The corner of his lips quirked up before he moved out of the doorway and put his back against the wall. “Hey.”
When I pulled my gaze from him, I finally noticed the others. Asher’s eyes were a little wider. Ethan and Isaac’s jaws might as well have been on the floor. Even Miles’ face was blank.
Not understanding, I turned back to Zeke. “Hey, you.”
His eyes grew warm, his face softened a tiny fraction.
“Hey,” Ethan said, his jaw lifting off the floor. “I… we didn’t expect to see you tonight, man.”
Zeke lifted his left shoulder and let it drop back down.
Everyone seemed to struggle to go back to normal as Asher turned back to me.
“You haven’t been alone with Samuel, have you?” Asher asked, bringing us back to the topic.
I tilted my head to the side. “What are you worried about, Ash?”
“I don’t want any of you getting bitten.”
I grinned. “Neither do we.”
Asher’s shoulders relaxed.
Miles shifted, drawing my attention. “But to answer your original question, they’ll be moving out soon.”
I smiled. “Then you’ll have your house back.”
Miles’ eyes shifted away from me to the sink. “Not exactly.”
Asher eyed Miles. “Let me guess. Lucy. She’s still at your house?”
Miles lifted his head. “Yes.”
I went still as the guys shook their heads almost in unison. Lucy was a genius alchemist from New Orleans. She’d lost almost everything in the fire that took the safehouse. Apparently, she had been living there for some time. When she had nowhere to go, Miles offered her a place to stay until she got back on her feet. That was over a month ago, and she was still in his house. And she was pretty. I started tapping the heel of my foot against the cabinet door.
“You need to give her a deadline to move out.” Ethan popped another chip in his mouth.
Asher nodded. “Otherwise, she’s just going to stay there.”
Miles nodded. “I know you’re right. I just… feel bad. She lost everything in the fire.”
“She wasn’t the only one,” I reminded him.
Asher met my gaze as we both remembered Louis. The necro had died in the same fire.
A dark silence fell in the kitchen. It was almost palpable. I chewed on the bottom corner of my lower lip.
The twins continued snacking as the awkward silence settled in the room. Miles shifted his feet while Asher cleared his throat. My shoulders grew tense just waiting for someone to say something about the elephant in the room.
“So, did everyone get their class schedules?” I asked, mostly to break the silence I’d created. Everyone jumped at the topic and pulled out their schedules.
By the time the pizzas arrived, I learned that I had one of them in almost every class this year. Miles answered the door while I followed Asher and Ethan into the family room with napkins. I started to go for the couch with Asher, but I hesitated. Where should I sit? Was it going to cause a problem between the guys?
Isaac stepped through the family room doorway carrying paper plates. He glanced around the room before looking down at me with a glint in his eyes. “You should snag Zeke’s chair while you can.”
I smiled up at him. I loved that twisted side of him.
He winked at me before moving into the room and setting down the plates on the coffee table. I moved around the coffee table and sat in the armchair next to the couch and Asher. Isaac passed out the plates before sitting down in front of the tv on the floor. Zeke strolled into the room and spotted me sitting with my feet crossed under me in his usual chair.
I grinned happily while he narrowed his eyes at me before taking the armchair beside mine. The scent of engine grease reached me as he settled in. My fingers itched to tangle with his. Miles brought the pizzas and set them on the coffee table.
“Eight pizzas?” My eyebrows shot up. “Why'd we order so much?”
“I eat more now, remember?” Asher answered as he opened the box on the top.
“Oh yeah.” I leaned forward and started handing out napkins.
Ethan reached out to grab a piece of pizza.
A growl rumbled from Asher’s chest, freezing everyone in place. Ethan raised an eyebrow and pulled his hand back.
Asher’s cheeks tinted pink. “Sorry, it’s a… wolf thing.”
“Alright, what do you need to get around it?” Miles asked, his voice calm, as if this stuff happened every day.
Asher grabbed his plate and hurriedly picked up several slices as his face burned red. He handed it to me without looking at me and took my empty one. “Serve Ally first, then everyone else.” His voice was so quiet I could barely hear him.
“So, I don’t have to wait in line anymore for you guys and your bottomless stomachs?” I asked cheerfully. I shot a fist into the air in triumph. “Yes!”
The guys chuckled as Asher’s face cooled down.
Everyone began grabbing slices as I settled in my chair and started eating. “I could get used to this.” I turned to Asher. “Does this by any chance extend to ice-cream too?”
He chuckled with the others. His shoulders relaxed as he leaned back against the cushions. “It does.”
“Awesome.” I did a little dance in my armchair. “Do I have any other powers?”
The others started laughing.
Asher met my gaze; that warm silver slipped through the blue. “I’ll tell you later.”
My stomach flipped low and hard at the note in his voice before I winked at him and took a big bite of pizza.
“So, what was werewolf bootcamp like?” Isaac asked as he settled back on the floor.
“Exhausting.” Asher grinned. “A lot of control exercises, note taking, a lot of shifting and getting to know my wolf.”
I turned a little in my chair to face him more. “What’s it like? Having a wolf?”
Asher swallowed his bite. “Well, it’s like…” He put his plate on the arm of the sofa. “It’s like this stranger is living inside you. They have their own habits, their own needs. And they’re not shy about letting you know.”
“So, what happens if you two don’t get along?” I set my slice down on my plate to grab a packet of cheese.
He shook his head. “It doesn’t really work that way. Since the first change, we’re separate but not. It’s like he’s a more… instinctual part of me that’s also my partner.”
Ethan grinned. “Aw, you’ve found your soul mate.”
Everyone burst out laughing again while Asher threw a decorative pillow at Ethan. It was almost as if no time had gone by.
“What do we need to watch out for with you anyway?” Isaac asked before wiping his lips with a napkin. “’Cause I’m assuming humping legs and mange is a bad sign.”
Everyone chuckled again.
“Basically, if I shift to my wolf eyes and I’m growling then back off.” Asher reached forward and grabbed a couple more slices.
“What do those eyes look like?” Miles asked.
“My eyes get lighter and turn into a weird blue-silver color.”
Ethan gestured at Asher while he swallowed the food in his mouth. “Like what happened to your eyes when you started yelling at Tara. Right?”