(Leah POV)
Waking up felt like waking from a dream to yet another dream. Edythe was behind me, her knees tucked into mine, her arm lay along my side with her hand resting on my hip. Knowing that she didn't sleep, I wondered what she did while Thomas and I were in dreamland.
As for me, I was cuddling Thomas's back, one hand under his pillow and my other hand wrapped around his chest, my hand dangling.
My body felt particularly warm this morning, and a particular numbness between my legs made me smile at the same time it made me blush. The night was everything I needed and more than I could have hoped for. Calm, slow, and fulfilling in a way I had never felt before. There was no fumbling of inexperience, no struggle for dominance, no rush to climax. Thomas had been soft, gentle, and most of all, patient.
He took time to learn my body, putting my pleasure above his own. Every attempt I made to give him pleasure was softly but firmly rebuffed. He made it clear by word and deed that our first night was going to be about me. Just remembering it caused my pulse to quicken and a slight blush to rise in my cheeks.
Edythe's voice whispered, warm yet infuriatingly calm, "I bet there is a smile on your face to accompany that beautiful blush I see creeping up the back of your neck."
I froze for half a second, then realized it was too late. I was caught.
"Is not," I lied, because I had the emotional maturity of a rock when anyone noticed my feelings.
Edythe's silent laugh puffed against the back of my neck. "Sure."
I wanted to roll over and glare at her, but that meant moving my legs, and my legs were currently reminding me of every slow, patient, humiliatingly perfect minute of last night.
So I stayed still, face hot, and pretended I was simply… appreciating the morning.
Thomas shifted in front of me, the smallest movement of shoulder and spine, and my arms tightened on instinct, protective, possessive, I didn't even know which. His hair was mussed against the pillow, and his breathing was deep and even.
My hand shifted, and I held him closer to me. I felt the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
"You're thinking loud," Edythe murmured.
I swallowed. "You're not mind-reading?"
"I'm not," she agreed immediately, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "But I don't need to. You're practically vibrating."
I huffed, very quietly, so I wouldn't wake Thomas. "You're enjoying this."
"I enjoy you," Edythe corrected, like she was fixing a misquote. "And I enjoy him. And I enjoy"…her hand tightened at my hip, the lightest squeeze…"that you finally let yourself have something."
My throat tightened at that, annoying and sudden.
I cleared it, because vulnerability was unacceptable before breakfast. "What do you even do all night when we sleep?"
Edythe didn't answer right away. For a moment, her fingers traced a slow line along my side; her cold finger on my hot skin felt wonderful.
"I listen," she said finally. "To the house. To the woods. To both of you. I think. I worry. I plan. I…" She paused. "I'm grateful."
That hit harder than it should have.
I stared at the back of Thomas's head and tried to swallow down the lump that wanted to show up in my throat. "For what?"
"For this," Edythe said simply. "For staying here and hearing you breathe. For hearing his heart. For having something to lose."
My stomach twisted because she said it like it was a gift.
And maybe it was.
Thomas stirred again, more this time, like her words had brushed the edge of his dreams and tugged him closer to the surface. He made a small sound, half sigh, half hum, and my body tightened automatically, like I could hold him in place with my arms.
His hand lifted, finding mine where it lay across his chest, and his fingers curled around it without him even opening his eyes.
My face heated all over again.
"You awake?" I whispered.
His voice was rough with sleep. "Mm."
That was not an answer.
Edythe leaned forward slightly, her lips near my ear. "Be nice. He's adorable when he's half asleep."
"I am not adorable," Thomas muttered, like he'd heard her anyway.
Edythe's quiet laugh shook through her chest against my back. "See?"
Thomas finally blinked his eyes open, slow and heavy, and turned his head just enough to look back at me over his shoulder. His gaze landed on my face, drifted down to my hand in his, and warmed in a way that made my chest go tight.
"Morning," he said.
I forgot how to breathe for a second.
"Morning," I managed, voice low. "You okay?"
His brow lifted slightly like the question amused him. "I'm wonderful. Are you okay?"
I wanted to say something smart. Something sharp. Something that didn't sound like I was a girl in a romance novel.
Instead, the truth slipped out before I could stop it.
"Yeah," I said quietly. "I'm… good."
Thomas's expression softened, careful, not smug. He squeezed my hand once, like he understood exactly how much that cost me to admit.
Edythe shifted behind me, pressing her lips to my shoulder blade, gently. "Good," she murmured. "Because we have to get up soon."
Reality tried to climb into bed with us. Colder than Edythe and heavier than all three of us combined.
Thomas's eyes sharpened, waking fully. "What time?"
"A little after eight," Edythe answered. "We have time to eat. To dress. To breathe." Her hand slid from my hip to my stomach, almost absent. "And then we leave."
Leave.
The word sat there, ugly and unavoidable.
I swallowed and forced my body to move. The moment I shifted my legs, my face went hot again, and I bit my lip hard enough to keep from making a sound.
They both noticed anyway.
Thomas's mouth twitched, almost a smile, but his eyes stayed serious. He rolled carefully, turning to face me, and for a second we were nose to nose, close enough that I could see every detail in his eyes.
"Still good?" he asked softly.
Feeling how stiff my lower body was, I couldn't deny the truth of the matter. "I think I may need to stretch some muscles out in a warm shower."
