attention. Not that he cared in the slightest. He tugged both Gus and Victor into a hug, wrapping them up in his stupidly muscled arms. No one should be that… oh fuck it, Victor thought. He wouldn’t change a thing. He liked every bulge and lump and bump and wanted more and—
“Bird! Chickey!”
As much as Gus liked his bird and bear, he liked his food more. Riggs laughed and pulled him out of Victor’s arms. “Come on, little man. Eat your chicken.”
Victor collapsed into the seat beside them, brushing futilely at the ketchup on his once-pristine shirt. Another one bites the dust. Not that he cared at the moment. They had another week with Gus. The red panda alpha had an unexpected business situation and wouldn’t arrive for another week. Victor would sacrifice every shirt in his closet for another week with Gus.
Nick appeared from the doorway of the kitchen and walked their way. “What’s going on?” Nick asked.
Victor had been so excited he hadn’t even shared the news with Nick yet. And he should have told him first. And he shouldn’t have been soul-achingly happy about the delay.
“Alpha Glatston is delayed for a week. I… um… came to let Riggs know there was no need to rush on the next unit. Um…” Victor couldn’t believe he was fumbling the explanation so thoroughly. He had no excuse, though. He should have told Nick first, but Riggs…
Nick snorted, obviously seeing through Victor’s excuse and not caring. “Right. How you doing, Gus-Gus?”
“Chickey!”
“I know, little man. Eat your carrots too. Everyone says they’re good for you or whatever. But hey, at least it’s not broccoli.” He turned to Victor next. “The delay is a good thing. Queen Orfhlaith is sending a representative to meet with the kids we think are part fae. Something about checking on them since our visit to the lake. Loch’s coming to make sure everything’s on the up-and-up and to make sure Puteri doesn’t do something stupid. Again.”
“Again?” Riggs asked.
“Let’s just say she goes to extreme lengths when she’s tasked with protecting someone. The fae are slippery assholes, though, so we gotta be on guard.”
“I’ve dealt with the fae in the past,” Victor said. “I can help navigate the politics.”
“Thank fuck for that,” Nick said. “They’ll be here later this afternoon.”
“Duck!” Gus echoed.
Nick sighed. “One of these days, he’s gonna say the word, and then Sam’s gonna give me hell for months.”
“Chickey!” Gus shoved another ketchup-covered nugget into his mouth.
“Probably so,” Victor said, knowing the alpha-mate of the Jerrick pack well.
Sam Jerrick had been a human school teacher before he’d mated with the alpha of the pack and adopted six shifter orphans. The story was one of legend at this point, but they’d made it work for years before finding out they were true mates. When the mating magic surged after the big fight, Sam and Vaughn had been caught up in the shockwave. Needless to say, even though they’d known in their hearts for years they were true mates, now they knew through magic as well. And so did anyone in a hundred yard radius of the pair at the time. Sam Jerrick was a screamer. And the fact that Victor knew that still had him shaking his head.
“Have you eaten?” Riggs asked, gesturing to his own empty plate.
Victor eyed the remains of chicken nuggets with disdain. “No. I’ll be fine.”
Nick snorted. “We have grown-up food, you snob. Go fix a plate already. Sheesh.”
Nick wandered off, checking in with each of the tables and looking over everyone. Riggs nudged Victor, who sighed in response. “Fine. I’ll go see what they have.”
“And, um, if they have any more chicken nuggets… Gus is still hungry.”
Gus looked up at the sound of his name and smiled. He had a half a carrot clutched in his fist and from the orange specks on his teeth, he had the other half in his mouth.
“Sure. Gus is starving. Clearly. I’ll see what I can do.”
Riggs grinned and leaned down to nuzzle Gus’s head. The sight shouldn’t have made Victor’s stomach flip happily, but it did. He felt like he’d been saved from the chopping block at the last possible second, given a reprieve that meant he got to spend a little more time with the little boy who’d stolen his heart.
The problem, of course, was that he was growing more attached to both Gus and Riggs than he should. Much more attached. He thought of them day in and day out. Wanted to take