laughed at the way they’d all wound up in each other’s clothes if Wild’s words hadn’t chilled him as badly as the wind.
“Roark said I have a visitor,” Logan said as he passed Rusty the clothes.
“Wild is a member of the Comet Lake pack as well as the Golden Glen parliament,” Rusty explained as he set the clothes on the coffee table for Wild. “Let’s give him a moment, and I’m sure he’ll explain why he needed to risk his beak to reach us.”
“Please, because now I’m worried,” Logan admitted.
“You’re not the only one,” Rusty said, gripping his shoulder.
Logan blew out a long breath, nodded, and followed Rusty from the room so they could give Wild a moment to shift and get dressed. In the kitchen, the kettle wasn’t close to whistling yet, so Rusty grabbed another mug and set it on the counter.
“Tea or coffee?” he asked.
“Either is fine as long as it’s got a couple shots of whiskey in it,” Logan said as he leaned against his counter and fiddled with the string of his sleep pants until Rusty caught his hand and squeezed it.
“Whatever it is, you have family now,” Rusty reminded him. “None of us will let you deal with it alone.”
“I needed to hear that,” Logan said as he stepped into his embrace.
Rusty cupped the back of Logan’s neck, squeezing gently as he held him. They didn’t move until the kettle’s whistle blew.
Rusty filled the mugs, swirled the tea balls, and slid the highchairs into place at the table for when the pups were ready to eat.
“Roark will bring the pups up once adult conversation time is over,” Rusty explained. “They’re having playtime in fur right now since some little wolves saw their older sibling in fur and decided to shift.”
“Awe. That’s good, they’ll forget all about being scared.”
“Exactly.”
Rusty was just dumping whiskey in the mugs when Wild stepped into the room, blanket wrapped around him, loudly cracking his neck as he dropped in a chair. Rusty set a mug in front of him, and Wild leaned in, letting the steam hit his face as he inhaled the aroma.
“Sorry for the commotion this morning,” Wild said. The owl’s tone, usually playful, was strained, and not just from the cold. “But early this morning I received word from a contact in my parliament that an owl named Ridge was actively seeking you, Logan, and not quietly or calmly, either.”
“Fuck, my phone, I had to smash it. They probably think something happened to me and Wren and will be going full scorched earth soon if they don’t hear from us,” Logan said as he brushed the hair back from his eyes.
Wild cocked his head and studied Logan. “So, he’s a friend, then?”
“More like family, but yeah, when I missed my check-in, he, Tate, and Lysander would have started reaching out to see if anyone had seen hide or hair of us.”
