Page 27

Nika

S ilas spent equal parts of the day grinning like he’d won a prize and pouting like a child when I paid attention to anyone other than him. But by the time evening rolled around, I finally understood what Lev had up his sleeve and wrangled the big child into doing with him.

Arms crossed over, I glared at the diabolical prankster next to me.

Lev had his blue hair gelled back in a smart look. His green eyes were a shade lighter in the outfit he wore. It was the sexiest he’d looked since leaving the Dark Fae Society. Normally, when he was in something this crisp and expensive, it was so he could pretend he was someone else.

Tonight he wasn’t pretending. Tonight Lev had stepped out in a trendy outfit he’d hand-selected for our outing as himself. Everyone around us noticed him for the gorgeous man he was.

I stole a glance at the sign glowing across the side of the building. Violet Rage, the nightclub where humans went to let off steam and rub up against strangers. I’d seen enough to know it was weird we’d come here at all. What sort of living happened inside a place like this? Dancing? Alcohol?

Guess that aligned with the two next to me. They enjoyed both and probably thought I would, too. I was more worried about what would happen to all the tension in the group by the end of the night if there was alcohol, dancing, and strangers involved.

“Don’t glare at me like that. You’ll have fun, promise,” Lev assured me. His eyes naturally strayed between the other two men joining us out. Well, the ones visible to everyone. “You can’t deny that Bear Claw and Silas look hot tonight.”

Peeking at the two in question, I was unfortunately in agreement.

Eyes everywhere were fastened to them. Human women were whispering, too starstruck to come closer.

The human men with them weren’t as excited by two handsome men in their midst, but I’d heard several ask if they’d seen them in a movie or if they were models.

Silas made it a point to keep his arm around me, warding off any of the men looking my way.

Salvator sneered and glared at any person who came close, acting more animal than man.

The shifter wasn’t at all interested in blending in with the people around him, and he didn’t seem to be on the lookout for fun.

His eyes were on me whenever I spared the tall shifter a glance.

Dark hair fell around his strong jaw and angular cheekbones.

His arms stayed perpetually crossed over his massive chest. I didn’t think he had any other way of standing, honestly.

He sneered at Lev when my friend smiled at him, but his fathomless stare didn’t leave mine, as if I was his sole focus even in a crowd.

But that was to be expected.

Salvator had been in my head for months, and we’d grown close.

I’d felt how much he cared even when he argued he didn’t.

He might be a growly asshole, but I still considered him a friend.

The shifter could’ve disappeared after reclaiming his body and a second chance at life, but he’d waited for me.

He chose to help us. That meant something.

Silas might not trust him, but I did.

It’d taken all of Lev’s charms and silver-tongued finesse to persuade the shifter to not only wear more than a pair of pants, but to look like someone who’d steal the limelight from any beautiful Fae in our society.

Ryker and Silas had taken immense joy in the shifter’s misery after he agreed—up until the moment he came out looking like a dangerously sexy bad boy, as Lev described it.

Silas had grumbled something about showing off and then disappeared to get dressed in our room.

When he reappeared, his silver hair was in a chaotic but alluring mess around his head.

He’d put on a torn pair of jeans and tight shirt that highlighted his massive torso. His arm tattoos were on display.

It wasn’t so much the outfit but the way the mercenary wore it. He strutted around like a god visiting our realm. At least that was the way Lev put it. My friend was a bit over the top with his descriptions sometimes. His love for everything Normie played a huge role in his verbal flair.

“If we touch Nika, will we become sex idols for all the females to adore, too? Oh, maybe we can change into something flashy and expensive. Bet we wouldn’t be able to keep the females off us,” Ryker murmured to Tometi behind me, invisible to those around him.

Humans passed through their bodies, neither seeing nor feeling the phantom pair.

I was the only one who could.

“I’m not in rut. Why would I need a female?” Tometi asked. I turned my head just in time to catch his face twist in a way that was quickly becoming his signature look. Confusion. “And why would I wear clothes when I only intend to take them off? You say the oddest things, wolf.”

It was a fair point, one even Ryker couldn’t refute. His happy laughter meant he still would because the wolf had the most fun when Tometi missed the point entirely.

