Page 61 of Unknowingly Being his Brat

Darius looked gorgeous in his Christmas pajama pants and no shirt. The snow was falling outside and there was this peacefulness that only came with the freshly fallen snow. He was staring outside, his favorite mug of coffee in hand, and I just took him in as I approached. It had been some crazy weeks, but also the best time of my life. All because of Darius. My mate.

“Please tell me we’re going out on a run today,” Darius pleaded as I stopped beside him, both of us enjoying the view as the snow descended from the morning sky.

“We have to,” I agreed. “If we wait too long, the others will have ruined all the fun.”

“I already scented your dad out there, so we might need to skip breakfast.”

I laughed. Playing around in the snow was so much fun in wolf form, and our packmates agreed. It was more fun when the snow was untouched and you could run through it, feeling the snow break apart against your legs, the soft crunch as your paws hit the ground, smushing it down.

“Okay, I’m ready,” I announced, practically giddy with excitement. My tea was all but forgotten as I took Darius’ coffee from him. “We’ll run for however long we please and come back home and share a nice hot bath, and then we can order some pizza for lunch.”

Darius’ eyes were gleaming with happiness as he took in my perfect winter day plans. “Gods, I love you.” I was swooped into a passionate kiss that sadly ended too quickly. “We need to hurry,”he breathed against my lips, warming me up on this cold winter morning.

I felt my smile widen in challenge as I leaned in and whispered, “Run.”

Because the pack was out of houses, Nathalia and Julian would move into the packhouse at first. They’d each gotten their own room but would have to share their bathroom. I’d offered that they could move in with me and Darius instead, but Nathalia wanted us to enjoy our newly mated bond. I believed that she was mostly looking out for Julian, who would without a doubt enjoy having his own space. So, I hadn’t objected to it. The offer stood and she knew that.

Darius, Jeremy, Silas, Greg, Rowan, Cass, and me were currently waiting for Nathalia and Julian to show up. The packhouse was all but empty so as to not overwhelm Julian.

“Think Nat will mind thecolors?” Jeremy asked.

I could only shrug. “She’s just happy to get back. I don’t think colors are big on her priority list right now.”

“Besides,” Cass cut in. “We have three houses that’ll be ready in the spring.”

“You plan on offering them one of the houses?” I asked, surprised. Jeremy had wanted them built for families now that our pack was much bigger.

“Of course. The others aren’t in need of homes, they would just prefer to live closer to where I am. Nathalia and Julian are in need of their own place, so they get first priority.”

“Had we known sooner, they would’ve gotten Givanna’s house,” Cass said.

“Givanna loves that her old house will be for a family and soon filled with kids,” Darius informed them with a smile. “She told me the house needed to experience the laughter only children brought.”

The doors opened then, the heavy wind from outside carrying in the familiar scent of Nathalia.

“Nat!” I exclaimed, hurrying out of my chair before running into the foyer to hug her.

She beamed at me with open arms. “Milo!”

It felt so good to hug her again. If I were truly honest with myself, it had felt like a true goodbye when she’d left. So many “friends” had left me and Nathalia moving away seemed just like those times. It was almost healing as I inhaled the sweet scentof her magnolia and vanilla perfume, the smell so familiar and soothing.

“Um, hi,” an unfamiliar voice spoke.

I let go of Nat and turned to face her brother. “Nice to finally meet you.” I offered him my hand and he took it, his smile shy.

Julian was truly a cat shifter, his limbs long and his figure slender. He had blonde curls and light green eyes that rested over freckled cheeks. He was cute.

“Let’s introduce you to some of your new packmates.” I walked ahead, letting Julian follow at his own pace.

In the big dining hall, I led them over to the table where everyone stood to greet them, Nat with hugs and Julian with handshakes.

Greg and Silas were frozen in place in front of a wide-eyed Julian. I could’ve sworn I heard a mutteredmatecoming from their direction, but I was tugged down on my fated’s lap and soon forgot all about it.

I snuggled into Darius, loving how right my life felt. I had my family, Darius, and my best friend back.

I was happy.

Epilogue