Kieran would then need to come up with more manpower to fill all those vehicles. Sadly, a made-up name couldn’t help him there.
He pushed the interruption from his mind. He’d deal with it later. Right now, he could only focus on the woman standing in front of him with open, honest, and frightened eyes, scared to take this plunge with him.
He couldn’t blame her. He’d felt his own fears all day long, in between surges of nervousness and desire. But the second she had walked up to him, eyes alight with fire and intelligence and passion, his fears had melted. All of his misgivings about the magnitude of this offer had drifted away.
She was his. She’d initiated the connection by joining their souls. She’d cemented it by thwarting his attempts to send her away. She’d nailed it down by turning away her ex-boyfriend at the bar.
Despite his fear that he wasn’t good enough, he did want her heart. He wanted it with everything in him. He couldn’t resist her, and it wouldn’t take long for her to realize that she couldn’t resist him, either.
She was his, and soon, she’d give in to it. Like he had.
“I…don’t know,” she said hesitantly.
“Well, I know.” Daisy gestured toward the house. “Let’s go have a look.”
Fear flashed through Alexis’s eyes again, and she opened her mouth to protest. But honestly, what choice did she have? Everything he’d said was true. Her fear of giving in was the only thing keeping her from seeing that.
“Come on,” he said, reaching out his hand with a smile.
Alexis blinked those deep brown eyes at him, and a stunned look crossed her face. A moment later, the stars in her eyes turned into a glare.
“I said I didn’t know.” She turned slightly to avoid his hand. “Take a hint.”
“It isn’t a hint when you just tell him. Come on.” Daisy grabbed her elbow and dragged her. “I bet Bria is in there. She’ll have a good take on all of this. You listen to her.”
“I don’t listen to her. She always takes your side, and then makes fun of me for my poor choices in life,” Alexis grumbled, though she allowed Daisy to pull her away.
Mordecai gave Kieran a sheepish look before skulking off after the girls. The shifter was really shining through in that boy. He now recognized Kieran’s status as alpha and acted accordingly with his body language. He’d fit into pack life perfectly. It was time he met some of his own.
Thane must’ve been thinking the same thing, because he fell in step with Kieran, somewhat removed from the others.
“I found that pack Jack was wondering about,” he said, and Kieran allowed him to slow the pace a little. “Alexis seems dopey most of the time around those kids, but that’s because the power structure is clearly defined. I saw Alexis throw her weight around earlier when I showed up at her door. It was enough to raise my small hairs. She has leadership potential.”
Kieran nodded as they reached the open door. A squeal of delight from farther inside made him smile. He’d never heard Daisy squeal. That family was as good as moved in.
“Those kids were falling over themselves to do as she said,” Thane went on, giving the large entryway a glance. Tiles made to look like stone covered the floor. High ceilings gave the space a feeling of grandeur and the wide staircase leading upstairs curved away right. The designers had done a great job with it, something Bria had grudgingly acknowledged. Her good opinion on these matters was hard-earned. “She is clearly the alpha, and Daisy used to be the beta.”
“Used to be?” Kieran asked, hanging a right down a small, bare hallway toward the kitchen. He’d brought in furniture, but the rest of the house was a clean slate. Alexis could dress it up however she liked.
“Haven’t you noticed the kids have been bickering a lot lately? Alexis complains that they didn’t used to fight so much. Now that Mordecai is healthy and training, he’s trying to rise up in the pack. He took the back of their line coming in here today, keeping Daisy—the physically weakest member—protected in the middle. He’s probably trying to dominate her socially so as to officially move into the beta role.”
Kieran grinned and shook his head as the space in front of them opened up into a brand new kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances. The rest of his Six and Bria sat gathered around the large, circular kitchen table on the other side of the island, watching Alexis and the kids open and close cabinets and appliance doors as if they were a game show audience. A swinging door led to the dining room, and a bigger, rectangular table.
“Daisy is a spitfire,” Kieran said quietly, watching Alexis’s eyes glimmer. His heart swelled. His chosen family was in this house, all of them. “She won’t lose the intellectual fight to Mordecai very easily.”
“This is true.”
“Did they have any problem finding the doorway?”
“Enough,” Daisy called out, putting out her hands. Everyone turned her way. Bria froze halfway to standing. “We’ve seen the kitchen. Let’s move on!”
