Page 23

Jay

W ell, this was just great. So flipping fantastic . See? Jay could do sarcasm with the best of them. Sometimes. When the situation warranted it. And this situation most certainly did. Sarcasm and maybe even a few swears.

Jay squeezed Alexei’s hand in his, grateful his human hadn’t pulled away yet.

“Hello, Wolfe,” he said despite his annoyance, because really, it would be rude not to greet a friend he hadn’t seen in months.

But then, because he was really actually quite annoyed, he said, “You shouldn’t have come without asking. ”

Because Jay had been texting and calling and generally trying to get a hold of Wolfe for freaking days . After Jay’s declaration of wanting to stay in Hyde Park, he’d only received a single ominous text: You’re not staying. I’m coming to get you.

And since that was obviously unacceptable, Jay had done his best to try to stop that from happening, but…nothing. Wolfe hadn’t responded to a single message. And now he was just there .

Like, what the heck? It was frustrating, and a little scary (because he may have been Jay’s friend, but Wolfe was also Wolfe), but mainly it was just freaking rude.

Wolfe—clearly intent on being a complete butthead—only arched a brow at him.

Jay dared to steal a glance at Alexei, who had not followed directions and was hovering at Jay’s side rather than behind him.

Jay clearly needed to work on putting more authority into his tone when issuing commands.

Not that he wanted to issue a bunch of commands at Alexei all the time or anything, but safety was very important.

Although, to be fair, it could also be because Jay hadn’t let go of his hand yet.

The point was, though, his human was looking a little green around the gills and seemed to be mouthing the word fiancé to himself.

They’d been having such a nice moment outside too. Talking and kissing in the snow like characters in some kind of lovely fairy tale. It just wasn’t fair to be interrupted this way.

Soren was a little more vocal than Alexei about his reaction to Wolfe’s declaration. “ Fiancé ?” He twisted in Gabe’s arms to shoot a wide-eyed look back at Jay. For once, Jay’s friend wasn’t smiling. “You have a fiancé ?”

Jay fiddled with the hem of his shirt with his free hand, wishing he could have a moment alone with Alexei without the entire room staring at them. “Well, it’s not the word I would use…”

“Betrothed?” Wolfe suggested dryly, his hands in his pockets like he was on some sort of afternoon stroll and sounding generally much more amused than he had any right to. “Intended, perhaps?”

Jay glared at him. He could feel his temper, over which he usually had iron control, fraying a bit at the edges. “Stop doing that, Wolfgang. You’re making it sound like it’s something it’s not.”

Wolfe’s answering smile was mean. Because he could do that, somehow. Smile at someone and make it look mean . “Soon to be bound together in holy matrimony?”

Jay let out a tiny, muffled scream behind closed lips, just because it felt good to do so. “There’s nothing holy about you. You made your big entrance. Now please stop toying with everyone. It’s—it’s rude. You’re being rude. ”

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Alexei muttered so very quietly. He sounded lost and maybe a little sad, and Jay really wanted to fix it, but everything was such a mess, and he didn’t know how yet.

“Join the fucking club,” Soren snapped from Gabe’s hold.

Well, jeez. Apparently everyone was feeling a little testy, not just Jay.

And yes, that was probably Jay’s fault. He should have come clean to his friends earlier.

Much, much earlier. But that would have made it real, wouldn’t it?

For them to know. And Jay had wanted to…

pretend. Pretend he would be allowed to stay. Pretend he actually belonged.

How silly. How stupid. How childish of him.

Wolfe sniffed delicately, eyeing Alexei now with way more interest than Jay was comfortable with. “I see. We have a human in our midst, do we?”

Jay tightened his hold on Alexei’s hand and straightened his spine, dropping the hem of his shirt.

He didn’t like this new expression on Wolfe’s face.

Jay couldn’t show weakness, not right now.

For once, he needed to be strong. Firm. “This is my boyfriend, Alexei. Alexei—everyone—this is Wolfe. He’s from my den. ”

As Jay probably could have predicted, that seemed to be the final straw for Soren. He broke out of Gabe’s arm prison, rounding on Jay with more fury than Jay had ever had directed at him by his old friend. “You brought someone from that fucking den here ? To Hyde Park?”

Jay’s heart was racing, and his stomach was a hard knot.

Because Soren—Soren, who’d been so kind to him, who’d let him stay —was angry.

