Page 144 of The Dragon's Gambit

“Am I late to the party?” Reiya asked as their eyes flipped up to her.

“No, now the party can get started.” Chelsie smiled and reached for Reiya, beckoning her closer.

Reiya walked up to them and laid her hand on Chelsie’s shoulder. “What do we have planned for today?”

Xander stood up, bringing Lila up with him. “First, we’re meeting the others for brunch. Then we can plan to do something from there. I have a clear day ahead of me and plan to keep you company all day.”

Reiya smiled. She knew what he was up to. He wanted to keep her distracted today. They all did. She had a really great bunch of people who cared about her. She wished they could always be together, all of them, but she knew the others would soon have to return to their own kingdoms. Hopefully they would visit often, now that they had all become so close.

“Thank you.” Reiya gave him a knowing smile, and Xander winked at her with his cheesy grin.

“Alright, brunch time. I could eat a couple stacks of pancakes right now. Some sandwiches. Maybe a few biscuits with sausage and gravy. Oh, and a cheeseburger sounds great!” Brody stood up, lifting Chelsie up along with him.

“Well, Chelsie isn’t doing it anymore, so I will … easy there, Baloo, or you’ll be shifting into a pig instead of a bear from now on.” Xander grinned widely while Brody only shrugged.

“She still calls me pet names in bed. Sh—” Chelsie wrapped her hands around his mouth while Reiya clasped her hands over her ears.

“Well, now you’ll get my pet names too, muffin.” Xander chuckled as Brody shot him a glare.

“Okay, food time. Now,” Reiya said as she headed for the stairs. Xander and Lila were right on her heels as Brody and Chelsie trailed behind them.

They walked out onto the balcony to meet the others for brunch. Already sitting at the big round table were Mason, Ruby, Weston, and Dex.

“There’s the hottest mate in the world.” Weston winked at Reiya as she approached. “No, seriously. I’ve gotta get me a werewolf mate now. I won’t be satisfied unless my woman marks my neck like you did to Leviathan last night.”

Reiya felt her cheeks heat in mild embarrassment as she took a seat beside Dex. “I agree, Weston. Just point me to the females who will take me to bed and make a mess out of me.” Dex grinned, pouring on the embarrassment.

“Not all werewolf females mark their mates. You have to find one with a dominant wolf,” Brody said as he slid in next to Reiya, pulling Chelsie to the seat next to him.

“Maybe I should place an ad requesting one,” Weston said in fake thoughtfulness.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Levi that pleased before,” Xander said as he sipped his drink, raising his eyes up to Reiya.

“Of course he was happy. That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. I am completely jealous of him,” Weston said, folding his arms over his chest.

“He must have been very happy, because we didn’t see you guys again for the rest of the evening,” Mason said with sly amusement.

Ruby swatted at Mason. “Hey now, quit embarrassing our angel.”

“Never again, my dear.” Mason lifted Ruby’s hand to his lips and gently kissed it.

“Do you think there are any beauties with a dominant wolf back in your pack?” Weston asked with interest.

“Hmm, there might be. Oh, I forgot to mention that Lee is going to take me to visit my pack tomorrow,” Reiya said as the table quieted.

“Seriously?! We can go visit our brothers tomorrow?” Brody said excitedly.

“Reiya, I don’t want you being that far apart from me,” Xander said quietly. It wasn’t his place to tell her what to do, but the memory of what happened before when they were separated played in his head. He didn’t want anything to happen to her, especially since the demons were still a problem.

“Then come with me.” Reiya smiled and looked into his amber eyes. She watched him grin and sigh playfully.

“I guess I’m going to have to. I would like to meet your other brothers.” Xander nodded, smiling. Her family was important to him, too, and he couldn’t wait to meet them.

“I can’t wait!” Brody had a huge grin on his face as he took a big bite of the sandwich in front of him.

“You’re going to get into a wrestling match with Chasen immediately, aren’t you?” Chelsie sighed, folding her arms over her chest.

“They most definitely will,” Reiya giggled.