by A. J. Macey
“Not bad, you can get anything from the bottom row here or you can play again for a chance to get a higher prize,” the carnie explained, her fiery red hair flinging around as she shifted to show me what I won. Humming as I scanned the shelf, I pointed to the little bird stuffed animal. “Awesome, here you go! Any of you boys want a go?”
“Maybe in a bit.” I heard one of them say, but my attention had been caught by one of the performers. It was a pair, a man and a woman with pointy ears and elven features like sharp jaws and cheekbones that could cut glass. One was manipulating fire while the other did water, their movements swirling together as the elements mixed and twirled.
“Wow,” I breathed, mesmerized by their display.
“Like that, Lemon Drop?” Landon’s voice was soft, not wanting to disturb the other viewers around us. “Maybe Logan and I can show you what our energy manipulation looks like some time.”
“Really? That’d be amazing,” I told him. His burned coal eyes met mine, my breath hitching at being his sole focus. My handsome, mischievous daemon, I thought. “How did I get so lucky?”
“I’m pretty sure we’re the lucky ones,” he whispered, his tone serious as he kissed me. “Ready to see some more stuff?”
“Let’s go.”
For the next couple hours, we wandered through the fair playing games, eating lots of spelled treats, and laughing throughout the entire time. Everything was going well until I was coming out of the bathroom building and the sound of scared crying reached my ears, immediately setting me on edge. I ran around the building, not waiting for the guys to notice me. A vampire and a daemon were terrorizing one of the women festival goers, the daemon’s horns and claws on display as the vampire wielded some kind of ice element.
“Hey!” I shouted, running the rest of the way down the side of the building. “Leave her alone.”
“Oh, look. Another human to play with,” the vamp sneered, his sickly sweet, smooth voice angering me. I snarled involuntarily as they tried to reach for me, the daemon’s claws going through a wave of pearlescent smoke when my body reacted instinctively.
“Not a human,” I snapped, punching with my other hand and hitting the vampire in the jaw. His head snapped to the side as I kicked out to the daemon. He jumped out of the way, my foot missing, and Dante’s sudden roaring scared them enough to run the other way.
“Holy shit,” the woman muttered, her eyes wide as she looked between me and Dante’s griffin.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I reassured, my hands going out slowly. “This is my boyfriend, Dante. He won’t hurt you. None of us will. Now, are you all right?”
“Uh, yeah,” she agreed shakily, “a little overwhelmed, but could be worse, I guess. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I told her. “I’m Lucie.”
“Natalie.” I shook her offered hand, moving slower than usual as not to scare her any more than she already was. Because if anyone knew what it was like after being attacked, it was me.
“You from around here?” Hudson questioned. “Or are you just visiting the fair?”
“I live up in Seattle, and I missed the festival two weekends ago when it was near there because of work. My brother is actually waiting for me, so I should probably go meet up with him before he freaks.” She hitched a thumb over her shoulder. “Thank you again.” She left us standing in a huddle, Dante still as a griffin, sitting on the snow. He was massive, his shoulder blades and wings in line with my head and shoulders as he stood from where he was seated.
Wonder if he’d let me ride him because he’s totally big enough for me to sit on his back.
Note to self, ask Dante at a later date about it.
“You shredded your clothes, didn’t you?” I asked him with a smile. He nodded, his eagle beak shining in the overhead sun. “All right, let’s head back. I’m very tired after that and could go for a nap. Not to mention you need some clothes.”
“I’ll drive the Jeep,” Hudson offered. With that, we started toward the parking lot which thankfully wasn’t too far away from where we were, but we got a lot of looks and whispers as Dante prowled through the crowd.
Who would have thought a giant bird lion is a definite attention getter? I thought sarcastically, patting his shoulder blades. I wouldn’t change it for anything though. I kind of like seeing Dante being all macho.
As long as he doesn’t ever turn into Bas or Miguel.
