Page 33 of Shifter Situations

Blaire zoomed through the front door before I finished my question. She dropped a thick, leather book on the coffee table and rubbed her temples.

“I’m ready, but gods, I forgot how mind-numbing that shit is. The contractual agreement between the coven and the pack is great. The language is fucking archaic, and if I have to read moreover or henceforth one more time…”

She trailed off, glaring at me where I lounged on the floor. Her foot tapped impatiently as she waved her hand at me.

“Are you going to get dressed?”

“I’m ready. I just need a shirt.”

“Well, go get a fucking shirt,” she growled. “I didn’t re-read a thousand pages of 18th-century negotiations for you to lay around on the floor. Get the fuck up, grab a shirt, and take all that godsdamn jewelry out of your face.”

Trouble’s shoulders bounced as she covered her mouth, and I flashed her a wide smile when Blaire turned to her.

“Where are your shoes, Lo? Is that a dress or someone’s shirt?”

Sloane shrugged. “Hellhound ate my Docs. I came barefoot. And—” She pulled the bottom of the shirt out to examine it. “I think this might be your brother’s, but it could Stone’s. I’m not sure.”

“I don’t want to know whose it is. I need business powerhouse Sloane King, not thoroughly fucked Lo.”

“Fine,” she mumbled, concentration blanketing her face before she snapped her fingers.

The t-shirt disappeared, replaced by a tight black skirt and a cream shirt with lacy arms. The top was low-cut, revealing a hint of cleavage, and the tip of her first mate mark visible. When she twirled in a circle for Blaire, I swatted at her ass, noticing that the split in her skirt was just shy of showing the bottom of her cheeks.

“Is this more acceptable?”

“No,” Vaughn drawled sleepily from the entrance of the hall. “Put the fuck me pumps on. The red ones you wore to work.”

The heels appeared in her hand as she winked at the fae.

He groaned, tipping his head back and talking to himself as Palmer shoved past him. “We have places to be, Fae. Settle yerself.”

I snorted as soft cloth hit my face, but internally I was in the same boat as Vaughn. The hot teacher fantasy played in my head, and I wondered if Palmer had a yardstick somewhere in his arsenal of toys.

I could be the bad boy coming back to class to retake a test or some shit. I didn’t care about the specifics. I just wanted to bend her over a desk and rip that skirt a little further up.

Trouble smirked at me, her sultry rasp filling every corner of my mind as she purred, “I don’t know if Palmer does, but I do. And I have a sturdy desk.”

“I can’t go, Blaire. I, uhm, left something important back in Nashville. We’ll—”

She cut me off, already on her way outside as she called back, “Like fuck. We’re going to be late as it is. Get your ass out here before I drag you by that nose ring.”

I twisted the end ball off the ring, pulling the piercing from my nose and tucking the metal into my pocket. She’d done that before, and I wasn’t in a hurry for a repeat performance.

Sloane grabbed my hand, tugging me through the Void and into the grand foyer of the pack lodge. The rustic decor made the huge home look like a peaceful retreat away from the big city chaos.

I didn’t feel at peace, though.

I was anxious.

Blaire and Trouble marched with purpose on either side of me. My mate ran her fingers over the cherry wood wainscoting on the wall as she led us down a hallway to the right.

She stopped at the end, knocking on the door politely before opening it. The length of the table and the sheer number of chairs were a dead giveaway that we’d entered a large conference room. Nate held meetings with the Vampyre council in a similarly set up room.

Franklin sat in front of a laptop, tapping away as he nodded at Sloane. I chose a seat between her and Blaire, folding my hands together on top of the table. It took everyone a moment to settle around the room, but we were ready to get started before long.

I knew how it was going to go.

The questions started, and my aggravation ramped up to new levels.