Demarien raised his drink. “Dahlia was our badass auntie, and we’ll never find another like her.”
“To Dahlia,” Felix said, holding his own glass up. “She bought me my first toolbox.”
Milo smiled and raised his glass. “She also installed a furnace in the old lighthouse so you could learn how to blow glass. She bought you a glory hole, Felix. Say it aloud. I dare you.”
They laughed as Felix blushed.
“That’s what they call the opening on the furnace,” Felix muttered, dark eyes darting around the room, likely to make sure no one heard Milo.
Puck chuckled and raised his glass. “She loved us. There’s nothing better that you can give a person than that.”
“That’s the truth,” Milo said as they clicked their glasses together, then guzzled their drinks.
Demarien was already starting to get sleepy. He wasn’t a heavy drinker, so he always needed a nap after drinking anything stronger than his normal beer.
Today was a hard liquor day, he thought, holding back a sigh.
“I’m sorry we didn’t do anything for your birthday, Puck,” Milo said, wincing. “With the funeral and everything, I completely forgot.”
Puck shrugged. “So did I. Who wants to remember turning thirty anyway?”
Felix punched Puck’s arm. “You’re the youngest. We all had to go through the obligatory jokes and birthday song, so you should too.”
Demarien brushed his twist braids back off his face and propped his chin on his fist. “Remember when we were fifteen, and that big storm hit? We all stayed with Dahlia and Milo.”
Milo laughed. “Puck was so scared, and Felix wanted to go play in the rain.”
Puck scowled. “I wasn’t scared. I was very reasonable and didn’t think it was smart to go play in lightning.”
Felix hugged Puck. “It’s okay, man. Everyone is afraid sometimes.”
“I wasn’t afraid,” Puck mumbled, crossing his arms as his face settled into a pout.
Demarien shook his head. “Dahlia tried to distract Puck by making us play a game. We each wrote down what we wanted most. She said that the only way we’d ever get what we wanted was toknowwhat we wanted.”
Puck tilted his head, eyes narrowed in thought. “Then she read them out, one by one, and we had to guess who they belonged to.”
Milo grinned. “I remember now. I still want what I did then. My own business, two perfect children, and a stay-at-home alpha.” He rubbed his chin. “Of course, now I’d also like my alpha to be a masseuse and have a sizable dick.”
Demarien laughed with the others. “I could go with an alpha like that, too.”
“I was surprised at yours,” Puck said, kicking Demarien under the table. “You didn’t say anything about kids. You wanted your own restaurant and Boone Harding.”
Demarien grinned. “The two necessities to being happy. Damn, Boone was my dream alpha. The handsome valedictorian of the senior class, who still managed to have a heart of gold.”
“You love kids,” Milo said, frowning.
“Now,” Demarien said, snorting. “At the time, my cousin Rochelle was staying the summer with us, and she was an annoying ten-year-old. It was enough to traumatize a poor, innocent omega.”
Puck smirked. “You would have wanted kids if they were with Boone Harding.”
Demarien nodded. “I would have given up my fictional restaurant to have Boone Harding.”
Milo flicked his ear. “Thankfully, he graduated and moved away before you ended up pregnant at fifteen. I would have had to force him to marry you, then tortured him for the rest of his life.”
Demarien rolled his eyes. “As if he even noticed my existence. Anyway, I can’t remember Puck and Felix’s wishes.”
Felix smiled sadly. “I wished for a family of my own. Ten kids and a good alpha.”
