Felix

The hospital door opened and Magnus poked his head in. "Can Mel and I come back yet?"

His head jerked back and he yelped. I heard him say "I'm just asking!" and Mel's voice responding "Read the room! Felix needs privacy."

Magnus popped back into the doorway, looking a little disheveled. "So? Can we come back now?"

I glanced nervously at Everett, who looked annoyingly attractive as he chuckled at my brother. He had agreed to try being friends, but I had no idea what that entailed in his mind. Would he still go back to his pack? I needed to know, and these were not answers I would get with my siblings present. "Give us a couple more minutes, Magnus."

"Sorry!" Magnus said, disappearing. The door shut behind him, leaving an uncomfortably silent room.

"They love you a lot," Everett said, still chuckling a bit.

I glanced at him, surprised. He smiled a little and told me about how they had gone out looking for my mate, knowing that I needed the enhanced healing my mate would provide. "I wondered how you ended up here," I said. "It all seemed too easy."

Everett snorted. "Felix, nothing about this is going to be easy."

I wanted to laugh with him, I really did, but nothing was funny about the reminder that my mate didn't want to be with me. I looked down at my hands since it was easier than meeting his amused eyes.

"Felix?" he asked after a long moment, sounding unsure.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

I shook my head. I wasn't looking for an apology; I was looking for a connection.

Everett shifted closer to me and wrapped one of his hands around mine. "Really. I'm grateful you're willing to compromise with me and I'm sorry to have put you in this position. Sometimes I make inappropriate jokes because I'm nervous or uncomfortable. I didn't mean to hurt you."

My heart fluttered. How stupid was it that I found his apology attractive? Apologies were too easy to fling around, but I was sure Everett was being perfectly sincere. I squeezed his hand and finally looked up, meeting those warm amber eyes and feeling myself melt a little in response. Fuck, he was handsome. "It's okay," I assured him.

Everett smiled a little and shifted so we weren't sitting quite so close. He let me keep hold of his hand, though, so I didn't mind. "So," he said pensively, "friends."

"Yeah." I hesitated, then forced myself to ask, "How long can you stay in Lakota?"

He studied me. "My alpha gave me two weeks," he finally responded, sounding hesitant. "I've only been here for a day."

My pulse skipped. Even answering my question implied he might be willing to stay, and I could work with two weeks. "I have a guest room," I said. It was hard to maintain eye contact, but I needed to see his reaction so I would know how hard to push him.

Everett lifted a brow and prodded, "Oh?"

Another good sign. "Would you stay with me until you have to go back?" When he didn't answer right away, I reminded him, "You set the boundaries."

Still Everett didn't respond. I was starting to get really anxious when he finally nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll stay with you."

I had never heard more beautiful words.

Paula entered the room soon after, my siblings hot on her heels. Paula passed me a clipboard and pointed out where I was supposed to sign and initial. Meanwhile, Meleri pulled a bag I recognized as my own from the hospital's closet and Magnus disappeared into the bathroom, returning a minute later with a little toiletry bag.

When she caught me staring, Meleri shrugged. "We weren't sure how long you would be staying here once you woke up and wanted to make sure you had everything you needed." She opened my bag and started digging around.

I glanced at Everett, who was smiling softly and who mouthed, "They love you." I grinned at him until something landed on my head, covering my eyes. I reached up and found that it was one of my t-shirts. Meleri winked when I frowned at her and I quickly donned the shirt. I lifted a brow at Everett when I was done, thinking are you happy now? I thought he understood, because the tips of his ears heated.

"You're good to go. I'd like you to come in on Monday so I can do a quick check-up. In the meantime, please call me if anything doesn't feel right. You have my number," Paula said, tucking away the forms I had signed in a file folder. She glanced at me to make sure I was paying attention and I nodded.

"Thanks Paula," I said.

Everett already had a large bag slung over his right shoulder, but he took my bag from Meleri and slung it over his left, then took the little toiletry kit from Magnus. He looked so proper and businesslike that seeing him display some strength really turned me on. "Ready to go?" he asked me.

I grinned. "Yeah."

The members of my pack lived spread throughout the vast forest that covered our territory. Meleri, Magnus, and I had kept our parents' house, but once they were old enough to live on their own, I bought my own cabin close to the training grounds. It was nice to have a five-minute walk to work instead of having to spend half an hour driving on twisting roads or running through the woods.

It was even nicer to get some space from the shades of my parents. It was too easy to remember what things had been like before their deaths when I was in their house. Too easy to hear someone clanging about in the kitchen and think it was my dad, or to look into my parents' room and expect to see the bed rumpled or smell my mother's favorite lotion. Meleri and Magnus both loved being surrounded by our parents' things and by memories, but I couldn't live like that without feeling suffocated.

