171, Gifts

171, Gifts
Nash

The others were walking to their bikes, and I looked around for Tite’s.

“Kitten, where did you leave your bike?” I asked, when I couldn’t find it.

“Oh, I didn’t bring it,” she said, struggling to untie the ribbon at her back. I walked over to her and did my best to help. I really had tied it tightly.

“What do you mean you didn’t bring it? What do you expect me to do? Ride along with Beridan?” I asked, as I finally managed to undo the knots. She giggled.

“Of course not. I thought you might want to ride that one,” she said, and pointed out a new, black Ducati that I had been eyeing while I looked for Tite's bike. I had been wondering who it belonged to, maybe one of the witches who had become hooked on riding.

“You don’t think the owner would object?” I asked. She kissed me.

“As you are the owner, you’ll have to take it up with yourself,” she said. I stared at her.

“What?” I asked dumbly. She smiled again.

“It’s my gift to you. I think it suits you,” she told me.

“I love you so much,” I said, and pulled her in for a passionate kiss.

“You like it?” she asked.

“I love it. It’s exactly what I would have picked out for myself,” I confessed.

“I’m happy I was right. Now take my dress and keep it safe. I want to wear it after the run,” she said, stripping naked and handing me her clothes. All around us, pack members were stripping down. It would take some getting used to. Soon, the shifters had turned into their animal selves, and we set off. Tite was running next to me, and I enjoyed leading the pack on the run across the land. The bike was a dream to drive, and the new pack bond let me feel a connection to everyone. I could feel how happy everyone was as we sped across the desert. As we got close to a rock formation, I slowed down and looked up at the top. I smiled when I saw Ajaw and his people up there.

“Hello, friend,” I called to him, and stopped my bike. Tite stopped next to me, and the rest of the pack did the same. The humans who hadn’t seen chaneques before were staring at them in wonder.

“Hello friend!” Ajaw called back with a big smile, and waved his hand. “We felt the magic, we felt the border form. This is a happy day, a happy day indeed. We will protect your land, my friend,” he told us. He was jumping from foot to foot in pure joy as the first chaneques started singing and dancing.

“You honour us,” I said. Tite raised her head and howled, followed by the rest of the shifters. Ajaw laughed, his jumping turning into a dance as he joined his people. I smiled as we watched for a while. Then Tite nudged my leg. I looked at her and couldn’t resist running my hand through her soft fur. “Time to finish the run!” I called out.

“Yes, Alpha!” the ones in human form called back, and I got the same response via mindlink from those who had shifted. It felt right as we set off with the sound of the chaneques' song drifting to us. The run took us a little over an hour, and we ended it just outside the back fence to the clubhouse. I helped Tite into her dress.

“Shadow, Bo, could you make sure the food is served and the party gets started? Tite and I have one final thing to do,” I said. Both Shadow and Bo chuckled.

“Sure thing, Alpha. A final thing to do…” Shadow said, and they started laughing as they went to make sure things were under control. I just shook my head.

“What is it we need to do?” Tite asked.

“I’ll show you. Will you come with me?” I asked, holding my hand out to her.

“Anywhere you ask me to go,” she told me, bunching up her dress around her waist and letting me help her up on the bike behind me.

“I love this bike; it’s amazing. Thank you,” I told her as I drove away.

“I’m happy,” she said, leaning her head on my back. I drove us to the Sun Village, the new name for the coven’s village. The budding village around the pack house was called Moon Village. I stopped outside a familiar house.

“What are we doing here?” Tite asked as she got off the bike. I followed her and took her hand.

“Since the former owner is no longer alive, I convinced the former coven to let me buy it,” I told her as we walked toward the door.

“You own Avolona’s old house?” she asked.

“Technically, you own it,” I said.

“What? Is this your way of asking me to move out of our apartment?” I spun around to look at her.

“Never!” I said, and kissed her hard to make sure she never doubted my need for her. “I know how much you want to explore your witch side and how much you have been looking forward to being able to do it with the coven. So I asked Francesca to remodel the house…”

“You did what?! Don’t you think she has enough on her plate?” Tite scolded me. I smiled.

