“Thank you for coming.” Coby’s gentle tone grabbed my attention.
He was standing in the kitchen, leaning on the partition that separated the small cooking area from the dining room. Short brown hair and a scruffy five o’clock shadow made him ruggedly handsome. His hazel eyes showed his gentle nature. Still a new wolf, turned by me during a fit of vampiric hunger, Coby had been adjusting well in recent weeks.
Setting my drink on the counter, I threw my arms around him in a warm hug. “I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. I’m so happy for you both.”
He tensed at first, then relaxed and slipped his arms around me. The embrace was brief but warm and meaningful. He and I would always be linked in some way. His forgiveness of my attack meant a lot to me.
“Alexa, I want to thank you, for everything. But especially for Kylarai. Your encouragement really helped me get the balls to ask her out in the first place.” He smiled, a sheepish grin that exuded joy. “I’ve never been much of a love at first sight kind of guy. Not until now.”
“I couldn’t hand pick a better man for Kylarai than you.” It was true. Ky had been hungry for love, seeking it in humans and even Kale. Her last relationship had ended badly. The fact that she even had the guts to try again spoke volumes.
Coby glanced around, ensuring nobody was paying us any attention. “Look, I know things are gonna get bad for you. Kylarai has shared a lot with me; I hope you don’t mind. I just want you to know that I’m here for you. If you need me to back you up, on anything, don’t hesitate to say the word.”
I could have cried. We were not incredibly close by any means. For a while, I’d fully expected Coby to harbor a grudge toward me. So this proclamation gave me the warm and fuzzies in a big way. There were no words for what I was feeling. In a house filled with wolves who had cast me out, here was the only one with a good reason to do so, offering me friendship.
I hugged him again, so tight he made a pained sound. “Thank you,” I whispered, turning away before I could tear up. He slipped outside to tend the barbecue, leaving me alone.
Shouts and laughter filled the house. It was a heartwarming sound. I stood in the kitchen drinking whiskey and reveling in the sound and smell of so many wolves. It brought forth the beast within, keeping the bloodlust buried.
“Why are you hiding in here by yourself?” Kylarai appeared with an empty appetizer plate in hand. She gave me a once over and set the plate down. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Really. Congratulations, again. I’m so happy for you.” I pulled her in for a hug, savoring her familiar scent of wolf and flowers.
“Thank you. Now tell me what’s wrong.” She turned to the fridge and began to pile more appetizers onto the plate, but her grey eyes were on me. “Don’t bullshit me either. You guys don’t call me a mother hen for nothing.”
I smiled. She was so intuitive when it came to Shaz and me. She knew us so well. “I’m fine, I promise. Just recovering from a vacation that was anything but relaxing.”
“And?” She prodded.
It was tempting to tell her about my dream and the growing suspicion that my mortal days were dwindling. She knew everything else already. Kylarai was family, like a sister to me. She was also a worrier.
“And nothing. I swear. Just hiding in the kitchen because I feel like everyone else is looking at me, waiting for me to snap and bleed someone.”
She frowned, and her lips quirked. She knew I was hiding something. But it was only because I didn’t want to ruin her big night or the excitement of planning her wedding.
“You owe me a girls’ night,” she said, picking up the plate full of appetizers. “We haven’t done that in a while. Then you’re going to tell me everything.”
“Deal.”
We stood there chatting and munching appetizers until Coby appeared in the doorway, beckoning Ky with a finger and a naughty smile. With a girlish giggle, she ditched the appetizers on the table and disappeared outside with him.
After another glass of whiskey, I gravitated toward the patio door. The heavy energy of so many wolves drew me to the backyard where a few people were abandoning clothes and human form in favor of being furry on four legs.
Ky and Coby stood by the fire pit. He had his arms around her from behind, and her head rested on his chest. The orange glow of the flames lit up her smile. They looked great together.
Watching the wolves shift was breathtaking. One by one, they ceased eating, laughing and chatting to embrace the change. Graceful and smooth, every one of them, as they descended to the grass on all fours. It was a fast, fluid shift that encompassed every reformation of the body but much too fast for the eye to follow. The human to wolf visual was enchanting.