Page 113 of What The Hex (The Family Spells)
The back door was a straight shot from the front, so we headed that way and onto a deck with several small fire pits surrounded by chairs. A communal table took up most of the yard, and it was decorated to the nines with piles of food, candles, garland, the works.
Even the trees back here were lit, tinting the snow around us a cheery gold color.
It was a spectacular sight.
The pack, in general, was friendly, welcoming, and gregarious. They were loud and proud (just not of being werewolves) and happy to see us and celebrate. If they pursed their lips just a bit at the sight of Hex and Monster, if they looked at the twins with pitying expressions, that was at least the worst of it.
Until I saw Stella.
The female werewolf that Caine’s mother had played matchmaker for once upon a time was here, still mate-less, still more wolf than I would ever be. That shiver of discontent and inferiority took over me as she approached the pair of us, her eyes on Caine and not on me.
“Fancy seeing you here for the holidays,” she said with a smile, dragging her gaze from Caine and over to me. I tried to make myself smile back, but my mouth parts were suddenly inoperable. He’s half-witch, just as he is half-wolf, I reminded myself. That, and I knew my husband loved me, that he’d been nothing but faithful since we’d met.
Still, I fucked two … now three other men, and Caine only fucked me.
There was a power imbalance there, one that niggled at the back of my mind every now and again.
“Just for the weekend,” Caine drawled, his accent as honeyed as hers. They’d have made a beautiful couple, had beautiful babies, been able to romp and frolic and hunt in the snow as wolves. Well, maybe not that last bit. As I said, Citrine Sunrise was a very odd sort of pack.
“It’s enough, just to see you,” she said, reaching out a hand to touch his arm. He was wearing a thick winter coat, made of brown demon leather and white fur trim, but even so, her fingers on his arm just triggered the hell out of me. “Grab a beer and join me by the fire? I’ll tell you all about the shit your brother gets into when you’re not around.”
Caine glanced my way, took note of my expression, and smirked.
“Grace, you wanna join us?” he asked, and I gave him a look. If looks could kill … Well, looks could kill with the right sort of spell, but that was beside the point. “Come shoot the shit with Stella and me?”
Stella didn’t look particularly pleased by the idea but come the fuck on. He was a married man with four kids, a business, and a house. Did she really think he was going to come over to the dark side that easily?
No, Caine was stroking my jealousy because he liked it.
Asswad.
“Why don’t you two enjoy a nice, cozy chat, and I’ll go attend to our nine-month-old babies?” I responded with a bright smile. Caine howled with laughter and threw an arm around my shoulders, giving the lovely blond Stella a smirking smile in response.
“I’mma have to take a pass on that one, Miss Stella,” he replied, pulling me away and directing me toward the table. He made me take a seat on the long, wooden bench and straddled it, resting his left elbow on the surface and tapping his fingers on his thigh. “You jealous, wife?” he asked, and I snorted.
“Why would I be jealous?” I said, reaching out and cutting myself a slice of pecan pie. I plopped it on the clean plate in front of me and picked up the gold fork that was placed beside it. The plate itself was decorated with reindeer, and the fork had an owl carved into the end of it.
It reminded me of the owl with too many eyes that we caught spying on us that day.
Monster. He hadn’t outright admitted to sending it, but Caine said he’d avoided the question altogether. I wasn’t surprised. I tried for a surreptitious glance over my shoulder, spotting Monster standing alone near a firepit.
He was the only one there, hands clasped behind him, staring into the flames.
He looked so sad and pitiful like that.
I wet my lips against the cold and turned back to Caine.
“I mean, don’t you think it was sort of crass of her to waltz over and start hitting on you right in front of me? Did she really think you’d cozy up to her by the fire and start snuggling?” I stabbed the pecan pie like it was Stella’s face.
Caine just sat there quietly, grinning like a maniac as Hex flopped down on my other side.
“Werewolves are weird as fuck,” he murmured, letting his gaze travel over the gathered crowd. “I swear on Hecate’s tits that some of them were trying to sniff my ass.”
