Page 377 of Bride of Choice

“Give minutes, my Rothy. Him needs minutes,” a deep voice rumbled.

“I’m trying! It’s butt cold out here and we’ve been going back and forth for nearly-”

“We’re home?” I breathed. Popping up and yanking my hood off to spy Celuk’s kin gathered around us near Dorothy’s back door, I found myself gaping in shock. When?! How?!

I could have heard a pin drop, it suddenly grew so quiet.

My face. It was my fucking face again, wasn’t it? I was so god damn happy to be alive, to have survived, just to fucking finally be here, my face was the last god damn thing on my mind. Apparently, it was the first thing everyone saw so, yeah.

Reaching out to give Jeh-kal’s fur a tug when he bared his teeth, snapped something at everyone, and every beast present suddenly grew very interested in the snowy ground, the moonlit sky, basically anywhere but the mangled ruins of half of my mug, he muffled his grumble, mashed the feral baring of his teeth at them, and dropped his gaze to meet mine.

“It’s okay, muscles. It’s a bit much to take in at first. It’s a shock,” I muttered softly. “They’ve probably got a lot of questions, and I-”

“Jo no like stare,” he grumbled churlishly, bristling as he shifted in place.

Patting his chest, I leaned forward to place a kiss over his heart. “I think we can offer them a little bit of grace on this one, huh?”

“My Jo bootiful,” he garbled out gutturally, cuddling me closer for a minute longer before dipping to slowly set me on my feet.

Honestly, there were more than a few beastly peepers stuck on my hooded cape as I slid the pelt wrapped around me off my shoulders, exposing it. The rest of my clothes were soggy and stuffed inside Tor’s pack. It probably smelled odd to them too if the noses lifting for a short sniff were anything to go by.

“It’s dead, the Krampus, if you were all wondering,” I muttered uneasily. My hands swung nervously at my sides.

Dorothy shoved off Mosoau’s staying hand and came at me at a run. “I can’t believe you’re here,” she choked out as she enveloped me in a hug. Her voice caught, and naturally my eyes started to tear up.

“Believe me, me neither.” Hugging her back, I gave her a little squeeze that made her laugh.

Pulling back, she laughed as we sniffled at the same time and began to wipe our eyes. “I’m so damn glad to see you, hun,” she got out between poorly muffled sniffles.

“You have no idea how happy I am to be back.” Taking Jeh-kal’s hand in mine, I brought it around me to settle his arm over the top of my shoulders. The action seemed to mollify him. He was no longer snarling at everyone to back the fuck off.

“Be nice,” I whispered through the side of my mouth as I patted his hand, “this is family.”

Jeh-kal’s unhappy rumble sputtered out at my words.

Celuk’s deep voice rumbled off to my right. Boxing me in as he came up on us, he moved in and stood close to us without pushing Jeh-kal out. My hand slid over to his and my fingers wiggled, brushing his fur. Celuk automatically took my hand in his, lifted it to his face, and brushed the backs of my knuckles along the side of it, then placed a soft kiss to the flat of my hand.

“Tired. Need see Rek,” Celuk rumbled out brusquely.

Dorothy glanced from Jeh-kal and Celuk, waiting for them to slowly release me to wrap an arm around me, announced that I needed a minute, and led me up the steps and into the house.

“Let’s get you washed up, fed, and looked at. How are you feeling? Celuk said you got a bit of the tummy flops. I’ve got just the thing for that. Bread? Crackers? Celuk popped in about an hour before you and updated us on your condition. I’ve been preparing things the second I heard. Cramping? Often? Spotting still going on? From the sounds of it, you might’ve overdone it some. Keep you off your feet for a while, keep an eye on things, you know?”

“Doro, I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this,” pausing as she led me down the hall and my mates dogged our steps, I tackled her in a bear hug, “but I fucking love you, woman.”

Dorothy lost it then. A soft sob left her as her breathing hitched. “So damn glad to see you… So damn glad. And, Jo? I fucking love you, too.”

Chapter 48

Given the all-clear from Jo and Lukar under the condition I took it easy, as Celuk scooped me up and we headed off, Jeh-kal hot on our heels, I couldn’t get the look of shock on Dorothy’s face when I’d shown her the evidence of everything that had happened to me out of my mind.

Dorothy was safe, she didn’t judge. There was some satisfaction to be had when she got angry on my behalf. It was comforting, thinking about all the beings I had in my corner. Beings’ reactions still hit me pretty hard, though, even if I truly did understand.

“Are Gopher and Odix with Rek?” I asked, brushing my fingers absently through Celuk’s damp mane.

“Out look for Jo, like Celuk and Tor,” Jeh-kal answered.

After assuring me I was probably just overdoing it but to be careful just in case, and plying me with bland cracker biscuits and tea she said she swore by with her pregnancies, Dorothy had offered to run me a bath. I knew I smelled a fright from alternately freezing my butt off and sweating like a moose. I probably looked as bad as I felt I stunk.

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