Page 54 of It’s A Little Bit Bunny (Fangs on Ice #4)

Fifty-three

Nikolai

N ervousness radiated off Jules in waves as we walked through the court gardens. He never let go of my hand—not when we arrived in the city centre of Veitsreuth, nor at the team’s favourite restaurant.

I held him back before we entered and hugged him.

“It’s going to be fine, baby boy. I promise.” A bit of the tension left him when we kissed.

One thing was clear: I wouldn’t let anyone give him shit. This was my domain, and I knew how to handle the guys.

Vee, Nate, Max, and Arne were already hanging around in the side room where our usual table stood.

“Hey, guys,” I greeted them. “Thanks for coming. I want to introduce you to someone. This is my partner, Jules.” I gripped his hand tighter. “Jules, meet the guys and their partners.”

Vee, who had turned around when he heard me speak, stilled like a hound whose nose had just picked up on a deer trail.

“Hi, Jules. It’s great to meet you, I’m Arne.”

Nate tried to approach us to shake Jules’ hand, too, but Vee flung out an arm to stop him.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

“Stay behind me,” Vee rasped, his dark eyes fixed unblinkingly on my man. “Why have you come here?” he asked Jules.

“What the…? Baby?” Nate tried to get around Vee’s arm again, but the massive Elvertritsch didn’t budge.

“We should go, Nikolai. It was a mistake.”

“Yes, it was,” Vitus said in a dangerous voice.

I’d never seen Vitus like this. It was scary.

“Get a grip on yourself, Vee!” I snapped.

“Don’t you dare be an asshole to my husband,” Nate snarled, getting up into my face. “The others might be okay with your antics, but my line is crossed when you attack my mate.” His lips pulled back into an inhuman grimace.

“Frat boy,” Vee muttered softly, slipping his arms around Nate and pulling him back. “Calm down, please. It’s all good. There’s no need to fight for my honour. Even as hot as it is when you get all protective of me.” He kissed Nate’s temple, and I watched the temper drain out of my teammate.

“Shit. Sorry, Nik. I have no idea what happened.”

“The mate bond is strong between you,” Jules said in his low, melodic voice. “You are right in protecting the other half of your soul.” He gave Nate a radiant smile as if he hadn’t just threatened me. It made Vee grumble under his breath.

No need to worry, big guy. This one is mine.

“But I have to ask you not to insult Nikolai. I feel about him the way you do about your mate.”

He never raised his voice, and his face stayed pleasant… but shit. The memory of Jules’ reaction to my black eye sent a shiver down my spine.

“I invited Jules tonight so he could meet you at last,” I told Vee to steer the conversation away from our men measuring their dicks. “We met a few months ago and fell in love,” I explained and took Jules’ hand. “I want him to hang out with us without any issues.”

The giant chicken man contemplated me for a long moment.

“He’s been faced with nothing but prejudice, and it makes me sick. From the moment I met Jules he has been so lovely and kind to me.”

He squeezed my fingers.

“Jules deserves respect and company.”

“You’re right, Nikolai.” Vee nodded. He kept his left arm around his husband and extended his right hand to Jules.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Vitus, but everyone calls me Vee. And this is my hot-headed husband, Nate.”

My sweet precious baby shook hands with both of them. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said politely, never letting go of my hand. His anchor, and mine. “I’m Jules.”

“Can anyone explain what we’re missing?” Arne cocked an eyebrow and contemplated the scene before him.

I noticed that Max kept his mate close, too, and how his outline blurred with the shadows.

“Jules is the Hoimann,” I explained.

“That rings a bell. Baby, isn’t that this old guy you told me about? The one who joins the Wild Hunt in winter?” Nate snorted and gave Jules a once-over. “No offence, man, but you don’t look like I imagined.”

A small smile pursed Jules’ perfect mouth into a pout.

“They are local lore people made up about me over the years. I never bothered to correct them.” He shrugged apologetically and laced his fingers through mine. “Vee is right, I am dangerous to humans. But not the way you think. I am not joining the Wild Hunt. I have a pet Wolpertinger and chickens. I could never leave them alone for so long.”

Max snorted and pushed away from the wall. He held out his hand. “Good to meet you.”

“And you, Nachtkrapp.”

My teammate cringed at being addressed thus.

“Just call me Max, yeah?” He rubbed the feathers at his nape, looking flustered.

“Jules.”

Arne shook his hand as well, as did Guns who’d just entered the restaurant’s side room.

“Good to meet you, man. And you. Hey, bud.” Guns dropped to one knee and greeted Barnabas who was hiding between Jules and me. He extended his neck as far as he could to sniff Guns’ fingers.

“Oh, look, baby,” I said to Jules. “He likes Guns.”

Our goalie snorted and shook his head at my dumb joke but kept his eyes on Jules’ pet.

“He is very sweet,” Vee agreed.

“Guns? Or the Wolpertinger?” Decks asked in an innocent voice.

The enormous Elvertritsch cocked a heavy eyebrow and turned his head to look at his husband. He flung an arm around Nate’s back and pulled him close to his body as if he weighed nothing.

“I was talking about the Wolpertinger. No offence, Martin.”

“None taken,” Guns muttered gruffly.

“Cheeky frat boy.” Vee kissed his husband’s cheek. I couldn’t imagine being kissed by someone with a beak.

Yeah, I’m Team Antlers.

Barely an hour later, Bo and Ollie had joined us, too, and Jules had told Vee his story. It was even sadder than I’d anticipated. It made me never ever want to meet his mother.

I need to introduce him to mine, though. He deserves to be fussed over by a mum.