Page 37

SHOPPING FOUR days before Christmas was a special kind of chaos, and Max absolutely loved it.

He focused on every aspect of the holiday he could with a deliberateness that was probably unhealthy.

He knew he should have been more concerned with and upset about his father’s death and sister’s disappearance, and he was, but he wasn’t going to let it ruin the first Christmas he’d ever been able to celebrate with people he cared for.

Honestly, he figured Angelica was better off with Ghost, if only because she might murder a foster family.

The grief and mourning and guilt could have their moment later. There was too much to celebrate now.

Like the fact the news had already forgotten about the rogue mage and feral pack living in the city.

The brutal murder of one of the most prominent businessmen had taken over briefly, also to be forgotten when an anonymous source provided details on said businessman’s multiple crimes and the fact that he was the head of Denver’s mob.

Apparently Max had a few admirers within the police force for his numerous attempts to escape his father, who were willing to help out. One of them had even dropped by with Max’s motorcycle the day before. Now all the news could talk about was the scandal and decline of Magierseele.

Rena held a live press conference two days ago where she admitted to being Helga Fuchs.

Thanks to decades of magical genetic experimentation, she’d turned back the clock on aging, assumed a new name, and pretended to be her own granddaughter.

She admitted to killing thousands as a result of failed experiments in her quest to profit off of magical luxuries.

She disappeared shortly after, and her company stock plummeted in the face of a federal investigation.

It was obvious Ghost still had Rena under some kind of control, but Max couldn’t find any fucks to give about it.

He found it rather hard to give a fuck about absolutely anything with two large mugs of warm hard apple cider in his system .

He let his head loll to the side where he was propped up against Caius’ chest, surveying the living room.

He may have gone overboard with the tree.

All he could think was that it was big and bright and sparkly.

The green was hardly visible beneath all the tinsel and decorations, and it was starting to tip precariously to the side thanks to the large stuffed wolf they’d tied to the top in lieu of a star.

But it was real and made the room smell like pine, which was worlds better than the fake pre-decorated tree his family had always used, and Aradia had spent the last hour climbing and leaping from the branches.

Between that, the fresh snow falling outside, the crackle of the logs in the fireplace, and the quiet music filtering from the speakers, Max couldn’t have asked for a more perfect Christmas.

He wiggled against Caius’ chest with a long hum, inhaling the cinnamony apple scent of his cider as he focused on Quinn and Lukas sprawled on the other end of the couch, mirroring him and Caius, their legs tangled in the middle.

Quinn’s thumb had slipped into Max’s sock and absently rubbed his ankle, while Caius’ hand had found its way under the layers of his sweater and the oversized hoodie Lukas and Quinn had gifted Max for Christmas.

It had sarcasm is my love language written on the front, and Max had immediately fallen in love with it, pulling it on over his sweater despite the bulk.

“This is a very large and comfy couch,” he said, draining the last of his cider. The mild burn was pleasant, nothing like the time he’d downed half of a bottle of tequila with some painkillers to ensure he blacked out for a while. He’d never been buzzed before. It was nice.

Except Lukas had both his hands curled against Quinn’s wrist where it rested on his chest. Come to think of it, Lukas hadn’t put a mark on him like Caius and Quinn. That! That was unacceptable. They’d all three put their blood tattoo bindings on him. He deserved a claiming mark from them all too!

“Hey,” he said, more sharply than he meant to, but nothing to do about that now. He sat up and passed his empty mug behind him to Caius as he narrowed his eyes at Lukas, jabbing a toe against his thigh. “Why you no bite me?”

Lukas blinked at him, a touch of pink spreading across his cheeks. He licked his lips, glancing at Caius before focusing on Max again. “I wasn’t sure you wanted me to. ”

“You’re not as scary as you thought I were,” Max replied, wrinkling his nose and wondering why that sounded wrong as he crawled forward.

Didn’t matter. He grumbled as he worked to get Quinn’s legs out of the way, finally resorting to pinching him.

He ignored the yelp and quiet cursing as he straddled Lukas’ lap with a grin.

“You’re lucky I like you,” Quinn muttered.

Max stuck his tongue out and draped his arms over Lukas’ shoulders, tweaking one of Quinn’s nipples since it was within range and snickering when Quinn squeaked.

“Cap, get your mate under control!”

Caius snorted. “I don’t want to be suffocated with a pillow in my sleep.”

Max nodded like that was the most sage advice he’d ever heard. “Smart man.”

