I pushed myself between Misha and Gemini while Taran pulled at Gem’s arm. “Damn it, baby. Please don’t do this. It’s my birthday,” she urged.
Gemini rubbed at his goatee, clearly agitated, stopping his onslaught at the sight of Taran’s plea-riddled face. He took one of those deep, controlled breaths that helped settle a were’s beast, then another before finally speaking. “If this is what you want, Taran, I won’t deny you.”
Gem regained his calmer disposition, but being were, it wouldn’t last. I could have kicked my own ass for bringing Misha, especially knowing the wolves would be present, and especially on Taran’s birthday. I turned to him. “Maybe you should go. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” I hated asking him to leave. He hadn’t done anything wrong, but I didn’t want any more drama.
“As you wish, my darling.”
Koda and Liam growled. When I’d been with Aric, they’d always teased us when he showed me affection. They didn’t seem to appreciate Misha’s term of endearment or the peck on the cheek he gave me before climbing into the Hummer. Of course, Misha wouldn’t be Misha without leaving with a bang. He rolled down the window and flashed me a wicked grin with a little added fang. “Don’t forget to present Taran with her other gift, kitten. I’m sure she’ll enjoy it as much as her new car.”
Taran’s lids peeled back. “What other gift?” She likely wondered what could top the car.
I hurried to pop the trunk to retrieve the sticky buns. “Umm . . . we’ll talk about it inside.” Oh, geez. Between the attempt on my life and Misha’s ideas of gift giving, there were loads to talk about.
There were several containers of sticky buns. Shayna hefted the one on top into her arms, and Koda carried the remaining five. He blocked my path before I could follow Shayna. “Celia, Aric has been depressed as shit lately. He disappeared last night, furious that someone tried to kill you. When he returned he looked more beat down than ever. I’m worried about him.” He motioned to the stack in his hands. “If there’re extras, would you mind if I take them back to him? It might remind him of better times.”
They reminded me of better times, too. “You can, but I don’t want to cause problems between him and Barbara.”
Koda gave me a hard stare. “There is no him and Barbara. He’s only marrying that egotistical princess because the Elders are forcing him to. Anara especially has come down hard on him—believing another pureblood is just what Aric needs.” He lowered his head when he caught a whiff of my sadness. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have brought up the wedding.”
I looked toward the lake. “I know it’s coming. Barbara sent me an invitation to her bridal shower.” I failed to mention she’d also stuffed a photo of herself dressed in the lingerie she planned to wear on their wedding night with the caption JEALOUS? written in black marker across the bottom. The picture had made me ill. Between that and the wedding invite, I was sure the baby announcements were next. My fists clenched and unclenched. I couldn’t imagine ever being so mean to someone.
Koda lifted his chin. “She did?” I nodded. “I wouldn’t put it past her. She’s always had a vicious streak.” He watched me for several beats. “Aric can barely stomach her. He knows she only wants him for his status among our kind and that she doesn’t care that he’s miserable. If it weren’t for his pack obligations, he’d have nothing to do with her.”
The future that awaited Aric broke my heart. Whether we were together or not, I wanted him to be happy. “I wish the Elders would have chosen someone more to his liking.”
Koda huffed. “Anara didn’t choose Barbara for Aric. He chose her because she comes from a long line of fertile purebloods. Anara’s focus is to help reestablish the were race at all costs. If he or the other Elders gave a damn what Aric wanted, they’d allow him to be with you. You’re who he wants. And you’re who he needs.”
I closed my lids tight, not wanting to release more tears. My tigress rose to the surface, giving me much needed courage, despite how much she missed Aric’s wolf. “We both know that’s not going to happen.” I walked slowly around Koda and into the house. He mumbled a curse and followed me.
My sisters were taking the food out of the oven and placing it along the black and tan granite counter when we entered the kitchen. Bren and Liam met me with smirks and implicit challenges. It was a game my fellow ravenous beasts and I frequently played at chow time. I smiled despite myself. It was great to be around those I loved and who loved me back. The Catholic schoolgirls weren’t cutting it.
My sisters hurried out of the way. Shayna lifted a dish towel from the safety of the family room. “Get on your mark,” she said. The wolves and I crouched. “Get set.” My tigress flicked her tail in anticipation. “Go!”
The wolves and I raced to the stacked plates, playfully elbowing each other in an effort to be first in line. Never get between beasts and their meals. I made it first, my small frame and quick speed allowing me to slip around the snarling pack of “big bads.”
Bren’s growls were especially loud—after all, there were blueberry-stuffed crepes and sausages at stake. Taran shoved us into the family room as we finished filling our plates and then grabbed a few things for herself. I sat on the cream-colored sofa with Danny and Bren and dug in.
“So, witch fire, huh?” Liam said through a mouthful of bacon.
I sipped my milk, then placed it back on the coffee table. “Apparently. There are no signs of anyone entering Misha’s home—”
“Which means one of the unholy bastards tried to snuff you.”
Gee, Koda was pissed. There was a shocker-roo.
“Misha says the lake has been whispering sweet nothings in his ear again,” I said. “Apparently some dark critter sees me as the end to its existence. Did you happen to pick up on any would-be psycho wearing a ‘Celia Wird Marks My Doom’ button when you reviewed the recordings from the surveillance cameras?”
“Nope. I went back a week—nothing unusual near the Hummer.” Koda’s tumultuous brown eyes cut to me and narrowed. He continued making his eggs Benedict his bitch without much comment. I’d tricked him into admitting he’d hacked into the vamps’ surveillance system. And he hadn’t liked it one bit.
“Aric wants you home,” Gemini said. “Once he hears what the vampire has discovered, he’s not going to be happy.”
Without Aric there, home wasn’t exactly the same, even though my sisters remained and the wolves frequently stayed with them. “As an Alliance member, I’m trying to bring down the Tribe just like the other remaining weres, witches, and masters in the coalition. It’s not any less noble because I happen to fight alongside the vampires.”
“The same dead assholes who are trying to kill you,” Koda snapped. Shayna cupped his knee with her long slender fingers, instantly calming him.
“You don’t know that.” My gaze swept the room. “And what’s to say I would be any safer here? Our days of flying under the radar and avoiding the supernatural are long gone, peeps.”
Taran placed her half-eaten plate on our heavy wooden end table, between the picture of our parents and foster mother. “But at least then you’d be with your kind and with your family—where you belong, Ceel.” I could taste an inkling of her bitterness. She hadn’t liked it when I informed them I’d be leaving home to work for Misha, but as the months went by, her dislike had turned to resentment and now loathing.
“I’m not moving back. If someone or something is trying to kill me, I want to keep it as far away from you as possible.” I tried taking a bite of my waffle. It was cold and suddenly didn’t taste as sweet. “Misha wouldn’t be investing so much time in me just to off me later.”