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“Back to that, huh?” Remmus tapped a finger to his chin. “Let’s see, then. A Raeth stole your autographed Dolly Parton poster, blackmailed you for it, and made you karaoke in front of all of your wolfy friends for its safe return.”
“That is oddly specific.” Ava made grabby hands but the grin remained. “Now, come on. Gimme gimme.”
Teleporting the small token of affection into his hands, Remmus handed it over to her delighted shriek of excitement. Instantly, her complete attention was on the box in her hands, the look of rapture on her features.
“These are amazing! When did you get these?”
“After you made cupcakes the first time.”
Remmus studied the assorted cake frosting tips for signs they’d sprouted diamonds overnight. The metal contraptions looked just as simple as they did when he’d gone to a specialty baking store and spent far too much time chatting with the clerks trying to decide which set to get. Her off-the-scales excitement made it all worth it.
“I can never have too many.” A face-eating grin spread over her mouth before she turned on him. “Racking up your brownie points, huh?”
“I assure you; this gift is purely self-serving,” he said. “And yes, I love brownies, if there was ever any question.”
A telepathic knock sounded on his mental door, and Ava went quiet when he tapped a finger to his temple. Kaien’s voice broke into his thoughts only seconds later.
Remmus.
Kai. How’s our glorious sovereign duo?
They’re better—both of them. The other male replied, though his psychic voice sounded tired. Nina said you’d reached out. Can you come back and give us a report?
I thought you’d never ask. Be there in a few.
“Duty calls, Blondie,” he said. “I have to return to clan lands.”
A thread of trepidation mingled with surprise, the emotions banding through the ghosting mating link between them. “When will you be back?”
“It shouldn’t take me too long to touch base.”
He’d spent very little time on clan lands lately and any interaction he’d had with Nina and Zeke had been rushed and understandably overshadowed by his sovereign’s needs. Shaking his head to ward off any abysmal thoughts, he refocused on Ava’s thumb gently rubbing small circles into the fleshy part of his palm. “If you stay away too long, I’ll hunt you down and drag you back here, kicking and screaming.”
A devilish grin. “The only screaming that’ll happen between us is when I—”
“Remmus!” Ava’s hand clamped over his mouth, shutting off his speech. “Little ears present, Raeth. Have some decorum.”
He puckered up and kissed her hand. “Anything for my Blondie.”
Before he could get too sentimental, he teleported directly into his home on clan lands. Compared to the boisterous noise of Ava’s den, the quiet of his living room seemed almost oppressive.
He felt … lonely.
Remmus glanced around his mostly bare house. Though it was a generous size, it was sparsely furnished and held no hint of décor or personality. Twin leather recliners had been his only frivolous purchase, and though he admittedly loved to relax in them, he rarely ever had company.
Before, his only steady company had been Kaien and Celeste. Now that Kaien had mated, Remmus had unintentionally been pushed to the back seat. He didn’t want to think about Celeste; there was still too much to clear between them.
To think Ava might use one of his recliners at some point seemed like a pipe dream. As soon as she discovered what he’d done as a youngling, Remmus would be cast aside, and he’d become as worthless as his parents had believed him to be.
He emerged into the chilly streets of his clan lands, heading toward his sovereign’s place. He nodded to more than a few clansmen he saw along the way, blissfully happy when he saw several heavy with child.
The coming months would see an influx of younglings join their psychic web, each child automatically linking with their mother’s clan network. It’d be a dynamic time of both great joy and chaotic change, but nothing would be sweeter.
Two minutes later, he was knocking on the door of Nina’s home.
A clipped voice bade him entry only seconds later, and he strode into her living room with a hint of anxiety. Nina was asleep on the couch underneath a blanket, curled into Zeke’s side, an arm cradling her pregnant belly. Kaien and Hemin were nowhere to be found, likely off on rounds checking on other mothers-to-be.
Remmus breathed a sigh of relief at Nina’s appearance. The bags underneath her eyes had vanished and a hint of color had returned to her skin. She no longer appeared as though she was withering away.
