Chapter 10
“I swear to God if anyone sets something on fire during this baby shower, I’m going to start punching dicks,” a female snarled from somewhere.
“Stay away from me!” a male shouted back.
Dagen wasn’t sure who said that as he and Keva stepped inside Arya and Dragos Senior’s giant home, but next to Dagen, she started giggling. “Dick-punching? I have a feeling this isn’t like a normal baby shower?” she whispered.
“I have no idea. I’ve never been to a baby shower before.” But Drake’s mate wanted to have one and she’d invited a bunch of her former packmates from Biloxi so this would be wolves and dragons. Maybe even some hybrids, because her former pack had a handful of half-wolf, half-vampire, demon, and a bunch of other stuff he wasn’t really sure of. He’d heard the word demigod thrown around too, so maybe one of those as well.
Before they’d taken two steps inside, Arya appeared out of nowhere wearing tactical gear and strapped down with weapons—which seemed odd for a baby shower—and smiled at the two of them. “You guys are right on time. Right now everyone is just getting drinks and mingling in the living room, kitchen, out back and…I think there are a few wolves in our game room. Apparently we’re supposed to start playing games soon. But no one is allowed to set anything on fire.” She rolled her eyes once and took the gift bags from the two of them.
Keva sort of stared in horror and Dagen smothered a laugh. She definitely had a lot to learn about dragons and wolves. Because both species seriously liked to set stuff on fire. At least dragons had an excuse. Wolves were just crazy, in his opinion.
“I’ll make sure not to burn anything,” Keva said, her smile a little nervous.
Arya let out a loud laugh and wrapped her arm around Keva’s shoulders. “I really like you, little human. And you’re not the only human here so I hope that puts you at ease.”
“Sure.” Keva shot Dagen a look he couldn’t decipher as Arya dragged her away.
Dagen wasn’t letting his mate-to-be out of his sight though, so he followed after the two women down a hallway.
“My two sisters-in-law really love your jewelry,” Arya said to Keva. “They’re telling everyone who will listen how talented you are. They were the two women who were with me the other day. And those bitches are so picky, so if they like it, everyone knows your stuff is good.”
“Thank you.” The scent that rolled off Keva was pure pleasure, though she did shoot him a curious glance over her shoulder as they stepped into a huge kitchen.
There was food everywhere. Literally, covering every surface. Tiers of cupcakes, petit fours, cakes, and that was just the baked goods. Made sense, since shifters ate a lot, but holy shit this was the most food he’d ever seen in one place. It was like they’d tried to cram in as much as possible. And succeeded.
“If you’re hungry, just grab a plate. We’re not doing anything formal. Shifters eat when they’re hungry, otherwise we tend to get cranky. Oh, and there’s a bunch of food out on the patio as well. My mate is grilling. Victoria and Drake are on the back porch too—because my daughter-in-law is not allowed to do anything other than sit there.”
Ah, maybe that explained all the weapons. Arya had been a little crazy and overprotective since the announcement that Victoria was pregnant.
“Okay, sounds good,” Keva said.
Arya spoke with them for another couple minutes before she got a text message. After reading it, she turned to Dagen. “You picked a good one. Don’t fuck it up,” she said before leaving the room.
“So…she’s pretty intense?” Keva said, picking up a plate.
“Oh yeah. And her sisters-in-law are even more terrifying. I don’t even know how old they are.” Keva was his mate and had proved that she would keep the existence of supernaturals a secret, so he was going to open up to her more.
Her eyes widened but she didn’t say anything as she put a petit four on her plate. “Fair warning, I’m pretty much eating only baked goods today. I’m stressed about Richard and this is how I cope. Also, this is a lot of food, right? Like, I’ve never seen this much food except at the grocery store—and it’s more spread out there.”
“You’re about to get a lesson on shifter parties today. Though since this is a baby shower it should be fairly tame.”
“Is it wrong that I hope someone sets something on fire? And that I get to see someone get punched in the dick?”
“I can make it happen.”
Keva started giggling again as she snagged a cupcake. “As long as no one gets hurt and you’re not the one getting punched.” She laughed again and he savored the sound.
He wanted to roll around in that laugh and wrap himself up in it. Hell, he wanted to wrap himself up in her. She’d taken the existence of shifters incredibly well, and though there was a bit of unease rolling off her, there was no fear—even though she was in a house full of the most lethal predators on the planet. After what she’d been through at the hands of a shifter, he was impressed.
“I’ll be by your side the whole day,” he murmured.
“Good.” He heard the relief in her voice as she stepped closer to him. “Aren’t you hungry?”
Oh, he was hungry all right, but he didn’t think she wanted to hear what he was hungry for right now. Instead he simply nodded and picked up a plate himself when all he wanted to do was cage her up against the nearest surface and kiss her senseless.