Page 123 of Shifted Desire

“Of course you are.” Max, the sweet empath and generally kind person that he is, reaches out to pull Nathan into a hug. I release Nathan’s hand so he can reciprocate, smiling at the sight of two of my favorite people getting along.

They thump each other’s backs once and step back. Max’s smile turns teasing. “Honestly, this is the best-case scenario. We don’t have to deal with all the awkwardness of incorporating a new person into our family dynamic.”

“No, just the awkwardness of your dad’s best friend mating your sister,” Nathan says drolly.

Max’s eyes widen at Nathan’s use of the word ‘mate’. “Wait, you’re mated?”

I lightly smack Nathan’s arm. “Dammit, I’m supposed to be the one who screws up and accidentally reveals things, not you!”

My mate grumbles as he helps me out of my coat. “It’s not like they won’t know the second you take your scarf off.”

I grin and unwind said scarf, the dramatic part of me enjoying the gasp Max makes when he sees my shoulder.

“Holy shit! I knew this was serious, but I didn’t know it was that serious.” Max leans in to examine the healed bite marks decorating the juncture of my neck and shoulder. “Damn, those must be some huge fangs.”

“That’s not the only part of my werewolf that’s huge,” I say, the crass joke coming out on reflex.

Max lets out a choked laugh.

“Samantha!” Nathan hisses, mortified. “Can we refrain from talking about my dick when your parents are within hearing distance?”

I frown, batting my eyelashes innocently at him. “I was talking about your hands. Those paws are massive when you’re shifted. Get your mind out of the gutter, pervy old man.”

Max laughs and shakes his head at my nonsense.

Nathan’s huff tells me that I’m going to pay for my brattiness later, and I have to use all my willpower to tamp down the arousal that wants to rise at that thought. I absolutely cannot get turned on in a house full of succubus empaths.

My brother tugs me into a hug. “You’re so happy,” he murmurs, pleasure at that fact clear in his voice.

“No shit, dude,” I stage-whisper back. “I have a hot as hell, rich mate with a massive werewolf co⁠—”

Max shoves me away and I cackle at the flush on his cheeks.

Nathan snags me around the waist. “Behave.” The slight growl in his voice has my nipples hardening.

Max groans. “Alright, that’s all the flirting I can handle. Come and say hi to everyone else before you start making out.”

I thread my fingers through Nathan’s and we follow my brother into the living room, which has been rearranged to accommodate Dad’s yearly ritual.

Everyone is already here, seated on cushions in a circle on the floor, and a hush falls over the room as all eyes turn to us. It’s almost comical how dramatic it is, and I’m peeved because we purposefully got here early to try to avoid this exact scenario. If Mom told me a later arrival time so they all could talk through their game plan before we got here, I’m going to throttle her.

The urge to make a stupid joke or rude comment rises, but I swallow it down. I will not make this any worse for Nathan than it needs to be.

“Hey! Are we late?”

Mom is the first to snap out of her staring. “Not at all! We were just, uh, going over how the ritual works.”

“The same ritual that we’ve done every year, that never changes?” I ask, unable to keep all the snark out of my tone.

“It never hurts to have a refresher,” she says lightly, standing and crossing the room to pull me into a hug. “Don’t worry, peanut, no one is mad,” she whispers, her tail twining around my ankle in a reassuring squeeze.

“Then why does it feel like someone died in here?” I grumble back.

She snorts and lets go of the hug, turning to Nathan. He reaches a hand out to her stiffly, like she’s a new business partner. Mom stares at it for a beat, then ignores it and goes in for an embrace.

Nathan’s eyes are wide over her shoulder, but she whispers something to him that makes him chuckle.

“Come sit down! We rearranged a bit from our usual spots so you can sit next to each other.” Mom gestures to the empty cushions between her cousin Xae and Max.