Page 61 of Do You Even Hex, Bro?
"And we're the only official pack at Stormvale right now," Killian finishes with a proud grin. "Others have come and gone, but they couldn't hack it."
The second floor has more bedrooms than seems reasonable for a private residence, all arranged around a central hallway. Most doors stand open, revealing varying states of masculine chaos within.
"This is Sean's room," Killian says, pointing to a door plastered with band posters and a "CAUTION: WILD ANIMAL" sign that someone has modified with magazine letter cutouts to read "CAUTION: WILD ANIMAL IN BED."
“I’m shocked,” I say dryly.
"You're welcome in there anytime," Sean says with a wink, earning simultaneous eye rolls from his packmates and an actual agonized groan from Rowan.
"Micah's," Killian continues, nodding to an open door to a room that’s more organized than I expected. It’s full of sports equipment—and the jersey I shamefully buried my face in last night.
Hopefully he hasn't noticed my scent on it.
Who am I kidding? He’s a fucking wolf.
"Also always open to you," Micah says quickly, glaring at Sean.
"Rowan's," Killian adds, nodding to the next room. It’s closed, and the door isn’t decorated. Yep. Rowan is definitely the most normal wolf here. "And this," Killian says, stopping before a door at the end of the hall, "is yours. If you want it."
He pushes the door open to reveal the largest room yet. Unlike the rest of the house, the bedroom is spotlessly clean, with fresh linens on a queen-sized bed and plush towels folded on a dresser. Someone even thought to place a vase of wildflowers on the nightstand that almost go with the soft sage green curtains.
"This is huge," I remark, looking around.
"It's the biggest room in the house besides mine," Killian explains, winking. "Which you're also welcome in anytime, FYI. But this one has a bigger bathroom, and we figured you'd want your own space."
He gestures to a door in the corner. Pushing it open reveals a vintage bathroom complete with claw-foot tub and pedestal sink. Unlike Villeneuve’s tub, this one has gold wolf paws on the bottom, not clawed talons. There are fresh soaps and shampoos littering the counter that I'm sure none of them use, which is probably why they appear to have purchased one of everything from whatever store they went to.
"You did all this today?" I ask, genuinely kind of touched by the effort.
The four massive wolves suddenly look sheepish.
"It's not a big deal," Killian says, rubbing the back of his head. He does that often, I notice. "We just wanted you to be comfortable until you can put your own touches on the place."
"Just basic hospitality," Rowan adds. “Sean picked the flowers, believe it or not.”
“Don’t give me away, dude,” Sean mutters to him. “Making me sound like a fucking softie.”
“You’re not?” Micah asks pointedly, raising his eyebrows.
I bite my lip to keep from smiling. They're really trying. But they're still wolves, I remind myself. Still dangerous. Maybe they don’t have claws like knives, but they still have claws. And fangs, too.
The crunching, squelching sound of Killian tearing Kyle’s arm off plays helpfully in my head like a broken record, reminding me of just what wolves are capable of. Werewolves and shifters alike.
Killian sets my duffel on the chest at the foot of the bed, eyeing it with noticeable concern. “Is this all the stuff you need? We can take you shopping if you need more clothes or... whatever.”
“We didn’t get much in the way of toilet shit,” Sean admits. “We realized we don't really know what kind of stuff witches need. Or uh, women, either.”
“Toiletries?” I clarify, confused.
“Yeah, that.”
"I think I'm good for now," I reassure them. "I might need to pick up a few things eventually, but I packed the essentials."
They all look doubtful, eyes darting between my solitary, sad little duffel bag and the spacious room as if they’re unable to compute the math.
"We’ll go shopping soon," Rowan says. "So you can pick out things to make the place more suited to your style."
"You'd probably want different curtains," Micah suggests. "Or, you know, girl stuff for the bathroom."
