In Need of Love

Chapter 16

"Our mate has been pretty patient and understanding the last few weeks," Cassian said absently to Harlan.

The pair was working in Cassian's pack house office. They usually rotated between offices, trying to keep things fair between both sets of people.

"Beyond patient. Our whole relationship that we've built, she's been accommodating to our issues."

"We got really lucky. We wouldn't even be talking if it weren't for her."

Harlan closed his laptop lid, moving closer to his friend.

"What are you planning?" Harlan asked curiously.

"I want to do something special for her, but I don't know what," Cassian said.

"It's going to be freezing all weekend. Even in wolf, it's been miserable."

"I don't mind it as much until I have to shift back, and then I'm damp and frozen." Cassian gave Harlan his attention, rolling his chair away from his computer.

"I think Dotty would love anything as long as we're doing it together."

Cassian agreed. He still wanted to plan a little something though.

It would be good for all of them. He had no leads on the Amy situation. It was so weird that he dated someone he had absolutely no information on. What was he thinking? Or maybe he wasn't...

He had been trying to research different drugs that would impact memory, but he had fallen short. Wolves had strong immune systems. They could fight almost anything, so the whole situation was odd.

Amy had to have had a plan, and if that were true, what was it? If he tracked her down, would he be bringing in trouble once again?

Cassian knew that the murder of Harlan's family was all his fault. He didn't want to put Dotty or Harlan in harm's way. He didn't know what to do. For now though, he just wanted to enjoy spending time with his mate and Harlan.

Speaking of Dotty, she entered the office with a knock and his favorite smile.

"Hi," she greeted. She had a tray in her hand that smelled amazing. She brought it closer to reveal a sampling of muffins, cookies and fresh bread.

"There's our sweet angel," Cassian cooed.

Harlan took the tray from her and set it down while Cassian tucked her into his chest. He could feel her little blush from his nickname.

"We were prepping for the kids' school lunches. I brought you all a snack," she said after a moment.

"I can think of a better snack," Harlan teased, not ready to see her blush disappear.

Dotty huffed a bit as she got flustered. "You are teaming up on me. It's not really fair."

"Do you want us to show you fair?" Cassian asked, his nose skimming along her cheek until his lips found hers. She made a cute little noise.

As soon as he pulled back for air, she was passed to Harlan who wasted no time in kissing her.

"Our bed is getting delivered today," he said breathlessly against her lips.

She giggled despite the heat in her cheeks.

"Harlan," she scolded playfully, lightly hitting him on the chest.

"What he meant was, we can officially sleep in our house now, not on that air mattress."

"That was not meant for three people. I can't believe it busted," Dotty gave another gentle laugh, curling her arms around Harlan.

"We need to go over to Harlan's pack house to check on some things there. Why don't you take the truck home in a few hours?" Cassian asked, offering her his keys.

"Okay," she nodded. "I want to finish up at the kitchen, and I'll pack up some of the stuff we will need tonight. If you're going over to Harlan's, you can take the batch of food we made for the kids over there."

Harlan kissed her forehead. "Sounds good, honey."

---

"What's this plan you've thought of?" Harlan asked again, zipping his coat as high as it would go as the wind nipped brutally at his neck and ears. He was glad Cassian gave Dotty the truck. It was too cold, even in wolf.

"I was hoping we wouldn't actually have to go to the other pack house, but since we have a delivery, I guess we have no choice."

Cassian continued, "I want to build some of that furniture that got delivered. I even ordered a few string of lights." He shrugged, like he was a bit embarrassed of his sentimental side.

"That's great," Harlan agreed. "She'll be pretty excited when we get some of those massive boxes out the way. I think the couch is in the middle of the dining area. Who knows where the delivery guys dropped the bedroom set at."

"We've gotten so much work out of the way. I just want to spend the weekend together, with no distractions."

"That sounds good to me," Harlan sighed softly as they finally entered the warmth of his pack house. "It's been kind of a shitty past few weeks, and I know that's my fault because of my moodiness-"

"You had every right to be moody, Harlan. You don't have to have on a front all of the time. That's why Dotty and I are here."

Cassian and Harlan entered the kitchen, swarmed by the older ladies who made a big fuss about seeing their two boys all grown up and sharing a mate. There was a lot of squeezing cheeks and excited chatter, depsite the fact that the two men visited everyone as often as possible.