Page 54 of Deck the Skulls

“We live together and die together,” she murmured. “That’s both romantic as fuck and scary.”

“Agreed,” Pike said. “I try hard not to think about it.”

Harper set down a bowl of fruit in front of Pike and a box in front of Rissa. “This is for you to take home to Zan. Josie, the cook, says it’s his favorite.”

“Um, thanks,” Rissa said, then realized she didn’t have any way to pay for the coffee or food. “I need to run home and get my wallet. I can be right back with it.”

Harper shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. You’re pack, so we’ll put it on your tab.”

She moved further down the counter to talk to someone else.

Rissa looked at Pike. “Are all wolf, bear, and mountain lion shifters this nice?”

He shook his head. “No! There are some nasty packs out there and some slithers are really territorial. My car broke down in a slither’s territory once, and I was almost killed. If Kimble hadn’t come to the rescue, I would've been a bear rug.”

“Slither?”

“Nagas,” he explained. When her questioning expression didn’t change, he elaborated. “Snake shifters.”

“There’s so much,” she mumbled, rubbing her forehead.

“There is a lot, but you don’t need to know all of it right away,” Pike assured her. “Right now, what’s important is knowing that you’ve faced some of the worst our world has to offer and didn’t flinch away. And that Anatoly and Zan will love you, no matter what you decide.”

She might ask him about other magical creatures another time, but suddenly she had to leave. She needed to get back to Anatoly and Zan. The craving to get back had been building since the moment she stepped inside The Pack House.

She couldn’t resist it any longer. She felt like an addict who needed a fix.

“Thanks for the conversation, Pike,” she said, grabbing the box and sliding off her stool. “I need to go.”

“Good luck!” he called out as she practically ran out of the restaurant.

Chapter 18

Zan

Zan knew it was only right to give Rissa space to think, but it had hurt when she walked away.

It had to be cold outside, and she probably didn’t put on enough clothes. She never wore enough clothes. He wanted to spend the rest of his life wrapping her in his jackets. The question was if she’d let him.

If she decided she didn’t want to be with them, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. Waiting for Rissa to make her decision felt a little like he was standing on the edge of a precipice. If she refused them, he might fall into an all-encompassing darkness, and that scared the hell out of him. He didn’t know anyone who’d lost a mate and survived.

He felt a warmth through his soul bond with Anatoly. It helped chase away the fear, and he snuggled closer to the smaller man.

“I wish you could move right now,” he whispered. “But feeling you in my head and in my arms is good too.”

Unlike most vampires his age, Anatoly struggled during the daylight hours, especially early morning. It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that he was able to get up, but his movements were sluggish and uncoordinated, even when he was well fed. It was a constant source of frustration for Anatoly, who’d thought having Zan in his flock would solve, or at least mitigate, the problem.

But no, sharing souls hadn’t changed that, although Anatoly assured Zan he felt stronger in other ways.

“You know, I could do anything to you right now,” Zan whispered in Anatoly’s ear, rubbing his crotch against the vampire’s ass. “You are so mean to me with the edging. Maybe I should use you.”

Zan could feel Anatoly’s mixed emotions. One part of Anatoly liked the idea of Zan using his body for pleasure, but the other hated not being able to participate. Zan debated about rolling the vampire onto his back and sucking his perfect, uncut cock until he came when he heard the front door open.

The jolt he got from Anatoly through their bond told him the vampire heard it too. It could only be Rissa.

Remaining still and closing his eyes, Zan pretended to sleep. Rissa would either start packing her stuff or join them in bed. He’d wait to see which before acting.

When her footsteps approached the bed, he slit his eyes open. She was standing on Anatoly’s side of the bed. Her hands were clenched together and for the first time since meeting her, it looked like she might cry. That could only mean one thing: she wanted to leave them but was torn.