“There’s no point in hoping when it’s true,” she said. “Now get that baby back to its mother. By the way he’s squirming, I’d say that he’s getting hungry.”
“You’re probably right.”
Taking her advice, I returned inside. The nursery, however, was now empty. The bed where I had left Jane was vacant and even a little bit cold. Where could she have gone?
Jayden started to fuss. “Shh,” I whispered, as I held him against my chest. “We’ll find mommy in just a second.”
I checked Landon’s room because that was the only other place where I thought she’d be. And my suspicions proved correct. She was snuggled underneath the comforters. Landon’s arm was slung over her body. I smiled.
“Is there room for two more?” I asked.
Jane lifted her head off the pillow and looked at me with sleepy eyes. I didn’t wait for her response. Instead, I eased onto the very edge of the bed and sandwiched Jane between our bodies. “You’re going to push Landon off the other side!” she exclaimed.
“He’ll be fine,” I said, dismissing her concern. She shot me such a glare that if looks could kill, I’d be dead three times over. “Oh, and Jayden is hungry,” I added, in hopes that it would distract her because she looked about ready to push me off the bed and the hardwood floor didn’t look very comfortable in the case of a fall.
“Is that right?” Her voice rose in pitch as she talked to the baby. In an instant, she was making funny faces and cooing about his button nose. “Your mommy’s hungry boy, aren’t you?” As soon as she brought him to her breast, he latched on, sucking away. He was a shifter, true to my own heart.
“That’s my boy.” Jane and I were both surprised to hear Landon’s voice. It wasn’t quite ‘his’ voice with all the roughness but it was still obvious who it belonged to.
“You’re awake,” said Jane.
He chuckled. “So I am. I think Cynthia has been drugging me into unconsciousness.”
“She’s just trying to help.” Jane pressed her hand to his forehead. “How are you feeling? I can’t quite tell if you have a fever or not. You feel pretty hot to me.”
The grin on his face deepened. “Hot you say?”
“Even on your death bed, huh?”
“Where else?” he countered. “When your mate calls you hot, you take that compliment and you run with it.”
“Sounds like someone is feeling better,” I commented, with a certain sense of relief.
“I am.”
“Good, because I’m going to need your help running this new pack. Everything is okay for now but I’m sure some issues are bound to crop up. We’ll need to assign duties and come up with a system for keeping everything organized.”
Jane slapped my shoulder. “He isn’t even fully recovered yet and you’re already bombarding him with work. Keep it up and you’ll overwhelm him into another round of unconsciousness.”
“It’s fine, Jane. I need to know what is going on. Cynthia can’t keep me confined to this bed forever.”
“She’s just waiting for your wounds to heal.”
“Right…” he pulled Jane a little closer. “Will you guys stay the night? It helps to have you around.”
“Really?” Jane cocked her head to the side. “Why haven’t you told us.”
“I didn’t want it to seem like I was being needy.”
“Oh, Landon.” She handed me the baby and gently pressed her lips against Landon’s. “If you need help, you shouldn’t feel ashamed when asking for it. We’ll stay as long as you need us to.”
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all,” she answered. “Right, Roman?”
“Right,” I confirmed. “Everyone wants you back on your feet — including me. And if that means clinging to the edge of this bed all night then that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
“I’m the luckiest wolf in the world,” he said. I could tell that he was growing tired by the way his eyelids were drooping. He could barely keep them open.