Now, I was happier than ever that I had my own home. Everett had already hesitated to agree to stay with me for the next couple of weeks. I didn't think I could have convinced him to if my siblings were going to be under foot.

Of course, it looked like I wasn't getting away from them so easily. Mel insisted on driving the me to my home even though I felt perfectly capable of making the quick run there. I assumed when Magnus climbed into the car with us that he was planning to ride back to his and Mel's home after she dropped me off. I could have just ridden there in Everett's car, since he was driving behind us. But I could see how stressed Meleri and Magnus were and understood they needed time with me, too.

"How have you two been holding up?" I asked as Meleri navigated the winding forest path.

She pressed her lips together into a thin line, and Magnus shuddered in the back seat. "We were really scared," he admitted, sounding just like he had when he was a young kid afraid of thunder.

I tried to quash the guilt that sparked in me, but it wouldn't go down so easily. Of course, they'd been scared. How could they not be? And I'd been the one to do that to them. But apologies weren't what he wanted to hear and wouldn't make him feel any better.

I caught Mel's white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel and saw the tears welling in her eyes. A glance back at Magnus showed him hugging his arms around himself. The guilt swelled and I couldn't keep back the words anymore. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I put you through this." They'd already been through the loss of Mom and Dad; they never should have had to worry about me, too.

Mel released the wheel with her right hand to hold my left hand. Magnus reached forward to clasp my shoulder. "Stop. We're really proud of you," he said.

Mel nodded. She'd never voice the words, I knew. Part of what made their dynamic work so well was that Magnus gave voice to the things Mel couldn't say.

I drew in a shaky breath. "While I have you here, I need to thank you. Thank you both for finding Everett."

Meleri parked in my driveway and closed her eyes, bowing her head. When she looked my way again, her eyes were clearer. "Enough of all that. We should be celebrating, and you two dorks keep bringing down the mood." It was a good attempt at her usual bravado, but I could see the fragility in her slumped shoulders and in the hand that still clung to mine.

"Dorks? You're just jealous that we're in touch with our emotions and able to talk about things that really matter, Mel," Magnus shot back. I snorted. He really was a bit of a dork.

I saw Meleri's eyes light up and she opened her mouth to give rebuttal. I freed my hand so I could lightly bonk them each on the top of the head. "Enough of that."

Everett was waiting for me. He had parked next to Mel's car and was waiting outside my door with his bags slung over his chest. He awkwardly shifted his weight and offered me a wave and a half-smile that made my heart flutter and I wished it could be just us. But as much as I would have liked time alone with Everett, especially knowing I had a very limited window before he'd go back to his pack, there was no way I could send my siblings away tonight after everything I'd just put them through.

Not that they were going to offer me any choice in the matter. Meleri and Magnus leapt out of the car as soon as it was parked in front of my house. Magnus pulled my keys from his pocket – I hadn't even realized he had them – and unlocked my front door with Meleri hot on his heels. They disappeared into the house before I could think of an excuse to send them away.

Everett laughed as he watched my front door close behind them.

"Sorry, they aren't usually like this," I said.

He lifted a brow skeptically, humor still dancing in his striking eyes. "I have a hard time believing that."

"Okay, fine. They're always like this... but this is a little much, even for them. They're not normally so clingy."

Everett put a hand on my shoulder, his features softening. "Felix, do you have any idea how scared they were? Hell, I was terrified and we had never actually met. You got to wake up today with no idea of the time that passed since your injury. Meleri and Magnus had to deal with not knowing if you would ever wake up for weeks."

I knew that. Of course, I knew that. It didn't make me any less annoyed that I couldn't have time alone with my mate, especially when I had such a limited amount of time to convince him to give me a real shot. I couldn't exactly say that to Everett, though. So I said, "You're right. I'm still going to find an excuse to kick them out after dinner."

Everett snorted. "Why do you need an excuse? It's your house."

"Speaking of... do you want to head in?"

Everett looked around, seeming almost surprised to find that we were still standing in the driveway. "Oh. Sure."

As we walked up the path, I felt oddly nervous. I was afraid he wouldn't like my home, which was ridiculous. If he didn't like it and if I somehow managed to convince him to move in with me someday, we would just get a new house. It wasn't a big deal.

But I loved my little cabin. It was nestled in a beautiful little clearing in the woods with several pine trees surrounding it. I loved the smell of pine and I loved that I could look out the window in the wintertime and still see green. My parents' house was surrounded by oak and birch trees, so everything was dull brown and grey for the cold months.

Everett opened the front door and gestured for me to precede him. I could feel the heat from his body as I brushed by him, though I was careful not to actually make contact. I didn't want Everett to feel like I was going to take advantage of him. He needed to know that I really would respect his boundaries or he would never trust me.

