As Shaya stood and leaned across the table to retrieve the bottle of ketchup from Kent, Nick couldn’t help but enjoy the view. “You truly do have the most perfect ass.” His mate merely smiled brightly.

“I strongly agree,” said Dominic, endangering his life once again. When Nick growled, he raised his hands. “Just kidding.”

Kent sighed at Dominic before turning to Nick. “I’d hit him for you…but look how pretty he is.”

Roni fingered the shirt Dominic was wearing. “Nice shirt. Can I talk you out of it?”

As everyone laughed at her teasing, Dominic pointed at her. “Stop doing that. If you’re not going to marry me and let us be filthy-minded together—”

“You stop doing it to mess with my brother, and I’ll stop doing it to you.” As usual, Roni and Dominic then began to quibble. Nick noticed that Marcus didn’t appear to like the byplay that often went on between Roni and the pervert. Marcus watched and flirted with Roni a lot, who just responded with blank looks. Unlike the other females here, she was resistant to his “charm,” which was a good thing because it meant Nick didn’t have to kill him. Sitting there now, Marcus looked confused more than anything else…like someone who felt as though he had lost his magical powers. And Trick appeared to find it hilarious.

When Grace took Nick’s empty plate and topped up his coffee mug, he gave her a nod of thanks. He had to admit, he’d miss her cooking. Like Lydia, she was also good with injuries; they had both been a great help to Taryn when many had been wounded after the battle. Hell, Tao and Dominic had come very close to dying. Eli, Trey, Marcus, and Trick had also been badly hurt. Taryn had been totally and utterly pissed with Trey about it, as if he’d wanted to get shot or something.

At the moment, though, the Alpha pair was perfectly happy, sitting together at the table, playing with their son and laughing as Kye frowned at Cam’s attempt to play peek-a-boo with him—as if the kid was offended that Cam thought such a game would be enough to entertain him. Nick felt a distinct pang of longing. He wanted that with Shaya one day. As if she sensed that, she smiled at him and placed a hand on his thigh. Her hand was nowhere near his cock, but it didn’t matter—like that, he was rock hard. “Can we leave now?”

She laughed. Yeah, she probably shouldn’t have found it amusing that her mate was in hell surrounded by people, or that she could make him hard that easily, but she so did. “Let me finish my cake and coffee.”

In truth, Shaya was eager to leave, because Nick was finally taking her to see the house he’d bought for them. He’d refused to tell her anything about it—not even where it was—and she wasn’t a patient person. Still, she wanted to enjoy this meal with the Phoenix Pack because she knew that after that day, things would be very different. She’d be an Alpha female.

Though Nick was reluctant about being an Alpha again, she knew it was a given. Unlike with many other dominant males, he didn’t have to showcase his alpha qualities, he didn’t have to actively work to gain people’s attention—he just was. And that was enough for people to notice and be inspired by him. He didn’t have to demand to be obeyed, or respected, or followed—those things happened for him automatically. It was kind of annoying when people often sought him out for help or advice and seemed to gather around him. But it was also kind of funny considering he had such an aversion to company.

“Wrap up the cake with a napkin and bring it with you.”

Grinning at the impatience in his voice, Shaya said, “No, I want to eat it now.”

“But…people keep smiling at me.”

“So smile back.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Just so you know: They’ll still be friendly to you, no matter how much you try to keep them at a distance. They’re determined to break down your defenses and make you one of their own.” Like Jaime, however, the guys also did it to irritate Nick. Yeah, the males of the Phoenix Pack—particularly Trick—lived to tease one another and everyone else around them. As Tao was so easy to provoke, he got it the worst. Ryan simply grunted in what looked like impatience whenever Trick tried it with him.

“Stop hogging my grandson,” complained Greta at Taryn as she held out her arms to Kye, clearly expecting him to reach for her—he didn’t.

“I think you mean hugging,” said Taryn sweetly, holding Kye closer. He giggled, playing with her hair.

