I cast the cleaning spell over all of us, getting a surprised yelp from both of my wolves, before Allan and I dressed.
Ed took the lead as we headed out to finish our task. Allan followed, and before long we had made our way back to the yurt where Nikolai was working on dinner. Doc supervised, though I had a feeling he was spending more time staring at Nikolai's ass then actually helping. Especially since he really couldn't cook.
Ed and Allan jumped in to help Nikolai, much to the mage's relief. They were the real chefs of the family.
I sat on the bed next to Doc and leaned against me, turning his attention from Nikolai to me.
"How'd it go?"
"Good."
He arched his eyebrows and I blushed. Could he tell what we had been up to, even with Nikolai's cleaning spell? Maybe it was just obvious. Maybe they had sensed something through the pack bond? Not that it mattered. Regardless, he looked pleased.
Doc's hair was already down so I ran my fingers through it and rested against him.
"Yes, could feel wards. You did very well," Nikolai added.
We settled into an easy silence while the other guys worked on dinner.
My phone chimed, and I pulled it out of my pocket. I had a text waiting from Victoria.
Victoria: Mom is wondering if you all can come down to Denver for the weekend. She's got someone who wants to talk to you. You can all crash at our place.
"Hey, guys, want to go to Denver this weekend?"
They all paused what they were doing and looked at me. I tilted my phone so Doc could read over my shoulder.
"Victoria's mom has some people who want to talk with us," I supplied for the other three.
"Denver sounds interesting," Nikolai said slowly. "Also interesting to meet other mages."
"How much do the Andersons know about you, Nikolai?" I had no idea what they might have figured out about him since I had been locked in my own head most of the last few months.
"Not sure." He shrugged, unconcerned. "Don't know how much Ash figured out, and no idea how much he had to tell the Andersons."
"I think it's a good idea," Doc said after a few minutes.
Ed and Allan shared a glance before shrugging. "You do realize that Victoria's parents will probably learn all sorts of interesting stuff about us if we go," Allan cautioned.
Doc shrugged. "If Victoria is anything to go by, we can trust them. Though, I would still prefer to be quietly ignored if we can manage it."
"So, we're going to Denver?"
Doc glanced around and when no one offered objections he nodded. "Yes. Tell Victoria she's welcome to ride down with us."
I texted Victoria back and she replied with a thumbs up.
"Well, that's settled. Now we just need to avoid any confrontations for another day or so and then we'll be out of town." I smiled warily.
"And hope they don't take out the yurt while we're gone," Allan said.
"We will not tell anyone we're leaving." Nikolai shrugged.
"Let's hope that works." I sighed. This sucked so much.
"Should." The mage sat down on the other side of me and put his arm around me and Doc. "Will be fine."
"I wish I was as confident as you."
He nuzzled my hair. "All of the irreplaceable things will be with us. Yurts are easy. You should not worry about it."
I stopped myself before I could apologize about the situation again. Nikolai was grateful and the other guys didn't blame me. I wished I could stop feeling like it was my fault, but the guilt wouldn't leave.
Doc kissed my neck. "It's not your fault," he whispered, lips brushing against my skin.
I shivered, distracted from my guilt as he nibbled.
"Hungry?"
He hesitated, as if he hadn't considered that question. "Offering?"
"Yes. We all get dinner, you may as well too."
Doc leaned back and arched an eyebrow at me.
I gave him a sly look.
"I feel like I'm getting spoiled," he chuckled. "Getting offered blood every day."
"Spoiling you is not without its rewards," Nikolai answered for us.
"Our dinner will be done in about twenty minutes," Ed interrupted us while Allan put something into the oven that Nikolai had magicked for us. "We have a little time."
"I'm definitely the spoiled one," I protested.
"Are you now?" Doc pulled me into his arms.
"With the four of you looking after me? Absolutely."
Doc nibbled and I moaned in anticipation.
Doc sank his teeth into my neck, and I could tell he was thinking more about food than sex because his hands didn't wander. He didn't spare whatever it was that made a vampire's bite feel good, though and soon I was seeing stars as I climaxed and cried out in pleasure.
Though I lost track of time, it couldn't have been more than a few minutes before I came back to myself. Ed had joined us and was laying on my stomach, while Doc had curled up around me. He stroked my temple gently while I recovered.
Both of them favored me with heavy lidded, satisfied looks when I glanced at them.
Nikolai had his arm around Allan, and the two of them looked content as well.
An alarm chimed on someone's phone and Allan moved away from Nikolai and pulled dinner out of the oven.
Ed leaned forward and kissed me gently on the lips before getting up to help.
"Thank you," Doc whispered when I reluctantly stirred from his embrace.
"Of course." I pressed my lips to his for a moment before finally getting up. My stomach rumbled, and I sat at the table between Allan and Ed, pressing my knees up against both of their legs. For a few minutes, anyway, everything was all right. Now if only we could keep out of trouble long enough to get some help.
∞ ∞ ∞
Victoria carried the leftover pizza as we walked down the sidewalk toward the parking lot where her car waited. It would be too cold to walk back to campus for months, and it certainly wasn't safe with the
