Page 37 of Pleasantly Undead in Dark River

We spoke long into the night, and although we didn’t outright agree and draw up blood contracts there and then, as it would have to at least go to the Town Council in Dark River first, it was generally understood that we would help any way we could.

When Layla’s mates shifted into some horror film version of a werewolf, my mouth swung open and stayed there. The fuck?

Nico leaned toward me and whispered in my ear. “Lycanthropes. I thought they’d all died out.”

I didn’t doubt it because they were scary as hell. Like, literal hell. I mean, we were all monsters, but these guys looked like it. But the way Layla looked up at the two of them, you’d think they were kittens frolicking through a field. They stood on their hind legs, growing immensely in size and a full coat of fur spreading down their limbs. Well, shit.

“That’s fucking awesome.” I leaned even closer to Nico. “Do you think their dicks grow too? I mean, out of scientific curiosity.”

Nico gave me a stern look, his lips turning up at the edges. Layla, however, just looked over her shoulder and winked. Whoops, so maybe not quietly enough but I guess she answered that question. Kinda.

They ran off into the night, choosing not to stay in Nîso but head back to their organization, which was currently hiding in the backwaters of Montana. Apparently, they had a richhumanbenefactor with a shifter wife, who was willing to pay for the academy to be built.

Honestly, meeting the guys from Eden had just blown my mind. For some reason, I didn’t even consider that there were more supernaturals out there than I could even comprehend. There were fucking angels. Angels!

When Nico had told me that on the way home from the meeting house, I’d almost fallen on my face. There was a whole world out there that had been hiding just under the surface, who’d stood behind me in the line at the grocery store, who’d sat beside me on the bus. Who’d gone to school with me. And I’d lived amongst it for decades, oblivious to the whole thing.

Mind. Blown.

When we crept inside, I was sandwiched between Brody and Nico, and I could hear the television still playing. Ghost waited out on the porch for Annie, and I smiled. I was going to shake up the mute shifter one day soon. He needed to make his move before it was too damn late.

Tex was lying on the couch, three small pups curled up on his chest, and all four of them were sound asleep. Annie sat on the other end, a block of chocolate beside her and the television remote in her hand.

“I think your guard snake needs some work,” she whispered.

I looked down at my heavily tattooed, rock god mate. I smiled at the way he had his arm lifted, across his torso, making sure none of the pups could fall off in their sleep, though Enit looked perilously close. “No. I think he’s absolutely perfect.”

Annie gagged a little, but she was grinning. “I should be getting home. Everything went okay?” she whispered and Brody nodded.

“I’ll tell you all about it later.”

She nodded, and blew me a kiss. “I’ll talk to you later, girl.” She kissed Brody’s cheek and whispered. “Your new Pack is beautiful, Brodes. You guys will make amazing parents.”

I looked down at the sleeping pups as Brody hefted two into his arms. I grabbed Christopher gently, and instead of snapping at my fingers like he normally would if I woke him, he stayed asleep and snuggled into my neck.

Oh shit. I was definitely going to cry. I followed behind Brody and put them in the spare bedroom, surrounding them by a nest of pillows but close enough to each other so they were all in a puppy pile. Brody stroked all their heads softly one more time, and then tiptoed out of the room, and I followed behind him. By the time I got back to the living room, Tex was awake, yawning and talking softly to Nico.

I walked over and sat in his lap. I nuzzled into his neck and I just wanted to love on him. I wanted to curl my body around his and whisper to him how much I adored him. It was a scary feeling really, this overwhelming emotion that fills your chest and feels like it has nowhere to go. A terrifying fragility.

He wrapped his strong arms around me and held me tight, like he just knew that's what I needed. He traced my lips with his tongue. “Let’s go to bed.”

It was essentially the middle of the day for me, but I couldn’t resist. I would curl my body around Tex’s and Brody’s until they fell asleep, then I would sneak back out to Nico. I mouthed, “I’ll be back,” to my ancient vampire and he winked.

Brody’s room didn’t look much like his old room. All the items that could be salvaged were in boxes in storage, and so this was like a placeholder room. I hated it. Hated that because of me he’d lost his home. Hated that because of me, there was dissension in his pack. But I was too selfish to give him up.

He came over, pulling me against his golden chest. His long, dark hair brushed around his shoulders and his sharp cheekbones cast his face into darkness in this light. “What are you thinking about?” he whispered softly, dragging me into his arms as Tex got undressed.

I shrugged, not wanting to voice my thoughts because I knew exactly what he’d say. He would say I’m not responsible for other people's actions. Logically, I knew he was right, but emotions were rarely logical.

Instead, I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him, sucking his lip into my mouth. “Just thinking about how lucky I am, and how much I appreciate the hell out of both of you.”

He ran his nose up the side of my face, marking me. “Ah, no, Red. We are the lucky ones. I wake up every morning and thank the Ancestors they put you in my path. I know Pup feels the same way.”

Tex climbed into bed, and lifted the blankets invitingly. “Come here and let me love you, Raine. I just want to hold you.”

Well, how could I resist that? I climbed in, pressing my body along Tex’s and my cheek against his chest. Brody climbed in behind me. Pressed between my Mates, in the safety of my Pack, I fell into a contented sleep.

I endedup sleeping through the night and into the late morning. When I woke, Brody was gone, but Tex was still snoring softly. I kissed his shoulder and crawled out of bed to pee. However, the sound of metal clanging had me halting in the hall. I looked out into the open plan living/dining area, and my mouth fell open.

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