“Okay then.” Maybe he was telling the truth. The Throne was aware of things none of the rest of them were, even her. Perhaps it let Noah learn the sequence, somehow conscious of the fact that someday he’d mate Iva and become part of the Throne’s family. “Coming in?”
“Sure.” Noah sauntered in and stared around at her home. “Nice. I like it.”
Iva shrugged, somewhat embarrassed, though she didn’t understand why. “Me too, and thanks.”
She’d managed to take her mother’s vision of bohemian mixed with Japanese aestheticism and expand on it. She and her father might have been Japanese, but her mother had been a hippie owl shifter who loved bright colors the way a magpie liked shiny stuff. To honor her husband and daughter she’d taken the stone walls and asked a witch to light them up, making them dim at night to a soft, night-light glow. She’d then built shoji screens over those walls, the rice paper and dark wooden squares sometimes giving way to tatami mat-like walls that didn’t allow light to come through, like in the master bedroom. The wooden furniture was light in color, similar to the tatami that covered the floors.
Over the tatami mats her mother had placed bright, colorful poufs for children to lounge against comfortably. Multi-colored scarves covered rice-paper lamps, while smaller, more colorful string lamps were scattered all around the space, giving it a festive character. The sofa, velvet done in a warm, inviting green, was overstuffed and so comfortable Iva often found herself sleeping on it. Iva had introduced the flat-screen TV and gaming consoles, but she’d kept the vintage gramophone her grandmother had owned, leaving it on the pedestal her mother had set aside. Near her traditional butsudan sat tablets engraved with the names of her parents and grandparents. At the moment the butsudan’s doors were closed, but inside her Buddhist altar, the part called a Butsuma, were a ringing bowl, a bowl for rice, incense holders, candlesticks and a set of bells.
She’d have to teach Noah some of the rituals of her Buddhist faith, at least enough that he’d understand and accept the tenets she followed.
Her kitchen was done utilizing metal shelving instead of upper cabinets, while the lower cabinets were made of bamboo. The countertop was gray quartz, installed by Iva when the old Formica countertop was on its last legs. Her grandmother’s Depression-era glass mingled with Iva’s Fiestaware and her mother’s vintage floral-patterned Corelle. None of the Yamauchis had seen the need for expensive china, Iva included.
But Iva’s favorite part of her home was the corridors between the front part and the back part of her apartment, where her mother had created enchanted footpaths with actual living trees and bushes. Iva tended them with loving care in remembrance of the mother who loved them so.
“It’s very...colorful.” Noah ran his hand along the shrine, bowing to the tablets holding the names of her ancestors before he passed them. The act was respectful and had the alpha burrowing just a little bit deeper into Iva’s heart. “The kids will love it here.”
She blinked. The kids. They’d eventually be in her space, move around in it. Little butts would sit on the poufs, little legs would beat at the end of the sofa.
She smiled just thinking about it. Her mother had always wanted more children, but she’d passed away shortly after Iva’s father had. Iva had wound up an only child, an orphan at a young age, but she’d had Mina, Greer and Ash to ease her loneliness. They were her brothers and sisters in everything but blood. And their parents had stepped in where hers would have, taking care of her the way they did their own children.
Iva understood about being an orphan. Perhaps she could use that to connect further with Milo and Sana.
“Earth to Iva.” Noah stood in front of her, his hands drifting to her hips. “What were you thinking about so hard?”
“My mom,” she replied softly. She couldn’t help the wistful smile that crossed her face. “She did most of the decorating in here.” Iva pointed to the short corridor that led to her office. “Isn’t that great? The trees, the lighting, the stone pathway? She did that.”
“Wow.” Noah sniffed, his eyes widening as he stared at the corridor’s decor. “Those are living trees.”
“Yes, they are. The artificial sunlight keeps them alive, as does the day and night cycle my mom had the witches set up with the lighting.”
“Huh.” He pulled her close, hugging her. Her wolf seemed to like doing that a lot. “I love it, but I came to find out how you were doing, not critique your decor.”