Greta placed her hands on her hips, scowling at Taryn. The old woman had spent the past half hour insulting the Alpha female and didn’t appear to be done. “You know what I mean, hussy.”

Taryn sighed tiredly. “Greta, I think you’ve delighted us long enough. Why not go select some favorite hymns and poems—it won’t be long before the funeral. Have you put any more thought into whether or not you want an open casket?”

“Humph. I still have no idea why my Trey mated with you. Tiny, sarcastic, disrespectful—”

“Greta, seriously, careful your vile tongue doesn’t get your false teeth knocked out.”

Of course that made Greta ten times worse.

Nick turned to Shaya. “I really don’t think I can take much more.” These people were crazy. “You done yet?”

Chuckling, Shaya held up her index finger. Drinking down the last of her coffee, she nodded. “Now we can leave.”

Both relieved and excited, Nick took her hand in his and helped her rise from the table. All at once, Derren, Roni, Eli, Kathy, Kent, Jesse, Bracken, and Zander rose from their seats. “Oh no. Shaya and I want some privacy for a change.”

“We just want to know where we’ll be living,” said Derren innocently. The others nodded. Most likely in response to Nick’s growl, he said, “You’re not going to get rid of me, you know that. Nor are you going to get rid of these people. And you’re not going to get out of being Alpha either.”

As an idea came to mind, Nick crossed his arms over his chest. “Okay. You want me to be Alpha? You got it…as long as you’re Beta—no more bodyguard shit.”

Derren gawked. “Hell no. I don’t want responsibilities. They scare me.”

“Then I’m afraid I don’t have a place for you. Derren, with regret, you’re officially out of the pack. I’m permanently firing you.”

“Hey, you can’t do that. I’m the one who organized the pack,” he more or less whined.

“Doesn’t matter. If I’m Alpha, it’s my decision. So, are you going to accept the position of Beta or not?”

Derren had the look of a sulky teenager. “Fine.”

Smirking, Nick led Shaya around the table. “I’ll show you the house tomorrow,” he told his “pack.” Being an Alpha again was going to take some getting used to. “Shaya and I want to spend our first night there alone.” They all nodded respectfully.

After he and Shaya had said their good-byes and she had been molested by Dominic—which almost led to the pervert losing a limb—Nick and Shaya went out of the tunnels and down to the indoor parking lot. He held up something he’d taken from his back pocket.

Shaya tensed. “You want to blindfold me?”

“I told you, I want this to be a surprise.”

“But…you want to blindfold me?”

“What part of ‘surprise’ don’t you understand?”

A little irritated that she wouldn’t even be able to look out the window and guess where they were going, she nonetheless nodded. He gently put on the blindfold, plunging her into complete darkness, and kissed her lightly on the mouth before guiding her into his Mercedes.

When Nick finally drove them out of pack territory, he released a sigh of relief. Those people had the potential to drive him insane. The only person he wanted to be in the company of was Shaya, and now he had her all to himself finally. He soon realized that he probably should have brought a gag as well as a blindfold, because she did nothing but quiz him throughout the entire journey—no doubt to annoy him. It worked.

When the car finally came to a stop, Shaya practically bounced in the seat in anticipation. She probably looked like a toddler in a playground, but she didn’t care. Three long months of “it’s a surprise” had her feeling beyond excited—as well as exasperated. “Can I take the blindfold off now?”

“No, that’s my job. Wait there.”

Sighing, Shaya waited as Nick exited the car and then came around and opened the passenger door. Taking her hand, he helped her get out of the vehicle. The familiar scents of pine, sun-warmed earth, and moss hit her nose. The place itself had a familiar scent…she had been here before. “Blindfold. Off.”

Nick tsked. “No patience.” He led her a short distance and then, standing behind her, untied the piece of black cloth. “Now you can look.”

