Page 1 of High Stakes and Soulmates (Fanged Mistakes #3)

EZIO

“I have decided that I am going to woo Cyrus with the skills of my ancestors,” I declare.

“Do we have absolutely any idea what he’s going on about?

” Julian, the werewolf who is just delightful, asks.

He started dating my closest friend, Casimir, a few months ago after some peculiar fake dating scheme to bring the weres and vampires closer.

Casimir, as the head of the territory, was stuck dealing with the vampires and weres clashing until Julian, the son of the werewolf pack’s alpha, stepped in with an idea to help them get along.

And because everything Julian puts his mind to happens, the two sides are finally at peace…

as long as we don’t notice the feud between Casimir and Julian’s father… oh, and Steve.

Fuck Steve.

What I really want to bring closer is my lovely Cyrus and myself. I mean… really, it’s a shame that there’s no fake dating scheme for us to end up involved in. Why do those two get to have all the fun?

“He’s like background music,” Casimir explains. “Like it’s there, but you don’t actually listen to what’s going on.”

So much for being my best friend—it’s weirdly like he’s my best enemy.

“Why is he looking at me, Julian? He’s making me feel things,” Casimir says, scrutinizing me.

“Should I be jealous?” Julian asks as we sit at his kitchen table. It’s not as though Casimir and I need to eat at the kitchen table, but Casimir claims that Julian doesn’t like to eat alone. I wish Cyrus wanted me to stare at him while he slurps down peas as well!

I sigh and let my head hit the table so they can all be aware of my despair.

“You know what would have been funny? If I’d put a nut there that he could have cracked open. It would have been hilarious ,” Casimir comments.

“Uh-huh, honey,” Julian says like he’s just over here trying to support Casimir’s ridiculous ideas for no reason at all. Even I knew it wasn’t even funny!

“You say that like you think it wouldn’t have been hilarious,” Casimir tells him.

“No! Let me get a nut, and we’ll see,” Julian says, evidently wanting Casimir to feel good about himself and his horrible choices. I want Cyrus to do that for me!

“You two make me feel disgusting,” I declare.

Julian returns and sets an M apparently, he’s enjoying my misery.

He’s such a simple man who simply enjoys abusing me.

He shifts back, but since my arms are still around him, I’m left holding on to a very naked man.

I decide that this is better than nothing and maybe Cyrus will get jealous until Julian stands up and my cheek is left skidding down his ass cheek.

“Julian, why?” I cry. “Now I look like a pervert.”

“You didn’t look like one before?” Cyrus asks.

“No. I simply looked like a depressed man before,” I explain. Meanwhile, Julian gives no shits as he gets dressed. Really, these wolves are borderline nudists… or maybe it’s just Julian.

Cyrus’s phone beeps and he glances down at it before his eyebrows knit. “I need to go.”

“Something I can help with?” I ask eagerly.

Cyrus points a finger at the window where the sun is still hanging in there for another hour or so. “Not unless you’re prepared to get fried first.”

“Aw, you care about me.”

The look on Cyrus’s face tells me that it doesn’t take much to care about someone to the point of not wanting to scrape their charcoaled body off the sidewalk.

Understandable.

“What if I walk you to the door? Really, it’d be my pleasure.”

“What? In case I can’t find it?” he teases.

“Exactly!” I say as I hurry after him, ditching Julian. “I was being abused in there.”

Cyrus seems less than certain about that. “Yeah? That’s why you were rolling around with Julian when I walked in? Abuse?”

“Possibly, but probably not,” I say. “How is your day going?”

“Would be better if I wasn’t being called in after hours. Why do they even need me? Sometimes, I swear they can’t even wipe their asses without help.”

“Do you want me to terrorize them a bit? Would that make you feel better?”

“Not sure it would.”

“I’d do it for you.”

“I’m well aware,” he says as he reaches the door. “Uh… thank you so much for walking me to the door. I would’ve never found it without you.”

