Jacque and Sally glanced at one another. They weren’t strangers to Jen’s battles with her parents. Jen couldn’t seem to make them happy. Jacque knew they loved her, but they had expectations that Jen had never been interested in meeting. She’d always had her own idea of what her life would be, regardless of what anyone, including her parents, thought. She’d decided at some point in high school she wouldn’t keep beating a dead horse. So, she and her parents had lots of fights and Jen spent many nights at Jacque’s house eating Oreos and drinking hot chocolate while she lamented the fact her parents didn’t understand her and didn’t care to try.
“Will you tell Decebel eventually?” Sally asked.
“Yes, but I don’t want to worry him. He’s already worried about me because I’m going a little overboard with this whole celebration thing.”
“A little?” Jacque cracked a smile.
Jen shrugged. “Why do anything if you’re just going to half-ass it?”
“There’s the Jennifer we know and love,” Sally held her hand up to her friend, which Jen high fived.
“Damn straight.” She took a deep breath and then let it out. “Enough girly, bonding crap. We’ve got work to do.”
“Are we really going to have a girls’ night and corrupt poor Zara?” Jacque asked as they started walking.
“I won’t force it on her, but I think a girls’ night would be fun. Pajama party, painting fingernails, pillow fights.” Jen grinned at them. “We could even casually hint to the guys that there might be the possibility of a naked pillow fight.”
Sally shook her head. “That would get us all locked in our rooms.”
“I don’t know about that.” Jacque felt her mate in her mind, his interest piqued. “Naked pillow fights seem like something they’d make an exception for.”
“You obviously weren’t reading my interest correctly, Luna,” Fane said into her mind. “You grabbed my attention when I caught Sally’s statement about locking you in our room. I have no desire to watch you have a naked pillow fight,” he paused, “unless it is with me, of course.”
“Of course.” Jacque laughed.
“Costin’s totally not on board with that,” Sally said, a blush creeping up her neck. There was no telling what her flirty mate had said to her.
“Why on earth would you two even let your mates in on that tidbit?” Jen huffed. “Amateurs. You’re supposed to send them a naked mental picture while we’re at the girls’ night and then tell them we’re having a naked pillow fight … even though we’re not.”
“Some of us don’t feel the need to torture our males on a regular basis,” Jacque pointed out.
“Liar,” Jen muttered. “You just do it in different ways.”
They reached the main living room and saw Peri and Elle helping Crina and Zara out with the lights, though they were doing it the good old-fashioned way. Peri was cursing up a storm and attempting to untangle the twisted cords. She held out her hand as if to use magic, and Jen spoke up. “Don’t even think about it, Peri Fairy.”
“Why is it you always pop up at the most annoying times?” Peri grumbled.
“It’s her superpower,” Sally offered.
“Among other things.” Jacque walked over and opened a new box of ornaments. “I’m going to get started on another one. How many trees are in the mansion, Jen?”
Jen looked up at the immense fir tree standing in the corner. “There are ten right now, but there will be twenty-three total.”
Jacque’s chest tightened as a realization hit her. Jen was putting up a tree for every person who’d died in the battle at the Keep. Her mouth dropped open, then she closed it without speaking.
Peri must have realized the significance of the number as well because she looked around at all the jumbled decorations and then at the rest of them. “What the hell are you waiting for? A royal invitation? We’ve got lights to untangle and trees to deck.”
“I thought it was halls that were supposed to be decked.” Crina was wrestling with her own strand of lights.
“Trees, halls, what does it matter? Let’s just deck it all.”
Jen looked at the group and smiled. Jacque knew her friend saw the tears in her own eyes. Jacque gave her a nod and then took the box of ornaments. She headed for one of the trees that needed decorations. She heard steps behind her and glanced over her shoulder to find Zara holding another box of ornaments. Jacque’s brow raised. Zara smiled.
“Figured you might need some help.” Zara picked up her pace.
“Help is always welcome.” They entered a smaller sitting room. The tree in it was not quite as tall as the one in the main living room, but it was still over nine feet. To Jacque’s surprise, Bethany was sitting in a chair with her feet up, her hands resting on her large stomach. The alpha paused. “You want us to work somewhere else?”
Bethany shook her head. “No, please, come in and give me something to listen to other than my mate grumbling about how I’m not resting enough, not eating enough, even though I’m the size of a small country, and how I should be in bed because for some reason being in bed would somehow keep me safer than sitting in a freaking chair.”
Jacque laughed. “They tend to get a little overprotective when their mate is knocked up.”
“Overprotective?” Bethany scoffed. “How about smothering? I’d say we passed ‘a little overprotective’ five pillows ago. I’m pretty sure he’d sit on me to keep me where he wanted me if he wasn’t worried he’d hurt the baby.”
“I’m shocked he hasn’t tried to tie you to the bed.” Jacque sat the box of ornaments down on the coffee table and then pulled one out.
“Who said he hasn’t?” Bethany laughed. “This is the same man who used a sheet and safety pins to keep me from leaving our suite naked.”
“One thing is for sure.” Zara sat her ornaments down next to Jacque’s box. “It is never boring around here.”
“As Jen would say, boring is for wussies.” Jacque grinned as she hung a couple of ornaments and then headed over to the box to grab another. She looked at the box and then at the tree and sighed. It was going to be a long afternoon.
“Except she wouldn’t say ‘wussies,’” said Zara.
“True dat.”
Jacque and Zara worked quietly as Bethany watched and hummed Christmas songs. Jacque continually shot glances Zara’s way but tried not to make it obvious she was watching the girl. Apparently, subtlety wasn’t her strong suit.
“Yes, something is wrong.” Zara caught Jacque glancing at her, probably for the tenth time in the span of a minute.
“Thank goodness.” Bethany breathed out. “I was trying really hard not to ask, and you know pregnant women have no filter.”
Jacque nodded. “Accurate.”
“Okay”—Bethany motioned to Zara—“spill it.”
Just as Zara was about to speak, Wadim came striding in with a ladder in hand. He set it up in front of the tree and glanced at his mate. “When you said you were hanging ornaments, I figured you’d probably need one of these.”