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Elijah had never been allowed to give a Christmas gift before. If he’d been permitted to give his artwork to Genie, he’d have started with a different shaped block of clay — one with a whet owl hiding in it.

But Brooke had been clear that wasn’t an option, so he needed to come up with something else. Genie wouldn’t be permitted to give him anything of value, so it wasn’t like she could get him way more than he could get her.

Also, Brooke had forbidden the brothers from talking to each other about what they were doing for others, and evenwhothey were going to find a gift for. He had to do this on his own, without his brother’s input, and it was hard. He was used to sharing everything with his brother.

And had no idea what to getanyone.

The bitch of it was, Dev could ask anything of him at any time, so he couldn’t offer, say, a foot massage or a blow job, because it was like saying Dev couldn’t have it without it being gifted. It would be an insult.

And he was expected to try to make good decisions, so a promise to do his best to make good decisions for six weeks also probably wouldn’t go over well.

Then he remembered when he’d been sent as pleasure slave to a vampire who had this whole psychic schtick thing he did, which usually would’ve pissed the Concilio off, except he waspart of the Concilio and he was careful to keep his face hidden in the shadows in his promo. Elijah telepathed Brooke and asked if he could provide extra services to get the oils, spices, jars, and bottles he’d need to make what he wanted. She told him what she’d need from him, and she set up a three-way telepath and helped him negotiate with the cook for time in the kitchen, since Elijah would need the food processor, the stove, and the oven. Normally, the cook didn’t have access to the pleasure slaves for sexual benefits — who knew the crotchety old horse shifter would want to whip him and then fuck his ass? But Elijah had taken horse shifters before. He’d survive.

However, for the first time, it occurred to him that perhaps Ezra was right, and it might be good to have another way to earn money — something that didn’t include a whip, and a cock that would possibly split his ass open and make him bleed.

* * * *

Ezra found peace in cleaning. Watching something go from dusty to shiny, running the vacuum over carpet and making perfect lines in it, maneuvering the dust mop over the hardwood floors. He didn’t even mind cleaning the baseboards.

He’d peeled potatoes before, though he’d never been allowed to cut them. He hadn’t been allowed access to sharp knives at the Concilio, and he was proud that Brooke and the cook trusted him enough with one. Of course, he also realized he was locked into a prep room by himself while he cut them, but as Dev kept reminding him, trust was earned in baby steps.

He was looking forward to their evening at the Christmas Carnival. Dev had shown them pictures of it in years past, and he couldn’t wait to ride on a Ferris wheel. He’d seen a picture of larger ones, but he never thought he’d have a chance to ride on any, and a small one was better than nothing.

He wasn’t certain about the roller coaster. Dev said it was smaller than roller coasters usually are, because they took it apart and stored it from January until October, so they couldn’t have a huge one. Still, it looked daunting, and some of the adults looked as if they were screaming in the pictures.

Mostly, he couldn’t wait to spend the evening out, among people, and with Genie, Dev, and Elijah. He’d been promised spicy hot chocolate, something called a funnel cake, and lots of other food choices.

Some of the safety precautions had been explained to them. He and Elijah would wear the two bracelets that kept them in their human forms. He was grateful Brooke had adjusted them so they could still feel their cats, just not enough tochange. They would also wear a butt-plug/cock-ring unit that would shock them in small bursts if they neared the outer fence, and would shock them painfully without reprieve if they got within ten feet of it. It would render them conscious but paralyzed if they got within a foot of it. The device would be turned on once they were inside, and they’d be walked close enough to the fence to feel the first and second of eight stages before the evening began.

Ezra had a feeling it would be activated while in the limo as well, so they’d be shocked if they exited it before being given leave. He’d worn a collar that worked as an electric leash when he was owned by the Concilio, and his experience was that you could be electronically secured to different things while traveling — sometimes, he’d been leashed to his handler, so he couldn’t get more than six feet from him without being shocked.

But he didn’t care. He was going to get to go out and enjoy a Christmas Carnival as if he were a free person, mostly.

Rides were free to anyone Brooke invited, and Dev had told him Brooke would give the four of them a bracelet that allowed unlimited food and drink.

It wasn’t just the coterie who’d be there, but most everyone who was considered a friend or ally of the coterie as well.

Ezra needed to look, again, through the pictures Dev had provided a few days earlier, so he’d be sure to remember the names of people he was likely to be introduced to. A dozen of them were Genie’s bikers, but there would also be Master Vampires and their top people from other cities in Alabama. Also, the Master of Florida was supposed to be present with a few of his people. The Dragon King and Swan Queen, along with their kids, had been invited, as had the Amakhosi — the king of all lions — along with Mother Nature and an ancient god known in this age as Mordecai. Elijah had actually met Mordecai before because he was a friend of Apollonius, who thankfully was not expected to be there, though he’d been invited.

Ezra was terrified at the prospect of meeting the Amakhosi, not only the King of every lion on the planet, but also king of all cats in North America — supposedly even housecats. What would His Majesty think of two cats who were more cat than human? Would he want to slaughter them on sight? Brooke had assured him that would not be the case, but he wasn’t so certain. Mordecai had taken an unexpected interest in them, and rumor had it, Mordecai was in some kind of poly relationship with Mother Nature and the Amakhosi.

But he wasn’t so scared he didn’t want to go. Even if it was his last night alive, at least he was going to get toliveon this night.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Genie always took a shower first thing after a shift at the hospital. Passing on microbes she may have on her skin to shapeshifters wasn’t a huge worry, but she needed to wash away the energy of ‘fixer’ to just being herself again.

Dev had figured out he wasn’t going to get a really good, involved kiss until after she’d showered, so he usually just gave her a peck on the lips, and didn’t try to hold her and welcome her home until after her shower — usually while she was still naked, which wasn’t a surprise. She didn’t mind, though.

Neither did she mind the quick prison-guard inspection in the shower followed by a frenzied fuck against the shower wall this morning, despite her exhaustion. Dev took away her options and decided everything for her when he took control, and she loved how he could pull her out of her own head.

The cook had outdone himself, with country fried steak, real mashed potatoes, gravy, fried apples, green beans with a hint of spice that made them the best green beans she’d ever had, and a pickled dish of cabbage and other greens that also perfectly hit the spot.

And then a dessert of chocolate decadence — chocolate cake with fudge between the layers instead of icing, and a sweet cream cheese frosting with chocolate shavings on top.

She watched Dev sprinkle cayenne pepper flakes on his huge slab of cake, and she shuddered. She knew he preferred spicy foods and didn’t say anything when he put spices on his meals, but dessert? No way.

“Today is the nineteenth,” Dev said. “Our last weekend before Christmas.”