Blinking a few times to adjust to the light, Shaya fully opened her eyes and gasped. “Oh my God.” Yeah, she’d been here before, been here many times as a child. It had been her favorite place back then. “You bought the hunting lodge I told you about?” It was just as she remembered it. The first level was made with large stone while the second and third levels had timber frames. The large glass dove windows took clear advantage of the natural light, practically illuminating it. To add to that, fairy lights now decorated the trees that surrounded the lodge. “I can’t believe you did this.” With emotion clogging her throat, the words came out in a whisper.

Surprising the hell out of Nick, she sharply pivoted and dived on him, wrapping around him like a clinging vine. He caught her easily and curled his arms around her. “Does this mean you like it?” Her “I love it!” made him inwardly sag in relief. Nick had believed he knew her well enough to know this was something she would love, somewhere she could think of as home, but a tiny part of him had been worried that he’d been wrong. His wolf was thrilled by her reaction.

When she finally untangled herself from him, he explained, “It’s not just the only lodge here now. The owners built and rented out several other lodges on the land, which would be perfect for the ‘pack’ to live in. It means you and I will have our own space.”

Touched to the point that she was tearful, she said, “I really, really can’t believe you’ve done this. I never would have guessed. I suppose I should have—you always try to spoil me.”

“It’s my right, and it’ll happen a lot, so you need to get better at accepting gifts.”

She waved away that comment. “You know what else I can’t believe? That the prejudiced humans sold the place to a shifter.” When he opened his mouth to speak, she raised a hand. “Don’t tell me…Your contacts got involved, right?”

“Right,” he confirmed. “Want to go inside?”

“Do Dalmatians have black spots?”

“One thing first: I made a few…changes.”

“What do you mean? And don’t look so panicky about it. Just because you’ve made changes doesn’t mean I won’t still love it.”

Smiling, he explained, “The place hadn’t been properly looked after. It needed some work, so a contact of mine—”

“A friend of yours,” she stressed.

“A friend of mine,” he allowed, “who runs a business specializing in restoring and also modernizing buildings worked on the place. I told him what I thought you’d like, and he and his team have been working on it. He’ll also work on the other lodges when they’ve each been claimed and the ‘pack’ tells him what they want. Ready?”

Nodding enthusiastically, she slipped her hand in his and let him lead her inside. The second she entered, she gasped again. It was very different from before; the living room, kitchen, and dining area was one huge, open space—the main feature being the living area with luxurious sofas and armchairs and a state-of-the-art entertainment system. Between the TV and sofas was an oval white fluffy rug that just made her want to go curl up on it. There was also a big stone fireplace that added to the rustic tone of the place. It had such a homey, spacious, warm feeling that hadn’t been there before.

Nick led her up the golden curved staircase and gave her a tour of upstairs—showing her the large bathroom, the many guest rooms, and the game room with a cocktail bar. The master bedroom could only be described as sensual with its red, gold, and white color theme and the grand four-poster bed—the room made a person think of sex, pleasure, and desires fulfilled.

As if it wasn’t great enough that there was a Jacuzzi in the stylish en suite bathroom, there was also one on the deck outside the bedroom balcony, overlooking the river and the sun that was setting beyond it. The whole place was like a peaceful oasis for her and her wolf. Turning, she found her mate in the doorway of the bedroom with his gaze locked on her. “I absolutely love it. But…no decorative pillows?” she teased, pouting.

He shook his head and began advancing toward her, intent on taking her on that bed as he’d imagined doing since he’d chosen it. “No decorative pillows.” Finally reaching her, he trailed his fingertips up her arms. “As for the basement…it’s now an indoor pool, but you can see that later. Now that I finally have you in this room, I’m keeping you in it for a little while.” He took a single step backward. “Take off your clothes.”

Shivering at that authoritative tone that brooked no argument, Shaya removed her tank top, stilettos, jeans, lacy bra, and matching panties. Eyes flashing with need raked over her, making her entire body tingle in awareness and anticipation. But he didn’t touch her. Instead, he began to very slowly circle her predatorily in that way he sometimes did. Behind her, he licked along the curve of her shoulder and delivered a sharp nip to her earlobe. Then his deep, seductive voice was murmuring in her ear.