Bria laughed and finished standing. The rest of the Six stood up, too, joining the tour. They were all caught up in the delight and discovery of the newcomers.
“The actual doorway? No,” Thane said, following the others into the dining room. “But they sat in the car for a while debating whether you planned to kill them.”
Kieran chuckled and Daisy led the charge to the next room, a bright living room with huge bay windows facing the ocean. A couple of trees dotted the cliff, cutting down on visibility. The distance cut down on it a little more. The view was a pale representation of what his father got to see every day, but it was the best Kieran could do.
“Oh my God,” Alexis breathed, drifting to the windows with her hand on her chest. “It’s gorgeous.”
Apparently, Alexis wasn’t nearly so spoiled as Kieran.
“Who found the way through?” Kieran asked as everyone but Bria walked toward Alexis.
Bria crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the setup with a critical eye. “No. This is wrong. Who has an entertainment center, anymore?” Bria gestured at the piece of furniture in the corner. “And why wouldn’t the couch face it? No, the TV should go on the wall, and a little—”
“It’s not your house,” Zorn said in a low growl.
“I realize this isn’t my house, Zorn. Why else would this setup be such a clusterfuck? You might as well have designed the space. There isn’t even an ocean gazing chair situated near the windows.” Bria shook her head. “I have to leave this horrible room. It is messing with my chi.”
Zorn’s jaw clenched and Kieran held back a bark of laughter. Zorn had been in charge of the furniture placement, and it was obvious he’d been thwarting Bria’s attempts to mess with the furniture in his house, which, Kieran had to admit, was just as oddly positioned.
“Alexis noticed the odd look of the brick wall,” Thane said, returning to their discussion as the commotion died down, “and Daisy immediately clued in that it was one of Zorn’s illusions.”
“And through the trees?” Kieran watched Alexis, standing and staring at the view. It was like she was so lost in the ocean she didn’t hear the kids trying to hurry her up to see the next room. It was a headspace he practically lived in at his father’s house.
“That was kind of odd,” Thane said, missing the scene. In fact, everyone but Kieran seemed to have missed it, including her kids, who were giving up on her and moving on without her. “Alexis found the way. She seems to have figured out another facet of her magic. I interrupted a breakthrough of some kind when I knocked on her door earlier.” He paused for a moment and his voice dropped in irritation. “Which was probably why she took so long in opening it.”
“Don’t you want to see the rest of the house?” Kieran asked Alexis.
She turned slowly from the window, and when their gazes met, his will buckled. He stepped forward without another thought, knowing Thane would get the message and make himself scarce.
Emotion bled through their soul connection. When he neared her, she leaned in, almost imperceptibly, and he knew what she wanted. He put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in close.
“I’ve always loved the ocean,” she said softly, folding into his embrace. “I grew up hearing the distant crash of the waves. Smelling the salt in the air. The kelp. I’ve always wanted a view, like your dad has. Or like the one from the magical government building. Always.” She took a deep breath. “I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I’d actually have one. Your magic makes this that much more special. It’s almost like I feel it. I feel the pull of the ocean and how it affects the tides. I feel the power, and delight in its majesty.” She sniffed. “I don’t have the right words.”
“You don’t need the right words,” he whispered, skimming his thumb along her jaw. “I can feel it through the soul link.”
She nodded and peaceful silence drifted between them.
Another squeal blasted through the house, and Kieran smiled.
“Regardless of how tickled she is, we still can’t accept this,” Alexis said. “It’s too much.”
“You freed my mother, thereby freeing me. You’re helping me take on my father. You and your kids will mean our victory.” He paused. “I will counter and say, it’s not nearly enough. Not even close.”
She sighed and shook her head, pushing back. “Let’s go see what the kids are doing. They’ve never had a good Christmas. That they remember, anyway. This will have to make up for it.”
“I’m Santa, and you’re the Grinch?”
“No, I’m Robin Hood. Say goodbye to anything valuable.”
He laughed and slipped his fingers between hers as they followed the sounds of delight echoing through the house. Confidence and warmth settled into him.
His phone started vibrating again as he led Alexis from the room. It wasn’t like Henry to be this persistent. He knew what Kieran was doing.