The Light in Us

67. Fox

67

Fox

M y mate is glowing, bouncing from her first day in her new job. She giggles. “ Fox . Where are we going?”

“Just wait.” I wrap my arm around her as we duck past a large group.

We stop in front of a building, and I watch Fallon’s eyes widen as she takes in the stacks in the window.

“This is the biggest bookstore in the state,” I tell her. “And when we started Ink & Quill, I took everyone here separately for their own rite of passage. And today is your turn. For your new job.”

Fuck, I love the stunned expression on her face almost as much as I hate it.

“Come on.”

I feel almost as excited as my mate looks as I lead her directly into the middle of the store, pausing on top of the vast golden compass painted directly into the floor. She grins, spinning around. “What do I do?”

I pull out a stopwatch. “You have fifteen minutes to choose as many books as you want and bring them back here. And they’ll all go on your new bookshelves at home. Shockingly enough, Teddy holds the record for the most books collected.”

“What new bookshelves?” She eyes me suspiciously, and I wince.

“The ones we’re going to make space for. Are you ready?”

She squeals. “Maybe?”

I hit the button. “Go!”

I follow her. I can’t help it. My arms are folded and I’m grinning like an idiot as I watch my mate dash around. She actually takes her time, looking at blurbs and touching covers.

It’s the same thing I do when I come here. Wilder did my challenge, and he couldn’t believe how few books I picked.

I’m waiting when she rushes up, just a handful of books in her hands. “Oh, fuck.”

Her eyes fly to mine. “What is it?”

I wave a hand. “I forgot to start the timer. So we’ll start again.”

Reaching forward, I snag the four books she picked. “We’ll still keep these ones, though. Off you go.”

She narrows her eyes at me. But then she laughs, darting off again.

We stroll home with a grand total of eight books. I’m frowning, and Fallon is grinning like someone just bought her the whole damn library. “That was incredible.”

“Teddy managed to get seventy-two books,” I grumble. “You picked eight .”

“Eight books that I can’t wait to read.” She nudges me. “Thank you.”

“What did I say about thanking me?”

I pull out my phone to check as we get closer to home. There’s a thumbs-up from Wild, and I slip my phone back into my pockets with a whistle.

We hear the shouting as we walk through the door. Fallon twists to look upstairs. “Is that – is that Teddy?”

I bite my cheek to hide my smile. “Sounds like it.”

But she’s already running. I follow her, feeling a little guilty as she races up to the attic space, following the sound of Teddy’s bellowing.

He cuts off mid-scream when he spots her, and beams. “There you are!”

We both watch Fallon blink rapidly. “What… what was that?”

“Oh,” Teddy exclaims. “We have a surprise for you.”

He gestures to the door of the room beside his own nest. “Go on. You’ll have to excuse the alphas. They’re not nest trained yet.”

Fallon hesitates.

I brush my hand over her hair. “You don’t have to use it. We won’t be offended, Fallon. But you need a nest space, mate.”

“Just look,” Teddy pleads. “If you don’t like it, we’ll change it, I promise. It’s more than just a nest.”

I can see the indecision on her face. “I’m sorry. I’m really grateful—,”

“Stop,” I say softly. “Go in and see.”

Neither Teddy or I are breathing as Fallon pushes the door open.

She stops in the doorway.

The ground layer is an office space. Cozy patchwork rugs and a huge, old wooden desk take up most of the room, a floor lamp and wide reading seat in the corner for her to curl up in. The main wall that runs up all three levels is filled with empty bookshelves, a rolling ladder in place to help reach them.

To our right, a set of wooden stairs lead up to a just-visible second level. Much more enclosed. Jeweled sheets hang from the ceiling, sending colored light dancing into the confined space below.

Small. Cozy. And a replica of the nest she had before.

The nest she lost.

“If it’s not right, we can change it. Or we can make it bigger, as you get more comfortable.” Teddy’s voice is soft. “I know it’s not the same, sweetheart. But I wanted to give you something you would want to use. And what better than one you designed yourself?”

Wilder, Zeke and Rowan aren’t breathing either. They’re covered in paint and dust and various other things from their day as I watched over Fallon at work.

Fallon covers her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking. “It’s beautiful. You… you got it so right, Teddy. How did you even remember?”

He’s pulling Fallon’s hands from her face as he tugs her into a hug. “You described it so well. And you mentioned it again last week. The rest was a little bit of imagination.”

She steps a little further inside, staring at the empty shelves. “Now I know why Fox was so annoyed I picked eight books.”

We’re going back next week. She can have an hour.

Teddy’s mouth drops open in horror

“ You only picked eight books?”