Chapter 109

The ride home was quiet.

The bags designer labels and luxury fabric tucked into soft paper and glossy boxes in the backseat felt like they belonged to someone else. Someone like Vivian, maybe. Someone who’d grown up expecting shopping sprees, private lunches, and powerful men cheering her every move.

This was all new to me. And while it made me feel more and more like I was leaving my past behind, it was still a bit hard to wrap my mind around. I leaned my head against the window as the city blurred past. I didn’t want to feel bad for Vivian. I really didn’t.

But part of me maybe the part that still remembered holding hands with her when we were younger when I was still very certain that she and I would be the best of friends, did feel bad for her. Knowing that this was just a taste of what her life used to feel like before she'd made all of her terrible decisions. I suppose she should have thought of that before she decided to screw me over. But I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be essentially on top of the world and because of your jealousy. In anger. To send yourself crashing down. Did she even realize that that's what had happened, or was she still living in the delusion of thinking that she had done nothing wrong. I didn't know. There was no way to really tell either, but if she had been outside the bar the other night, something told me that I'd find out soon enough.

I shook the thought off and texted Arielle that I was on my way back, expecting a gif of celebration or a message about dinner plans.

Instead, she sent back:

Z is home. Dev gets off soon. Don’t faint.

I stared at the screen.

What did that even mean? Was he walking around naked or something? Knowing Arielle, that seemed very likely.

When I stepped into the condo, the lights were mostly off except for the soft glow in the kitchen.

I tiptoed in, thinking I could stash the bags and collapse without bothering anyone.

Then I nearly screamed.

Zeke came from the corridor, silent as death, and shuffled into the kitchen. Soon enough he was standing in front of the fridge, shirtless, boxers hanging low on his hips, hair a wild mess of waves. His back was all smooth lines and ink depicting wolves and mountain ridges, intricate sigils I didn’t recognize, a silver chain catching the fridge light.

He turned lazily, eyes bleary and half-lidded.

“Oh… It’s you.”

“Sorry!” I yelped, nearly dropping the bags. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Zeke blinked slowly. “You didn’t. Light sleeper. Long shift. And I'm almost certain that my stomach grumbling is actually what woke me up.” He looked at my bags “You need help?”

I shook my head. "I've got it."

"If you---" He yawned mid-sentence and scrubbed his face. "Are those all?

"No, the driver is bringing the rest of them up."

He grunted then went back to rummaging through the fridge like nothing was amiss.

I stood there, frozen between mortification and curiosity. It was still weird seeing someone so casually shirtless and barefoot in my living space. Well, Arielle’s technically, but still. And this one was built like he deadlifted ambulances for fun.

I guess fighting rogues and all other manner of threats --- whatever those were --- would require you to have a physique like that.

Zeke paused and looked over his shoulder, lips quirking.

“You got a question,” he said.

“What? No, I—” I hesitated. “Okay, maybe.”

“Just ask it,” he muttered, pulling out a container and peeling it open, sniffing the content. “Can’t promise the answer won’t come out weird, but I’m too hungry and too tired to sugarcoat it.”

He chuckled. "Besides Ari said, that you need to be exposed to a little more straightforwardness. Train you up to deal with those two alphas who are chasing you." He snickered. " Since you're not an alpha yourself, you're really going to have to learn to have a firm hand and thick skin. A high tolerance for the scandalous."

"… are you an alpha?"

"Yep." He grabbed another container. "Witchblood too if it matters."

I blinked. " It would make some sense about why you and Ariel work. What about, Dev?"

"Nope. Witchblood, though?" He wiggled his hand. " Strong lineage, but alphas normally have a penchant for healing. Well, except for you Mountainhowls, but you all are weird anyway." He flashed me a grin over his shoulder. “No offense."

I blinked. "None taken. You mean that I might have the propensity for healing?"

"Typically, you'd know already. If you've never found a particular draw to the healing arts, or had any bursts of magic that were wholly benevolent then probably not. Though I'd ask Arielle to be certain. She is the queen of weird."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, she's an alpha who has all the combat power of fuck megastorm, the voice of an goddess that happens to be well-suited for healing, and a temperament of a tyrant. Sexy, but weird." He chuckled. "The Goddess must have been feeling chaotic when she mixed up the cocktail to make Ari… But I'm sure She had her reasons."

He tilted his head. " She did have to be able to stand her ground with the two of us…."

I swallowed and crossed my arms, shifting awkwardly.

“How did you—” I gestured vaguely between him and the fridge. “—decide to be in a relationship with Arielle?"

"With her and Dev, you mean?"

"I guess?"

Zeke snorted, grabbing a fork and leaning against the counter. “You mean how did I decide to willingly get in bed with the catastrophe that is your cousin and regularly also rail an uptight male EMT?”

I choked. “That is not what I said!”

“But it’s what you meant.” He gave me a wolfish grin. “Relax. It’s not weird.”

“It’s a little weird,” I mumbled. "To ask, not to do."

He shrugged and dug into the leftovers without even heating them up. I was pretty sure that whatever he was holding was supposed to be eaten hot.

“Dev and I see each other a lot because of our jobs. We were not friends in the slightest. Ari was a smoking hot woman who decided she needed more than one man in her life." He shrugged. "One night she dragged us both out one night, said we needed to blow off steam. Dev was acting all stuffy and professional and I was drunk enough to say, ‘Bet he’s not so uptight bent over a couch.’”

I gaped. “You did not—”

“Oh, I did.” He smirked. “Arielle heard me and said, ‘Prove it.’ So we did. The couch did not survive, but I more than collected on that bad. The rest is history."

My brain short-circuited. “I—okay. I didn’t need that visual.”

“Too late,” he said around a bite. “But in all seriousness? They’re my people. We’ve got different energies, but it works. Ari keeps us from combusting recklessly. She's luna of your pack for a reason. She cares a lot, and… having someone care for her helps her."

My lips twitched, looking at him and thinking about what I'd seen of their goodbye rituals. Ari did take on this look of happiness when they kissed and he trailed his hands all over her. Did she ever wonder about not being wanted? Or did she just like the physical reassurance?

"Dev keeps us from dying and keeps us both from turning into workaholic hermits living on caffeine and protein snacks."

"And… you?"

He grinned. "I'm the provider of warm snuggles, physical security and a well of magical good time."

I blinked, slowly digesting all of that.

“Do you… like, ever get jealous?” I asked quietly.

Zeke looked thoughtful. “Sometimes. Not in the way people expect. It’s more like making sure we all feel seen. Jealous that maybe Dev can get Ari to slow down when I can't, but there are things I can get her to do that she can't. Like sit the fuck down and not blow holes in buildings."

"That's happened?"

"Plenty of times. Your cousin is not to be trifled with, but we make sure we all know we're wanted and safe. You don’t survive as a triad unless you’re all pulling weight and paying attention. It’s work. Good work, though. Never been happier.”

"Do you think that if you weren't also… involved with Dev things would be different?"

"For sure," he laughed. "Probably drive your cousin crazy because she likes her cake and to eat it, too."

I stared at him watching this fond look bloom across his face.

He really did look incredibly happy.

"Have you always---"

Before I could finish, the door swung open down the hallway. Zeke went still and lifted his nose before setting the dish on the counter and rushing to the front door.