Edythe's voice in my ear sent shivers down my spine and tingles between my legs. "Hmmm, can I join you… Or maybe just watch?"
Her voice was teasing, and she probably didn't mean it…Maybe.
Flirting right back, "If you did, I doubt we would make the battle in time."
Edythe hummed, the sound wicked and pleased. "That's an argument, not a deterrent."
Thomas let out a soft breath that might've been a laugh if it didn't carry so much weight underneath it. His hand stayed on mine, thumb rubbing once, steadying. "Shower," he said, voice gentle but practical. "Stretch. I'll start breakfast."
Edythe slid out of bed with vampire grace, already composed. "Let me cook, all you know for breakfast is French toast. I think the two of you would prefer a rare Ribeye pancake sandwich this morning. You two are going to burn through a lot of energy today."
Thomas got up and walked to his dresser as I shimmied to the edge of the bed and tested my legs before standing. Seeing that they held my weight, I moved to the bathroom and turned on the shower. My nudity didn't bother me at all; it was a part of being a shifter. Besides, what part of me had those two not seen before?
Behind me, I heard Edythe's voice low, private.
"Thank you," she said.
"For what?" Thomas asked.
"For being you and taking the time to be exactly what she needed. For making last night about her." She said.
There was a pause.
Then Thomas answered, just as quietly. "I'm taking care of both of you."
My chest did something stupid.
I shut the bathroom door before they could hear me breathe wrong.
After cleaning up and stretching my legs, I felt wonderful. When I walked back into the bedroom, still rubbing a towel over my head, I saw Edythe had put out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt for me. Just minutes later, I was at the table waiting for breakfast when a thought hit me: What's a ribeye pancake sandwich?
Noticing Edythe's hair, I spoke out. "Hey Edythe, let me braid your hair for the battle. Leaving it long like that could give a newborn a handhold you don't expect."
She smiled at me, "Sure, the steaks need about two minutes on each side. Thomas can flip them while you braid."
I made quick work of her hair and faster work of the large sandwich that was placed in front of me. I realized that a ribeye pancake sandwich was just what it sounded like, and it tasted wonderful.
Thomas decided we should head out for the battle a little early, which was fine with me. Following him to the door, I saw Edythe sling a backpack over her shoulder and follow me as the last one out.
As soon as Thomas hit the last step off the porch, there were three rapid pops. In horror, I saw Thomas jerk at the impact and fall to the ground.
My mind worked fast, registering that the sound had been gunshots, and my eyes followed the trajectory of where they came from. However, my emotional control was a lost battle; the wolf was coming, and that meant that I would be no help to Thomas. Instead, my wolf instincts wanted to punish the one responsible.
Before the change could overcome me, I shouted out, "Sniper in the woods, I'm on it." Then I exploded into my wolf form and charged into the woods. Not moving in a straight line for more than a few steps, I had my nose working just as hard as my eyes, trying to find the one who shot Thomas.
I could feel a couple of the guys in the pack mind, but I was so focused on finding the sniper, I didn't acknowledge them or bother telling them what was going on. My mind was laser-focused on the task at hand. Another shot sounded out; it helped me narrow down where to look. It was close.
Seconds later, I saw him and realized that in my hurry, I had made a terrible mistake; he was downwind of me.
Before I could close in on him, he pulled his head off the rifle stock and turned my direction, his eyes full of surprise and even shock. He quickly twisted and fired a round at me, but I managed to twist away enough that the bullet just grazed my ribs.
I was on him before he could fire another shot, my mouth open wide, going for his neck, trying to end this quickly, but he was quick enough to move the rifle in front of himself and forced it in my mouth sideways. My jaws clenched down and crushed the rifle at the same time I pulled it out of his hand, shaking my powerful neck.
I jumped back, knowing my most powerful weapon was useless with a rifle stuck in it. I spit it out and watched the newborn to see what he would do next.
"What the fuck are you? No one said anything about giant fucking wolves." His voice was panicked.
I circled him, paws silent on wet earth, eyes tracking every shift of his shoulders, every redistribution of weight. He was trying to find his next move without the rifle. Trying to decide if he could outfight me hand-to-hand.
He could.
Maybe.
If I played his game.
So I didn't.
I kept circling, forcing him to turn with me, forcing him to keep adjusting. I watched his breathing, not because he needed it, but because it was still a habit. Newborn, just like we expected. But this wasn't expected… I pushed the thoughts back and concentrated on the vampire in front of me.
I let my lips pull back from my teeth in a silent snarl, no sound, no warning, just a promise.
Then I feinted left, hard.
He shifted to block.
And that gave me the opening I'd been waiting for.
I lunged right instead, low and fast, skimming the ground like a shadow.
His block was still committed to the left when my shoulder hit his knee.
That's when he made his last mistake; he rolled to his belly and tried to push up from the ground to run away.
Never give your back to a wolf while you are on the ground; you lose all defense.
I instantly capitalized and lunged forward, closing my jaws around the back of his neck while standing on his back.
Before I could finish him, he screamed out, "Jonathan, help me."
Then he was silenced as I closed my jaws and tore his head off. My mind didn't focus on the win, but on the call for help. That's when it hit me, three shots almost simultaneous, that means three shooters.
One down.