“What kind of ride are you?” Jen’s voice was ripe with suggestion.
“Would anyone be too upset if Jennifer suddenly developed laryngitis?” Peri asked just before she flashed them from the mansion.
Chapter 10
“On the tenth day of Christmas my werewolf gave to me ten Jen cakes, nine werewolves prancing, eight laughing females, seven perfect kisses, six packs of Oreos, five satisfied smiles, four hours of hotness, three growling males, two cursing pups, and a furball in a fir tree.” ~Jen
“But really. Just wait. I can’t even.” ~Sally
“I thought you ladies were just going to pick up cakes,” Costin said to Sally through their bond.
“That was the original plan,” she agreed. “But the cakes weren’t all done, so we figured we’d do some Christmas shopping while we were out.”
“And you have so much Christmas shopping to do that you won’t be home until tomorrow?”
Sally did not miss the displeasure in her mate’s voice. “Peri and Elle will have us back in the blink of an eye. Literally.”
“Costin is not happy about this impromptu shopping trip,” Sally said as they stood at the entrance to a huge mall in Dallas, Texas.
“Neither is Decebel. When he asked me why the cakes had to be from Dallas, I told him ‘Because everything is bigger in Texas, duh.’”
Sally rolled her eyes. She should have seen that one coming.
All the girls spoke at once, expressing their own mates’ responses, which were all something along the lines of ‘What the hell are you doing in Texas?’, and then all of the females laughed.
“To be fair,” Jacque said, “we’d be mad if they decided to stay overnight in a different country without talking to us about it first.”
“Who said anything about being fair?” Peri folded her arms across her chest.
“Wadim keeps pointing out that we don’t have to stay the night since we have flashing fae that could bring us back in an instant,” Zara said.
A brow on Elle’s forehead rose. “He makes us sound like strippers.”
“That can be arranged,” Jen offered.
“Sally-mine.” Costin’s voice in her mind drew her attention from the group. “No stripping.”
She mentally scoffed. “Did you just mistake me for Decebel’s mate?”
“I’m also talking about strip clubs. The male variety,” he growled. “Or female. Or any variety for that matter.”
“What other varieties are there?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “But I don’t want you to find out.”
“How did you go from Christmas shopping to strip clubs in a matter of minutes?”
“The same way everything goes to stripping when Jen is involved.”
Sally shrugged a shoulder. “You got me there.”
“Please, be safe.” His voice was tight with the worry she could feel coming through their bond. Her mate still had a hard time being away from her, and she understood why, but she also knew that she couldn’t be attached to his hip. It wouldn’t be healthy for either of them.
“My hip disagrees, as does my wolf,” he grumbled.
“I’ll be safe. Give Titus a hug and kiss for me. I love you. I’ll keep the bond wide open.” Sally waited to see what he would say. After nearly a minute—she’d counted—he finally responded.
“If anything feels off, even a little, promise me Peri and Elle will bring you back immediately.”
Sally felt his fingertips run down her face and one of his hands run down the middle of her back where her markings were. He wasn’t playing fair.
“I promise,” she answered, doing her best to ignore his attempt at physical coercion.
Sally mentally blew him a kiss and then returned her focus to the females around her. She could tell by the looks on some of their faces that they were still having conversations with their mates through their bonds. Those who were still talking looked irritated. The ones who’d finished appeared eager to get their Christmas shopping on.
“All right, ladies,” Jacque said as she motioned everyone to gather closer. “I think we should divide into two groups with a fae in each one. We can cover more ground that way.”
“Divide and conquer.” Jen nodded. “I like it.”
Sally rolled her eyes. “You two do realize this is a shopping trip not a military coup, right?”
“I thought everything was a military operation in Jen’s mind,” Crina quipped.
“You thought right,” Jen said. “Because we never know when the shnizzle is going to hit the fizzan.”
“Shnizzle?” asked Jacque. The entire group blinked at Jen.
“What?” Jen huffed. “I’ve got a kid who is learning to curse before she can even speak in full sentences. I’m trying to clean up my vocabulary.”
Rachel patted Jen on the back. “You do you, Jen. You do you.”
Sally frowned at the other healer. “I’ve never understood that little saying, and no offense, but how on earth do you even know that saying? You’re kind of … well … you’re umm…”
“Old as dirt,” offered Jen helpfully.
Jacque cleared her throat and shot a glare at Jen. “What our sweet, little Sally is trying to say is that you’re wise, experienced, and perhaps a little out of touch with the human slang of the day.”
“Well put, alpha.” Zara gave a small smile.
“We’ve got a crap ton of shopping to do and a fancy hotel with a spa waiting for us. There’s no time to be tactful,” said Jen.
“You’re never tactful, regardless of what is waiting on you,” said Sally.
“What’s usually waiting on me is Decebel … in bed … naked. Would you be tactful?”
“Can’t argue with that,” said Zara.
“I like to read,” said Rachel, bringing them all back to the mall and out of Jen’s bedroom. “Believe it or not, I like to read the current, popular young adult books. They’re fun and not too heavy.”
“Not too heavy is good,” Crina agreed. “I hate it when I’m reading an intense book and the butthole author kills off one of my favorite characters. I mean, really? Couldn’t you just have them lose a leg or something?”
“Right?” Rachel nodded her head fervently. “We’ve got enough death going on in real life. I don’t need it in my books, too.”
“I love that you guys are bonding right now,” Jacque interrupted. “But I’d love it more if you bonded and moved your butts. Peri, Sally, Zara, and Crina, y’all are Delta Squad, and me, Rachel, Elle, and Jen are Alpha Squad.”
“Yes!” Jen threw a fist into the air.
“Why are you encouraging her?” Sally rolled her eyes.
“You know why. It’s just easier. Besides, this is a big mall. This is one time Jen’s military tactics might come in handy. I don’t want you girls to get lost.” Jacque pulled her phone out of her back pocket and looked at the screen. “Oh, good. It updated to the correct time zone. Okay, so we meet back here”—Jacque pointed to the spot where she stood—“in four hours.”