Page 81 of Nest of Thieves
Mac frowns. “I’ll kill those fuckers.”
“Another day.” I hand him a bottle. “Not tonight.”
“You surprise me, mami.”
I slide my gaze to meet Vette’s. “Oh?”
“Yeah.”
“Care to elaborate?” I offer him a bottle, and he slowly grabs it, fingers lingering against mine.
“No.”
Scoffing, I pop the lid and take a slow sip. “Okay.” As I take another drink, I spot Orion’s dried blood on my hand. I stare at the red mark for a few beats before setting the bottle aside. “I need to shower.”
“Are you okay?” Lark asks as I leave the room.
But I don’t answer.
I don’t have to.
* * *
Long after the pizza has turned cold, Mac stretches his arms over his head and eyes the cake. “I don’t have twenty-one candles.”
“I don’t need candles,” I say with a shrug. My hair is almost dry from the shower I’d taken, furiously scrubbing at my skin until every trace of blood disappeared. I scratch the spot Orion stained, as if feeling the phantom stain of his life force etched into my skin.
“How are you going to make a wish?” he asks, searching the kitchen drawers.
“Wishes are a waste of energy.”
Mac finds three candles and places them in the cake. Lark supplies a lighter while Vette grabs plates and utensils. They move without having to speak or ask for help, like they know what they need on instinct. The pack bond. My chest aches for that level of understanding, that level of belonging, but now isn’t the time to dwell on my fucked-up emotions.
“Wishes”—Mac lifts the cake from the counter and sets it in front of me—“are what keep magic alive.”
“Magic is pretend.” I stare at the flames, thinking over what I’d wish for if I believed in birthday wishes. Maybe a pretty car? A pack?
Love?
“Magic is all around us.” Mac runs his finger up my spine. “All you have to do is believe.”
“Your crazy is showing,” I mumble, leaning toward the candle.
He gathers my hair to keep it out of the cake, and a tingle races over my skin. “I’d rather live a thousand days insane than a minute sane. Make a wish, Kitten.” A command floats on his words, not one I have to follow because of his alpha nature, but one I want to follow because no matter how much I doubt what he’s saying, there’s still a tiny part of me thatwantsto believe.
I blow out the flames, speaking my wish inside my head and hoping it’ll come true.
Mac rubs my back, and Lark claps, rubbing his hands together.
“There, wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Mac’s lips brush over the shell of my ear, and he tugs on my hair before releasing it. The strands brush over my back, tickling. My entire body buzzes, and a hunger unfurls inside of me, a need cake could never sate. Three deep purrs fill the kitchen, and I flick my gaze to each of the men. They’re watching me, eyes hooded and wanting.
“Birthday woman gets the first piece.” Vette cuts a large slice and hands it to me.
Their masculine scents twine around mine, making my mouth water in anticipation. I take the slice of cake and eat, observing the men as they try to grapple with what their biology demands.
Sex.
The kitchen is quiet as we eat, trading curious looks and feeling out the new dynamic between the four of us. Orion’s death brought us together, forcing us into what was going to happen all along.
