Chapter 14 – Casino
Rex
“Oh, for crying out loud, are any of you listening?” My father leveled us with a glare as we sat in his office with my mother.
“Of coursewe are,” Lukas replied, and I nodded in agreement, though I had no clue what my father had just asked.
It had been two weeks since she left. Two weeks since that little human had walked out of my life and taken a little piece of my heart with her. My gaze moved to the golden chain wrapped around my closed fist. Nestled in my palm was the pendant with an oak tree. She had worn it around her neck since she arrived, and I knew it had to be important to her, but I couldn’t bring myself to return it.
“You want to parade us around like prized cows, hoping we’ll find our mates,” Storm scoffed indignantly.
“There’s nothing wrong with trying to find your mate,” my mother told us.
“As the Alpha King, it’s my duty to visit other packs around the world, and they all hold a feast in my honor. It’s the perfect opportunity to find a mate,” my father continued. “We’ll be killing two birds with one stone.”
“Yes, but there’s no reason to bring an entourage of unmated shifters with you,” I complained. “It looks desperate.” I hated visiting other packs unless they were family packs. Everyone was so pretentious, and every female in mating range tried to hook her claws into us.
“Ranger and Caspian will be taking over as Alphas of Moon Realm East and West… it would be great if they found their Lunas,” Dad stated. “Many in the Kingdombelieve they won’t find their true mates until the royals have.”
“We’re lycans, Dad,” Storm reminded him. “Lycans don’t reach maturity until twenty-five.”
“That may be true, but all three of you can shift already. Lycans don’t shift until they reach full maturity,” he replied. “I’m confident you should be able to find your mates.”
None of the other lycan cousins had been able to shift yet, and they wouldn’t until they reached twenty-five. Lycans had gone extinct over a thousand years ago, so there was much we didn’t know, including why my siblings and I were able to shift so early in life.
“With the return of lycans, maybe the Moon Goddess will allow us to pick our mates so we don’t screw ourselves into extinction again,” Lukas gritted.
“I agree,” my sister quickly echoed.
“We’re not having this conversation again,” my father snapped.
"Ay, Dios Mío!" My mother threw her hands up. “Lukas, mi amor, we’re just as disappointed as you are about Selena. We love her as much as you do, but you know how important it is for shifters to be with their fated mate. Believe me, if I could convince the Moon Goddess to make her your mate, I would.”
He had loved Selena since he was a pup and was sure she would be his mate. We all believed they had been destined for each other, but when she turned eighteen,and her wolf didn’t sense him as her mate, it wrecked them both. My sister was convinced the Goddess had stopped her match-making games. Witnessing Lukas and Selena’s painful disappointment left her jaded when it came to mates.
My feelings weren’t too far apart from Storm’s. I’d always known I’d eventually find my fated mate, the other half of my soul. Until that time came, I had enjoyed other diversions. Except Maeve wasn’t a diversion. I never kissed or held diversions… that was an act of intimacy that belonged to my mate, and yet I had freely given it to Maeve.
“Can we put off the dog and pony show until after my birthday?” Lukas asked.
My father let out a deep sigh. “Until after you turn twenty-five and are confident that Selena isn’t your mate.”
“Yes,” Lukas clipped. “It’s a few more weeks.”
“Lukas, Mateo has already spoken to me about Selena’s wishes,” he said gently, knowing how sensitive Lukas wasabout the woman he loved. “She’s applied to study fashion in Paris.”
“What?” Lukas looked stunned. Clearly, Selena hadn’t shared her news with him yet.
“You can have until your birthday… to know for sure,” my father told him. “But this will be the last of it. If she’s not your mate, you need to step back and let her live her life. She goes to Paris and you seek out your true mate.”
A sharp exhale left him, and he silently nodded his agreement. Annoyance stretched tight inside my chest. Maeve had been in the pack for eight years, and I had only just acknowledged my desire for her. The last two weeks since she left felt heavy and restless. I couldn’t imagine how my big brother was feeling. Lukas had known and loved Selena all her life, and our father was expecting him to step back.
Even if he wanted to choose her, he couldn’t. My father would never allow it. Taking a chosen mate is an insult to the Moon Goddess. The words that he spoke to Maeve came creeping into my head. The mate bond is the heartbeat of a relationship.
A knock sounded on the office door just as Wylder, my father’s cousin and Beta, pushed the door open.
“Are we talking about the pack tour?” Wylder asked, reaching for the platter of sweet bread my mother had baked this morning that was in the middle of the conference table. “Mmm, pan dulce. I love the strawberry ones,” he said, biting into a big one covered in strawberry and coconut.
“Remind my pups how important it is to find your true mate,” my father told him.
Wylder swallowed down the pastry in his mouth. “Nothing compares to the mate bond,” he said. “Just look at your parents, all these years, and they still act like horny teenagers.”
“Alright, that’s enough,” my father chuckled and wrapped his arms around Mom. She whispered something in Spanish to him, and he lowered his head to kiss her.