“Ugh,” she groaned, echoing her earlier sentiment.
“That well, huh?” He chuckled and sort of push-pulled her until she was standing with her back to her sofa, her knees touching the velvet. “Time for a break, princess.” He pushed her gently down until she was seated in her comfy sofa. “Did you eat dinner yet?”
“Um...” She tilted her head to the side as she thought about that.
“Right.” Noah strode into her kitchen. “I think pizza, popcorn and movies are in order for the evening’s entertainment.”
“I have work to do, Noah.” But she found her rear end sinking deeper into the sofa rather than leaving it. Traitorous butt. It wanted nothing more than to take a break too.
Noah called one of the few pizza places that delivered to the Throne. It was dryad-run, and the pizza was out of this world, so Iva couldn’t complain too much. Still, his knowledge of their habits was beginning to freak her the fuck out. “How do you know so much?”
He put his finger over his lips, finishing the call. When he was done he answered, his tone smug. “Mina. How else?”
Ah, that made perfect sense. Mina loved interfering in their love lives. Allowing Noah access to the codes, especially after he’d already mated her, would have been nothing. Iva relaxed in her seat, no longer worried about the security of their sacred space. Besides, hadn’t she just been thinking she needed to spend more time with her mate? This was perfect. A quiet evening of movies and pizza, just relaxing with no worries. She nearly whimpered just thinking about it. “I’ve got some beer in the fridge if you want some.”
He opened her vintage-style refrigerator and let out a low growl. “This is all you have in your fridge? Beer and mayonnaise? I’m a guy and I have more than that.”
“I have other stuff in there,” Iva protested. “Besides. It’s grocery week.”
“Grocery week?” He glared at her over the fridge door.
She was not going to defend herself on this. Just because she had an unhealthy adoration of the McNugget was no reason to give her grief. She sniffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “I eat out a lot.”
He opened the cabinet that held her trashcan and pulled out a takeout box. “Pad Thai?”
“Hey, I mix it up with Sonic and Popeye’s and sometimes I even hit Boston Market for their veggies.”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I guess I’ll be the one cooking our meals then.”
She shrugged, secretly elated that her man could cook. Iva couldn’t boil an egg without setting fire to the yolk. “Whatever you want, alpha.”
His eyes narrowed, his lips hitching up into a sexy as sin smile. “You promise?”
“Get the beer,” she groaned. She bit back a laugh when he took a seat next to her. The big, scary alpha prime was pouting like a five-year-old boy. “So. While we wait for the pizza, wanna play a game?” She pinched him in the side when he leered at her. “Perv. I meant Minecraft, LEGO Star Wars—”
“Until Dawn.” He got up and booted the PS4, turning on the TV as well. He must have taken a peek at her games. It was one she hadn’t even unwrapped yet. “I love that game. Besides, I want to see what decisions you make.”
“Huh. Okay.” She took the controller he handed her. She’d been talking about a two-player game, but if he’d rather watch that was fine too. “This is more like a choose your own adventure book than a video game.”
He nodded. “Bu
t the acting and the video is spectacular, the monsters are badass and the twist in the middle totally got me.” He eyed her sideways. “Have you played this yet?”
Greer had given it to her as soon as she was out of her coma, but she’d read quite a lot about the game. Most of the comments had been positive, with some negative thrown in about specific characters. “Not yet. I haven’t had the time, but Greer told me some of what happens.”
He settled back, his arm around her shoulder. “You’re gonna love this.” He gestured toward the opening credits and the New Game button. “Go on. I’ll get the pizza guy when he gets here.” He opened both their beers and put them on the coffee table, carefully placing coasters under them. He had no idea how much she appreciated that. She might not cook, but she liked keeping her space clean. Having water rings on her furniture was a top pet peeve of hers.
