It feels weird not to have anything to worry about now, other than the usual I feel for my clients. There’s nothing hanging over me. Goldie looks better than when I first met her. The worry lines around her eyes are gone. Bronaz goes by the shop every day to give a report on how Rayne is doing.

Taran advises him to pass on the message to Rayne to make sure she never travels alone. The muggings always seem to be thwarted when there’s two or more people present. This is verified by Varos who is getting the word out through his social network.

While it has everyone on guard and nervous, a strange sense of peace settles over everyone.

Austin is mere days away from delivering. The red line on his belly is starting to develop. Nyve calls me almost daily to make sure it’s progressing like it’s supposed to.

“I know we keep worrying at this,” Nyve says to me on the phone. This is the third time he’s called since I got on the bus to head to the shop. “We don’t want anything to go wrong.”

He keep saying we but my intuition, and experience, tells me it’s more Nyve.

“It’s understandable,” I assure him. “You’re nervous and this is your first baby. It happens to everyone. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes and Austin and I will talk.”

Although I’m sure the reason I’m going to the shop is to assuage Nyve’s first parent nerves, not Austin’s.

I get to the shop and it only takes one look at Austin to know my instincts are right. He looks like he’s about to eat Nyve.

“Please, Nyve,” Austin says, his voice tight with barely restrained patience, “stop pacing. Don’t you have a client you can work on?”

“Oh noooo,” Varos says sarcastically from his work. He doesn’t even look up except to give a cheeky grin to the woman in his chair. “He canceled his appointments and told Taran he couldn’t possibly work knowing Austin could give birth any minute now.”

“I will hurt you,” Nyve growls.

Varos doesn’t take him seriously, as evident by his laugh.

“Nyve, why don’t you go get Austin his electrolyte drink from the store.” I set my bag next to Austin, mostly to lend moral support.

“You’re just trying to get rid of me,” he grouses, yet he grabs his wallet to do just that.

I wait until Nyve is out of the shop before addressing Austin. “How long has he been like this?”

“Two. Days.” Austin grinds through his teeth. “Is there anything you can do to hurry this process along? I just want the baby out at this point.”

Yeah. This is pretty natural at this point. I cover my laugh by digging around in my pack.

“Is it always this bad?” Austin asks.

“Depends on the person. Some parents it goes slick as oil, others it’s a daily struggle until it’s over.”

“I think I’m both, depending on how well I slept the night before.”

“Sounds about right. Let’s see if Taran is willing to give up his office so we can check your line and see how it looks. Nyve makes it sound like you’re going to give birth right this very moment.”

“Yes, please.” I help Austin up and we head back into the office to give him a final check. Taran is more than willing to leave us in private as he finds something to do in the storeroom.

I listen to the baby’s heart beat, which is strong. Austin’s pulse and blood pressure is a little high but I think that’s more Nyve-related than baby related.

Nyve knocks on the door before peeking his head in. “I got the drinks, Austin. Did you want one now?”

“In a minute. I have to go to the bathroom. Again.”

I leave Austin to it and walk with Nyve back into the shop. He puts the drinks in the small refrigerator near his station. “How are you doing, Nyve? You seem a little more tense than usual.”

Nyve doesn’t look up from what he’s doing. “I am. I’m trying not to drive Austin crazy. I can’t seem to stop myself, though. I’m terrified of losing him. Of losing them both.”

I put a hand on his shoulder. “Nyve. They’re both healthy and fine. The doctor hasn’t pinpointed any issues, and from where I’m standing, he’s looking just fine. He’s tired and ready for the baby to be born and it’s making him short. Things will settle down soon. I promise.”

They won’t go back to normal. Things are never normal with a baby around. Not from what I’ve seen and experienced.

I rub my belly and wonder if I’ll still be this sanguine about the process when I’m ready to give birth to the life developing inside me.

Time will tell.

The door buzzer alerts that someone has come in the shop. Bronaz looks around furtively before he sees me and his face brightens with a smile. He’s carrying two plastic bags with him.

With final assurance to Nyve, I meet Bronaz at his station. “I was wondering if I’d see you before dinner.”

“Here to check on Austin?” he asks, setting the bags on his cart.

“And Nyve. He’s a bit nervous.”

“A bit? Taran threatened to send him home four times today. Without Austin.”

“Oof.”

Bronaz pulls me into his arms, his hand resting on my stomach. “How are you today?”

“Better now,” I say wrapping my arms around his neck. I lift on my toes to give him a cheerful kiss, careful not to get too mushy. The guys can be a bit rough when the PDA gets to be too much. “What’s in the bag?”

“Something,” Bronaz says. It’s clear he wants to avoid telling me.

“I get it. You want to keep it a secret. Fine, then.”

Before I can pull away, Bronaz’ arm becomes an iron band to hold me in place. “I didn’t say to leave.”

I side-eye him skeptically. “What are you planning?”

“Just…have a seat.” He pulls me to sit in his chair. I get comfortable with my feet kicked up and hands folded across my stomach.

He goes back to his bags and rustles around. I can’t see around his broad back and my curiosity is getting the better of me. “Bronaz?”

“Give me a minute, it’s stuck in the bag…”

“Need some help?”

“No. Got it.” Bronaz glances over his shoulder at me. “Close your eyes.”

“Really?”

“Close your eyes, Kuras.”

Fine. With a sigh, I close them and wait patiently.

He grabs my hands and pressed something cool and round into them. “Hold that.”

“Yes sir.”

More rustling.

“Bronaz…”

“Almost done.” There’s a little tugging and then nothing. “Okay, open your eyes.”

Slowly, I crack my eyes, blinking against the bright lights.

It takes me a few moments to resolve what I’m seeing.