December 30th
Sunday Night
Logan
“Got the list?” Lucie asked, her sapphire eyes darting between the three of us. Her lip had finally started to heal, the scab that extended down her chin less red and noticeable as the healing dark marks slowly faded.
“Yup, don’t worry, Love, we’ll stay out of trouble.” Her skeptical stare made me chuckle. “I pinkie promise,” I whispered, stepping closer and pressing my lips to hers. As I pulled back, she gave me a sassy grin, holding up her pinkie for a swear.
Curling my pinkie around hers, I smiled, loving that she actually wanted to pinkie promise with me. Landon and Hudson gave Lucie goodbye kisses, murmuring their own cute sentiments to her before we started toward the car. We had been tasked with picking up the takeout order from the diner, well… volunteered was a better word since we had some planning to do.
“All right, so now that we’re away from the house,” Hudson started, glancing in the rear view mirror at Landon who shifted forward to lean on our seats, “what all do we have to do for this prank?”
“We’ve got the ingredients pouches from that joke and prank stand yesterday at the fair, just need to sprinkle it over the brownies or cookies or whatever we want it to be on,” my brother explained. “I have one of them in my pocket. Twin, you have the other packet, right?”
“Yup, it’s the…” I paused to pull the small baggie out of my pocket and read the label. “...animal sounds one.”
“Did we want to do both or save one?” Hudson questioned. “I put in an order for some cupcakes for tomorrow that we’re picking up tonight too, and then we can tuck them back in with the rest of the desserts for tomorrow.”
“Let’s do the dancing one! I think it’d be something light-hearted and funny. We can save the animal one,” Landon decided, glancing between us to make sure we were good with that. Light-hearted and fun were exactly what we needed to ring in the New Year. Hudson pulled into the bakery’s parking lot, hopping out quickly before returning with a couple boxes of cupcakes.
“I’m proud of you, dude,” I teased Hudson as Landon opened the pouch, taking a pinch and sprinkling it on top of the black, silver, and gold New Year theme decorated cupcakes. “Walking on the fun side of things.”
“Fuck off,” he snarked, but there was no real bite to his words, and he smiled. “I’m trying to branch out of my comfort zone a bit more, you know, work on being in touch with my emotions and people around me. Wow, that sounded exactly like something my mom would say.” He groaned, making Landon and me laugh.
It might have been very ‘hippie’ of him, but I couldn’t say I was opposed to this new Hudson. We could have lots of fun together to help make Lucie and the guys laugh. What more could you ask for?
11
December 31st
Monday Evening
Lucienne
“Who’s ready to party?” Charlie shouted, shaking around in an attempt to dance. Unfortunately, the effect was lost seeing as how she was holding a giant arm full of balloons so she looked more like a grape having a seizure.
“We are!” the twins yelled in unison, their hands shooting into the air.
“You two have something cooked up, don’t you?” I asked with a brow raise, my lip twitching with the urge to smile.
“They better not,” Dante chastised, giving the twins a glare. They scoffed, looking offended at his assumption.
“Do you not trust us?” Logan questioned in fake outrage.
“Of course not,” Cam countered. “You two are the masters of pranks and all thi
ngs mischievous. You guys are daemons, after all.”
“And risk the wrath of Dante?” Landon followed his brother’s lead making me shake my head. Troublemakers.
“You don’t think they have something planned for tonight?” Cam asked the alpha shifter; Cam’s skeptical expression conveyed how he felt about the twins playfulness.
“I don’t think so, no,” Dante stated, glaring once more at the twins. “Seeing as how this is Abigail’s house and they don’t want to destroy it. Right, guys?”
“All right then, how about a bet?” Cam proposed. “If they be good all night you win, but if they pull something off, I win.”
“What do I get if I win?” Dante and Cam continued to go back and forth, the twins and Nik moving around us to go help Charlie and my mom finish decorating. I knew I should have joined them, but I was having too much fun watching Cam and Dante go back and forth.
“Whatever you want, same as me,” Cam explained with a shrug. “I don’t know what I want yet, but I’m sure I can come up with a few things.”
