Page 92 of Reaper's Pack

“I can’t speak for anyone, but it’s how I’ve felt since August,” Declan insisted, holding his hands up innocently and stepping back when Gunnar rolled his eyes and Knox growled. “Just saying… I’ve been waiting for the rest of you to catch up for ages.”

I brought my tea up to hide my smile, breathing it in as Gunnar swatted at his packmate.

“We get it.”

“You all said it was puppy love, but here we are—”

“Shut up, Dec…”

Declan swerved dramatically to avoid another smack and then flicked Gunnar dead center in the chest, which kicked off a little shoving match that made Knox sigh before nuzzling his face into my neck, over his mark, not bothering to stop the playful squabbling.

I watched on without a thought in my head.

Just a fullness in my heart.

An ache between my thighs.

Three permanent marks on my skin…

And my favorite tea in my belly.

26

Hazel

“Wow. So that guy is just… takin’ a shit on the sidewalk, huh?”

“Declan.” I pursed my lips, trying not to laugh—a task made infinitely more difficult when Gunnar snorted, both him and Declan watching the human who had no idea he wasn’t alone… shitting on the sidewalk. To be fair, he couldn’t see us, and it was a relatively empty part of Lunadell, the sun only just inching above the horizon, the city still asleep. Based on the cloud cover, we were in for another grey autumn day, the end of October within sight, the trials looming ever closer.

“Focus,” Knox ordered, his beastly tone snapping Declan and Gunnar back into the moment. Three sets of eyes landed on me, and after a week of nonstop sex, sometimes with just one of them, usually with the entire pack, I no longer felt their intense weight on my shoulders. And thank goodness—finally. After all, we were here for work, not play. With only a precious seven days before the four of us had to prove ourselves to an archangel with a stopwatch and a clipboard, these test runs were serious business.

Although… The human to our right taking his sweet time pushing out the longest shit in the history of mankind sort of took the edge off. Clearing my throat, I smoothed a hand down my reaper’s robes with a sigh.

“Okay, you guys know the drill,” I told them in my best serious-reaper voice. “There are five orbs scattered around Lunadell with soul-scent signatures. Your job will be to herd them back to that building.” I pointed to the nearby structure, a warehouse amidst dozens in the city’s south-end industrial zone. “It’s where our tester will be waiting for you. On the day, we’ll be using real souls, so I’ve charmed the orbs to react accordingly. They’ll run. They’ll hide. They’ll attack. You have forty-five minutes to wrangle all of them back as a unit.”

While today was just a practice, something to get the pack familiar with the exact landscape they would be tested on in a week’s time, I wanted them to do well. Needed them to succeed. After all, the bite marks on my shoulders and wrist still hadn’t healed, and by shifter lore, we were fated. These were my boys. The thought of Heaven sending them back to Fenix so they could wait for another reaper to select them, train them all over again, made me want to vomit. Failure just wasn’t an option, and while we might have spent the last week in a bubble of sex and food and murmured conversations in front of a flickering fire, I had seven days to get my pack as ready as possible for the biggest test of our lives.

And this practice run was just for the first exam on the first day… They would have seven trials to complete under an angel’s watchful eye, and when the time came, all I would be able to do was sit back and watch. For the next week, I could step in as needed, give guidance where possible, and do everything in my power to ensure my boys passed with flying colors.

After that, the real work began—but they would be with me for the rest of their lives, just like Fate intended.

That was all that mattered.

“I’ll be waiting for you on the roof,” I added. “My scythe is planted there—use it for direction. They’ll try to trick you during the real trials, get you all turned around in the city’s core so that you can’t locate the drop-off point as easily. So, get more accustomed to its power, to the aura it gives off here. You might be able to sense me across the celestial plane, maybe even feel me, but one of the trials is proving you’ve bonded to my scythe. That when it calls, you come running.”

Knox’s lips thinned at the sentiment, and he crossed his burly arms in a sullen silence. While we might have bonded officially, his mark the deepest in my flesh, he still wasn’t thrilled with any of this. The very idea of proving his pack’s capabilities to an angel offended him, but at this point it was a necessary evil we just had to get through.

We hadn’t discussed it, but despite his brooding, I really hoped he understood that this was all temporary. In a week, there would be no one to interfere, no one to judge or monitor us. Beyond the standard rules of reaping, we would be on our own.

I gave his bicep a gentle squeeze, which earned me an annoyed nostril-huff and a scowl. Across our little huddle, Declan met my eye, and even though I still couldn’t feel the pack bond like they could, I sensed his reaction to his alpha’s mood, practically heard his sweet lilt whispering around my head.

He’s fine. Just ignore him.

I gave him a barely discernible nod, the corners of my mouth just kicking up—for him, for his kindness, for the way he was always there to reassure me with nothing more than a look.

“All right…” I clapped my hands together, then lifted a prompting eyebrow. When no further questions came, I motioned to the pack with a grin. “Let’s do this, then.”

The trio started to strip down, efficient and careful with their clothing. For once, I didn’t look away—didn’t bother to hide my obvious interest in their physical perfection. My eyes wandered, wild and unchecked, over every pronounced ridge, every torso of rippling muscle. Broad shoulders, even my lean, sleek Gunnar. Toned, powerful thighs.

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