Hunter filled their glasses with ice. “Have you tried adding sugar?”
Dove smirked. “No one eats shells.”
“Oh, right. At least you cook good spaghetti.”
“Sauce might be cold.”
Kai returned. “Cold spaghetti’s the best.”
Dove pointed. “What are you wearing?”
The holey, white shirt stopped above his outie belly button. Strings hung loose from the short sleeves and ripped neckline.
Kai smacked his abs. “I’m going for the Hulk look. You like?”
“No, thank you.” She squeezed Hunter’s hand. “I’m more of a Captain America girl, minus the technically being old part.”
Hunter kissed her knuckles.
Kai cleared his throat. “Sure you two should be in the same room together?”
“The kitchen?” Hunter grabbed parmesan.
Dove finished pouring sweet tea. “We’ve been together four and a half years without passing 1st base. We’re fine.”
“Looked like 2nd when I walked in on y’all yesterday.”
They sat, Dove and Hunter blushing. They hadn’t meant to, but being home alone for the first time tempted their hands to roam.
Dove stirred her spaghetti. “Our clothes stayed intact. We’ll call it a gray area.”
“It won’t happen again,” Hunter said, but the sly grin he gave Dove suggested otherwise.
Dove frowned at the lack of garlic toast. Darn power outage.
Kai ripped his sleeves further for more mobility. “I brought it up with my dad.”
Hunter tensed. “You told Wulf!”
Kai showed his palms. “Not like that. He’d have Dove out of here in a second. I told him you two should get the next lover’s license.”
Dove pointed her fork at him. “Without consulting us? Who says we want one?”
Marriage meant not having to stop, and celibacy became harder with age. But making love wasn’t reason enough for a lifelong commitment. And though she trusted Hunter more than anyone, she wasn’t 100% certain she should marry him. It’d be harder to lose him in war.
Hunter cast off her rejection. “I thought Wulf held you back. You requested to speak with him?”
“He asked if I’ve been breaking the rules. There’s a rumor the prince is sick, but it’s just a cold. There might not be an imbalance. I told Dad I haven’t.”
Hunter squinted, food untouched. “So you mentioned a lover’s license instead?”
Kai twisted his noodles. “Yep, and he agrees.”
“He agrees! Wulf the most stubborn, loveless man in our pack agrees?”
Kai shrugged. “Not loveless. Just doesn’t show emotion. Dad says revealing them shows weakness.”
Dove smirked. “Sounds like my mom.”
Lightning struck their backyard. Dove jerked, spilling a dribble of tea. “My heart stopped.”
Hunter’s and Kai’s hair sprouted, wolf ears pointed, teeth descended, claws extended, and blue eyes blazed—a startling change for Hunter’s otherwise brown eyes.
Dove observed their mid-shift form. Unlike the elder wolves who could full-shift, their body structure stayed human. “Oh, you scared, little pups.”
After a few bites of food, they calmed enough for their wolf features to recede.
Dove held her fork in the air. “Scare. Oh my gosh. The girl was right. It’s fun to scare people. I know how to sell my nuts.”
“You have nuts?” Kai grabbed Dove’s arm. “This changes everything. You’ve destroyed my worldview. I took the red pill.”
Dove choked on her spaghetti.
Kai lifted his hands to the ceiling. “Morpheus, how could you? Give me the blue. Give me the blue!”
Hunter spoke through a mouthful. “What girl?”
“Outside the wolf preserve.”
Kai slapped his thighs. “Come on, that was gold.”
Hunter shrugged. “Light on the details.”
“Go ahead, pretend my genius has left the building. Dove, you got sauce on your chin.”
She wiped.
“So how big we talkin’? These nuts of yours?”
“Same as yours.”
Hunter laughed through his teeth, the sound of water hitting a hot pan.
Kai’s expression fell. “You talkin’ to me?” His hand made a gun signal. “Huh, you talkin’ to me?”
