Page 62 of Let Us Prey
Bash’s voice echoes off the walls from upstairs. Loud and obnoxious is his typical entrance, and I throw a concerned glance to the pacing man in front of me. Renard stops, rolling his eyes up at the ceiling as his concentration is broken, and I snort. Leave it to Sebastian to interrupt the gargoyle’s slide into a good funk.
“Come on, Ren. Let’s go see what our furry friend has to say,” I coax, rising to my feet. “I can’t guarantee it will be interesting, but at the very least, Bash will be amusing.”
With an annoyed growl, he walks over to the railing around the shaft of the tower and jumps. I watch him leap from side to side, climbing up towards the belfry, where the main sitting area is located.
So dramatic. He could have used the stairs.
Picking up my scotch and his port, I head up the back stairs to where I can hear Bash jabbering like a tour guide. When I round the corner at the top, I gape like a beached orca. I almost can’t believe my eyes, but I know I’m wearing my glasses.
Delores Drew is standing in the middle of our sanctuary, listening to Bash describe his Super Smash Pred victories while Nico smiles at them fondly.
What in the seven hells of Dante?
“Aubrey! This place is amazing!” Delores cries, rushing over to greet us. She frowns when she sees the gargoyle perched on the railing by the bell. “Renard, why are you lurking over there like a creeper? Show me the rest of the Tower!”
“NO!” we shout in unison.
Her astute observation about my quarters in the archives tell me she’d figure it out in seconds if we let her wander around the Tower. After all, she knows enough of our secrets for now.
Nico’s brow furrows, and Bash stares daggers at us when Delores wilts next to them. She looks disappointed, but she shrugs. “Fine. I thought we were friends after what the three of us did the other night.”
That statement changes the tenor of the room immediately and I rush to correct her typical naïve word choice before Bash zeroes in on the intel. “Renard found her wandering the courtyard—alone—a few nights ago.”
Bash turns to the pastel-haired girl between them with an arched brow. He growls playfully, and oddly, Nico does as well. Their reactions make Delores laugh and the fox flush as pink as her hair.
Interesting.
“Did they at least walk you home, Cherry?”
“That’s a good question.” All eyes turn to the stairs, where Cash is leaning against the wall with a quirked brow.
Isn’t this a full fucking house?
“We took her home. Eventually,” Renard says as he leaps off the rail and stalks over to take his drink from me. “So calm down, testosterone trio.”
“Who pissed in your port tonight?” Bash snorts, dropping her hand to walk to the kitchen area. “I’m getting a beer. Bro? Nico? Cherry?”
“Ew,” Delores says, wrinkling her nose. “Do you have Dr. Pupper?”
Cash nods at Bash before crossing the room to find his favorite armchair.. “Define eventually.”
I arch a brow at him as I walk over to my chair and settle in. “In this case, eventually is an adverb meaning in due time.”
“Don’t be an assface,” Delores says as she sashays into our circle of chairs. Nico follows her like a lost kit, and she waits for him to choose his seat before plopping onto his lap. “They took me flying, and I got to watch—”
Oh, shit. She’s going to spill what we’ve kept secret for a decade. I thought I was clear about it being just between us…
Renard surprises me by joining us instead of claiming his spot on the balcony for the evening. He perches on his damned near unused throne, his eyes focusing on our visitor as his tail flicks in agitation like a cat. “Shhhhh. You remember the terms,petit lapin.”
Oh, she’s got him extra twisted. He only reverts to French when the gargoyle is riding him hard.
The alpha wolf arches his brow and suddenly, there’s a staring match between all the dominant alphas in the room. Delores frowns at all of us and crosses her arms under her chest—which, I’ll admit, distracts everyone long enough to break the spell.
“Why are you all glaring at each other like a bunch of fuckknuckles?” Bash hands Nico a beer as he passes and then turns to Delores. “Here you go—a Dr. Pupper for the lady. I’m surprised we had it. Who filled the fridge?”
No one owns up to it, and again, I turn a knowing smirk to my winged companion as he remembers how to sit comfortably on the throne he rarely uses. Rennie is a fixer at heart, and I don’t know where he picked up the information that our girl likes that soda, or how he knew she’d end up here eventually, but he was ready for her. Despite his grumpy attitude about her sudden presence, he clearly expected this scenario to occur.
He’s such fucking mother hen.
