“Zarrik has some weird demon mojo. Dylan was turned into a vampire and is allergic to sunlight now. Tenn moved to the fucking Underworld—which is apparently a real thing—and he’s off hunting down ghosts.” Braeden dragged a hand through his hair, his expression a little sad. “Now you have magic. Everything keeps changing.”
They both sat with that realization for a while. Before Sammy could work out how he felt about it, a melodic chime rang from the speakers as the front door swung open, ushering in a warm breeze and the vibrant scents of spring.
His pulse stuttered, and heat rushed to his cheeks when Dominic stepped into the bakery. Silhouetted against the setting sun, he looked powerful, dangerous, and far too tempting for his own good.
Or Sammy’s, for that matter.
But he couldn’t make it that easy for the wolf. “You’re late.”
His mate had been dropping him off and picking him up from work for weeks now since he couldn’t jump, teleport, phase, or whatever on his own. Turned out, being able to move through time and space without being yeeted off the planet was an exceedingly rare gift, even among magic users.
Who knew?
“And you’re mouthy,” Dominic shot back with a playful growl. “Ready,colibrí?”
Sammy pushed his chair back but paused and glanced across the table before standing.
“Go on.” Braeden made a shooing motion with his hand. “You two are disgusting.”
“Like you and Zarrik aren’t?”
“True.” His friend tilted his head up and gave him a cheshire grin. “But he’s not here, and I’m jealous.”
“And you wear it so well.”
They continued to snipe at each other, each insult becoming increasingly ridiculous, until Dominic cleared his throat to interrupt them.
“Thierry said if you’re late for dinner again—”
“Oh, shit.” He didn’t even need to hear the end of the threat for it to be effective. “Gotta go.”
Braeden’s laughter followed him all the way out the door.
“Come on,” he demanded, his patience razor thin as Dominic moved at glacial speed.
He wouldn’t say he and Thierry were friends, not yet, but they shared a tentative trust these days, and he didn’t want to do anything to upset the balance.
After accidentally barbecuing a vampire in New York, he had locked himself away in his old bedroom at La Madriguera, terrified of hurting someone else. For a whole week, he had refused to see anyone, including Dominic, speaking to him only through their bond or a closed door.
It had been Thierry who had dragged him out of his self-imposed isolation. Literally.
He had barged in, hauled him over one shoulder, and carried him out while grumbling something about Dominic being a raging dick without him.
At the time, Sammy had resented the hell out of the wolf, but he knew now that he’d needed someone to force him to confrontwhat had happened. Dominic would have been the logical choice, but his mate loved him too much.
Thierry had just wanted peace.
Maybe he could be someone like that for Aerin.
“I’m not late.”
Lost in thought, Sammy jerked around, already forgetting what they had been talking about. “Huh?”
“And dinner isn’t for another hour.”
“Oh. Oh!” It took a second, but once the words registered, his urgency instantly morphed to irritation. “You lied.”
Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, Dominic pulled him up on his toes and claimed his mouth in a brief but heated kiss, right there in front of the gods and everyone to see. Not that Sammy tried to stop him.