by CJ Cooke
“None of you has that, though,” River added. “They won’t come to hurt you. I want you to remember that.”
All three kids seemed to sigh in relief, and then with a shrug, Coby grabbed another piece of bacon and shoved it in his mouth.
“But because of this problem and a few other things happening right now, we thought maybe school wasn’t a good idea at the moment, and we’d feel happier if you were closer to the pack,” I told them, only to be interrupted by a loud whoop of victory as both boys jumped off the bed and started to bounce around in excitement.
“That doesn’t mean no more schoolwork,” River added loudly.
The boys were beyond excited right now, and there was no way we’d be able to explain the ins and outs of homeschool to them. They were just happy they weren’t going back to school. Something River had said was niggling at me, though. They needed to learn how to blend in with humans. We had enough trouble without one of our pups revealing themselves to a human.
“Can I go play too?” Abby asked me quietly from where she was sitting beside me.
“Of course, sweetheart,” I beamed at her. “This means you’re going to have some schoolwork now as well. Do you think you’ll be okay with that?”
“Can I do mine with Jacob and Coby?” she asked, fluttering her eyelashes at me.
“Oh, I don’t know, what’s it worth to you?”
“We can make cookies!”
“Deal,” I laughed. Homemade cookies were the best, after all.
The kids were quick to run out of the room and into one of their bedrooms, Jacob was talking about starting to build a life-sized lego fort, and even Tanner’s eyes had lit up at the idea. I had no doubt he’d be slipping away soon to go and play with them as well. He was such a big kid at heart.
“I suppose we’re going to need to set up somewhere for homeschool now,” I sighed. This was enough to cure a girl of her love of shopping.
“I think Holly already started,” River told me as he gathered the remnants of breakfast and pulled a face of disgust as he retrieved half a pancake out from his sheets.
“How are you going to cope with going to school by yourself?” Tanner laughed.
“I’ve been thinking about maybe quitting,” River shrugged.
“What! Why? You love that job,” Tanner gasped. Sitting bolt upright from where he’d been lounging on the side of the bed.
“I did. But I feel like I want to be closer to the pack and the pups right now. Jacob and Coby were the only things keeping me at the school this past week. Without them there, I don’t have the excuse to go anymore.”
“Well, maybe think about it and talk to one of us before you make any decisions. I don’t want you to regret this after all of the madness has died down,” Tanner told him, his face lined with concern.
River nodded, clearly not wanting to talk about it right now. Ultimately, it was his choice, but Tanner was right. I was worried that once life went back to normal, he was going to regret this decision.
“Has anyone seen Cassia or Hunter this morning?” I asked, almost dreading the answer.
The sound of her screams would haunt me to my dying day. I’d always thought I was strong. That I’d be able to do whatever it took to protect those I cared about. But hearing Cassia scream out in pain, pain I was causing her, it had come so close to breaking me. It echoed around my head all night, soaking into my dreams and making me relive the whole thing over and over again.
“Hunter came by earlier to speak with Grey about coming to work at the garage,” Tanner told me. “I haven’t seen Cassia, though.”
We all got ready for the day and went our separate ways. River headed to the library to start researching, and I headed to the kitchen for the elixir of life, otherwise known as another cup of tea—okay, yeah, I could admit I might have a mild addiction.
I shouldn’t have been surprised when I saw her because she did live here now, but for some reason, when I saw Holly spreading cream cheese on a bagel, I stopped in my tracks.
“Way to make a girl feel welcome,” she laughed, and I definitely saw her thinking about throwing that bagel at me before she shrugged and shoved it in her mouth. “What are you up to today?” she asked around a mouthful.
“Well, I think I’m…”
“Let me rephrase that; get your ass in gear we’re going to hang out with Jean for a bit.” She cocked her head to the side and gave me a smile which I couldn’t decide was threatening or not.
“Then what I meant to say was, I’m all yours for the morning!” I replied cheerfully.
Truthfully, hanging out with Holly might be just what I needed. Her laid back attitude was easy to be around, and she was one of those people you couldn’t not be friends with.
“Hazar! Follow me, young one,” she cheered as she marched out of the kitchen, bagel in hand.
“I’m pretty sure we’re the same age,” I grumbled as I followed along behind her, not half as annoyed as I probably looked. She was such a weirdo—I loved her.
As soon as we made it out the front door, Holly had demolished the bagel and slung her arm around my shoulders.
“Girl, I cannot believe when we first met, I had no idea your sexy ass could shift into a wolf!” she laughed.
“Yeah, I was kinda fearing for my life back then, so it wasn’t exactly something I advertised.”
She shook her head with a laugh as if that was the most ridiculous thing she’d heard, and we made our way to the nearby cabin where Jean and Blake both lived. Blake met us at the door with a look of desperation on his face and immediately threw his arms around us both, instigating some kind of weird, awkward group hug.
“Don’t leave me,” he whispered dramatically.
