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Lastly I sidled up to Elias. His green eyes sparkled, and his bergamot and pepper scent brought me back to that first day we met, flirting over pancakes in a cheap diner.

Who would have guessed my dad’s death would have led to this?

“Hey, California,” he smiled, bringing me in for a hug. I was a puddle in his arms, breathing him in and wishing we were still in Wisconsin, wrapped up in the nest he’d decorated for me, drinking a cup of tea.

Each relationship I had with my alphas was special, and I loved how attentive Elias had been from the start.

I couldn’t imagine my life without any one of them.

“Be safe, okay?”

“You’re asking me?” he replied. He chuckled and shook his head. “I’m with Cam on this one. The second things get hairy, we’re pulling you out, because none of this means anything if you don’t make it out alive. Got it?”

I gave him a smile. Elias was actually on Cam’s side for once. I couldn’t help but wonder if it had anything to do with Cam becoming “supreme alpha,” or whatever they were calling it. But it was funny to think of him as the leader of anything, because we all knew whoreallyran the show here.

“Got it, alpha,” I said with a wink.

He pinched my bottom, and I yelped in surprise. “Brat. We’ll see how many spanks that cheek gets you when we’re home.”

I gave him a big kiss, running my fingers through his wavy blonde hair. “I’m looking forward to it.”

I took a step back, inspecting my pack one more time before turning around to face Ezra and Kian. Wasabi slinked up beside me, rubbing her head along my hip.

“Are we ready?” I asked. Everyone nodded their heads, until Cam put up a hand to pause us and turned towards Kian.

“Wait—kid, do you, um…”

Kian’s cheeks blushed, and he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “Oh, ah…yeah, it couldn’t hurt. The magic uses a lot of my energy.”

Nolan burst out laughing and I looked around confused. “What’s so funny?”

Elias smirked. “Kian fed from Cam yesterday and gave him a massive boner.”

My eyes widened and I turned my head slowly towards Cam, who was trying his hardest not to seem flustered. “Well, that’s inconvenient,” I said slowly.

“Being dead is inconvenient!” he snapped.

I flattened my lips, keeping the impending chuckle at bay while Cam ran his hand over his head in frustration. “The whole plan is depending on his magic, right? He needs the energy!”

Ezra shook his head and took a step back. “Don’t look at me.”

The rest of the pack also averted their gaze

I sighed, sticking my wrist in Kian’s face. “Just take it from me then, at least I won’t have to worry about my dick getting in the way while fighting.”

Kian’s eyes widened and he checked wordlessly with Cam for permission.

“Hey!” I snapped, bringing his attention back to me. “I don’t need anyone’s permission to offer my blood. It’s mine to give, not theirs.”

He swallowed nervously. “No, I get that. But they’re the ones who warned me that they’d rip my throat out if I drank from you.”

I gasped and whipped my head around. “What the hell, guys?”

Cam growled a challenge, but it didn’t deter my glare. “We’d just met the guy and found out his dad was the one who’d attacked you. Sorry if we were being a little suspicious of his intentions.”

My expression softened. Of course they’d have been worried about a vampyr volunteering to look for me. I probably would have made the same threats in their shoes.

I blamed my knee-jerk reaction on the heightened tension of the situation, and took a deep, calming breath. “You’re right Cam, I’m sorry. But surely you won’t hurt him if I ‘top him off,’ right?”