I didn’t hear Lake approach, but I sensed him. The more our relationship deepened, the more I found myself able to pick up on those subtle changes in the air when he was near. I turned around just as he stepped through the doorway from the kitchen.
He halted in place and perked up. And gods help me, his head cocked with the action, making him look sexy and adorable at the same time. He wore a dark green shirt that fell open in the front, showing his toned chest and the dusting of silver hair on it. “You’re perhaps the only one I can no longer sneak up on.”
“Lucky me.” I reached for him and was rewarded by his warmth a second later. “I’m glad you came downstairs.”
“I wanted to finish helping you with dinner.” He pushed his face into my hair and hooked an arm around my waist. He’d helped me peel potatoes and chop the vegetables earlier but had dashed upstairs when the knights arrived.
Callum, Quincy, Duke, and Baden all knew about him, but he still kept a slight distance when they visited. Trust was hard for him, especially when it came to humans. Even more so, those humans being knights. His father had been murdered by knights when Lake was a kid, his only crime having been born a demi-wolf. But Lake had begun joining us for meals at least, which was a huge step for him.
The two of us returned to the kitchen.
“Clean this up,” Maddox’s voice boomed from behind us.
More laughter came from Callum and Quincy. Outside of that cottage, Maddox was their commanding officer. Their captain. But right then, rank didn’t matter. We were all friends.
Family.
“This smells delicious,” Lake said after lifting the lid on the massive pot on the stove. “I like the blend of seasoning you used. What did you call the dish… a wild boar roast?”
“Yep. In my old world, we had something called a pot roast. You can use beef or pork, and there’s always vegetables thrown in with it. Celery, carrots, and potatoes.”
Lake’s tail swished back and forth as he stirred the contents and placed the lid back on top. “Do you miss your old world?”
I had told the three of them about Lupin’s magical emporium sending me to Bremloc. Isekai’d, just like the main protagonist from an anime. Hell, I’d even gotten my own harem just like one too. But unlike in those stories, I didn’t fuck with my men’s emotions. There was no fighting or jealousy. We were all equals.
And we were happy.
“Not at all.” I meant the words to my core. “This is my home. I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
“Neither do I,” Lake said softly. “I never thought I’d find someone like you, Evan. Someone to see beyond appearances and seeme.”
I remembered the story of the little fox from the children’s book I’d found in his room the first night I’d met him. The little fox had wanted friends, but no one had given him a chance. He’d been lonely, just like the wolf pup who’d grown up reading that story, feeling exactly the same and relating to the fox in a way that made my heart ache.
“I’ll always see you.” I touched his cheek. “Even when you try to hide.”
Affection swarmed in his purple eyes.
“All right,” a deeper voice said from the doorway. “You’ve had him long enough, wolf. It’s my turn.”
A few steps later, Maddox enfolded me in his arms and lifted me from the floor. I giggled as he buried his face in my neck and did a blowing motion that tickled. Very few people got to see this playful side of the brooding captain.
Briar leaned against the doorframe and smiled at us. When I reached out for him, that smile became even more tender, and he closed the distance between us. As his honeysuckle and magnolia scent tickled my nose, a feeling of peace came over me.
Once dinner was ready, we pushed tables together to make one big one and sat. The meal was far from quiet. Lively conversation, loud banter, and laughs filled the room as we ate. I loved it.
“Hudson got the piss knocked out of him.” Baden grabbed another roll of bread from the basket and tore into it, chewing as he spoke. “I nearly laughed my ass off when he fell backward in the dirt and banged himself in the head with the butt of his own sword.”
“He was boasting that he could best me in a match. I challenged his words,” Callum said with a self-satisfied smile. The cinnamon roll of a knight was fairly modest when it came to his skills with a sword. Unless someone got cocky and shit-talked him. Then, he had no trouble putting them in their place. “Now, he’ll think twice before opening that mouth of his.”
“Poor Hudson,” I said.
“He’s a foolish brute,” Duke added.
Hudson and I hadn’t started off on the best of terms. The first day I’d met him, he’d mistaken me for a trespasser and threatened me. And Maddox had almost murdered him for it. Hudson, the poor guy, had tried making up for that mistake in the months since then. He’d even been part of the party that had come to rescue me from the dark wood when Rowan kidnapped me.
Rowan.
The same spark I’d felt with my men prior to realizing they were one of my mates, I had felt with him too. But he couldn’tactuallybe one of the men destined to fall for me, right?
