Page 48 of Shifter Situations

The vampire sucked in a sharp breath. “What the—”

“Oh my gods,” Lo hissed, making a beeline for her best friend.

It was weird to see Jack so relaxed—not that he wasn't ever relaxed. But I’d expected him to be the life of the party; one of the drunks playing too close to the crackling bonfire in the center of the field.

When we approached, he handed my mate a bottle of tequila and the rest of us beers. He fussed at Lo about how he knew she wouldn’t come prepared.

The hellsteed had brought enough alcohol for the entire party, but it sat in two large coolers in the bed of Baylor’s truck.

“Jack,” she bit out, interrupting him. “Why didn’t you or Grim say anything?”

He squeezed his eyes shut, explaining, “You’ve been busy with your own shit, and I wasn’t sure at first…”

“I was sure, but Jack needed a little convincing,” Grim cut in.

Blaire shrugged nonchalantly. “It was a shock.”

“And then we met Baylor…” Grim nodded to the wolf in question, and Briggs’ eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

“Everything’s been sort of strange,” Jack admitted, grimacing when Sloane gave him and the reaper a scathing look.

“And you’ve both been letting me drag you into my own shit when you should have been getting to know your mate,” she admonished before turning to Blaire. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know, and if I had, then I wou—”

“Lo,” Grim blurted, stopping her sudden rambling. “Blaire knows what you’re doing is important. She’s been helping, and she’s managed to get leads on a few fae-mages for us.”

Jack grinned, wrapping his arm as her shoulder in a half-hug. “We went straight to her when we left Hell, Lo. It’s not like we’re ignoring her. It was a week, for Devil’s sake, bitch. Chill out.”

“Novak? Are you okay?”

“I was just thinking that if Jack and Grim can keep you in line, then they should be able to handle Blaire too. She’s not quite as murdery as you are.”

Jack snorted, and Briggs threw his head back, his laughter booming around us.

“Oh, Bay. You’re in for a ride, dude.”

Stone shook his head at Baylor. “Did your brother ever tell you about Blaire kicking his ass?”

“You mean that time she came to visit, and they ended up arguing in the kitchen?” I asked, thinking of several other times Blaire had put us all in our places.

“She kicked him in the chest, and he slammed into the fridge so hard that the door fell off,” Novak whispered to Baylor like it was a secret.

Blaire rolled her eyes, and Sloane chuckled.

“Are ye ready for that, Bay?” Palmer asked, bouncing his finger between Jack and Grim. “I know they are…”

The guys playfully bickered back and forth as Lo wandered off. She walked around the party, smiling as she greeted some of the shifters, but I felt like she was doing more than just being friendly.

I watched her from a distance as she moved from one cluster of people to the next. Her casual touches were strategic, but they wouldn’t seem out of place to those who didn’t know her.

By the time she was done meeting people, she’d touched every person currently here. I didn’t know, but I had a hunch that she had been memorizing their mental signatures and faces.

Sloane stood near the fire, tilting her head to the left as she twisted her hand to make the flames dance. I ambled up behind her, wrapping my arms around the top portion of her chest as I pulled her against me.

There was a group of female shifters across from us, partially obscured by the fire. She observed them as they muttered amongst themselves, and that small act cemented my earlier idea. She was either looking for staticky minds or threats.

“Listening to the latest gossip?” I whispered in her ear, feeling a shiver race through her body.

Her familiar presence brushed against my mind. I closed my eyes and watched the brilliant pinks of her mental essence mix in a chaotic, swirling pattern as darkness crept in around the edges.