“What’s done is done. This is my gift to you: your own laboratory for any crazy magical thing you want to do. I asked your aunt about what you might need, and she was helpful in making sure it’s equipped with the basics. The rest we'll get as you go,” I told her, and opened the door. The living space inside had been transformed into an office and relaxation area in the same colours as our apartment. “The two bedrooms downstairs have been turned into a library and a storage room. Upstairs is the laboratory, with work benches, burners, and a lot of things I have no idea what they're used for,” I said. Tite looked at the room, and then at me. For a moment, I thought I had made a big mistake; this was the house she had been held captive in. It was an idiotic idea. Then she threw herself at me and peppered my face with kisses, ending with a long, soul-deep kiss.

“Thank you,” she said, once we had caught our breaths.

“You like it?” I asked.

“I love it! Thank you for seeing all of me,” she said.

“Thank you for waiting for me to get my head out of my arse.” She laughed and kissed me again. “Do you want to have a look around?” I asked.

“I do, but not today. I want to get back to the pack,” she told me. I nodded; I felt the same way. We rode back to the pack house and could hear the party long before we saw the lights from the backyard. We joined in, and it didn’t take long before Alice and Sam found us.

“This is one heck of a party,” Sam said. Both Tite and I smiled.

“Is it approved by the big-shot party planner?” Tite asked Alice.

“It is. I know I said this isn’t my type of shindig, but I think I need to re-evaluate. This is fun,” Alice told us. A while later, Bones and Hilda walked up to us.

“Is it time?” Tite asked. Hilda nodded.

“We will let everyone know,” I said.

“No need. We have said goodbye to the people we wanted to. No need to make a fuss,” Bones said. We followed them to the parking lot and Hilda's car, which was already packed.

“I will miss you,” Tite said, and gave her aunt a hug.

“I will miss you too, dung beetle. But this time I don’t feel bad for leaving. I know you have a good life and that you have love,” her aunt said.

“I do. And I know you have someone to watch your back when you go back, and we will talk,” Tite agreed. Hilda looked at Bones and smiled.

“We will.” I got a hug from Hilda as Tite hugged Bones.

“You will look after her for me?” Hilda asked.

“I will. Nothing is more important to me.”

“I believe you, little crock. You are a good man, and a good Alpha. My niece was lucky when the goddess chose you for her. I feel safe leaving her for the first time since her mother passed away,” she told me.

“Thank you. It means a lot to me,” I said. We took a step back, and I pulled Tite close.

“Alpha Nash, Luna Tite, as the High Priestess of the House of Aten, I extend our eternal friendship to your pack. May Aten and Selene always shine their light on you and your pack,” she said.

“High Priestess Hilda, we thank you and extend our pack’s eternal friendship to the House of Aten. We hope your journey will be short and uneventful,” Tite replied. We waved and watched them drive away. I looked down at Tite and saw a tear roll down her face. I felt a sting of panic and pulled her into my embrace; she hugged me tight for a moment.

“Do you want to go up to the apartment for a while?” I asked as I rubbed her back. She shook her head.

“Let’s get back to the others. I’m not really sad, well, a little, but not a lot. They looked happy,” she said.

“They did,” I agreed and led her back to the party.

The sun was starting to climb over the horizon. There were still some brave pack members in the backyard, celebrating.

“I think it’s time for bed,” Graham told us. Bella looked only half awake.

“I think that makes a lot of sense,” I agreed.

“Thank you all for celebrating this with us,” Tite told the other Alpha pairs.

“It has been an amazing night,” Amber said. Tite and I walked up to our apartment.

“It was supposed to be our first night here,” she pointed out with a giggle. I smiled.

“It will just have to be our first morning. How tired are you?” She looked over her shoulder at me as she walked towards the bedroom.

“When you look at me like that, not tired at all,” she told me and held out her hand. I had the best mate, the best pack and the best life.