“You’re drunk,” Lukas said, resting his hands on Max’s waist.

“Noooo.” He was not drunk. He’d hardly had anything to drink. His thinky was very clear. Two drinks was not enough to affect his thinky. “I can still cossent…. Constant. Co—you know what I mean!”

Lukas raised an eyebrow and didn’t look convinced, which was as unacceptable as him not doing the biting and claiming thing.

Max rocked his hips forward with a soft growl.

“You bit Quinn.” He’d seen the marks on both their necks.

He’d have to find a way to mark Caius. Maybe he could use the magic-blood-ink tattoo trick, but he could figure that out later.

“Now bite me,” he said, tilting his head to the side, baring the mark Quinn had left on him.

That felt right. Quinn’s and Lukas’ marks should be next to each other.

Lukas flexed his fingers, gripping Max’s hips tighter.

He watched in fascination as a soft glow lit Lukas’ eyes and his face shifted.

Not full-wolf, but enough for a few of his teeth to sharpen.

He’d missed what this looked like since Quinn and Caius had both been fucking him from behind when they bit him.

If he’d seen this the first time, he might have freaked out a bit, but he’d seen all of them as wolves now, and he knew none of them would intentionally hurt him.

Max dragged his thumb across Lukas’ lip and the tip of his sharp canine, anticipation burning hotter than the cider in his gut. “Do it,” he whispered.

A soft rumble of a growl vibrated in Lukas’ chest as he gripped Max’s hair and pulled him close .

His breaths stuttered as Lukas licked his neck and Quinn’s mark.

He tangled his hands in Lukas’ hair at the first scrape of teeth on his flesh, a sharp cry tearing out of his throat when they pierced skin.

The pain was more intense than he remembered, but this time he felt the initial twist of magic that coiled around the mark.

A warm burst of sensation that seemed to whisper home and belonging and family .

The pain faded almost immediately, and he slumped into Lukas with a low groan. He nuzzled against Lukas’ neck, trailing a line of slow kisses to his ear. He dragged his teeth against flesh and bit down over Quinn’s mark on Lukas’ neck, grinning when that earned a hiss.

“Unless you’re going to put on a show, you need to get a room,” Quinn said.

Max lifted his head with a curious hum. Putting on a show sounded fun.

He opened his mouth to say exactly that, but Lukas beat him with a low, throaty growl and lurched to his feet.

Max yelped and dissolved into tipsy giggles as he clung to Lukas like a monkey, waving to Quinn and Caius as he was carried off like a princess about to be ravaged.

Except he wasn’t the one about to be ravaged. Oh no. He remembered all too well how Lukas melted between him and Quinn. How readily he submitted.

Max laughed as he hit the bed and bounced, squirming out of his hoodie and sweater when he was suddenly far too hot. He grumbled as he got tangled up in the bulky material and too large sleeves, flopping back to the bed in defeat when he couldn’t escape the knitted death trap. “Help.”

Lukas snickered, walking his fingers up Max’s chest and making him squirm, before tugging the sweater away with a soft crackle of static in his hair.

“My hero.” Max yanked Lukas forward with both hands in his shirt, grinning when Lukas caught himself before their faces smashed together. “Hi.”

“You are so drunk,” Lukas said with a soft laugh.

“Nope. Just happy.” When was the last time he’d been able to say that? No worrying about that now. Life was sure to be worlds better without his family trying to kill him .

Max tugged at Lukas’ shirt and managed far better at getting it off and tossing it across the room. “Pants. Off. Now.” Lukas looked about to protest, so Max pressed a finger to his lips and leaned closer. “Good boys do as they’re told.”

Hot breath rushed against his skin, and even in the low light, Max saw the faint flush spreading across Lukas’ cheeks. He pressed the advantage, dragging his nose across Lukas’ cheek to his ear and flicking his tongue against the shell. “Are you a good boy?”

Lukas whimpered, parting his lips and licking Max’s fingertip. “Yeah,” he breathed.

Max hummed approval and nipped Lukas’ ear. “Good. Then get naked.” He flopped back on the bed with an expectant look.

There was only a moment of hesitation before Lukas stripped out of his own clothes. When Max lifted his hips, Lukas snorted and stripped the rest of Max’s as well.

“Lube.”

Lukas raised an eyebrow, but he leaned over Max to the nightstand. “When did you get so bossy? You’re picking up Quinn’s bad traits.”