Holly responded in the only way I could ever imagine her and threw her head back, cackling at his distress. It seemed the pacing tiger that was Jean was still giving him a hard time. I couldn’t blame her; she had a tiny shifter growing inside her and that did not sound fun at all. Or did it? Trying to shake the insanity from my brain, I reminded myself we already had three pups running around the house, and we didn’t need to add to that chaos anytime soon.
As Blake invited us inside, he was giving me a weird look and nodding at the door. It took me a while to get what he was trying to say before I laughed and said, “I think River might need your help up in the library.”
The look of relief that crossed his face was frankly, hilarious before he shouted to Jean that he was needed and took off like a rabid wolf pack was on his heels.
We found Jean sitting in an armchair in front of the fire with her feet on a stool and blanket tucked around her.
“Typical,” she muttered, “you threaten to peel his ballsack once, and he runs like a frightened puppy.”
Holly dropped down in front of the fire with a laugh, “My go-to is waxing his wolf, always makes him cringe.”
They both cackled conspiratorially, and I couldn’t help but join in as I sat in an empty chair.
“What’s your favourite threat?” Jean asked me with a twinkle in her eye.
“I don’t think I really…”
“Please, that one is too loved up to have to use any threats. You should see how they all get this dreamy look in their eyes every time she walks into a room. Calli has got it made up there,” Holly laughed. “Anyway, that’s not the reason why we invited her here.”
My hackles immediately raised, they invited me here for a reason? I really hoped this wasn’t a mean girl hazing thing because I wanted these women to be my friends, and I didn’t want to have to go all alpha bitch on them.
“You’re right,” Jean grinned, shuffling in her chair so she could get comfortable as she turned slightly to look at me. “So, who’s the best in bed?” she started, resting an elbow on the arm of the chair and propping her chin in her hand as she stared at me.
“Ah man, is this one of those girly gossip things?” I gasped, realising I’d got myself into far more trouble than a mean girl bitching
session. This was… girl talk!
“You know it!” Holly cheered. “Now, forget that lame question, who’s got the biggest?” she asked, waggling her eyebrows at me.
“I mean, they’re all pretty, what, wait, no! We can’t talk about that,” I laughed, shaking my head.
“We definitely can,” Holly said, looking outraged. “Nash is hung, girl! Once you go shifter, you never go back, am I right?”
“Definitely,” Jean agreed. “Do you think I’d be in this state if Blake didn’t know his way around my…”
Thankfully we were interrupted by a knock at the door, and I dived out of my seat to answer it before she could finish her sentence.
“I think you scared her off,” Holly laughed.
“Me! You were all with the hard questions first.”
I left them bickering and opened the door to find Cassia standing there. “Run while you still can,” I whispered, only for her to give me a confused ‘I’m pretty sure you’re crazy’ look.
“Cassia,” cheered Holly. “Come in, come in!”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I muttered as Cassia stepped past me shaking her head.
“Calli was just about to tell us who out of her three, the lucky bitch, mates has the biggest cock and then we want to know who uses it the best.” Holly’s grin was bordering between crazy and evil, and I was starting to realise that these girls, when alone together, were a force to be reckoned with.
Cassia turned to me with an alarmed look on her face, but I just dropped into my seat without any sympathy. “I warned you,” I laughed as she seemed to glance back at the door, almost like she was considering an escape.
“Don’t you think the more interesting question is whether Cassia and Hunter have sealed the deal yet?” I asked, sidestepping this nightmare like a pro.
“Nice try, you first,” Holly said, reaching forward and nudging me with her foot. “But then, yes, we need to know that next.”
“Fine, Grey and all three of them are amazing,” I huffed petulantly, just getting it over with. I wasn’t sure why I was really annoyed, though.
“I knew it,” Holly crowed.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Cassia said, sitting on the sofa with a triumphant look on her face. “You said three. At my last count, you had four mates.”
Oh shit! Was it bad that I’d forgotten Maverick? Yeah, it definitely was.
“Oooo, better gossip,” Jean said, looking infinitely happier than she had when we arrived.
“Oh, she went there!” Holly cheered, “Man, I really wish we had cocktails for this.”
I sank back in my chair, and as soon as they saw the look on my face, the others immediately switched from happy and joking to supportive and kind. I suppose this is why you did girl talk.
“It’s okay, Calli, you’ve only just met him. No one is expecting you to forge a bond with him straight away,” Jean told me gently.
“It’s just… it’s just so fucked up. He’s Tanner’s brother. Everyone is kind of walking around the subject like it’s not really messed up that they didn’t even know each other existed. And Grey doesn’t trust him. I just don’t know what to do. It feels like I’m betraying the others if I try to get closer to him.”
I looked up at this group of women and saw nothing but support on their faces. Why had I not thought to talk to them before, to ask for their advice?
“Maybe you just need to give yourself a break,” Cassia suggested. “The pack is facing a lot right now. Your Council is one of those things, and Maverick’s link with them will be twisting how everyone feels about him. Is there really any desperate urge for you to forge this bond straight away? Why can’t you just take it slow? Give yourself a chance to get to know him, give the pack a chance to get to know him.”
“She’s so wise,” Holly loudly whispered to Jean before they both started to cackle again. “Now, back to Hunter’s dick.”