Iva booted up the game and found herself lost in the story of a group of young friends who’d made a horrible mistake one winter night, one that led to the deaths of some of them. They were still in the tutorial but she’d already seen the death of the twins and Josh’s invitation to come back to the mountain.
The doorbell rang, and Iva glanced over to find the pizza delivery guy standing in the open doorway. She smiled at the familiar young man. “Hey, Martin.”
“Hi, Ms. Yamauchi.” The teenager handed the pizza to Noah. “Mr. Wulfenbach, hi.”
“Hi, Martin. How’s your baby sister?” Noah gave the young man cash and took the yummy smelling boxes.
“She’s much better, alpha, thank you.” Martin waved goodbye and high-tailed it out of the Throne.
“How did you know his sister was sick?” Iva got up and pulled down some plates. She also made sure to grab two more beers, as they were almost done with their first ones.
“His mother came by the other day and was telling me about it.” He grabbed some of the pizza and one of the beers. “Martin’s mom is a wolf.”
“Ah.” That explained it. It was amazing how he managed to keep track of all of his wolves without the aid of trees and grass whispering secrets to him. Iva had no idea how he managed, but he made it all work.
They ate between decisions, shouting and cheering at the people on the screen as if they were really alive and about to do the stupidest things Iva had ever seen in her life.
“Seriously?” Iva pointed the controller at the screen. “I’m not hurting that wolf. What kind of alpha mate would I be if I randomly kicked wolves?”
Noah shrugged. “Your choice.”
Iva glared at him. She made it, but now she had to wonder if she’d made the wrong choice. He’d been doing that half-shrug with every decision she made. If he did this through the whole game one of them wasn’t going to live through it.
He chuckled. “Stop growling at me, baby, and play your game.”
“Grr.” Iva ignored his cackle and went back to Mike’s plight. Poor guy, running around a sanitorium, his girlfriend probably dead somewhere deep inside the mountain.
“Here.” Noah held out something that smelled wickedly delicious.
She paused the game and stared at the concoction of frothy whipped cream, berries and sponge cake. “That’s not made from mayo, is it?”
“So distrusting,” Noah murmured. He took a spoonful of the dessert and held it out to her. “See? Nothing to be afraid of.”
She took a bite, moaning at the taste. “Where did you get all this?”
He grinned. “It’s called a supermarket. We have one not far from my house. People go there, buy food, cook it and then...” He leaned in close and whispered, “They eat it.”
She glared at him.
Noah pulled back, taking the dessert with him. “Oh, no you don’t. No hitting me until after you finish.”
“Deal!” She snatched the dessert out of his hands, wolfing it down in seconds. Then she turned in her seat and smacked him. “Ow.” Iva started shaking out her hand. What was his head made out of, concrete?
Noah was too busy laughing to say anything when she picked up the controller again. And the guys on the screen thought their lives were complicated.
Chapter Fourteen
“Morning, boss man.” Paisley strolled into the office in Noah’s house, sounding strained rather than her normal, cheerful self.
It was time for their daily morning meeting, but he’d gotten an early start. Iva was still doing her research. She had been either at the Throne or the library for days. He was beginning to think he’d have to tie her ass to the bed to get her to sleep.
“Good morning.” Noah watched as Paisley took a seat across from his desk, slumping down in the leather chair. “What’s wrong?”
“Eh, nothing.” She picked at the ragged edges of her jeans shorts. “Just helping your mate out with some stuff.”
“Is that all? I thought something was wrong.” Noah relaxed and sat back, hoping Paisley would do the same. She was acting really squirrely today.
“You...you know what she’s doing?” Paisley did sit up, but instead of relaxing she seemed shocked.
“Yes, why?” Noah sniffed. Yup, Paisley’s stress had just gone through the roof. The citrus-like smell of anxiety permeated the air.
“It’s just... I guess it’s okay if you think so.” Paisley shrugged, then blew out a relieved breath. “Right. Work or coffee?”
The citrus scent was dissipating now that Paisley had accepted his decree that everything was fine. Still, the way she’d accepted it niggled at him. “Paisley?”
