Page 165 of Puck & Her Blades

Smiling and purring, I stroll into the lounge of my new home.

Warmth floods through me at the thought.

This is my first true home with my bonded pack.

It doesn’t smell of us properly yet, and I long to change that.

Instead, it’s filled with the musty, stale scent of an empty house that’s been shut up.

The room is large but cozy.

The floor is thickly carpeted, and the walls are a glowing bronze that remind me of Jackson’s eyes. The high windows look out over the untamed gardens. The streaming afternoon sunlight caresses my face, as I turn to look out at the lawns that tumble down over a slope to a large building at the bottom.

It's larger than this mansion.

My brow furrows.

What is it?

While we were planning this month, Jackson told me that Zev and him had managed to hide some of their pay and sponsorships from Roarke, siphoning it into accounts and particularly into property.

This is one of their mansions.

Apparently, Jackson fitted it out in the hope that his scheme to free his pack would work.

Jackson has been more excitable than I’ve ever seen him to show me my new home.

He deserves this.

He worked for it.

He won it.

If he’s been excitable, however, then Zev’s been bouncing off the walls.

Now, he swaggers around the room in a leather jacket and pants that look painted on (and I long to drag off him), ripping open the cardboard boxes with the same enthusiasm as if they’re presents.

Asher is his partner in crime.

He’s dressed in casual joggers and blue t-shirt.

At last, he has the choice now about what he wears. Even if we can’t take the Companion Choker off his neck, he’s an equal for the first time in this pack.

A week after the big game, he curled up in my arms and sobbed, when that truth hit him.

I didn’t say anything. I just held him.

I understood.

I can choose my own clothes too now. I’ve chosen a velvet silver dress. It’s backless and soft.

I feel like myself in it.

I have control.

I love that our new home feels casual and relaxed. I adore it so much more than the grand Blade House or my vast but cold parents’ house.

“I can’t believe that you called this place Snow Bunny House.” I glance over my shoulder at Jackson. “I’m honored.”

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