I wasn’t sure if it was me, or if it was the fact that I was turned on from watching the two of them square up to each other, but Cam’s tone held a hint of something. A promise of something that I definitely wouldn’t mind watching, I thought as I discreetly squeezed my thighs together. Cam’s heated gaze flickered to me, his smirk growing.
Damn him and his enhanced senses.
“All right, you’re on,” Dante finally agreed, his shoulders rolling back as he stared at Cam. “But only so I can rub it in your face later.”
“Psh, I don’t foresee that happening, alpha,” Cam teased, “but go ahead and keep thinking that.” With that, Cam curved around Dante, his chest brushing against Dante’s crossed arms in the process. “I’m glad you enjoyed the show, Doll,” Cam whispered as he walked by me, pecking me on my cheek before continuing into the kitchen area. A shiver worked its way down my spine at the breathy growl in Cam’s words, but I shook off the lusty fog and walked over to Dante who had yet to move.
“You okay?” I murmured, running my fingers over his soft flannel sleeve.
“Uh, yeah,” Dante muttered, shaking his head slightly as if to physically let loose any thoughts in his mind. “Just tired is all, I didn’t sleep the greatest.”
“I’m sorry. I’m trying to get a grip on them, but it’s hard when they’re so strong. Maybe I can talk to Alex or one of the teachers when we’re back about how best to go about handling them,” I rushed to explain, feeling shitty that the guys had been suffering on and off because of my leaking night terrors.
“Don’t be, Firecracker,” Dante reassured, curling me into his arms and holding me snugly against his wide chest. “We’ll figure it out, remember?” I nodded, unable to think of something to say, so for once I ended up keeping my mouth shut instead of burying myself into a grave by social awkwardness. Thankfully though, Charlie saved me, darting into the room and standing on her tiptoes.
“Oh look! Mistletoe! Come on you two, kissykiss,” she cooed in a baby voice, her arm extended over our heads, a bundle of mistletoe clutched in her hands. Chuckling, I shook my head at her. “Come on, boo, my arm’s getting tired.”
“All right, all right, but I don’t need mistletoe to kiss my boyfriends,” I countered, cupping Dante’s jaw in my palms and laying one on him.
“Sweetheart, looks like some more of your friends are here,” my mom called as I pulled away, Charlie darting away giggling. My mom’s head popped around the corner into the living room. “Want me to let them in?”
“No, I got it, you go back to relaxing.” I waved her off, hoping she’d go back into her room to watch some more movies now that the holiday baking orders were complete, but she didn’t, heading into the kitchen to help the guys and Char.
“Lucie!” Sadie screamed as soon as the door was open, squeezing me as if we hadn’t just seen each other a few days ago.
“Ow ow ow,” I hissed, her hug hitting one of the tender spots on my torso.
“Oops, sorry!” Sadie loosened her stranglehold on me, before finally stepping back.
I had missed her colorfulness the last few days, but she seemed even more peppy and happy than normal. Somehow, I thought, didn’t realize that was possible since normally she seems like a toddler on a constant sugar high.
“It’s all right, I missed you too. Hi!” I greeted, trying to not put my foot in my mouth as I stuck my hand out for Harlem to shake. “It’s nice to see you again, not sure if you remember me or not, but I’m Lucie.” Harlem looked the same as the last time I’d seen her, which meant the literal opposite of Sadie. While my roommate was short, curvy, and colorful, her girlfriend was tall, lean, and dressed in all black.
Guess what they say about opposites attracting is right.
“Yes, I remember, came in for a surprise piercing because this little rainbow ball of excitement dragged you there,” she teased Sadie with a sly smile. “It’s nice to see you again as well. Thanks for inviting me.”
“No problem—” I started before I heard a familiar boy shouting outside.
