Chapter 2 Uncertainty Between Us #3
He hesitated, glancing at me sidelong like I was asking him to strip naked in the town square. For all his strength and confidence, there was a core of reserve in him, a part of his mind that calculated every single thing he showed anyone, including me.
Before he could respond, Zane propped himself up on his elbows, a mischievous gleam in his eye that spelled trouble.
“You want fangs, do you, little girl?” He flashed me a ridiculous, theatrical grin. “I’ll give you fangs.”
His dropped into place with exaggerated slowness, like a vampire in one of those old horror movies where the camera zooms in on the reveal. He even hissed for effect.
“Okay, Dracula Wannabe.” I fought back a laugh. “Dial it down.”
“Too late,” he purred, crawling toward me on his hands and knees. “You invited me in, damsel. You’re mine now.”
I gave him a look, then turned to Koa.
“Bite him.”
With a wicked grin, Koa moved like lightning, launching himself at Zane with a growl and knocked him flat on his back. They wrestled like overgrown puppies, all mock snarls, and woke up Brumous, who took a look and rolled onto his back with all the grace of a capsized canoe.
“Sure you don’t want to touch, beloved?” Koa called as he pinned Zane in a headlock.
“May I, Zoodle?”
Next to me, Casimir stiffened.
“If you dare, little fraidy cat,” Zane smirked around his fangs.
Not wanting to miss my chance, I reached out carefully, touching the side of his left fang. It was smoother than I expected, almost like polished ivory. Then I tested the tip and—
“Ow!” I jerked back, staring at the ruby-bright drop welling on my fingertip.
Casimir had me in his lap before I could blink, my wrist captured in his vise-like grip as he examined what had to be the least threatening injury in history.
“I told you not to!”
“Easy, Mr. Tall, Blond, and Trigger Happy,” Zane chuckled. “It’s hardly a carotid geyser.”
Scowling at him, Casimir drew my finger into his mouth.
The warm swipe of his tongue sent a completely different kind of shiver through me, one that had nothing to do with pain and everything to do with the intense look in his eyes as he tasted me.
Fireworks exploded behind my ribs and, when he released my finger, I found it hard to remember what we’d been talking about.
“You still haven’t shown me yours,” I reminded him once my brain rebooted.
“Why?”
“Because I want to see you.” I softened my voice, but kept the playfulness in it. “All of you. Even the parts you don’t always show.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked, but I saw understanding in his green eyes. I wasn’t just asking to see fangs. I was asking him to let me in.
There was a moment of silence, broken only by Zane and Koa’s continued scuffling in the background. Then, with a slow exhale, Casimir dropped his fangs.
It wasn’t as effortless as Koa’s display or as dramatic as Zane’s performance. His was a conscious choice, a deliberate lowering of defenses that cost him something.
Like his brothers’, Casimir’s fangs were long and slightly curved, wickedly sharp, but somehow almost elegant. Fitting for him. He held my gaze, waiting.
“See?” I smiled. “That wasn’t so bad. You’re all bite, no bark.”
Casimir snorted, shaking his head, but there was a hint of something lighter in his expression. A tension I hadn’t realized he’d been carrying seemed to ease from his shoulders.
It should have been frightening, this reminder of what they were, what they could do. Instead, it filled me with a sense of safety I hadn’t known in years.
Then inspiration struck.
I scrambled to my feet, standing before the three of them with hands on my hips. The movement caught Brumous’ attention, and the wolf lumbered over to the spot I’d vacated between Koa and Casimir.
All four watched me with different expressions: Koa with bright-eyed curiosity and a gentle smile, Zane clearly encouraging whatever mischief I was about to stir up, Casimir with his usual alertness, and Brummy with his head tilted, likely wondering if more play or treats were about to happen.
Drawing myself up to my full height, admittedly unimpressive compared to theirs, I took a deep breath. Then I bared my own teeth at them, scrunching my nose and curling my fingers into claws.
“Rawr!” I tried to be fierce, but knew I sounded more like a kitten with a hairball. “Fear me, dhampirs!”
For a second, there was silence. Complete, stunned silence.
