all. And honestly, I can sleep on the couch. It’ll be better than the truck.”
Toby frowned and sat down on the couch beside Brooks before taking his hand. He teased Brooks’s fingers, tracing over the lumps and bumps that Brooks had earned over years of manual labor. “Why did you sleep in the truck? Be honest.”
“Honestly, I wanted to keep you safe. And I couldn’t stand the thought of you being alone. I’ve waited my entire life to find my mate, so just being close to you was enough for me. Is enough for me, Toby. I swear it. I don’t want anything from you that you aren’t a hundred percent willing to give. And that is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me Goddess.”
“You know what I think is weird?” Toby asked suddenly. “Why, if we have separation of church and state, do we have to swear on a Bible?”
Brooks frowned. “I don’t know.”
“I wonder weird things sometimes.”
“There’s nothing weird about that. That’s a really good question. Probably has something to do with fear of the Gods.”
“And you aren’t afraid of your Goddess?”
Brooks didn’t even have to think about his reply. “No.”
“It’s weird, you know. I never thought about God as an actual being. As sacrilegious as it sounds, it’s just another word for me. An abstract sort of thing. I mean, I do believe that there’s more out there than … this. Us. I don’t know. But to know there are Gods and Goddesses, real ones, is so strange.”
Brooks could see that. He’d seen enough human religion to know what Toby meant. And honestly, his experience until recently had been similar to Toby’s. He knew the Goddesses existed, simply because he knew hellhounds existed. He’d met them, as had the majority of their kind. They were a real presence in the human realm, standing guard and keeping the secrets of their world safe.
But until Henry, a member of his pack, had ended up mated to a God… well, there was a level of separation between them.
“I’ve always believed in the Goddess. Our power to shift comes from the Earth Goddess herself. It is her magic that enables our abilities.”
“I didn’t know that.” Toby yawned, and then blushed a little. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. You sure you want me to stay?”
Toby nodded.
“Okay, I’m going to go get my bag out of my truck. Back in a minute.”
Brooks didn’t hurry, giving Toby extra time to think about his choice, but he couldn’t deny that his heart thumped in his chest. He would be closer than ever to his mate, and the thought had him preening with happiness. He paused to thank the Goddess once more, then turned to stare into the trees. “He asked me to stay.”
Nick stepped out, nodding as he walked closer. “This is good. Tonight worked. He’s pack.”
Brooks smiled and glanced back toward the cottage. “We’re taking things slow.”
Nick grabbed Brooks’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I’m happy for you. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll keep watch for you tonight.”
Brooks let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. “Thanks, Nick.”
Being outside the compound and without his pack around him had left Brooks feeling a little vulnerable. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust their security or the guards Nick had in place; it was just that… they weren’t his pack and Nick wasn’t his alpha. It was something Brooks would have to figure out as he and Toby moved forward. He didn’t want to give up his pack, but he would if it was best for Toby and the girls.
The girls.
Brooks glanced toward the compound and smiled. They’d pouted when they found out both Toby and Brooks would be gone, and they didn’t get to read another chapter of their book together. Brooks had promised them an extra special night the next night to make up for it.
“You ever gonna grow a pair and ask me to adopt them?” Nick asked.
“Yep.”
Nick chuckled. “Right. You and Toby get things sorted. Then we’ll figure out the rest, okay?”
“I love them so much,” Brooks confessed. “And now with Toby… I’ve never been so happy or terrified in my life.”
“And that right there is why I know you’re the best thing for them. It’s hard. All of this is work. Me and Jedrek? That’s work too. Yeah, he’s my mate, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to fight for it. I’m a pain in his ass. Literally,” Nick said with a