“Alright, you two,” Grandma Dori said as she entered the office. “Do I need to get the garden hose out again?”
“We were just discussing the pack tour,” Lukas said with a bitter scowl.
“Oh, you mean the one where they want to parade you around like the next season of The Bachelor?”
“Grandma…” my father gave her a poignant look.
“What?” She shrugged. “Believe me, no one wants pups running around here more than I do, even if they’re as mischievous as you were, but they’re lycans. It could be a hundred years before they find their mates.”
“Balthazar said the lycans of the past often found their mates when they matured,” Dad replied.
“They haven’t hit full maturity yet,” she reminded him. “Besides, what do the lycans of the past know? They’re the ones who blew it the last time and ended up extinct.”
“They can already shift,” he said.
“Unless you want me to call Balthazar or Killian in here to give them the sex talk about the differences in lycan anatomy when they reach maturity, then I don’t think they’ve reached maturity yet,” Grandma told him.
“We are not having the sex talk, Grandma,” my brother told her. “I already know.”
“Great, then you know you can’t have any… relations with humans once you turn twenty-five,” my father warned.
“Relations?” Wylder laughed. “He means sex… your knot will give away your non-human status.”
“This is my cue to leave,” Storm said, rushing for the door. “Grandma, I’ll be waiting for you in the garage.”
“Be right there, Sweetheart. I’m just going to grab my lucky rabbit's foot.”
“Where are you going?” My father asked.
“It’s senior night at the casino, and Storm is driving me,” she replied. “Wish me luck.”
“Senior night?” Wylder chuckled.
“Well, it’s also seafood buffet night,” Grandma told him. “The lobster is from Maine, and the blue crab isfrom Maryland.”
“Say no more. I’m coming with you,” Wylder quickly volunteered and followed Grandma out.
“There are a few packs that expect us in December,” my father started to say.
“I need to go find Selena,” Lukas pushed his chair back. The slight tick of his jaw told me he was annoyed and impatient. He strode for the door without a word to our parents.
My father turned his gaze to me, and I couldn’t help butfeel like he could see right through me. “You’ve been quiet.”
“It’s nothing,” I tried to dismiss the awkward feeling. “I told Storm I’d go with her. Help keep Grandma out of trouble,” I excused myself and closed the office door behind me.
A low, sizzling burn settled in my stomach. I thought about the night I spent with Maeve and recalled the bulbous swelling at the base of my shaft. At the time, I had thought my beast wanted to knot her, but I was still in human form for the most part. With the exception of Maeve, it had never happened before, and I still had over a year until my twenty-fifth birthday.
The Yukon was pulled out of the garage, and Wylder helped Grandma climb into the seat directly behind the driver. My sister was seated in the front passenger seat, applying mascara. Storm rarely wore makeup, and I couldn’t help wondering why she’d bother when the casino would be dark and full of seniors.
“Rex,” Grandma greeted me. “Are you coming, too?”
“Who could resist Maine lobster?” I grinned.
“The more the merrier,” she patted the seat beside her.
Behind me, the pounding of running footsteps grew louder, and we all turned to see who it was.
“Wait for me!” Flaym rushed over with eager excitement. He was his father’s son. One mention of a seafood buffet and this casino trip was going to turn into a family outing.
“You’ll have to climb in the last row,” Storm told him. She wasn’t giving up her front seat, and I was too big to fit comfortably in the last row.
“Excellent,” Flaym didn’t mind. He had his priorities straight, and it was always food before comfort.
The sun was setting when Wylder pulled onto the main road, heading further upstate toward the casino.
“The foliage is so beautiful this time of year,” Grandma chirped. “I love New York in the fall.”
“Grandma, are you visiting the cousins in Australia this winter?”
“Well, Caleb promised to give me surfing lessons this year, but I’m more interested in going on the pack tours with you,” she replied.
“Any place in particular you want to see?” Storm asked her.
“Scotland, of course!” She replied without hesitation.
“To find out what a Scotsman wears under his kilt?” Flaym laughed.
“Oh honey, if he’s wearing underwear, it’s a skirt,” she quipped. “I hear the faerie pools might just be the fountain of youth.”
“The faerie pools?” Wylder questioned. “On the Isle of Skye?”
“I believe so,” she told him. “One swim and you look ten years younger.”
“Alpha Hamish said the pools stopped flowing, and the water has dried up.”
“When?” I asked.
“A few weeks ago,” Wylder shrugged.
“That’s a rotten shame,” Grandma sighed. “I’ll need to reconsider my vacation plans.”
Wylder chuckled. “After what happened in Spain last year, I’m not sure Ares or Uncle Mac will let you leave the house.”
“What happened in Spain?” Flaym asked.
“It was nothing!” Grandma insisted. “I went for a lovely ferry ride, and everyone got their underwear in a bunch.”
“Grandma, you took a ferry ride from the south of Spain to Morocco!” Wylder reminded her.
“It was a half an hour boat ride, and I wanted to stock up on spices.”
Wylder shook his head. “You ended up on a different continent, and it took us ten hours to find you.”
