Ruler (Wolves of Royal Paynes #2) - Kiki Burrelli Page 0,46
strip of air between us. He pushed me aside, but Storri's eyes glowed with so much happiness I decided I could sit a little farther from my prince for the moment. "It wasn't hard once I got everything together. I can teach you," Jazz gushed.
My gaze flitted to Knox. Angus was awake in his arms, his eyes toward Jazz's voice, while the alpha watched his mate with a look of admiration.
Jazz lifted one of the rectangles from the tray, offering it to Storri on a white napkin.
He took a bite, immediately making noises of enjoyment that bordered on passionate and made me hard under the table. Hallie, Jazz, and Storri couldn't smell my arousal, but Diesel and Knox could.
Diesel stood, every eye turned to him, silently watching as he went to the window and propped it open. There was a collective sigh of relief when he returned to the table. He stared through the thick strands of his hair, scowling at our concern while reaching over the table. "Let me get some of this." He brought the pastry to his mouth and chewed slowly. "Good. And your glasses look good too, Storri."
Storri startled, but his full mouth kept him from having to respond right away. He chewed and swallowed. "Thank you. Faust got them for me." He looked at me like I'd given him the moon.
Angus cried out, his eyes on Jazz, and Knox handed him over, the baby slipping easily into Jazz's arms. The little shifter-nephilim hybrid wasn't more than a few weeks old, and yet he was already strong enough to hold his head up. He gripped Jazz's elbow, making small noises of contentment.
Jazz returned to his chair beside Storri, who had eaten his Pop-Tart and eyed the tray for a second. The others had already dished up, so I took the liberty of snagging two more, placing them on a napkin for when he was ready.
Angus rested against the arm closest to Storri.
"He looks bigger than when I saw him the first time. Do babies grow that fast?" Storri faced his question to me, but it was Knox who cleared his throat.
"Angus is part shifter, which means he has the growth rate of a shifter child, but he's also half-nephilim. We don't know how that will change his development. Dr. Tiff will be able to make a better guess once we have more data points, but she thinks he's growing at about one and a half times the rate."
Storri had been watching the baby with a look of awed affection until he squeaked and looked down at his lap.
I didn't have a clue what had set him off. Replaying Knox's words didn't help either.
"He won't die faster," Diesel rumbled. "That isn't what that means. The accelerated growth will taper off, and then he'll have the lifespan of a shifter, which is longer than humans. We don't know how him being a nephilim will change that."
Storri sniffed and wiped his face.
My scowl met Diesel's. I was appreciative of him relieving Storri's worries, but he'd known immediately what had set Storri into a sadness spiral while I'd still been trying to discern the cause. He was my pack brother, but I didn't like the idea that Storri would need a comfort that I couldn't supply.
"I'm sorry." Storri wiped his nose. "Maybe being a nephilim means he'll live forever!" Storri chirped hopefully.
Diesel's scowl deepened. He'd finished his Pop-Tart and pushed back from the table. "It doesn't."
My throat tightened in a low growl. Life was hard for Diesel. Before meeting Storri, I didn't know how he'd done it, and now that I had Storri, I really didn't know how Diesel had picked up enough of his pieces to continue living. But Storri was only just now opening up, asking questions and speaking without having to be spoken to first. I wouldn't sit by and let anything risk that progress.
Diesel headed for the hallway, but my attention was on Storri, who was shutting down in front of me.
"Why don't you show Storri the woods around the hotel? Plenty of cool spots." Hallie leaned in, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the room, though I knew she wasn't. "When I was a teenager, I came here with my friends to smoke pot and make out."
"That's dangerous," Storri replied as if repeating a script.
Hallie didn't quite know how to respond to that, so she just nodded.
I wound my arm around Storri's shoulders and pulled him close. "That's right, baby."