“Lucie and Sadie!” Benji hollered, darting toward the door, but with the ice still on the sidewalk, Benji ended up slipping and sliding. Thankfully though, he saved himself from falling by grabbing onto the railings. Austin chuckled behind his boyfriend, walking up at a more mellow pace. “Phew, that was a close one,” Benji puffed out, breathless from his run and near faceplant.
Benji and Austin greeted Sadie and Harlem, all of us moving into the house instead of freezing in the doorframe. As they interacted, I noted that Benji had truly grown into that social butterfly since the beginning of the semester, no longer opting to stay quiet or avoiding new people, and I couldn’t stop the small smile that took over my face at seeing him so happy.
Seeing all of them so happy.
“Are you five just going to hang out there all day or are you going to come party?” Char shouted from the end of the hall, her face obscured by some obnoxious 2019 glasses.
“You look ridiculous,” I said, shutting the door as the rest of my friends trailed into the house. I had only gotten a few steps down the hall before there was a knock on the door. “I’ll be there in just a second, Char,” I called out to let her know as I turned back to the front door. When the door opened, I felt my jaw drop.
Alex and Jonathon.
“Why hello there, Lucie.” Jonathon tipped his hat as he spoke, his wobbly voice warm.
“Evening, Lucie,” Alex greeted. “I’m sorry to show up unannounced, but I have that item you asked me for.”
“Oh, that’s awesome. Come in.” I stepped back, allowing them access into the house. “Sorry, it's kind of loud, my friends and I are going to celebrate the New Year together.”
“That’s fun, any plans for it or are you just hanging out?” Jonathon questioned taking off his coat and hat. Reaching out, I tried to take them, but Alex waved me off, grabbing them as well as his own coat.
“Just hanging out. I’m sure they have some type of shenanigans planned, but I’m just going to be relaxing. I still get tired pretty easily with all of this,” I explained, gesturing to my bruising.
“Hello there,” my mom greeted, “it’s good to see you again, Dean Renaud. Turning to face Jonathon, she introduced herself. “I’m Abigail, Lucie’s adoptive mom.”
“Jonathon Reiter, ma’am, I work for my great grandson.” Jonathon returned my mom’s hand, but his casual mention of family ties had me looking at Alex with wide eyes.
“Well, welcome, we have food, some music, some TV. A bit of everything really. We have a place for you to put your coats if you want,” Mom continued on as if she hadn’t just been knocked sideways with new information.
“That would be wonderful, thank you!” Jonathon took the coats from Alex’s hands and followed my mom leaving the dean and me alone.
“You two are family?” I murmured, pointing over my shoulder. “Jonathon is your great grandfather?”
&nbs
p; “Yes, it isn’t something we advertise or draw attention to normally. If you could keep that information private, please, we’d appreciate it. He feels a bit more comfortable when we’re farther from campus which is why he didn’t keep it quiet,” Alex explained.
“Is that why you have two different last names?”
“Yes,” he answered, waving a hand down the hall for me to go first. There was something in his answer, something I couldn’t put my finger on that made me question if I had heard the odd tone at all as I walked down the hall.
“Dean Renaud,” Dante greeted with a respectful head dip.
“Hey-o!” the twins hollered, holding up a cup each. “Who needs beverages?”
“Me, please!” I called, holding my hand up.
“What’ll it be, Love?” Logan asked, pointing at me as Landon took the drink order from Sadie.
“Dr. Pepper, please.” Nodding, my boyfriend got to work, putting ice into the cup and pouring from the two-liter bottle. “Thank you,” I told him when he held it up over Char’s shoulder.
“You’re welcome.”
“What about you, Dean Renaud, Jonathon? We have alcohol, soda, water, coffee. You name it, we probably have it,” Landon offered, taking over being the ‘bartender’ for his brother as Logan went to pour more ice into the bin from the bag we had stashed in the freezer.
“Just a glass of water, please,” Dean Renaud stated, his low voice raised slightly to be heard over the buzz of movement around us as everyone got settled around the room.
“Party pooper,” Jonathon teased with a wave of his hand. “What alcohol do you have back there?”
