Page 18 of Charisma
“Why?” Pax asks, his question full of suspicion. I barely hold back my desire to laugh because Pax’s expression is almost petulant, like a small child whose toy has been taken away from him.
“Just asking,” Drakko states, nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders.
“He’ll be gathering the troops and adding an extra training session to get our men and women ready in case a battle makes its way here,” Maverick informs not only Drakko but Paxton as well.
“I am?” Pax inquires.
“You are,” Maverick confirms.
“Well, wouldn’t you know, that’s my specialty. I’ll join you,” Drakko says to Paxton.
“You will?” Paxton asks through gritted teeth. “You really don’t have to do that. I’ve got it.”
“Nonsense. We need to stick together, friend,” Drakko states, holding out his hand for a shake.
“Fuck,” Pax hisses, grabbing Drakko’s hand harder than necessary.
“Now, that’s gonna be interesting,” I announce. “Are you sure we can’t go with them?” I ask Risma. “It sounds more fun than walking the perimeter looking for potential spots that can be breached.”
“I’ll make you a deal,” Risma offers. “We do as we promised the others, then we’ll go be spectators at the arena.”
“It’ll be like a gladiator bonanza,” I announce, my whistling excitement drawing out Charisma’s laughter.
“You're nothing more than an overgrown cub,” she giggles.
I stare at her with my jaw dropped for a moment. Stunned at the fact that she doesn’t see this the same way as I do. “Studying gladiators was my favorite topic in history class. This feels like it’ll be that time period experienced live, Risma!”
“Oh. Fun,” she sarcastically replies, rolling her eyes as she tugs on my arm, dragging me away from all of the entertainment.
She just doesn’t understand where I’m coming from, but she’ll see. Hopefully, neither Maverick nor Paxton will allow it to go too far before I get there, but it’ll be epic, that’s for sure! “Come on, mate, let’s see to the task we’ve been given.”
With her hand securely in mine, we follow the others out of the community room before splitting off to our intended destinations.
* * *
“Go, go, go,”I mutter as I shovel a handful of popcorn into my mouth. True to my earlier hopes, Paxton and Drakko are putting on quite a display of power as they grapple, wrestle, and flat-out try to take the other one down.
Drakko has Pax as far as size goes, but Paxton’s panther shifter gives him a unique flexibility the dragon doesn’t possess. I’m secretly rooting for Drakko simply because he’s adragonand I’ve always been fascinated by the lore concerning them and their skills.
“You’re hoping Drakko annihilates Paxton, aren’t you?” Charisma whispers in my ear. Not sure why she bothers; as shifters we have enhanced hearing so I’m sure Paxton heard her loud and clear, especially when I see him execute a move I didn’t know was realistically possible. When he has Drakko down, he glances at Risma while flipping her off and the grin he gives her is chilling.
“Hey now, I’ve got your back!” she exclaims, pointing at him. “It’s mymatewho’s doing it!”
“You’re gonna get your ass spanked, woman,” I growl out as Pax flips me off.
“Enough!” Maverick calls out, striding to where the two are sprawled out on the grass. “When you regain your energy, can you teach me that one move you did?” he asks Drakko. “I think it could be beneficial if we were able to execute it because it gives an element of surprise.” He’s right. Nobody would expect that we’d be privy to that sort of hand-to-hand combat maneuver.
“We’ll help, brother,” Buvor asserts. “Paxton, I’d like to learn that last move if you don’t mind.”
“We’d love to exchange battle strategies and evasive tactics with you. Because we all grew up in different realms, our maneuverability is different. I especially like that thing you did with your hips when you took Drakko down,” Airvyd admits, shifting his hip to the side, trying to reenact the takedown move—failing horribly. Instead, he’s looking as if he’s trying to throw his hips out of whack.
“Um, just saying, but the way you're doing that looks like you have ants in your pants,” Mari giggles at her mate, as she and the rest of the witch brigade make their way to us.
“No, it doesn't,” Airvyd argues, sounding like a child whining. “I’m doing it right. Aren’t I, Pac Man?” he asks, elbowing Pax in the sternum.
“No. You’re not. And again, the name’s Paxton, not Pac Man. Are you deaf? That’s the tenth time I’ve had to correct you. I don’t call you Air Fryer. Show some fucking respect.”
Uh oh, looks like Pax’s Alpha tendencies are coming out. He’s been slightly antagonistic toward all of them. It makes me wonder what is going on because my friend is usually not this way. I make a mental note to pull him to the side to see what’s going on with him because we have to present a unified front. We can’t have dissension and expect to win against demons.”