Page 118 of Tempting Fate

I shake my head. “Cate doesn’t know us properly. Not yet.”

He pulls a face, so I kiss him softly. Just once. Em sighs against my mouth and behind me, Patch makes a hungry sound. I fancy I feel the sharp edge of that hunger in my chest, but that could just be me, honestly.

“They have a reason to hate me,” Em admits quietly. “They love you. Patch is a wolf. They’re not… I’m not…”

“I’m not going anywhere without you. Either of you,” I say. “But they don’t hate you, Em. I’ve seen Kieran angry. Sam too, for that matter. You made a mistake. They’re honestly very forgiving.”

Patch perks up. “You think so?”

“Yeah, I do.” Kieran and Drew are brothers. Kieran and Sam have been friends for years. Adam is Lucien’s turn. And that’s just five of them. I’m sure they’ve all hurt each other at least a few times, but the bonds between them—their new family—seem strong whenever I see them.

“Okay,” Em says. He blows out a breath. “I trust you. If you say it’ll be okay, it’ll be okay.”

“And what…” Patch hesitates. “Have we made a decision? Have you two made a decision?”

“Have you?” Em asks.

I lean back, watching as they stare at each other for a moment. Upstairs, Nick and Cate murmur to each other. They’ll be down here soon.

“Yeah,” Patch says finally, eyes sliding away from Em’s face. He’s smiling, cheeks a little pinched. “I want to stay and try this with the two of you. I’m sorry I panicked before. I should’ve… I know I’m not always going to get it right, but I’m going to try.”

I relax back into his embrace. Em holds on to Patch’s hands.

“I’m going to stay,” he says. “And we’re going to make this work, by the way.”

I laugh. I can’t help myself; I feel giddy. “Oh, are we?”

Em kisses me hard on the mouth, then leans over and kisses Patch, too.

“Yes, we absolutely are.”

My good mood hasn’t wavered in the slightest by the time we reach Kieran’s pack house late that afternoon. Cate walks through the wards just as easily as me and Em, being as we’re all regular humans, and I wonder if that will change after we mate with Patch.

None of us are ready for that yet. At least I’m not, and I don’t even know all the details, just what Vince dropped in passing, so I’m not sure Em knows anything about it at all. I glance sideways at Patch as we walk up the stairs. Probably should have mentioned that, though if Em is totally against the idea, that’s fine too.

I think. Ugh.

Patch has one hand on my lower back as I knock on the door. Cate is looking up and down the corridor, just like Em; I know they aren’t actually blood related, but they both wear the same focused expression when they’re trying to solve a puzzle.

I just don’t know what puzzle they’re trying to solve right now.

Drew opens the door, and I return his sunny smile. “Come in! I’m just heading back…”

“I told you that you could stay,” Kieran says. He’s sitting on the sofa, but he stands as the four of us enter the flat, gaze lingering on Cate, who is eyeing Drew with no little curiosity. I can’t tell if she’s trying to work out if he’s human or if she just thinks he’s cute. “Who’s this?”

“My friend, Cate,” Em says. Cate waves. “She came to pick me up, and I thought—That is, if it’s okay…”

I’ve already kicked my shoes off, so I reach over and take Em’s hand. I don’t think he needs to be nervous, but I understand where that anxiety is coming from. Patch is entirely silent, eyes downcast, so once Em has squeezed my hand back and smiled at me, I reach for him, too.

Sam is still sitting in one of the armchairs and Lucien, Kieran’s vampire mate, is on the sofa. He’s well-dressed, perfectly groomed, but somehow, I get the impression he hasn’t been awake all that long.

“It’s fine,” Kieran says. “Come. Sit down.”

Lucien moves from the sofa to let us sit, and when I glance over, Kieran and Drew are having some kind of silent conversation that has Sam grinning. After a minute or so, Drew throws his hands up in irritation. He looks at us. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Told you, you weren’t going anywhere, little wolf,” Sam says.

Drew sighs, goes into the kitchen, and grabs glasses out of the cupboard even though none of us have had a chance to reply.