∞∞∞
Dove scarfed her dinner. It was so simple a teenager had suggested it. Only after Dove had tried to con her into buying a super spicy bag full, but the redhead offered her a solution Hunter’s lunch break hello had made her overlook.
Dove passed the porcelain drama masks on her bedroom wall, and she gathered a poster board and markers from her walk-in closet.
Kai knocked on her doorframe. “Ready to make me a blond?”
“I’ll make you blind if lightning strikes again. Wait until the storm passes.” She spread the materials on the bed and drew flaming peanuts. “This will work. It has to.”
“I’m sure it will.”
“Kai, you don’t even know what I’m doing.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re doing it, so it’ll be great.”
Hunter cleared his throat. “You flirting with my girlfriend again?”
Kai winked at Dove, who he saw as a best friend. He once had a crush on her, but Alrik had made dating illegal for future werewolf Heirs of Peace after vampires attacked his lover. Alrik locked up Kai for a week after a game of spin-the-bottle led to Kai and Dove sharing their first kisses. The lock up was unnecessary since the kiss proved to Kai that he and Dove were better as friends. “Someone has to.”
Hunter ran from the table, wrestled Kai to the ground. “What’s that, Prince? I don’t tell her she’s beautiful?” Hunter looked at Dove from his place over Kai. “You’re beautiful, Dove.”
She focused on her drawing. “Y’all are ridiculous.”
Kai licked his lips. “Only for you, baby.”
Hunter pounded Kai’s broad shoulders to the carpet. “That’s how it’ll be?”
Kai resisted fighting, eyes closed.
Dove tried to ignore them, but their little brawl made her flustered.
She’d been friends with Kai since moving to Dewhurst eleven years before but hadn’t paid much attention to Hunter despite being aware of him the whole time. He acted mute around her, though she caught him trifling with Kai a few times. She thought he hated her and resented Kai forcing him to come on their outings. It turned out, Hunter was the one who invited himself. He didn’t talk to her, because he was shy.
After she and Damon broke up, Kai organized a weekend camping trip for them, Hunter, and October. When the day came, Hunter was the only one able to go with her. She cried, and the mute boy talked with her the whole way to the campground and throughout the trip. By the time they came home, they were a couple and Kai had won $50. The whole trip was part of a long-standing bet he’d made with October that Dove and Hunter would fall for each other.
Kai’d fought the pack to let her move in when she left her coven. They allowed it with the stipulation that if Dove ever broke pack law—including no sexual contact beyond kissing without a lover’s license—they’d exile her.
Hunter turned himself before farting in Kai’s face.
Kai choked and pushed Hunter’s butt off him. “How old are you? That’s disgusting.”
Hunter’s face turned red.
Dove kept her head lowered, crossing the final t.
Her mattress shifted as Hunter sat on the edge. She tossed a marker at him. The rules forbade him to enter her room without Kai, especially when the conditions outside made the room full of shadows. “Better be glad I’m done.”
He kissed her forehead. “Prank peanuts?”
“So bad, it’s funny.”
Rain continued to pelt their roof. Dove touched Hunter’s scruffy chin. Their eyes locked. Time slowed. Her soft, warm lips met his. His hand traveled her side as they fell like an A, careful not to damage the
poster.
A few kisses later, cool water splashed their faces.
“You did not just wet my bed!”
Kai grinned. “You can sleep in mine.”
As Hunter dried his face and moved the poster, Dove chased Kai to his room. He plopped stomach-first onto the bed, grabbed his covers, and rolled. “I am under the protection of the Grandmaster Burrito.”
Kai had trapped his arms.
Dove threw herself on top of him. “The Grandmaster can’t protect you from my love.” She planted kisses around his face.
“Dove!”
They froze. Dove had just broken pack law multiple times.
∞∞∞
Kai paled. Dove kissing him when the Prince of Vampires was sick could upset the balance enough to start a war. “I can’t—”
Dove hyperventilated. Contact with Kai was 100x more potent than with non-Heirs.
Kai unrolled.
Hunter swallowed. “You can’t tell.”