I closed my eyes, indulging myself in a couple of deep breaths. My own scent was faded in my cabin, which was starting to make the time I spent in a coma actually seem real. However, my siblings' sent was fresh. How much time they had been spending here while I was in the hospital? I knew they were traveling as they searched for my mate. Maybe they came here last night? I shook off those thoughts. It wasn't important. Then I glanced at Everett and barely bit back a grin when I saw the look on his face.

Everett loved my cabin. I could see it in the way his eyes hungrily traced over every detail, the way his posture relaxed, and the way a small smile curved his lips up. My mind raced way ahead of me, imagining him living here and wondering what changes he would want to make.

I looked around and tried to see what he saw. Meleri and Magnus had turned on the lights, which were a soft yellow color I found calming. I had large rugs spread over the floors somewhat haphazardly. I liked having some color to break up all of the wood that made up the floors, walls, and ceiling. Covering the walls of my living room were pictures of my family, both group shots and individual. It helped me feel connected to them even though I lived alone. I eyed the vacant spot over the mantle. Nothing hung there because I had always intended to put a picture of myself and my mate in that spot.

"Where should I put this?" Everett asked, twisting so I could see my bag, which hung near his hip. His shirt had ridden up a bit, exposing his hipbone. I forced my eyes up to his since ogling wasn't going to help my case.

"Follow me," I said, and led him down the hallway. "The first door here is the bathroom, there's the office, and at the end are the two bedrooms. I'm on the right and you can take the left." I didn't dare suggest that he share with me, though that would have been my preference.

"Great, thanks," Everett said. He pushed open my bedroom door and dropped my bag onto my bed. He looked around the room appraisingly, which made me feel weirdly exposed. When Everett caught me watching him, he shrugged and walked out, entering the guest room across the hall.

What did the shrug mean? I followed Everett, but he didn't linger in the guest room. He just dropped his bags off – I saw now that there was a duffle bag and a laptop bag – and left. "Thanks for letting me stay with you," Everett said.

I couldn't help laughing. "Any time." I really meant that, too. He was welcome in my home absolutely any time.

I followed Everett back down the hallway. He followed the sounds of my bickering siblings to find the kitchen. Meleri was squeamishly holding a raw chicken breast between her index finger and her thumb, her arm extended so it was as far away from her as possible.

"Just take the freaking chicken, Magnus!" she demanded.

"No! You said I could do the potatoes." Magnus waved a potato peeler in her direction when she tried to near his cutting board with the chicken.

"That was before I knew chicken would be involved. It's so slimy!" Meleri shuddered dramatically, emphasizing her words.

"You're a wolf, Mel! You should be able to handle raw meat!"

"Ugh, fine. You want to handle the potatoes? Go ahead. But I am not cooking the chicken. I'll just go spend some time with my beloved brother and his mate." Meleri flung the chicken onto Magnus' cutting board, making him yell in wordless fury.

"Cross-contamination, Mel! Ever heard of it? Ugh, these potatoes are ruined!" Magnus picked up the cutting board and dumped its contents onto Mel's head.

She shrieked and danced away as the raw chicken came at her, backing right into my chest.

She looked back at me with wide eyes. "Oh! Felix, hi. We were just getting dinner ready."

I raised a brow. "I saw." I stared her down with a look I copied from Dad. He had a gift for staring you down until you confessed to everything and threw yourself on his mercy.

Mel backed away slowly. "I think I'm going to help Magnus clean up the kitchen. Why don't you and Everett go relax?"

I looked over her shoulder at Magnus, who stood frozen with the cutting board still dangling from his hand. "Help her," I said. He nodded and crouched down to start picking up the food.

Everett and I went back to the living room. I sat and watched as he walked the perimeter of the room, examining the photos on the wall. "You have a wonderful family," he finally said after making the full loop.

"I know." Mel and Magnus drove me crazy, but they also helped me keep from taking things too seriously, and I always felt loved and supported when they were around. "What about your family? What are they like?"

Everett's eyes grew sad. "It's just me and my mom. My dad died when I was very young."

"Did you tell her about me?" I asked. The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them and I wished I could pull them back into myself as soon as they were out. Could I have said anything stupider? "Sorry, ignore that!"

Everett waved off my apology. "It's okay. You can ask me anything, Felix." His eyes burned into mine for a long moment until I blushed and nodded. Once his message was received, Everett continued, "I haven't told her about you yet."

My heart sank. I knew he wasn't happy about being mated to me. I didn't know why I opened myself up to this kind of hurt. Of course he hadn't mentioned me to his mother. I should know better than to take that personally.

Everett ran his hand down my arm until he could entwine our fingers. "Hey, sorry. I know how that sounds. I'm not hiding you, I just haven't talked to her since all this went down. She's going to be so happy I found you, Felix."

I couldn't wait until the day Everett could say the same for himself.