After arriving, Tometi had spent a good fifteen minutes smelling everyone close to us. It’d given Ryker something to laugh about, but now he was bored. And when the wolf was bored, he picked fun at the bear or his previous host in creative ways.

It was his M.O.

“You’ve never been with a female out of your rut, Tome? That’s no way to live,” Ryker chastised his much taller counterpart with a grin.

The giant who no one could see laughed, taking three of our group by surprise. Even Salvator snapped his eyes over to where Tometi stood. “You might be right, Ryk. Females always smell…so good. I wouldn’t be against exploring more of that scent out of rut.”

Uh…

Ryker bounced in place. “Did you hear that, sweet girl? He gave me a nickname and he wants to explore females. I’m such a good influence.”

I heard Salvator snort, but the shifter glowered when I smirked at him. “I don’t know about a good influence.”

“What, you’d deny my big loveable bear here the pleasure of a female’s touch that’s not brought on by instincts? That’s just mean,” Ryker complained, leaning against Tometi in a way I could only describe as cutesy.

Tometi didn’t seem to return the affection because he eclipsed the wolf’s entire face in one hand and pushed the offensive blonde away.

Clearing my throat, I leered at the blonde. “You realize I’d have to touch you guys the entire time for you to do anything with someone, right?”

As if the idea had only just occurred to him, Ryker perked up, and I could’ve sworn I saw wolf ears.

“Oh! There’s an idea. A threesome is on my bucket list. Four-P, even?

What a way to celebrate this new body. Wolves aren’t exactly the sharing type, but I’ve always been open to things other wolves aren’t. ”

That tracks.

I tried not to laugh. I wasn’t clear on what four-P was, but I could hazard a guess. Either way, I didn’t want him to think I was on board, but the wolf had a way of making me smile.

“Sorry?” Silas asked next to me, visibly disgruntled. “What’s this about you touching those head-squatting wankers while they’re with someone else, love? That a joke? It better be.” He glared at the spot he thought the two unseen men were, but he was looking in the completely opposite direction.

I giggled and shook my head. It tickled me that an infamous assassin with skills that put the fear of death into anyone who heard his name had met his match in two phantoms he couldn’t see or hear.

“It is a joke,” I promised, patting his arm. “I don’t have any intention of helping Ryker get laid.”

Lev chuckled and moved forward with the line of humans, eyeing the club bouncers who’d gotten closer over the last fifteen minutes. The two of them were talking and looking our way. “You have the worst luck with perverts, Niks.”

“Tell me about it,” I said, casting a glance at Silas.

My pervert’s grin was impish, his silver hair falling around his eyes in the sexiest way possible. Because, of course. “I don’t know what you mean, love. I’m the picture of innocence, I am.”

“Sure you are.”

“Okay, no sex, but dancing should be fine, right? I want to test out how good I am at moving this body on the dance floor.” Ryker swayed his hips with a wink, stopping himself from touching me when Tometi snarled at him.

“You promised,” the bear warned. “Only if she touches you first. She’s not your female. You don’t get to touch her without asking.”

I offered the giant a grateful smile. “I appreciate that, Tometi. Consent is very important.”

I didn’t mention the fact that if they suddenly became visible, the humans would run and scream away from them, not toward them.

But I was interested to see if they could change their clothes or lift weapons.

It’d be worth testing. We’d only tested their initial physicality with a punch, but if they could use weapons, then it’d be smart to carry more for them to use.

Rilas and his minions could attack at any moment, especially if Bones betrayed us.

I wasn’t convinced we were in the clear.

We weren’t sure what power my grandmother sealed away, or what the demon could initially do.

What I did know was he’d wait for us to get comfortable before striking, so I’d never be comfortable.

“What’s the giant troll said now to get that smile out of you, little rebel?” Silas pouted. “I don’t like it.”

“I’m a bear,” Tometi repeated for the nth time that day. It was quickly becoming his catchphrase, not to mention it was often said to people who couldn’t hear him. “For an assassin, he’s not very smart, is he?”

I couldn’t help but laugh, and Silas’s pout only deepened.

Ryker made a sound with his lips and pushed Tometi aside. “We’ve gone off topic. One dance, pretty girl. That’s all I ask. It’s not fair that your overprotective boyfriend calls all the shots. He’s been a massive tool all day. He hasn’t even let us touch you once.”