Dove sat at the edge of Kai’s bed, head going dizzy. Hunter knelt in front of her, cupping her cheeks. “Breathe. He won’t say anything.”
“I’m a bad liar.”
“Kai, they’ll take her away. So what if the prince gets weak? It’ll make it easier for you to kill him.”
Kai wiggled out of the sheets. “We’re not ready for war.”
Dove choked on a sob. “Do what you need to.”
“No!” Hunter’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Look at me.” His eyes were vacant. “You were just messing around. It’s not the same.”
Kai let out a long breath. “With great power comes great responsibility.”
“This isn’t the time for Spiderman quotes!”
“I’m supposed to do what’s right no matter what.”
Dove wiped her tears. “I’ll still love you if they kick me out.”
“They wouldn’t trust you around me,” Kai said. “If you get exiled, that’s it. You’ve already disavowed the coven. You’d have no one accountable for you. They’d wipe your memory of all things magic.”
Dove’s chest ached. “I know.”
Hunter’s voice cracked. “She’d forget me. I’d never forgive you.”
Kai exhaled. “You didn’t let me finish. I’m supposed to do what’s right no matter what. Even if that means breaking the law. We’re not telling them anything.”
“Are you sure?”
Hunter’s brows furrowed. “Don’t make him question it.”
“He never breaks the rules.” She knew the weight of secrets. She couldn’t force him to carry it, even if it meant losing them both. It might be better if he told. Maybe that’s why she’d kissed him. Dove forgetting them would be so much easier than remembering them after a senseless death. One she’d seen a hundred times in her sleep but could never allow herself to reveal to them.
“I haven’t.” Kai took Dove’s hands. “You kissed me. If they ask, I can still say I didn’t do anything.”
“Smart.”
Kai squinted. “Just don’t kiss me a third time.”
“Third time? Oh yeah. My first party in Dewhurst.”
“What?”
Dove ignored Hunter. “What were we, twelve?”
“Yeah. First kiss. First lock up.”
“Oh,” Hunter said. “I forgot that was Dove.”
“Lock up?”
“Don’t worry. It was worth it.”
“Kai,” Hunter warned.
“And you’re not mad at me this time? I didn’t kiss you against your will?”
“Dove, I’d let Minerva kiss me at this point.”
Hunter growled. “My girlfriend, now my mom?”
“I wish it didn’t have to be like this. That’s all.”
The rain stopped.
“Okay,” Dove said. “Let’s do your hair while we still have light. I’ll meet you by the living room window.”
∞∞∞
Dove found it hard not to cry while bleaching Kai’s brown hair. She’d made exiling her easy for the werewolves. Last night with Hunter. Now carelessness with Kai. She wanted to stop the worry. She hated herself for it. Hunter and Kai would despise her wanting to erase them and herself.
Kai chose her over the law. She had a hard time trusting unconditional love because her adoptive parents never gave it. Kai did. So did Hunter. They kept her safe. Even through a storm, their presence relaxed her. She didn’t have the guts to give them up.
“Thank you, Kai.”
“For what? I’m not doing your hair.”
“For being you.”
He tilted his head. “Don’t cry.”
“It’s just—”
He caught her wrist before she could wipe her eye with bleach. “I know. I love you, too.”
“This sucks. I wanna hug my best friend.”
“When this war starts, I promise you the first one.”
Flashes of him bleeding out entered her mind. Dove had to take a suck-it-up break in the bathroom. Kai and Hunter looked close to the dream version of themselves, though Hunter’s hair was short and Kai’s bright-colored. Their time was slipping away.
Chapter 3
Premonition
Dove gasped awake, choking on her own bile. She sat up and touched her sweaty chest. Her heart stammered as she struggled for air. She swallowed and swallowed, too fast to do anything but exhaust herself. Tears surfaced.
Lights and air kicked on.
The rancid acid charred her throat. She grabbed a water bottle and drank until the vomit washed away, stopping her throat’s reflexes.
