She chuckled and patted his thigh, and he grasped her hand to raise it higher toward his crotch. They were going to have fun tonight. Hell, they probably had fun every night. She was putty in their many hands. A lucky girl.
I took a sip of wine, wishing I had something stronger. I knew this place made great cocktails.
“So,” began Ty Asare, seated across from me. “Billie said you’ve been more active in the fight against dark mages as well. How’s it going?” He gave me kind, light brown eyes. I knew he was taking my attention away from Kai and Billie, and I was thankful.
Ty was the most perceptive of the group and the nicest, although they were all pretty sweet. He was a vampire but didn’t have the same bravado I usually saw with his kind. Perhaps his shaky past had leveled him out. Ty was also the one I knew to be more Billie’s usual type with his sensitive nature, height, deep complexion, and curly dark hair. Although, all these guys were hardly second runner-ups.
I nodded in response. “Yeah, I’ve always been active, but things are starting to get close to home now.”
Recently, there was a coven of mages who were fighting for control over our larger east coast covens. Witches, wizards, mages, and other magic users could belong to the international coven, and we made up most of the power base of organizations, including governments, all over the world. We were broken down by country, region, and state, governed by specific rules that were meant to keep us from abusing our powers and harming other beings who weren’t paranormal or lived magic-free lives. That wasn’t to say there weren’t any problematic practices, but we weren’t going around sacrificing folks for power. Well, not out in the open. We had some who were caught doing dark magic, but they were dealt with if caught.
Needless to say, all the rules weren’t sitting right with everyone, and some never joined the major coven and were part of independent covens that ultimately had less power and reach but, I guessed, more freedom. Some of those covens were underground and very problematic, like this new one. They were doing everything in their power to grow. Their plan was most likely to eventually aim for all the high-ranking covens, including becoming the high priestess who ruled us all. If someone from that dark coven took that role, we’d all have to bow down, and that would lead to pure chaos.
I twirled my fork into my seafood pasta before continuing. “Yeah, there have been a lot more attacks on our coven member businesses. There was an attack on the Boston coven two weeks ago. And then, last week, some jerks tried to assault a woman who runs the magic shop on my block. I went in and kicked a little butt. Caught the fuckers and got them arrested.”
Billie jutted a thumbs up at me. “All by herself. The lady who runs the shop called her a superhero.”
Heat touched my cheeks. Why was she embarrassing me like this? Just kidding, I was a praise feen. I loved to hear it. “It was nothing. I’m just a woman who runs a dessert shop who doesn’t like foolishness going down on her block.”
Billie twisted her lips in disbelief. “Lies. You took out two dark mages by yourself. And now the coven has increased surveillance in the area. The dark mages were going to steal something really potent from there to hurt innocent people, and you stopped it from happening. You’re kinda cool, girl. I’ve been telling you.”
Lance Fredrickson, the fourth alpha and resident grumpy werewolf, looked up from his large steak, pausing cutting into the meat. He gave me curious blue eyes. “You’re a fighter?” He didn’t say it in a doubtful way. He seemed almost impressed.
I gave a nonchalant shrug. Clearly he hadn’t seen me kick ass in our Billie rescue mission. “I can be when needed.”
Billie leaned forward. “Don’t let her fool you. Lila is a beast. When she graduated high school, she went to the military and served in the army for a few years, and she’s always taking self-defense and fighting classes.”
Daniel nodded, raising his hand as he looked around the room. “I’m not surprised. She kicked butt when we went to get you from those demons.”
Glad someone saw me.
A waiter soon arrived, and he put in an order for another bottle; I also made a request for a Manhattan, which earned me an impressed eyebrow raise from Daniel.
Lance put his fork down, still looking at me with enhanced respect. “I didn’t know you served. I did too. Marines.”
Kai tilted his head from side to side. “Technically, we all were part of some sort of defensive organization in our different cultures before we got together.”
I’d almost forgotten that although the men looked young, thirties at best, they were all at least a hundred years in age, with Kai being the oldest. Got to love that slow-aging paranormal blood. Also, now that they had Billie, they would all practically be immortals. Getting claimed made that happen.
What I wouldn’t do to get claimed by a paranormal and stop any future aging process. Until then, magical serums were my second besties.
“What made you join?” Lance asked, still seemingly intrigued by my military past. He was the fighter in the group, so I suppose I shouldn’t be that surprised that he found my past interesting.
“Well, college didn’t seem like it was something I could afford, and I didn’t have much money or a home to live in while I got my life sorted. Joining the military just bought me some time. I only continued with some of my fight training afterwards because I’m a woman living alone in a city with a lot of crime and people are crazy. I like to look girly, but I’m no one’s prey.”
Billie raised her glass toward me, and I clinked my water glass with hers as I waited for more alcohol.
Kai chuckled. “We’ve got two badass women here. Whatever dude comes sniffing around you, Lila, you know he’s going to have to have our approval. We’re going to be the annoying big brothers you never wanted.”
I smiled, feeling a little touched by his protective words. He didn’t understand how welcoming that actually was to me. “Actually, that makes me very happy. I always wanted brothers. And I already have my sister.”
Billie tapped her head lightly against mine.
Kai scratched his chin, head leaning back. “That’s good to know, because there is a dude that’s peeping at you from across the room, and he’s not being secretive about it. Something about him I don’t like.”
Because none of us had tact after drinking so much, we all looked in the direction of Kai’s gaze. And there he was, sipping a glass of red wine. The creepy green-haired dude from my shop earlier. He gave me a little wave and a smile. Nope, he was not being discreet at all.
“You gotta be kidding me,” I cried. “He was in my shop an hour ago buying my cupcakes.”
