Page 15 of Underworld

He grins at me, then opens the door to my new room. “Good to know. Welcome home, Jane.”

I can’t help but smile as I look around. It looks like an exact replica of the bedroom I have in the cave. The only difference is the walls here are painted, whereas the cave has rock walls. The ceiling is black, and the walls are off-white, making the red in the room pop.

I can’t help but run over and jump onto the bed belly first. I bounce, then snuggle into the blankets, humming in approval. “How are these so soft and fluffy?”

Alec laughs as he slides in next to me on the bed. “We found this store that has the best bedsheets and blankets. We haven’t gone anywhere else since.”

Closing my eyes, I snuggle deeper into the blankets and sigh.

“Do you want to take a nap, Princess?” Jace asks from the edge of the bed.

I hum and say, “Only if you snuggle with me.”

Jace laughs. I hear the shuffling of shoes, then feel his body slide in next to mine. I open my eyes when I feel Alec pull away. “You don’t have to leave.”

He smiles and presses a kiss on my forehead. “Howe and I are going to work on putting your stuff away while Zane starts dinner. Enjoy your cuddles, Moonbeam.”

Once the others have left, I flip onto my side and look at Jace. Zane dimmed the lights, so it's dark, but I can still make out Jace’s face. He stares at me, and after a few minutes of this, I can’t help but ask, “Why are you staring at me?”

His smile is soft as he lifts a hand and brushes his fingers softly across my cheeks. “I’m not staring. I’m admiring.”

A grin pulls at my lips. “There’s a difference?”

He bends forward and kisses my nose before pulling away. “Staring makes me sound creepy and like a stalker.”

“And admiring?”

Cupping my cheek gently, he says, “Memorizing every single thing about you so I never forget.”

“I’m not sure if that sounds any better,” I tease.

His lips tilt into a smile. “Would it sound better if I said I did it out of love? And because of how much I missed you.”

I snuggle closer to him with a sleepy smile. “Maybe,” I whisper.

He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his body, holding me close as he whispers, “I love you, and I missed you.”

I hum and take in a deep breath of his woodsy smell. I feel myself relaxing as I’m engulfed in his warmth and smell. It’s not long before I fall into the darkness and dream of my boys.

Chapter Thirteen

Zane

10 years ago…

I’m wiping her face as gently as I can, but I’m not the gentle one. That’s Alec and sometimes Howe depending on the day. But me? I’m the big kid who solves more problems with his fists rather than providing a healing touch. She winces again as I touch a sensitive spot on her cheek. “Sorry, Sunshine.”

She grins at me as I continue wiping the dirt and blood off her face. “Why are you sorry? You’re not the one who smacked me.”

I stiffen, trying not to growl at her words. No, I wasn’t. Her father was the one who smacked her and left her in the mud. Luckily, we were in the tree house and saw it go down. The others shoved her at me to clean up while they kept a lookout for her dad.

She stops my hand with hers as she holds onto my wrist. My eyes meet her gray-blue ones. They are filled with so much strength—too much for a ten-year-old to need. She gives me a crooked smile. “Don’t be such a grouch, Z. It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt that bad.”

I frown. “You have been wincing the whole time I’ve been cleaning your face.”

She just rolls her eyes at me in typical Jane fashion. “Okay, maybe it hurts a little. But you're not the one who did this, so stop acting like you're causing the pain.”

I lower my eyes and quietly say, “I am hurting you.”

---