Then Zane collapsed back onto the grass, caught in a fit of giggles so intense that he nearly choked trying to breathe between them. A deep rumbling started in Koa’s chest and exploded outward as he clapped a hand over his heart like I’d delivered a mortal wound.
And Casimir laughed.
Not just a quiet chuckle or one of those bitten-off barks.
A real, unguarded, belly-deep laugh that transformed his entire face.
It surprised Koa and Zane so much that they both fell silent to stare at him.
As for me, my chest warmed at the sound.
It was rare, so rare, that he let himself drop his walls completely.
And I’d done that.
I grinned at him as his laughter faded, but something fond and exasperated remained in his eyes.
“Ridiculous woman,” he muttered.
Feeling victorious, I returned to his lap, settling myself comfortably in the triangle of his legs.
“And yet, you love me.”
No one argued. They didn’t have to.
Before I could declare my victory complete, Brummy decided to participate, too. He lifted his head, yawned wide, and flashed his absurdly long, prehistoric-looking teeth, a display that made everyone’s fangs look like baby teeth in comparison.
“Okay, okay, you win, big guy.” Koa threw up his hands in mock surrender. “We all know you have the best. No need to rub it in.”
Zane grinned and clapped Brummy on the side with pride and approval.
“Attaboy, Brumeister! Show ’em who the real king of fangs is around here.”
And I was wheezing. I absolutely had not expected Brummy to get involved, but it couldn’t have been more perfect if I’d planned it. His timing was impeccable, his execution flawless.
“My life has become a circus.” Casimir rubbed the bridge of his nose like he was getting a headache.
“Yes.” I leaned back against his chest, savoring his scent and strength. “You are all my rabid little gremlins, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“No.” Casimir’s arms came around me, holding me secure against him. When I glanced up, his eyes had gone tender in a way that made my heart skip. “We wouldn’t.”
Overhead, the wisteria swayed gently in the breeze, releasing its sweet perfume in waves that mingled with the scent of fresh-cut grass. I closed my eyes, savoring the moment, storing it away to remember later.
When I’d arrived at Evermere, broken and bleeding, I’d been convinced I was walking into another prison. Arabesque had intended this arrangement to be another form of torture for me. Another cage. Instead, I found something I’d never expected.
“What’s that smile for?” Zane nudged my foot with his.
“Just thinking that sometimes, things work out in ways you never expect.”
“Like when your evil stepmother tries to marry you off to monsters, but the monsters turn out to be your fated mates?” Koa suggested with a grin.
“Exactly like that, although I’d argue the ‘monster’ part.”
“No, that’s accurate,” Casimir said. “We’re monsters, Seri. We’re just your monsters.”
“Well, then,” I turned to brush my lips against his stubbly chin, “I’m the luckiest woman alive, to have three monsters all to myself.”
Brummy whined, clearly feeling excluded.
“And one dire wolf,” I added quickly. “The fiercest of them all.”
Satisfied, he laid his head back down, his blue eyes drifting closed.
All in all, a perfect day.
#
Casimir
Before we went inside for dinner, Seri handed us each a sprig of lavender. Zane sniffed his suspiciously.
“Trying to sedate us, sweetheart?”
“They symbolize devotion, dumbass.” Koa stuck his flower in his samurai topknot like a little flag.
“Practical, too,” Zane added, twirling his like a sword. “Medieval folks stuffed it in battle helmets to cover the stench of—”
“We’re aware,” I cut him off, tucking my lavender into the space between buttons on my henley.
“Gratitude flowers.” Seri squared her shoulders and folded her hands like a queen addressing court. “From me and Brumous.”
“No thanks needed, beloved,” Ko said with a smile.
Seri settled beside me, shoulder brushing mine. Brumous, of course, followed and flopped onto my feet, belly up, eyes daring me to resist. With a sigh, I scratched the soft spot below his ribcage.
“He likes you.” Her pinky finger hooked around mine through the pup’s fur.
“We tolerate each other,” I lied.
“Aw, c’mon, Cas. Admit it,” Zane drawled. “You’ve already mentally drafted a bar graph. Optimal Scratch Distribution Across Pack Members.”
I flicked a pebble at his shin.
This wasn’t what I’d envisioned for us when we escaped our father’s hold.
It was better.
So, so much better.