Her lips pursed. “I still cannot believe I don’t have better hearing or vision. Ridiculous.”
“Or shift into anything,” I reminded her as the noise grew louder, closer.
“That, too.”
“You’re perfect as you are.” I bent, kissing the corner of her mouth. “Average hearing and all.”
“That was corny,” she said, grinning as she peered at me through a fringe of lashes with those fractured green-and-silver eyes. “But cute.”
A white wolf was the first to burst through the wisteria vines, racing straight toward us. There was no stopping my smile as Delano all but launched himself in my direction.
“Oh, dear,” Poppy murmured, calming the nervous horse.
I caught the damn wolven, laughing as I stumbled back. Delano wasn’t the largest wolven by any means, but he was still heavy as an ox and strong as one, too. I ended up on one knee and tried to—well, calm the furry, wiggling mass that was Delano as he pressed his head into mine.
“Missed you, my man.” Clasping the sides of his head, I held him tightly until a fawn-colored wolven identical to Kieran but smaller in weight and height nudged him out of the way.
My chest warmed as I embraced Netta. She was a little less sedate in her eagerness, only nearly toppling me on my ass once. “Missed you, too.”
“What about me?” came a drawl.
I smoothed a hand over the top of Netta’s head as I said, “Didn’t think about you once, Emil.”
“Ouch,” the Atlantian said with a laugh, and then in a softer voice, I heard him say, “I knew you would get him.”
Looking up, I saw the auburn-haired bastard take Poppy’s hand in his and hold it to the gold and steel armor adorning his chest. For once, I didn’t want to punch his throat through his spine. Only because the adoration in his stare was that of respect.
And because he released her hand quickly.
Other wolven surrounded me, and I gave up, remaining on my knee as they each came to either brush against me or push their head against mine. I gladly waited. For a wolven to do such a thing was a sign of respect, and I was honored to be on the receiving end.
When I was finally able to rise, another emotion rocked me. It was seeing Poppy greeted in the same way—watching her turn to bury her face in the fur of Delano’s neck and then hold Netta tightly to her. Hearing her laughter as the wolven pressed into her. Her acceptance of them—that shining love in her bright eyes—and their clear worship of her did something to my chest and my fucking eyes.
That was my wife.
My heartmate.
Godsdamn.
Clearing my throat, I looked at the tall Atlantian standing before me.
“Held back,” Naill said thickly. “Didn’t want to get trampled.”
Laughing, I closed the distance between us, embracing him. “Good to see you.”
“As it is to see you.” His arm hung around my shoulders. “Hasn’t been right without you.”
I blew out a ragged breath. “But I’m back now.”
“I know you are. Just don’t leave us again.”
“Don’t plan on it.”
Naill gave me one last squeeze before stepping back. He caught my left wrist. The glance was brief, but his amber eyes turned hard. “We’re going to make them pay for this.”
“We are.” I clasped our hands with my other.
When Naill moved to the side, Perry quickly replaced him and pulled me in for a one-armed embrace. The armor he wore dug into my chest, but I didn’t care. Neither of us spoke for a long moment, and then he said roughly, “You look good.”
“Feeling that way,” I told him. “You’ve been keeping an eye on Delano?”
“Always. It’s like a twenty-four-hour assignment.” Perry laughed, leaning back, his amber eyes shining. “Not once did any of us doubt that Kieran and our Queen would find you. Not for one damn second.”
My throat thickened. “Neither did I.”
Exhaling slowly, Perry stepped back and finally looked to where Malik stood. The arm around my shoulders tensed. “Gods, it’s really him.”
“Yeah.” I watched Delano approach Malik. The other wolven watched closely, cautiously. Their uncertainty regarding the Prince hung heavy in the air.
“He looks…” Naill joined us, and I noticed a muscle flexing in Perry’s jaw.
“He looks nothing like I expected,” Emil finished.
In other words, he didn’t look like the messy pile of flesh and bones I had when I returned from several decades of captivity.