Page 150 of Shifter Situations

All the weight would transfer to her shoulders until the magic was finished; and that made me feel like a shitty mate.

I stood in the doorway, listening to her bicker with the guys, watching them adore her in ways that I didn’t think she quite understood.

I couldn’t say that I would’ve understood them either had the roles been reversed, but it was easy to see when you looked from the outside in.

Her multicolored eyes sparkled with mirth as she looked at me, the grin on her face morphing into a smirk.

“Don’t start counting now, Mage.”

“I forget… What number was I on?”

“I’m not going to remind you.”

I shrugged. “Let’s just say five, and then we can call it even.”

“Oh no. We were not at five yet, there’s no way we reached five so quickly.”

She playfully glared at me as Briggs pulled her into his lap, leaning close to her ear as he murmured, “I thought it was six, but I won’t tell them if you don’t.”

She snorted at him.

“It was not six either. It was more like… Two.”

“Are you sure, Kitten?” Stone asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Very sure.” She glared at the demon. “He lost his numbers when he took part in convincing the djinn that I was dangerous.”

York bumped my shoulder. “It could’ve been seven, and she would never admit to it.”

She gasped playfully and then wobbled her head from side to side. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, but I’m also not saying you’re right.”

“Of course not,” Novak whispered to her. “Why would you admit to it if they don’t know?”

“Ye know, don’t ya?” I looked at the vampire, eyeing him suspiciously.

Vaughn nodded his head, raising his eyebrows at me. “Why would you even ask? You know he knows. You also know he’s not going to say anything.”

“From the mouth of my Trouble, I’m not saying you’re wrong. But what I am saying is if you’re starting your count over then I want to watch. I’ll keep my hands to myself, but yeah,” Novak drawled. “I want to watch.”

“When do you ever keep your hands to yourself?” Vaughn asked in disbelief.

The vampire rolled his lips in, nibbling at them to stop a smile. “Often.”

We all scoffed at him.

“Don’t give me that shit. Some of you don’t complain about it,” he grumbled.

28

Sloane

Monday, June 8th

Night

I was noticing a trend with my guys that included the kitchen, beer, and teasing each other. I adored watching them as they interacted with one another, but occasionally I needed some time to clear my thoughts.

Pete had always been one of my favorite quiet places. Lounging with him in the palace stables in Hell had been my escape as a child. And he’d continued to help me hide from reality as an adult.