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"Five," Wyn replied, watching me with eyes gone soft with affection. "Plus three reception rooms, a billiards room, an indoor pool, a library, a weapons room, and a ballroom I thought we could use for training." He paused, and thoughtfully added, "Or balls."
"I'll neuter your balls," Kai muttered.
"Don't be sour, Malakai," Wynvail replied with a sharp smile, turning to lead us down the path towards the manor. "My house might be much bigger than yours, but I'm sure you make up for it in other ways."
"You're overcompensating for your shrivelled dick," Kai spat, throwing his arm around me and pulling me into his side. "I bet it's tiny. I bet you can't even make Haley come."
I said nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Harvey snorted, watching me with mirth dancing in his mercury eyes and, for once, his face lined with amusement, not deep stress or grief.
"Yours is bigger," I stage-whispered to him.
Besides, we all knew Wane and Em were winning this battle.
"Hey, quick question," Verena input, throwing us all a disgusted look. "Can you maybe keep the dick talk to when I'm not within earshot? Thanks."
Harvey grinned. Wyn and Kai both looked equally chastised and apologised, their words overlapping. I fought a smile.
"Smart," I told Verena, ditching Kai and draping my arm across her shoulder. "Stay as far away from anyone with a penis for as long as possible. They're only trouble." I gave Emlyn a sweet smile when he glanced my way, an eyebrow arched. "And if any boy ever gives you hassle, tell me and I'll cut his balls off."
Verena shot me a sideways scowl, her brows low over green eyes. "I can cut their balls off myself."
"I bet I can make them scream louder, though," Kai said, immediately jumping onto the subject. "I know how to cause immense pain."
"Kai," Wane hissed. "Maybe don't scare her…?"
Kai blinked, like it never occurred to him that his words might be anything but normal.
"I could hurt them worse with my sunlight," Harvey input, turning around and walking backwards toward the house to give Verena a bright smile. "If they pissed off our Verena, they'd deserve to suffer obviously."
"Obviously," I agreed with a sage nod.
Verena's eyes had opened from the slits her scowl caused, and a smile spread further across her face with each new word.
Wane noticed it too, and added, "My shadows could make them regret even looking at you. I could make their brains rupture so badly they forgot your name."
"That's the least they'd deserve for hurting our Verena," Kai said with a grin, happiness spilling through his soul. "Hey, we could make it a group thing, get the whole family involved."
"Not Em," Harvey and I said at the same time, both our voices hushed.
"Why…?" Verena asked, her attention transferring to Emlyn as he walked with Wyn ahead of us, both probably listening.
"He's a total psychopath," Kai said, pretty ironically given he wrote the book on being a total psychopath. "He'll beat the guy who upsets you into a bloody pulp with his bare hands, until his species isn't even recognisable, let alone his face. No one fucks with Em's family and lives."
Verena's eyes were bright, her smile bigger. "You guys are completely insane, aren't you?" she laughed.
"Oh, completely," I agreed, and hooked her closer. "But something tells me you fit in quite nicely."
She peered up at me, wickedness and trauma duelling in her eyes. One day, the trauma would be quieter, and true joy would replace it. The wickedness would probably still be there, though, and I had a feeling the swearing and sarcasm were here to stay.
"You're a bad influence on me," she said, shaking her head. "You're going to corrupt me until I'm a criminal and bastard like you lot."
We caught up to Em and Wane at the bottom of the sweeping stairs that led to the front door—it was a massive, French door situation because of course it was.
"Nah, Verena. You're the bad influence," I replied with a smirk. "Before I met you, I was soft spoken, never swore, and I was perfectly well behaved."
She snorted and elbowed me. "Don't blame your various mental disorders on me."