“Yes?” Paisley stood and shook out her hands, the multiple rings on her fingers clanking together.
“What, exactly, were you doing for Iva?”
Paisley paled, the citrusy scent now burning Noah’s nose. “I, ah, was researching stuff about the CDC.”
“Why was she interested in the Centers for Disease Control?” Iva was supposed to be trying to find what labs the Van Helsings used, not Googling info about the CDC. She’d blown out of the house pretty early this morning, but he’d thought she’d had a break through or she was needed to patrol. Her arm was healing nicely and Dr. T had cleared her for light duty.
“She wasn’t looking them up, per se. She was eyeing their badges.” Paisley was picking at her jeans shorts again. “She wanted to learn how to make them.”
Noah blinked, his mind churning with thoughts on why she’d want those badges. “She’s planning on gaining access to those labs by pretending to be CDC?”
Paisley nodded. “I thought you said you knew.”
“Not this part, I didn’t.” Noah wanted to go to the Throne and paddle his mate’s ass. What the hell was she thinking? This was not light duty. This was freaking covert ops. “Tell me the details, Paisley.”
“Coffee first, please?”
She really did seem exhausted. She must have been working all night getting Iva’s badges ready. That didn’t surprise Noah. Paisley was the one who took care of fake IDs for shifters on the run from Van Helsings, abusive spouses, and bad alphas. Even if Iva hadn’t known that before, she would have found out easily.
“Sure thing.” Noah stood and put his arm around her shoulder. “Now, where’s my strong, kick-ass beta, hmm?”
She chuckled weakly. “Somewhere in your coffee pot.”
Noah laughed with her, but part of him was still going over what Paisley had told him. He had work for Paisley to do once she’d had her coffee. There was no fucking way his mate was going into enemy territory without him there.
“Hi, Aunt Paisley,” Milo muttered. He was shoveling cereal in his mouth like someone was going to take it away and he’d never experience the wonders of overly-sugared cereal ever again.
“Enjoying that, kiddo?” Paisley ruffled Milo’s hair.
“Yup.” He shoved another heaping spoonful in his mouth, half of it falling off the spoon and landing right back in the
cereal bowl.
“Good morning, Auntie Paisley.” Sana was a little more dignified. She paused in her shoveling to say hello without food in her mouth.
“Good morning, Sana.” Paisley kissed the top of the little girl’s head. “What are you little pups up to today?” She glanced at Noah. “If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, you’ll need to get someone in here to babysit today. I can’t, I’ve got to work today.”
Noah grimaced. “I hadn’t thought of that.” He was so busy running the country’s packs that he didn’t have as much time as he’d like to spend with the children, so he’d eventually have to hire a full-time nanny. Neither he nor Iva would be able to take care of them full-time, as both were leaders of their people, but he’d make sure that the children never sensed the lack. Noah wanted their childhood to be something they could smile about rather than living in mourning for their parents and wishing for Noah to be there all the time.
It couldn’t be helped. Hiring a nanny was the best thing he could think of to ensure the kids were properly taken care of when neither he nor Iva were available.
When he was ready to hire the nanny, he wanted Iva there when he held the interviews. She’d have to live with the male or female who wound up being their nanny just as much as he would. After they held the interviews he’d introduce the kids to the candidates and let them help pick who would be taking care of them. They’d be spending a lot of time with the nanny, so their opinions were important to Noah.
“Maybe Frisco can help. I understand he wants to get better acquainted with Milo since he’ll be living with someone who isn’t a water elemental nor mated to one.”
“Frisco’s seeing Milo already,” Noah muttered. “But I’ll call him when we’re done to find out how Milo’s doing.”
“Aunty Paisley?” Sana held up her bowl. “Can I have some more, please?”
Noah glanced in the bowl and scowled. “You ate all the marshmallows but none of the cereal.”
Sana nodded. “They’re the best part.” She gave him big, sad puppy eyes. “Please?”
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