he’d never experienced before.
7
Riggs
The following few days passed in a blur for Riggs. He had to finish the next couple of cottages to accommodate the alphas who had asked to visit. Nick refused to allow any of them admittance until they had a place to stay. It was a definite stalling method on Nick’s part, but he’d also made sure Riggs knew they needed to adjust the timeline for the first of their projects so they would be done ASAP.
Riggs had changed the schedule and had teams coming in double shifts to manage the workload. It wasn’t ideal, and it meant he needed to be on hand to deal with the issues cropping up left and right. The time required for the final finishes complicated matters further. Drywall couldn’t be slapped up quickly before calling it a day. The sealing tape needed time to dry between layers, and the paint needed time to dry as well. Time was the one thing they were running short on, but they’d managed to get one more unit complete, even if it had a meant a couple of sleepless nights for Riggs.
After verifying the final items on his punch list had been done to his satisfaction, Riggs yawned and made his way to the cottage he shared with Victor. They’d been so busy the past few days, they had barely seen each other. Luckily, Riggs hadn’t had a repeat of his sleep-walking issue, even if he’d lain in his own bed, exhausted after a long day of physical labor, wishing he had the courage to go crawl into Victor’s. He didn’t even need a repeat of their night in the bathroom and the multiple rounds of sex that had followed. He wanted it, sure. But he’d be happy just sleeping with the scent of Victor filling his lungs.
Outside the bedroom, Victor was hard to read. Sometimes Riggs thought their night together was nothing more than a dream. Victor seemed able to turn his emotions on and off with the flip of a switch. Riggs didn’t work that way, and the lack of clarity confused him.
He didn’t want to think about what it might mean. Instead, he blamed it on work and schedules and the sheer exhaustion weighing him down. Victor was up hours before Riggs and already asleep by the time he made it back to their place. Their schedules weren’t cooperating.
Tonight he finally made it back before dark, though, and he hoped Victor would be around. He opened the door and drew up short at the sight of Victor on the couch with a sleeping Gus curled up on his chest. Victor looked like he was in shock or something, staring blankly ahead and only glancing at Riggs after a long and somewhat awkward moment of silence.
“You okay?” Riggs asked softly. He closed the door and hurried to the couch, then sank down on one knee in front of them. He touched Gus’s head softly, then pressed his hand to Victor’s where it rested against the little boy’s back.
“Fine,” Victor said.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Victor was anything but fine.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
Riggs changed positions and sat down on the couch beside Victor. He carefully wrapped his arm around him. “Doesn’t seem like nothing.”
Victor sucked in a breath—the only other sign he gave that all wasn’t well. “It’s good news. A red panda alpha has requested a visit to meet Gus. It’s really good for him. Alpha Roper will be here tomorrow to meet the wolf cubs, and then Alpha Glatston will arrive a few days later to see about Gus. It’s ideal, really.”
Victor held himself rigid as he imparted the news. Riggs stiffened as well, his bear rumbling beneath his skin, angry and ready to fight for what was his. Riggs tried to remain calm. Victor glanced at him, and only then did Riggs realize the griffin fought for control as much as his bear.
“It’s going to be okay.”
It wasn’t, though. His bear rumbled once more, eager to drag both Victor and Gus to his den, to hide them away and keep them safe and far from anyone who threatened them.
“It’s for the best,” Victor said. He choked out the words, though. “He’ll be better off with others like himself. And red pandas are very rare, so Gus is even more precious to his kind. The entire pack would have liked to come meet him, but only the alpha and one other is allowed. Nick doesn’t want some big delegation