Page 33

WREN

“Chocolate lava cake with French vanilla ice cream and homemade whipped cream,” Puck said, a cocky grin on his face as he handed me the plate.

My stomach growled as I took it and burrowed back into the cushions on the couch in the living room. “This looks like heaven.”

“Wait until you taste it,” Locke said, grabbing a plate from the tray.

Puck speared him with a dirty look. “I knew one of the cakes was missing from my taste test.”

Locke just grinned. “You can’t leave chocolate just lying around. You know it’s my favorite.”

Kingston chuckled as he took a plate, too. “You do know it’s his weakness. You gotta guard that stuff with your life.”

Princess let out a meow and leapt onto the back of the couch between Ender and me, leaning in to sniff my plate.

“Oh, no. Chocolate is bad for kitties,” I said, moving the plate to the side.

Princess meowed again, but this one had a distinctly pissed-off bent to it.

I sent her a warning look. “Be nice.”

She headbutted my chin in answer.

“That’s better.” I scooped up some whipped cream with my finger and held it out to her. “Here you go.”

“You spoil her,” Ender mumbled.

“And you don’t?” I challenged. “You built her a pussy palace. And I caught you singing her a lullaby a couple of days ago.”

Ender’s cheeks pinked. “She likes that song.”

“Don’t say pussy,” Brix muttered. “It makes me hard, and I really want to enjoy this dessert.”

Kingston choked on a bite of cake, and Locke leaned over to pat him on the back. “Who are you kidding? Wren breathes , and you get hard.”

Brix shrugged. “Fair.”

I giggled and ate some cake. The chocolate exploded on my tongue, mixing with the rich ice cream and fluffy whipped cream.

I couldn’t help the moan that slipped free as my eyes closed.

I took my time enjoying the bite. But when my eyes opened again, I found five sets staring at me, all sparking with gold or silver.

Heat flamed in my cheeks. “Sorry. It was really good.”

Puck lowered himself to the spot on the other side of me and leaned in to press a kiss to my temple. “Never apologize for enjoying what I make you. Makes me happy as hell.”

“Happy and hard,” Brix muttered.

I choked on a laugh. “You’re welcome?”

He sent me a playful scowl. “You’re going to pay for that later.”

I stuck out my tongue at him. “It’s not a punishment if I enjoy it.”

“Jesus,” Ender muttered, pushing to his feet. “I need a workout and a cold-ass shower.”

“That’s because of your choices,” Puck called after him.

He wasn’t wrong, but I couldn’t help but wonder what the path forward looked like for Ender and me. So many things had gone wrong for us. And even though he was coming to terms with the truth, there was a lot to repair.

Locke moved as if sensing my mood. He lowered himself to the spot Ender had vacated but pushed in close, wrapping an arm around me. “You guys will figure it out. Promise.”

“I hope you’re right,” I muttered.

Brix stared after Ender for a moment and then pushed to his feet. “I’ll go check on him.”

Their bond was a close one. Maybe because of the trauma they’d shared as pups. Perhaps because they had the same sort of darkness within them. Whatever it was, I was glad they had each other.

This was how a pack should be: everyone looking out for one another, reading moods and providing support when needed. Just another gift the guys had given me. It was more than family or home; it was something deeper. And I wanted to do whatever I could to hold on to it.

I burrowed into the pillows, Puck at my back, and Locke at my front. Brix usually slept with us, too, but he still hadn’t returned from checking on Ender. I couldn’t deny that his absence put me on edge. Partially because I missed him but also because I worried about Ender.

Puck hooked an arm around my waist and nuzzled my hair. Locke’s eyes met mine in the dark, the only light coming from the cracked bathroom door. He slid his fingers through mine and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

I’d never felt safer than I did between them. Cared for. Cherished. Protected. And because of that security, sleep claimed me before I could even count to ten. But I didn’t have that same protection in my dreams. There, I was vulnerable to all sorts of monsters.

Rain pelted down on me, making it hard to see. My body shivered and burned all at the same time. The freezing rain chilled me to the bone, but the slices on my back were pure fire.

“I’ll beat the weakness out of you, Fleur. The submission. We will make a real wolf of you yet,” Bastian snarled.

The whip cracked, the only warning before a fresh wave of flames ignited across my back.

I tried to hold back all sound, knowing it would only make my father angrier.

But a soft whimper escaped my lips. A human wouldn’t have been able to hear it, but my father wasn’t human.

He shouldn’t even qualify as animal. He was pure monster.

A snarl tore through the air. The whip cracked again, and more fire engulfed my back. It happened over and over until I was no longer standing, held up only by the ties at my wrists.

A figure filled my blurry vision. Not Bastian but his beta, Marcelle. His lip curled. “Weak abomination. Maybe we can beat the caster out of her, too.”

The ground trembled, and I knew it was because my father neared.

A man who absolutely despised me. His hot breath cascaded over my cheek.

“You think they’ll save you? They can’t get you here.

Your pain is mine and mine alone. And the second any of those Arcanes even try to come for you, I’ll rip out their still-beating hearts. ”

A sob tore from my throat as my tears mixed with the rain.

Bastian spat at me. “So damned weak. Ending you would be a mercy to us all. But not until you cower. Not until you bleed.”

He pulled out a blade, and the moment it carved into my skin, I screamed.