So very angry. And while Jay was generally immune to violent reactions or raised voices, after centuries of exposure to temperamental den members, he hated seeing his friends so upset.

He swallowed hard and tried his best to explain.

“I didn’t tell him to come. I’ve been trying to prevent it. ”

Wolfe sighed, lifting a hand from his pocket and eyeing his manicured nails like they were vastly more interesting than the chaos he was actively causing.

“No, you didn’t tell me to come. You told me you were staying.

And you know I can’t allow that.” Wolfe lowered his hand, fixing Jay with a look even Jay could tell was meant to be condescending.

“What did you think would happen, Johann?”

His patronizing attitude had Jay feeling a bit petulant. He raised his chin. “You’re not actually the boss of me.”

“Too true. I’m not,” Wolfe conceded with a dip of his head. “But agreements were made. And I’m not the only one with a vested interest in your return.”

Roman, still using himself as a body shield to protect Danny from any potential harm, spoke up then. “Although I love indecipherable allusions and veiled threats as much as the next vampire, I must interrupt. Johann, is he an immediate threat to our collective safety?”

That was easy enough to answer. “No. Wolfe is my…friend. Sort of. He’s not going to hurt anyone. Are you?” he asked pointedly.

Wolfe dipped his chin again. “I have no such intentions at the moment.”

The vagueness of that had Roman bristling again, a low growl leaving his throat, but it was good enough for Jay.

He dared another look at Alexei at his side.

He wasn’t quite so green anymore, but he wasn’t exactly flush with health either.

What did one give a human after a terrible shock?

Water? Blankets? More garlicky French chicken?

Jay should at the very least get him off his feet. So he took a page out of Roman’s book. “I think we should all sit down for some tea,” he suggested. “Wolfe, Danny here made some really good cookies for dessert tonight. Have you ever had a snickerdoodle?”

“He doesn’t get any cookies until the two of you explain what the fuck is going on,” Soren huffed, clearly still grumpy, but at least he wasn’t yelling anymore.

Wolfe’s attention zeroed in on Soren. “A beautiful, feisty blond vampire with negative feelings toward our beloved den. Are you perhaps the infamous Soren, Hendrick’s former companion?”

Well, jeez freaking Louise. Wolfe could not possibly have said a worse thing if he tried (although, knowing Wolfe, he probably was trying to be as antagonistic as possible, just for fun).

The room tensed in a way that had the hairs on Jay’s arms pricking up, and Gabe looked a moment away from vampicide.

But then Wolfe smiled at Soren in that way he did sometimes, all white teeth and zero warmth in his eyes. “I was pleased to hear of his demise. Hendrick always was insufferable.”

Soren sniffed, pursing his lips. “You can have one cookie.”

Okay, this was all much better. Or at least more civilized, everyone with a hot mug of tea in front of them.

They were crowded around the coffee table in the living room.

Alexei was sitting—his brow stern and his muscles tensed—next to Jay on the couch, Danny and Roman squished in beside them.

Wolfe had wisely refrained from trying to seat himself next to Jay and was instead resting in an armchair across from the couch.

Soren was in the other armchair, at the opposite corner of the coffee table, Gabe standing at his side in a way that made Soren look like a spoiled prince and Gabe his knight errant.

Jay almost giggled at the thought of it, but that wouldn’t be appropriate with how unhappy everyone still looked, so he took a sip of tea instead.

While he was sipping, Roman took charge of the situation, clearly tired of all the half answers. “Explain your presence here,” he requested from Wolfe, although with his tone of voice, it sounded more like a command.

Wolfe looked to Jay instead of answering.

Jay couldn’t tell if he was still just being a butthead or if he was asking Jay’s permission to share secrets, but either way, Jay shrugged at him in answer. Jay didn’t have any intention of lying to his friends. It was bad enough he hadn’t been forthright before now.

He’d somehow assumed, clearly incorrectly, that it all just…wouldn’t come up. That eventually it would be time for Jay to go and his friends would be fine with it. They all had their mates, after all.

Jay was the outlier, he knew that.

Wolfe seemed to find the answer he was looking for in Jay’s shrug, and he crossed his legs gracefully, ignoring both his tea and the plate of cookies Jay had set before him. “I’m assuming, as his dear friends, you all know Johann’s worth?”

There was a moment of confused silence. “Like, as a person?” Danny finally asked hesitantly. “Of course we do. Jay’s wonderful.”