Page 85 of Reclaiming Home

“I love you too, Brodie. Alpha.”

I squeezed him tighter and kissed his head.

Before I had time to say anything, he sighed.

“I think it’s something about Holden, maybe,” he murmured.

I frowned. “What is?”

“Whatever’s going on with Rian.”

That made no sense. “I don’t think they know each other.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so either. At least Holden doesn’t know Rian.”

“Huh.”

“We’ll keep an eye on it. Support Rian however he needs. He just can’t go being mean and loud, especially not to the boys and Carys.”

I smiled. He sounded like a parent. “He won’t. He got overwhelmed. He promised he’d apologize as soon as he feels good enough to talk to anyone.”

“He better.”

“I could’ve made him tell me what’s wrong, but he asked that I wouldn’t. I’ve made him talk before, years ago, when something was troubling him. It felt like abusing our D/s dynamic, though.”

“Yeah, that’s… I wouldn’t go that far unless it was something dangerous he’s hiding.”

“Yeah. This time he asked me not to make him tell, so I won’t. The trust between us is too important to me.”

“To me, too.” He sighed and kissed my neck. “I’m sorry.”

“Again, baby, no need to be. We’re still new. We’re still learning about each other and how we are as people in a very serious relationship.”

“I like the sound of that,” he said quietly, but I could hear the smile in his voice.

“What?”

“That we’re very serious. Because we are.” He lifted his head to look me in the eye. “I’m happy with you. I didn’t know it could be like this, that I could be this… fulfilled, I suppose, in a relationship, because every attempt at more than casual dating in my past never worked.”

I rumbled. “That’s because fate had called dibs on my behalf.”

He laughed, the sound light and happy. “I guess.”

We went downstairs and continued the afternoon movie marathon. There were snacks and drinks, and everyone tried their best to relax a little. I’d told Max to come cuddle to my side, and Ben and I sandwiched him between us. He relaxed very gradually, clearly on alert for any sounds from upstairs.

I loved my best friend, but hurting someone like Max was out of the question. Luckily he knew that and would apologize once he felt ready.

After the second movie, we moved the party into the kitchen. Carys started on dinner prep, shooed us to the table when we asked if we could help, and tossed the pack of UNO cards at us.

It all got surprisingly competitive, with Ben being extremely sneaky about his choices, Max pulling surprise moves, and Kye knowing exactly when to change direction or color for maximum damage.

No, I didn’t win even one game, damn it. I didn’t mind in the least, though, because they were having fun at my expense, as a pack, a family.

At one point, Carys wanted to join the game while she waited for something to cook, so I gave my spot to her and went to check up on Rian. I jogged up the stairs and knocked on his door. At his quiet acknowledgement, I opened the door and stepped inside. He was still curled up in bed, but his color was better due to my blood.

I sat on the edge and reached a hand to push his curls off his face. “How are you feeling, sweetness?”

He made a small “eh” sound and burrowed deeper into his blankets.

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