Chapter 12 Elijah #2
Dinner was a quiet affair. A full day of training plus an hour or two baking in the sun had subdued all but the most rambunctious shifters, which included Avery’s bobcat friends.
The basilisk had been unsure about Joon and Nico hovering around our dove, but after a day of observation, we’d learned that while those two may have found Avery attractive in an objective sense—there was no way around it because she was the most beautiful girl in existence—their pheromones tasted of healthy respect and a substantial dose of fear when it came to her.
So, they would live to see another day.
George had done his part keeping the riffraff, including Cash, from bothering Avery during dinner, which left her to enjoy her burger in peace.
Unfortunately, the setting sun and the unexplored bounds of the surrounding forest called to my python, and he disappeared before our last activity of the day.
A gathering around a campfire as some sort of perverse and unnecessary team bonding activity.
“Oh, for the love of the fucking Moon,” Wyatt snarled under his breath as we approached the large firepit.
Kellan and Ari had managed to snag spots on Avery’s log and were sitting just outside the bounds of her personal space.
Hank and Teegan sat down on the log next to theirs.
“The second her brother and the cats are gone, they descend like fucking vultures.”
Support Squadron had its own campfire on the other side of the lake.
“Come on,” Heath said tersely. He marched toward the open log on the other side of Avery’s.
We followed. Heath, Wyatt, and I managed to smash together on the log.
That left Aiden the odd man out. He surveyed the situation, studying it like he would a complex rune problem, the orange flames of the fire dancing in the lenses of his glasses. He slid a glance at Avery, who was pointedly not looking our way as Ari talked her ear off about something.
Aiden took off his glasses and handed them to Heath.
Then he reached behind his head and yanked off his black T-shirt.
His track pants went next, leaving him standing there in just his tight boxer briefs.
I grinned. This had gotten Dove’s attention, her cerulean gaze drawn to Aiden’s bare torso like a magnet.
A ghost of a smirk flashed across Aiden’s face before his jaguar erupted from his body.
“For fuck’s sake,” Kellan snarled as the jaguar turned in a circle in front of the fire, his tail nearly whipping Kellan right in the face.
Aiden’s large beast stretched languidly, pawed at the ground with his claws for a few seconds, then he curled up between our log and Avery’s, his body crowding the space as he basked in the heat of the fire.
Ari snorted in derision, which was certainly sour grapes—Aiden’s jaguar was bigger than his sleek little orange tiger.
Aiden ignored him, his turquoise eyes glowing and focused squarely on Avery, and he flicked his tail in interest, deliberately tempting her tiger.
Avery’s eyes sparked bright blue, but she blinked it away quickly.
I reached over to stroke the jaguar’s back, and he gave a rumbling purr. “Good thinking, my friend.”
A bit of commotion broke out as a few of the ladies who worked in the kitchens brought down a crate of ingredients to make s’mores. Campers converged on them, and within minutes, skewers loaded with marshmallows were being held over the flames.
Wyatt returned with our supplies and passed them out, tossing me a consolation bar of dark chocolate. “Sorry, man.”
I saluted him with the bar. “I’m used to it.”
Ari snorted. “Is the snake too cool for s’mores?”
“Elijah’s vegan,” Avery replied instantly. “The marshmallows are made with gelatin, so he can’t have them.”
Our mate knows us. Defended us, the basilisk said.
The jaguar flicked his tail faster.
Realizing what she did, Avery looked away and took a frustrated bite of her s’more.
I let my fangs lengthen just a touch, and I bit into my chocolate bar with a smile aimed directly at Kellan.
He bristled. “A vegan basilisk? That’s ridiculous. Only herbivore shifters don’t eat meat.”
That was not a universal truth, as one’s human form didn’t necessarily have the same dietary preferences as one’s beast, but it was common.
The basilisk had never met flesh he didn’t want to consume. My diet was about control.
I tsk’d. “That’s very judgmental, Crimson. Weren’t you touting your quad’s lack of judgmental tendencies to Avery just last night?”
Heath and Wyatt chuckled. Kellan scowled, and Avery appeared very fascinated by the flames.
After a tense but quiet few minutes, I gathered my quad’s chocolate bar wrappers and took them to the nearest trash can. When I turned to head back down to the firepit, Kellan stepped into my path.
My vision narrowed, and my fangs elongated once more. “Careful, Crimson. You’ve pissed me off enough already today.”
Ghosts of golden-brown feathers rippled along his neck, and the telltale orange sheen rolled over his irises.
He crossed thick arms over his chest, doing his best to loom.
He and Wyatt had a similar build in their human forms, which meant he was a few inches taller and had several pounds of muscle on me.
I found him about as intimidating as a Shih Tzu.
“What the fuck is your deal with Baxter, Harrow?” he growled.
“What is the deal with your entire quad? Everyone in school knew that you guys came back from spring break and declared an active search for your bond among the latent girls, and it was clear that whatever shit you had going on with Avery was well and truly over. Now she wants nothing to fucking do with you, but you showed up to camp and started acting like psychotic assholes about her, even though everyone and the Moon knows she has a beast.”
“I’d say that sounds like none of your business.”
He grinned, showing me a mouthful of straight white teeth.
“I’d say it is my business when my quad happens to also be in the market for a bond.
Did you know my grandfather theorizes that a bond with a particularly strong female beast could be superior to that with a latent?
He’s certainly in the minority, but he has his reasons. ”
I filed that away for later. If Jeremiah Crimson knew something we didn’t about Prime female beasts and bonding, Aiden would do just about anything to find that out, including breaking into his fucking house.
“And isn’t it convenient that my quad may have happened upon one of those rare, glorious females?” he went on, and then he dropped his voice. “I can finally test my grandfather’s theory.”
Scales bloomed along my neck, across my chest, and down my arms. Kellan sucked in a breath, but his eyes only glowed brighter.
“I advise you to listen closely, Crimson,” I said, this hiss of my beast on the tip of my tongue.
“Avery Baxter is off-limits to you, your quad, and every other shifter that walks this earth. Touch her, and very bad things will happen. Understood?”
He chuckled and cracked his neck, extinguishing the orange headlights. “Sure, Harrow. Sure thing.”
He strutted away, heading back to his spot next to my dove like I hadn’t just issued his death warrant.
Avery watched Kellan return, and then she glanced my way, concern heavy on her gorgeous face.
That’s right, Dove. There is nothing I won’t do to make you mine.