“I’m afraid that’s the longest she can manage to be a grown-up for,” Jean laughed, smiling down at her friend.
“Have you two always been friends, or did you meet through the pack?” I asked, wanting to know more about the two of them.
“This is a small town. It’s hard not to know everyone around the same age as you,” Jean told me, “but we probably didn’t become proper friends until this one hooked up with Nash, and it got serious enough for her to find out the truth.”
“Hey,” Holly protested as Jean shoved her with one toe, “keep those swollen cankles off me. This is my fancy hoody. I don’t need your foot smell all over it.”
“You love my foot smell,” Jean laughed, waving one foot under her nose much to Holly’s disgust.
“Girl, if you weren’t pregnant right now,” Holly laughed.
“Ah, bring it ya skinny bitch. I can still take you.”
“Exactly! You’d crush me under your enormous stomach!”
Jean’s evil laugh came back out to play, and even Cassia was grinning at the pair and their bickering. I think it was actually the first time I’d seen her relax. It probably didn’t help that for the majority of the time I’d known her, she was injured or basically dying. Kind of takes the joy out of the moment, I suppose.
We spent the rest of the morning much in the same way. Holly and Jean were constantly sniping at each other in good humour, and it was nice to see Cassia relaxing into the group. This was going to be her home, and she deserved to have friends here. Friends weren’t exactly something she’d had the luxury of back in her old coven from the sounds of it. In fact, friends weren’t really something I’d ever had a great deal of. I was always worried about letting slip something I wasn’t supposed to, and it was just easier to be alone. I didn’t think I’d realised how much I’d missed out on not having a group of girls around me. There was something to be said for this girl talk thing.
By the time Blake came home before lunch, Jean was relaxed and glowing, and he looked all the more relieved to see it.
“Right, I need to make sure Tanner isn’t letting the kids have ice cream for lunch,” I told them as I stood up and stretched.
“You might want to hurry then,” Blake said, laughing when he saw me roll my eyes.
Honestly, I have no idea how Tanner functioned as an adult on his own up until this point.
“I’ll come with you,” Cassia said, jumping up out of her seat. “I’ve got an idea I want to talk to everyone about.”
“Oh, everyone, but you’ve not told us,” Holly laughed. “I see how it is.”
“You're welcome to join us in battling the shadow demons,” Cassia smirked.
“I would, but someone needs to look after Jean,” Holly told her seriously. “Otherwise, I’d be kicking ass and taking demon names!”
This was all followed by some strange barking noises as Cassia, and I backed out of the cabin slowly to leave the cackling duo to their madness.
“Humans are strange,” Cassia mumbled as we headed up to the house.
“I’m pretty sure it’s just Holly that’s like that. And maybe Jean… maybe it’s catching!” I joked.
When we got inside, the house was quiet, which considering it contained three kids under the age of seven, was pretty suspicious. We found Grey, Maverick and River in the library, and I immediately felt guilty for not being here helping out.
Maverick tensed when he saw me walk into the room, and I wasn’t going to lie, it hurt. I thought we’d made progress during the time we’d spent together, but maybe I was wrong. I was neglecting him. I knew I was. But at the moment, I felt like I was being pulled in too many directions and failing at pretty much everything.
Grey and River at least seemed happy to see me. Hopefully, they hadn’t been too hard on Maverick. Cassia was right, and if we all had the chance to get to know each other better, this would be infinitely easier. I could feel that draw to Maverick, the same as I had the other three. The only difference was that I knew what it was this time around. But, if I was honest with myself, I was denying it and tryi
ng to ignore it. That wasn’t fair on Maverick, whose whole life had been blown up. He’d lost everything to come here. The least we could do was show him he had so much more to gain by being here with us.
Just the brief thought of Maverick had my wolf sitting up in response. She was intrigued even if she was rolling her eyes at me now. He may have got off to a rough start, but now we were seeing the real Maverick that lay underneath his prickly exterior, well, let’s just say she was starting to get intrigued.
“I have an idea I want to run past you,” Cassia told Grey, breaking through my thoughts.
He nodded, giving her his full attention. Sometimes it was like he just switched on his alpha vibe. Maybe it was because he was my mate, but some days I didn’t see him like that. He was just Grey to me. But then something like this happened, someone deferred to him, or he took charge, and it was almost like he seemed to grow taller as he stepped into the position of responsibility.
“I think we should be able to summon one of the shadow demons so we can test the moonlight funnel on it.”
No one spoke. Grey because he looked like he was thinking through what she’d said, but River’s mouth hung open in shock, and I was pretty sure mine was as well.
“I take it that summoning one means we’d be able to deal with the thing in controlled circumstances,” Grey asked her.
“Only in that we’d know it was coming, and it would allow Calli to draw in the moonlight charge before it arrived.”
“So, she could power herself up, so to speak, and then shoot when we summoned it to her.” Grey nodded thoughtfully.
“It’s almost like you don’t think I need to have an opinion on this,” I snarked before moving over to the armchairs by the fire. I hated when people talked like I wasn’t in the room.