She broke free from Death’s grip and crept to Kai’s room.
Laying on his stomach, Kai’s chest rose and fell, the movement barely perceptible. He snored.
Scared to trigger a relapse, Dove inhaled slowly.
In the adjacent room, she found Hunter curled on his side. The tension in her chest withered.
She laid beside him on top of the covers, arm wrapped around his chest. He moved his hand over hers.
She kissed the nape of his neck and waited for him to speak. Minutes, perhaps hours, passed with her cuddled beside him, but he didn’t wake.
Feet padded to the hallway. She held her breath. If Kai found her in Hunter’s bed—
She eased away from Hunter, tip-toed to the hallway.
“Dove?”
Kai stood in the bathroom with the door open. The sink blocked her from seeing his private, but she startled.
She held a finger to her lips.
Kai bit the inside of his cheek and curled his toes.
∞∞∞
The storm left debris in its wake. Branches blocked the driveway and covered the carport floor. A few shingles laid in the yard. Dove grabbed a broom from the outdoor storage room where they housed their lawn mower and four-wheelers.
Kai found her sweeping.
Though the sun had yet to rise, Dove acted as if the task demanded her attention.
Kai rubbed the back of his neck. He wore boxers, standing barefoot on cool concrete.
Dove winced. “Kai.”
“How long have you been sleeping with him?”
“I haven’t.”
“It’s 3am.”
“He didn’t know I was there.”
“What?”
“He’s a deep sleeper. I needed him.”
Kai dragged a hand through his freshly bleached hair. “You can’t keep putting me in this position. I love you, but it’s not fair to me.”
She faced him. “What do I do?”
“Marry him.”
She huffed, sweeping. “Even if I wanted to, we don’t have the money.”
“Yes, you do.”
Dove crossed her arms.
“Have you ever wondered how we pay rent when you come up short?”
“Hunter lets me pay him back the next week.”
“And where does that money come from?”
“We’re frugal.”
“Not as much as you think. When you ask for a loan, he usu
ally asks me.”
“So you’ve been covering the difference?”
“Not exactly. Wait here. There’s something I should show you.”
∞∞∞
Kai watched Dove read the notes. Her face showed a full range of emotions.
Kai,
Our boy has left the roost, and I’m afraid he’s too prideful to ever ask us for help. You’re his best friend and the only one he’ll share his struggles with. Minerva and I have been saving for years. We thought he’d need money for college, but he pursued other avenues. Nevertheless, he’s our son, and we’re proud of him. However, it may take a few years for him to be responsible with his finances.
For this reason, I’m entrusting you to manage his savings account. He knows nothing about it. We want to keep it that way. Loan him money when he needs it, but make him pay you back. Deposit the money into the account. It grows interest. Wait until he settles down and starts a family or a business to give him access.
Gabe
Dove,
If you’re reading this, I’ve died. I’ve known for a while that my Hunter would marry you. I see it in his eyes. It’s the look Minerva accused me of giving her when we first dated. I want you to know that I bless this union. Your dad wasn’t there when you needed him. I always will be, even if I’m gone.
It’s tradition that the bride’s family pay for the ceremony. However, the Riddles do not approve of Hunter. I don’t see them changing their minds since they root their dislike in prejudice. Therefore, I’ve taken it upon myself to pay for your wedding.
Enclosed is a debit card with $25,000. Try to save some of it for a down payment on a house. I trust your judgement. Kai will know when to give this to you.
Love,
Gabe, your future dad (no need for the in-law, daughter)
Dove read the sign-off multiple times. “I can’t believe it.” Hunter showed thoughtfulness frequently, but Gabe—
“Dove, the money is there. There’s nothing holding you back but yourself.”
She scowled. “What do you mean holding myself back?”
Kai squeezed her shoulder. “I’ve been your best friend for eleven years. Don’t play coy.”
Dove swallowed. “October is my best friend.”
Kai tilted his head, suspiciously.
Werewolf Wedding (Generation Wars Book 1) Page 2
