Page 27 of Cursed Wolf

“I love you, Jae.” I drag her into my arms. “We’re all the family we need. I’ll always be here for you.”

When she finally wriggles free of my embrace, she wipes her eyes and smiles.

“Come see what they’ve been creating.”

Following Jae into a hallway, I blink at what I see. Huge holes puncture the walls, the ceiling is half broken, one beam hanging down, and I have to step over a gaping fissure in the floorboards.

“Hmm, I don’t remember the place looking this bad last night, or was it so dark, I missed it?”

“Ah, yes,” Jae says over her shoulder, then hops over another hole. “When the witch attacked you last night in retaliation with her magic, it went haywire and basically ripped through the house. I’m surprised it’s still upright. It shook like crazy after you passed out. You should have seen the chaos of the four guys running around madly to save you and imprison the witch.”

“Wow, I missed out on all the fun,” I say sarcastically, coaxing a laugh from Jae.

Despite the craziness of my life, there’s a calmness in the air today, which I appreciate. I’m not sure I could take too many stressful days.

Entering the main room, Stone and Crius are standing back, evaluating a round table and an eclectic collection of chairs, stools, and upside-down wooden crates for seats. When they turn in our direction, the elation spreading across their faces has me tearing up.

“Angel,” Stone blurts out, rushing over to me, as does Crius. I’m in their arms faster than I can say hello, and suddenly, I’m off my feet.

“You’re awake,” Crius coos, running a hand over my brow as if checking my temperature. “And you’re looking well. How do you feel?”

Stone has me sitting on a cushioned high-back seat by the table, then they both drag chairs to sit on either side of me while Jae grabs me a glass of water and sets it in front of me.

“Relaxed and like I’ve slept for eternity.”

The men stare at me as though they can’t get enough of me, their hands all over me. I think about how scared they must have been all night with me passed out, and this is them dealing with that dread.

“You had us worried to death. We had to do something to keep ourselves occupied,” Stone explains, glancing at the table.

“This is where my axe came in handy,” Crius adds, grinning wickedly.

“Wait, you made this table from scratch?” I ask.

“Are you mad? Of course not,” Crius says. “I chopped the uneven legs so it stopped wobbling.”

Jae’s bursting out laughing. “You should have heard how much he swore as if it was the hardest thing in the world.”

The creak of the floorboards has us looking up. Ragnar and Nikos enter the room, carrying a large box. It seems like a lot of food for breakfast, but there are six mouths to feed… seven, actually. Thinking of Kaira, my chest aches.

“Narah,” Nikos says, rushing over to set the box on the table. Jae is already pawing through the food.

Ragnar’s at my side in moments, nudging past Crius to lean in and steal a kiss. Then he peppers my face, and I’m in heaven. When did I get so lucky to have these men in my life? Nikos also takes a kiss, then, of course, Stone and Crius do the honors, and I’m left burning up. Despite the pregnancy, a level of arousal still lingers in my body, just not as intense as before.

After giving me a rundown of what happened after I passed out, mirroring Jae’s explanation, we all sit around the table. The men are broad-shouldered, and nothing is ever big enough when it involves all four, so it’s a tight squeeze.

“Well, what’s to eat? I’m starving.” Crius hands out plates he must have found in the kitchen, which still resembles a murder scene.

“The selection of food to buy at the market was limited,” Nikos says. With Jae’s help, he places a large bag of peaches and grapes on the table, followed by what resembles a mountain of fried flatbread. “These are Romanian and filled with all kinds of ingredients. Some have potatoes, others meat or cheese. They’re called placinta or something like that and smell delicious.”

Everyone collects a round flatbread easily larger than my head.

Stone serves me, and I discover mine is filled with meat and green onion. The moment it touches my tongue, I might have died and gone to heaven. Still warm, the savory taste is incredible. Taking another bite, noticing I’m not the only one who’s fallen quiet and tearing into the food, I smile. It’s great to finally have some food in my stomach.

“Tell me there’s more in the box,” Crius mutters with a mouthful while reaching for a second piece.

“Got you covered,” Nikos answers. “When we ordered fifty pieces, we may have made the Beta’s day at the market stand. It’s why it took us so long. We had to wait while they cooked them all. Figured if we eat the meat ones, we can take what’s left and the fruit on our trip.”

“We’re leaving?” I almost choke on my flatbread.

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