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“Why didn’t you tell me you were so good at pool?” Ginger mopes.

“You didn’t ask.”

Chapter 16 - Hunter

I have never beaten my sister at billiards. She’s always been better at it than me. But tonight, I think she might actually lose. Granted, not directly because of me, but I’ll take the win however I can get it. Especially if it means I don’t have to deal with changing her oil or windshield wipers anymore.

We only have one more ball to sink to win, the eight ball. I stand back, allowing Lottie to line up her shot, and the sight is a welcome one. Lottie leans over the table, thrusting her backside out in my direction. I don’t pay attention to what’s happening on the table because all my focus is on her beautiful ass. The swaying blue material of her dress brushes against the backs of her thighs in a way that has my pants growing tighter.

I wasn’t kidding when I said it was a pleasurable torture to watch females play pool. Seeing Lottie bent over all but presenting herself to me has me practically panting. I’ve been hard the entire game and have had to discreetly adjust myself so as not to draw attention to it.

My hand tightens on my stick, and it creeks under the pressure. Lottie’s skirt rides up just far enough to glimpse her creamy thighs that rub together with every slight adjustment she makes to her angle.

I can easily imagine her in this very position, down on all fours in the middle of that grassy meadow in the forest. Her voice hoarse from screaming my name, and her pussy bared for me, wet and ready. The urge to growl and purr is too great to suppress, and I feel a rumbling vibration in my chest. Thankfully, the music and chatter of the bar are too loud for anyone to hear. The place has gone from partially full to almost overflowing with people.

My perfect view is suddenly hindered by the body of another male, leaning in to speak with Lottie. She must have already taken her shot, and I didn’t see it since I was focused on her ass and how I’d like to see it bare except my claw marks.

My insides bristle at the thought of another male near my female. But I stay still; he’s only speaking to her, and if I were to make a claim on her publicly like this, there would be talk around town. So, I clamp down on my desire to wring the nymph’s neck and clench my jaw tight to stop from barking out an alpha command at him.

The nymph, now leaning in dangerously close to Lottie, is one I’m very familiar with. Kai isn’t a full-time resident of Snowberry but visits regularly for the equinox, which happens not long after the blood moon. I hadn’t known he was back in town already. He’s a cocky bastard and a relentless flirt. He’ll hit on anyone that strikes his fancy, and Lottie, being new in town, would be considered fresh meat to him.

I don’t expect Lottie to reciprocate his flirtations, but when he leans in to sniff her and runs a finger down her exposed arm, I can’t stop my body from pressing forward, a warning growl building in my chest.

“I don’t care who you smell like, sweetheart; you are too delicious to ignore,” Kai utters softly enough that Lottie furrows her brow in confusion at him.

She’s a human, and Kai knows it, but he still says stupid shit like that anyway.

“Kai,” I bark out his name in a low warning tone. Nothing aggressive . . . yet.

“Hunter. Didn’t see you lurking there. Is this one yours? So sorry,” he says in mock defense with a shit-eating grin but wisely removes his hand from Lottie.

He knows damn well I was standing here and even just admitted knowing who she smelled like—me—and yet still tries to play it off innocently. As if he was completely unaware.

“Didn’t know you were back in town,” I say instead of the litany of clarifications he seems desperately in need of.

Putting him in his place in front of Lottie and the other humans present in the bar tonight would be too much of a hassle, and I don’t have enough fairy dust with me. Although I could easily ask for more from Becca. Even though she was on my sister’s team playing against me just now, Becca is always willing to help. She was a great help to me four years ago during the last blood moon disaster when we had to go around town dusting the humans. She and Levi worked in tandem to help get everything back to normal. Making sure we got to the humans quickly and efficiently replacing their nightmare fuel memories of horny wolf beasts with ones of less scary wild dogs running through town.

Kai shrugs and smiles in Lottie’s direction, still not giving up on his flirting. “Came early, felt like getting away from the city and . . . things for a while.”

He’s most likely referring to the demands of his uptight family. Kai comes from a long line ofpurebloods, as they like to call themselves. Nymphs who only mate and procreate with other nymphs. No cross-species mating and definitely no humans. To them, humans are for fun, not for mates or children.They think humans weaken their blood and species and they’re not completely wrong.

When a non-human breeds with a human, the offspring are a mix of the two, half and half. Like Daisy, she’s half earth nymph and half human. Her ability to use a glamour isn’t as strong, her senses are not as sharp, and her appearance is a blend of her two parents, giving her more human characteristics. For example, her shorter pointed ears rather than the long, elegant points of most.

Whereas a pairing of two non-humans results in a child of one or the other. If a fairy were to mate with a shifter, their child would be either a fairy or a shifter, not a mix of both, except in the occurrence of two different types of the same, like nymphs. There are many types with different magic, and their magic can mix when they mate. Kai himself is a mix of animal and fire nymph.

Kai follows his family’s rules and restrictions but is less prejudiced than some of the older generations. They come to Snowberry to celebrate in the old way for the equinoxes and solstices, leaving their manors and mansions to “slum it” with the common folk. Everyone looks forward to the seasonal celebrations as it isn’t only the nymphs who partake.

“Well, as nice as it is to see you again, Kai, we’re in the middle of a game, so how about you take your shameless flirting elsewhere for the time being? Okay?”

The cocky nymph chuckles and wisely takes a step back. Running his fingers through his long red hair that he doesn’t try to hide through his glamour, he deftly avoids his glamoured invisible horns. An amused fire dancing in his eyes, his fire-nymph side showing. I think that’s part of why he enjoys stirring up trouble so much. Fire nymphs like to spark flames and watch things burn sometimes.

“No problem, Boss. I think I see a few willing ladies right over there calling my name.”

He winks at Lottie before sauntering over to the bar, his striped tail swishing behind him. He's already setting his sights on another female, another human. I think he purposely seeks them out to piss off his family since they dislike them so much.

“Who was that?” Lottie asks, pressing close to my side.

Her arm brushes mine, and a bolt of pure desire shoots through my body, reawaking my cock. I shiver and step to the side so it doesn’t happen again, no matter how desperately I want to touch her skin.