“Bronaz,” I say, breathless. “Is this—”

“A Glitterbell plant,” Bronaz says with pride in his voice.

Glitterbell plants were extremely hard to come by. They normally grow in the high altitudes of the northern territory, close to the mid-arctic circle. They’re a tradition of my mother’s dragonkind, the Runic dragons. The tiny white blossom bunches almost glow when held in certain light.

Although they look delicate, they’re some of the most hardy plants in the region. They were not, however, indigenous to the Stelline territory.

“This must have cost you a fortune,” I say quietly. Holding them close, I inhale. The sweet fragrance fills my head. “How did you…”

“You only mentioned your Runic heritage briefly but when we flew to my place the other morning, I noticed your Runic markings and it reminded me. I thought it would be something nice to commemorate the occasion.”

“They’re lovel—what occasion?”

Bronaz glances around the shop and I see all of his partners are there.

He takes my hand forcing me to cradle my plant in one arm. “Kuras. Since the day I met you, you’ve hung in there for me. When I wasn’t sure of myself, much less in this bond we shared, you never wavered. You always believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself.”

Then, he drops to one knee and produces a box. Lifting the lid, nestled inside is a gleaming black titanium band. “Kuras Dustin,” he says in a quiet voice. “Will you consider joining your life with mine for the rest of our lives?”

I’m stunned speechless.

I had assumed after we formally bonded that it settled things for us. Was there a necessity to formalize it further? While I wouldn’t have minded, I was completely fine with that being the tie that bound us.

Now, he’s wanting to make it official in the eyes of the law.

I feel everyone’s gaze on me but my attention is riveted to Bronaz. The bond between us is powerful in ways I can’t put into words and it is strong now as we look at each other.

I hold my hand out for him to slip the ring on my finger. I can’t talk, my voice is gone, so I nod stupidly, a croaked yes is all I can imagine.

The shot erupts in applause. Bronaz is smiling at me and the love I feel from my mate is overwhelming. My eyes prick as the band slips into place on my finger. “It’s perfect,” I whisper.

The guys are abuzz for the rest of the day in the shop. An impromptu feast is thrown together under Taran’s watchful eye. “You could have warned us, ‘Naz,” he says gruffly when he hugs Bronaz. “We would have done something better. Nosko is furious he couldn’t be here to witness this.”

“Tell him I’m sorry,” Bronaz says, his arm comfortably draped over my shoulders. I’m still clutching my plant. “I’ll make it up to him.”

“Damn right you will. I am the one who will have to deal with the fallout tonight when I get home.”

Since the time I first walked in the door to meet with Austin as a new client, I truly feel like a part of Bronaz’ life.

Ronnie rushes in the door and pauses, looking at the spread of sandwiches and drinks. “Someone’s birthday?”

Varos looks up. “Bronaz just proposed to Kuras.”

Grabbing a sandwich section, he flops his laptop on his lap as he settles in Taran’s vacant chair. “Grats, guys!”

I beam up at Bronaz and he kisses me again. “Thanks, Ronnie.”

“Then how about a gift from me.” Ronnie talks around his sandwich which he holds in his teeth as he boots his computer up. “Because I have something for you guys.”

Taran leans on the back of the chair and peers over. “What’s up?”

“So…that guy that Sako and Kuras chased into the woods? I think I got a lead on who it was. Seems like someone was admitted to Stelline Central Hospital the other day with a GSW to the shoulder. Normally, if you didn’t know what you were doing,” he says, pausing to tear off a bite and chew before continuing to type, “you wouldn’t think anything of it, right? Of course right. Well, good thing you got me. I got a picture of him and I’m willing to bet my hacking rig that this is your runner.”

That has Sako’s attention as well as mine and I break away from Bronaz to get a look at the picture.

Ronnie types a few things and then turns his laptop around to me and Sako. “Gentlemen, is this your guy?”

“Son of a piss-bucket mother—” Sako rubs at his face before he turns to me in confirmation. “That’s him, isn’t it?”

But it wasn’t a question because Sako was right.

The guy grinning in the picture is the man I chased out the window and across the yard with Sako. I nod in affirmation.

“Allow me to introduce Carlo Yovan. Our friend here is also a werewolf shifter, at least as much as my intelligence goes. Varos can probably verify that, when he’s not working for a living.”

“I’ll get on that tonight,” Varos says. “Make sure to send me everything you’ve found out.”

“Natch. Anyway. He’ll be in the hospital a few days as they tend that wound.”

Taran crosses arms and tucks his chin in thought. “Is he under guard?”

“Not to my knowledge. He can receive visitors during regular visiting hours.” Ronnie turns his computer around and types on it before closing his laptop with a snap.

“Good,” Bronaz says with a stubborn set to his jaw. “Then we can stop by and have a small chat with him. All friendly like.”

“Finally,” Sako says, punching his palm with his fist. “Something proactive we can do instead of being reactionary.”

I couldn’t agree more. Not that getting Rayne away from them wasn’t important, but pursuing that was very reactionary. They were acting, we were reacting. “Slowly, we’re making progress.”

Taran claps Ronnie on the shoulder and gives him a friendly shake. “Best present you could have brought us, Ronnie. Thank you.”

Ronnie beams up at Bronaz and Taran. “I’m a helper. I like helping.”

The mood in the shop is still buoyant.

Bronaz proposed to me to make our bond complete, we have more information now about these people and actually someone we can talk to.

Sliding my hand across my belly at the life I know is growing inside, I couldn’t have asked for a better wrap for my day. If someone had told me a month ago that I would be happier than I’ve ever been in my life, I would have laughed them out of the room.

Now, everything I ever wanted is mine.

Not bad.

Not bad at all.