“Oh, honey, it wasn’t my first rodeo, and sure as hell won’t be my last,” Grandma laughed as she waved a dismissive hand.
“Now that Lukas has bought us a few more weeks…” Storm started to say.
“Don’t worry about that,” Grandma said. “I’ve watched those two grow up together. They’re soulmates. I know Lukas will figure it out on his birthday.”
“You really believe that, Grandma?” I asked, hoping for Lukas’ sake she was right.
“It’ll all come out in the wash, you’ll see,” she said. “I have a feeling about these things.”
An hour later, Wylder pulled to a stop at the casino valet. He handed the keys and a tip to the man while I helped Grandma out of the SUV. Storm stood beside me, running her fingers through her long, silvery hair. She had changed her clothes.
“Let’s go, Grandma. I’m starving,” Flaym said, taking Grandma’s arm and escorting her inside.
“Starving?” My sister snickered. “You had six eggs and half a pound of bacon for breakfast with a stack of pancakes. Then you wolfed down half a sheet of lasagna for lunch.”
“It wasn’t lasagna,” Flaym told her. “It was pastitsio, and your Yia-Yia makes the best pastitsio I’ve ever had.”
“It’s Greek lasagna,” she replied.
“Potato, potahtoe,” Grandma said. “Listen, how does this dress look?” She smoothed down the front of her red dress. “It’s not too flashy, is it?”
“Red is a great color,” Wylder replied with a wink.
“At least we’ll be able to find you,” I assured her.
“There’s Morty!” Grandma waved her arm. “Move fast. He’ll let us cut in line.”
Grandma elbowed her way to the front of the crowd with Wylder and Flaym in her wake. The door behind Morty marked Employees Only caught my attention when I noticed black smoke, almost like a fog, seeping out the bottom. I’d seen similar fog in a dream, but it was always outside.
“Dori,” the geezer I assumed was Morty, greeted Grandma with an eager smile. “I have your special table ready.”
“Ohh, Grandma, a special table?” Wylder chuckled.
“You know how my arthritis gets the best of me,” she smiled. I had to hand it to Grandma; she was always so convincing when it came to her so-called ailments. “Morty here is just looking out for the Casino’s number one star.”
“More like Morty’s number one star,” Flaym snickered under his breath.
“Is someone burning something?” I asked Morty and pointed to the door, but realized the smoke had vanished.
“I don’t think so,” he shrugged. “It could have been old Larry sneaking a smoke again.”
“Come on, I don’t want my lobster to get cold,” Grandma took Morty’s arm.
“I’ll be at the usual spot, Grandma,” my sister said as she quickly excused herself.
“Say hello to that handsome devil for me,” Grandma called out.
“I didn’t know Storm shared your enthusiasm for gambling?” I asked Grandma, wondering which poker table or slot machine Storm had run off to.
“She doesn’t,” Grandma told me. “She brings me here once a week to schmooze with that handsome bartender in the high rollers lounge.”
An hour later, we left the buffet having devoured more than double our money’s worth of seafood and made our way onto the gaming floor.
“I’m going to find that Heidi Ho slot machine to park at and digest all this food,” Flaym announced, rubbing his belly.
“I’ll be at the new big bad wolf slot machine in the high rollers area,” Grandma said. “It’s got little pigs and houses and everything.”
“I’ll come with you,” Wylder offered.
“I’m going to check on Storm.”
“Oh, Honey, let the girl be,” Grandma said. “I don’t know what all the to-do is about the flaming hellfire whisky, but she enjoys sipping them alone.”
“I won’t do anything to embarrass her. I’m just going to pop over and say hello.”
Call it twin intuition, but I knew Storm was hiding something from me. She hadn’t mentioned taking Grandma to the casino every week so she could spend time with some bartender. Alcohol didn’t affect shifters, though most of us enjoyed the taste.
“Do not make me reach into this purse for my stun gun,” Grandma threatened.
“I’m just going to sneak a quick peek to make sure she’s okay… what’s his name?”
“I think it’s Ronny or Denny… or something,” Grandma chirped.
I found the high rollers lounge and tucked myself into a dark corner. She was seated at the end of the bar, laughing at something the bartender was saying. He was tall and built like an Alpha shifter, but I could only sense humans here tonight. His back was to me, and though I couldn’t see his face, I knew Storm was into him because she didn’t smile and laugh like that in public.
I was torn between wanting to meet the man who had captured her attention and not wanting to piss her off. He leaned over and whispered something to her, and she laughed again.
“Yah-hoo!” I heard Grandma scream from somewhere behind me. A jackpot alert sounded overhead, and bells rang. I turned to see Grandma pumping her arms in the air, and I knew that the lucky little rabbit's foot had paid off.
When I returned my attention to my sister, I saw that the bartender was nowhere to be found, and Storm was storming her way toward me.
“Are you spying on me?”
“What? No?” It was pointless to lie to her. “Who’s the guy?”
“Remy is none of your business,” she huffed. “Come on, let's go see how much she’s won this time.”