Leo growled and shoved his sleepy brother into Burkhart. “Be a good brother, Burk, and throttle him, please?”
“With pleasure.” Burkhart laughed and maneuvered Thorwald into a headlock so he could mess up his hair.
“Not the hair.” Thorwald wiggled and pushed away from Burkhart before smoothing his hands over his blond hair. “Dude, really. Grow up.”
“Thorwald, I’m going to kill you!” Niels, the youngest of the Rocchi children, ran into the garage, eyes furious. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Leo covered his mouth to hold back the laughter. His omega brother’s hair was baby poop green.
Burkhart whined but kept his lips pressed together.
Leo’s sister Rosemarie was the last into the garage. She ran an eye over Niels’s hair and shoved Thorwald. “Dye in the shampoo? Good one.”
Leo and Burkhart’s eyes met and neither of them could hold it in any longer. Laughter filled the garage.
“I hate you all.” Niels stomped his feet. “I’m going to get Sonny to turn your heads into pecan pies. Let’s hear you laugh then.”
Four hours later, Leo and his family gathered around a table and ate lasagna in the breakroom. Ravenpaw’s considerable bulk stretched along the middle of the table, and the black cat happily nibbled on his treats.
“Sonny’s food always makes me feel good,” Rosemarie said before taking another bite.
“Me too,” Leo’s mom, Katrin, agreed. “Speaking of Sonny, did you send the reminder e-mail, Coleen?”
“Of course. I even remembered to send it to the Blackwoods and the other witch families we know.” Coleen gave them a smug look and slid Ravenpaw a bit of sausage. “I got a reply from the Blackwood.”
“Huh?” Thorwald eyed her. “There’s only one?”
“No, you nitwit.” Coleen leaned forward, eyes bright. “The head of the Blackwood family. He lives in Haverdell and is one of the senior members of the Witches Council.”
“Really?” Leo almost missed his mouth with his fork. “Is he sending someone?”
Coleen shook her head and leaned back. “He has business to handle near here, so he’s coming to celebrate Litha with us. He even offered to do the scrying for Sonny, but I told him that Sonny would probably want Myrtle to do it. He was super nice.”
“I’m glad he’s not a dickhead like some of the other witches,” Katrin said. “Our Sonny deserves to be accepted as he is.”
“Well, the man’s from Haverdell, so he’s used to seeing different species mating and marrying one another,” Burkhart said, fixing a second plate of lasagna. “Thorwald and I will try to keep the rest of the family in line, but you know how they get when it’s a celebration.”
“This Litha celebration is going to be the best surprise.” Coleen clapped excitedly. “Myrtle will do the Litha scrying for the baby and the protection blessing for Sonny, all his friends and family will be there, and, of course, we’ll have a bonfire and dancing.”
“Grandma invited Maddel and the rest of the neighbors,” Rosemarie whispered. “Who wants to be the one to break it to Sonny that gnomes are coming to the Litha celebration?”
“Not it,” Leo said, standing quickly and running to the door with his lasagna. “Not it, not it, not it.”
That evening, Leo parked his truck at the apartment complex, then got the empty lasagna pan from the passenger seat and let Ravenpaw out of his travel carrier. “Come on, Rav. Let’s get inside and out of this damn heat.”
“Meow.” Ravenpaw hopped out of the truck and started for the stairs.
Leo took a moment to pick some of the Blackwood roses from the bush planted next to the door of their apartment building. It had become an evening ritual.
“Flowers for my sunshine,” he whispered, smiling softly.
He ran up the stairs and found Ravenpaw waiting for him in front of their apartment. “I’m coming. I’m coming.”
A wreath of Hawthorne wood and summer flowers decorated the door. Leo recognized a few of the flowers and remembered what Sonny had told him. “Lavender for love, geranium for protection, larkspur for laughter, and marigolds for happiness.”
He opened the door and let Ravenpaw in first, before entering and closing and locking the door behind him.
Sonny was asleep on the couch, curled around Flufflepuff. A plate with the remnants of carrot cake sat on the table.
Leo bent and kissed Sonny’s head before tucking a throw around him. He grabbed his phone and ordered delivery from the Indian restaurant down the road. Sonny would likely wake up hungry, and he seemed to always want either strawberries or chicken curry.
When the order was placed, Leo sat on the edge of the couch and lightly ran his hand over Sonny’s abdomen. Soon, Sonny’s body would begin to more noticeably change, but Leo could already see tiny changes in his mate.
I hope Sonny likes the surprise, he thought absently. His mate deserved Leo’s absolute best, and he swore he would always give it to him.
Chapter 3
Sonny sipped his tea and fought back a yawn. “Why do we need to leave so early?”
Leo looked up from where he was packing the last of Flufflepuff and Ravenpaw’s toys. “Grandma really wants to see you.”
Sonny hummed happily and shook the bangles on his wrists. Janine had sent them to him last week. “I love her.”
Leo leaned in and kissed his cheek. “She loves you too. Now, get a move on, sunshine.”
Sonny looked around, eyes narrowed. “I don’t see the honey cakes I made last night. Really, Leo? Those were for the trip. Now what are you going to snack on while you drive?”
Leo winced. “They looked so good, and I hadn’t had breakfast yet.”
Sonny fought back a smile and opened a cabinet. “You’re lucky I made extras.”
Leo’s face brightened. “Yes! You’re the best mate ever.”
“You bet your sweet, bitable ass I am.” Sonny grabbed more of his tea mixture while he was thinking about it. “I wish Aaron, Gemma, and Wendy were coming with us. I don’t know why they needed to go to the beach this exact weekend. They didn’t even say goodbye. Everyone is too busy to celebrate Litha, and it’s not fair.”
Sonny tried not to scowl. He really didn’t mind spending the holiday with Leo and his grandparents, but he’d gotten a little spoiled over the past year. Everyone in the family loved get-togethers and celebrations, but no one could join them at the farm.
Leo pulled him into a hug, his warm hand soothing against Sonny’s back. “Don’t think too hard on it, sunshine. I’ll carry our bags down to the car.”
Sonny picked up the extra-large cat carrier. Ravenpaw and Flufflepuff liked riding together when possible.
Leo dropped the bags he had just picked up and rushed over. “I’ll get that, love. Don’t worry about carrying anything to the truck.”
Sonny eyed him. “When did I become a delicate flower? I can carry the damn cat carrier.”
Leo gave him a nervous look and picked his bags back up. “If you’re sure.”