“Half.”
“That’ll do.”
“You knew about this?”
“Sworn to secret. I love you, Gare, but you’re not the one I answer to.” Damien grabs Garrett by his shoulder. “There’s no avoiding this.”
Garrett shakes his head. “You can’t be serious.”
“Not my idea, but it’s done. Let’s go.”
“Whose idea?”
Damien turns to me, then back at Garrett. “You should have had the entire beer.”
“You’re behind this?’ Garrett asks me.
“Sorry,” I repeat with a half-smile, worried that I’ve taken too many liberties when it comes to him.
As Damien and Garrett take to the stage, Tess slides over to me. “Damien wasn’t happy when I told him about this. He andGarrett haven’t done their routine since before Damien became alpha.”
“I think Garrett needs this. A reminder of how to have fun, to let loose. To enjoy his pack again.”
“Damien too.”
Two of the older teens carry a large plastic bin onto the stage and set it by Sadie Lynn. “Thank you, Harris and Oliver.” Sadie clears her throat and addresses the crowd. “The rules, for those of you who haven’t seen the Howling Howliday Cousins perform, are simple. Damien and Garrett have to howl the tune to a song the emcee picks. If they stop singing, they lose. Sounds easy, right?”
The kids in the front rows yell back, “Yes!”
“Ah, but they’re allowed to sabotage one another. Do anything to distract the other, except hurt him.” Damien starts stretching his arms and legs. Garrett stands there glaring at him and not preparing. I’m tense inside, hoping he’s not too mad.
“If neither shifter stops singing, you the audience, will vote on the winner.”
“Rules also state the winner of the last competition gets to choose the emcee,” Garrett says. “That’s me.”
“Hey, now wait a minute—” Damien begins to object.
“He’s right! I forgot about that. Garrett, who do you pick?”
“Hayden.”
“No,” Damien objects.
“You don’t get to choose.” Garrett grins.
Hayden saunters onto the stage, green eyes sparkling with a fair amount of devilishness. I sit up straighter. I’ve never seen the shifter look so eager for anything.
“I’m starting to smell a conspiracy here,” Tess says. “You didn’t tell Garrett about this, did you?”
“Hell, no. But I’m very curious to see this now.”
“All yours, Hayden,” Sadie Lynn says as she leaves the stage. “Have fun.”
“Oh, I will.” Hayden’s grin widens as he looks at Damien andGarrett. “Keep it clean… enough. I’ll only remind you once, leaving the stage counts as an automatic loss. On three, you’ll start howlingJingle Bells, and do exactly what I say, when I say it. In between, you can use anything in the box to distract your opponent and keep him from howling.”
“Remember where your loyalty lies, Hayden,” Damien warns.
“My mate. Now, start!”
