Page 104 of Let Us Prey
Omigawwwd!
My eyes fill with grateful tears as the little ball of fur jumps into my lap and starts purring like an outboard motor. I look down at her with a soft smile and say, “Well, I’d say this has been the Merriest Christmas I’ve ever had.”
When I look up, all of my guys are giving me fond expressions and my heart swells all over again.
Merry Christmas, indeed.
FIFTY-SIX
New Years Day
Nicodemus
As usual, Delores’ presence fills the cracks in my soul before she even fully steps into my studio. I’m soldering a particularly tricky piece of stained glass, so I can’t stop what I’m doing to acknowledge her, for fear of losing concentration.
It’s also why I forget the letter laying out in the open.
“What’s this?” she asks, casually snatching the paper off of my worktable.
As if it isn’t damning evidence of me lying to my pack.
“Uh, just an old family friend checking in on me. Can I have that back... " I awkwardly attempt to grab the letter one-handed, but she skillfully side-steps to where I can’t follow without risking ruining an afternoon’s worth of work.
“Deoradhán,” she hums, and the fight goes out of me. I’ve been carrying this secret alone, too afraid to tell the twins in case they force me to cut ties with my mysterious D.C. contact, but theweightof this has been killing me. Keeping my gaze locked on my project, I chew my lip as she silently reads the letter, making the possibly dangerous decision to allow this beautiful bunny deeper into my world.
I just want someone to know me.
“Oh, Nico,” Delores sets the letter down next to me again with trembling fingers. “Is this about your parents? The ones that were... "
“Murdered, yes,” I tonelessly reply, finally securing the leadcamein place to reveal a shape that looks almost like a tall end table. Retrieving the letter from her, I tuck it away in the hidden drawer under my worktable, instinctively trusting her with more ammunition. “And I haven’t told the wolves about these letters, so if you could... "
Her mischievous smirk is sinful as she loops a finger into the collar of my worn tee shirt, pulling me closer. “You want me to keep all your secrets, Naughty Nico?”
I laugh at the ridiculous nickname Bash gave me in our group chat, feeling months-worth of bottled up tension bleed out of me in an instant. This girl seems to have no clue how crazy we all are about her, and while I can’t speak for the others, I highly suspect I’m head-over-heels in love already.
It’s noticeably different from what I have with Bash. That relationship—if you can even call it that—is decidedly one-sided, and flavored with unrequited love, codependency, and resentment. With Delores, I feel free, cared for unconditionally, and giddy in an almost childlike way.
When I’m not thinking about fucking her with my fangs buried in her neck.
With a sharp inhale, I shake the primal urge from my brain, feeling like a total creep for assuming she would even want something like that with me. Our nights in Bash’s bed haven’t exactly been tame, but my beta hasn’t given me permission to take things further with our girl when we’re all together.
As usual, I’m the one getting fucked in those scenarios.
Delores freezes, her nostrils repeatedly flaring, and for a moment I’m worried she’ll run away from whatever pheromones I’m blasting out. Then she surprises me by smirking again, popping open the top two buttons of her crisp white shirt, drawing my attention to the lacy cerulean bra beneath that perfectly matches her eyes.
Fenrir, have mercy.
“Speaking of wolves,” she coos. “Both Cash and Bash were headed out on ‘official Romulus business’ when I stopped by the townhouse earlier, and I think the others are hunting, so it looks like it’s you and me tonight for New Year’s Eve.”
I blink, wrenching my gaze back to her gorgeous face. “It’s… New Year’s Eve?” I stutter, so embarrassingly fired up over a peek of lace I can’t even form coherent thoughts.
She laughs, the tinkling sound coaxing a smile from me, as usual. “Yeah, silly. I swear, you are the epitome of a spacey artist sometimes, but I still lo…likeyou.”
Now it’s my turn to freeze as she turns scarlet, and it’s all I can do not to rip open her shirt the rest of the way—Apex dress codes and gentlemanly foxes be damned.
“Ilikeyou too, Lo,” I rasp, approaching her slowly as my predator threatens to take over. “And I would very much like to be your New Year’s kiss tonight.”
“Just a kiss?” she breathes, backing herself against my worktable, just like the first time she visited my studio during her campus tour. My fox wanted her then, even if I didn’t fully comprehend what that meant at the time. Now I know I want to dominate her—mark her up until all the alphas know she’s just as much mine as theirs.