“You’re welcome. If you ever need my fantastic assistance ever again, please, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Cyrus shakes his head and gives me a wave before slipping out the door, shutting it tightly behind him.

Although Casimir’s house is set up so the sun can’t creep in even if the door does get left open, and the windows have special tint on them to keep it from hurting us, he makes sure to slide out without opening it too far and disappears into the daylight…

a place I’ll never be able to follow him.

“Did perusing him with your eyeballs rejuvenate you enough to keep on living?” Julian teases.

“It sure did! Now, let’s talk about that painting of my naked body you promised me,” I say as I contemplate the pose I should take.

“I promised you no such thing. Casimir did, so Casimir will paint you.”

“Alright, sure. Why not!” Casimir says, which should honestly concern me more than anything.

Obviously, the man is on a high today for some reason.

Either that or he’s looking for a new way to be mean to me.

Honestly, that’s my guess. “Go on now. The couch looks like as good of a spot as any. Whip them off.”

“I feel almost a bit shy!” I whine as I head over to it and immediately drop my pants.

“Not too shy, apparently,” Julian observes. “Casimir doesn’t even have anything ready yet.”

“It’s okay, I’ll wait. Julian, which pose should I take? Sexy seductor? Woeful lover?”

“I’ve seen Casimir paint and I’m going to be very honest, it’s not going to matter,” Julian says as he sets Casimir up with a canvas and paintbrush. “I’m more concerned about your naked ass on my couch.”

“Come, come. I want you in your wolf form lying with me. It’ll be a tasteful nude.”

“Yes, because nothing says tasteful like a painting done by your best friend that details your naked ass and his boyfriend,” Julian says with ample sarcasm.

“If you’re jealous that you don’t have a painting of you and Casimir, I’m more than willing to draw some stick figures for you,” I assure him.

“Stop moving around so much, I can’t tell what color your eyes are,” Casimir says.

“What the fuck? You’ve known me two hundred years, you’ve tried to eat me, and you don’t know my eye color?”

“Keep that disgruntled look on your face. I think it really makes your eyeballs pop,” Casimir comments as Gustov comes over to him for pets. Casimir seems to forget all about painting me while he switches to petting him.

“You’re going to be here all night at this point,” Julian warns me.

“No, no, I’m focused,” Casimir says as he pets the dog some more, and then decides he’ll paint me with his left hand since his right is preoccupied. “Almost done.”

“Are you?” Julian asks while he eyes the painting. “You’re like a fifteen-year-old boy in a five-hundred-year-old body.”

Casimir chuckles. Just over there patting a dog, painting, and chuckling.

Not at all concerning.

“And I am finished,” he announces, and without hesitation, he flips it around to show me. Julian had wandered off, so of course he rushes over to soak in the masterpiece with me.

“Oh wow ,” Julian says, unable to keep his grin at bay. “So much detail in such a tiny penis.”

“Right? It was a lot of work to make it as lifelike and tiny as possible.”

“I can barely see it.”

“I know!” Then Casimir cackles up a storm.

The rest of “me” is a half stick figure, half alien-looking thing.

“Julian,” I whine.

“Hey… you agreed to it,” Julian says. “And it’s… charming. Like in an abstract way.”

“If it’s so charming, I want you to hang it on the wall.”

“Yes, Julian, splendid idea,” Casimir says.

“Alright, we’ll just remove one of the Gustov paintings and do just that. Maybe the one hiding the hole in the wall from when you threw a dog brush or something at it?”

Casimir quickly retracts his statement. “Don’t you dare.”

My phone beeps and I pick it up before eagerly opening it. “My Cyrus has texted me!”

Cyrus: The second you won’t burn to a crisp, I need you here.

“He needs me!” I declare.

“It… it looks like he’s inviting you to a crime scene, not a date,” Julian says, but I excitedly yank my clothes on and wait by the door for the very second I won’t burn up.

Julian seems to think it’s quite strange that I’m standing there for about seventeen minutes before I can finally go to my man.