Whiskey
Hogzilla eats highway like it's pussy.
The rebuilt engine roars between my thighs as I lean into the next curve hard enough to feel the wind trying to peel us off the asphalt. Behind me, Ivy's arms are locked around my waist.
Well, she's trying.
She can't reach around me all the way, her hands gripping fistfuls of my leather jacket at my sides instead.
"YOU GOOD?" I shout over the wind.
Her helmet—my helmet, because there was no fucking way she was getting on this bike without it—bonks against my spine as she nods.
She loves this.
I can tell because every time I gun it coming out of a turn, her grip tightens and she makes this tiny, cute thrilled sound that I hear even over the wind.
The mountains up here are dense as fuck with pine. It's beautiful out here in a creepy, isolated way. Like the whole town got left behind by civilization, or maybe everyone was eaten by cryptids, or something.
It's actually kind of a vibe.
We stop at a gas station near the care facility to fill up and stretch. Ivy peels herself off the bike with wobbly legs and immediately starts doing stretches by the pump, looking like an adorable bobblehead in the oversized helmet.
"Don't fall over," I warn her.
She kicks dust up at me, giggling, and goes back to stretching.
I swear she's stretching with her back arching and her butt out to torture me on purpose. Especially since I'm not gonna be getting any all weekend. This camping trip is for her and Wraith, and no one else.
My girl's finally getting her last mark.
I lean against Hogzilla and pull out my phone while the tank fills. We've still got signal here, barely, so I throw my arm around Ivy's shoulders and hold the phone out.
"Proof of life," I announce. "Smile, wildcat."
She throws up a peace sign and grins. I make my dumbest face, tongue out, the foggy dark mountains looming behind us all dramatic and shit.
WHISKEY
Made it to Cedarbrook in one piece bros
Your girl is alive and having a sick fuckin time on my bike
THANE
Thank the gods.
Drive safe on the way back.
I mean it, Whiskey.
WHISKEY
Sir yes SIR
IVY
The ride was AMAZING
I need my own bike
THANE
Ivyyyyy
IVY
Thaaaaane
WRAITH
That means camp's coming along, or finished. Wraith types like he gets charged per character, so a tent emoji and a thumbs-up is practically a novel from him. Although he's been slightly more talkative lately.
WHISKEY
How's our newest pack member? Tell her daddy loves her and he's sorry he squished her
VALEK
Shadow is fine.
She is still coming home tomorrow.
And I will not be telling her that.
THANE
She bites, by the way.
WHISKEY
That's our girl
Then Val sends a photo.
I open it and almost drop my phone into the gas pump.
He's shirtless, propped against the headboard of what is unmistakably Plague's bed.
I recognize the dark gray sheets and the stack of books on the nightstand and the obsessively organized pillows.
His platinum hair is wet enough to stick to his face, and he's looking at the camera with that lazy, half-lidded expression that makes him look like he's deciding whether to kiss you or kill you.
And Plague is dead asleep on his chest.
Face-down, one arm slung across Val's ribs, his dark hair messy and wet. His mouth is slightly open. He doesn't just look relaxed.
The pack's most uptight alpha is fucking melted.
VALEK
Since you shared yours.
Ivy is staring at the same picture. "Wow. They're pretty together," she says, blinking. "Is Plague drooling?"
I zoom in. "Holy shit, he is."
"Save that. We're going to need that later."
"Already saved, baby."
I type back before I can overthink it.
WHISKEY
Bro if you show him this picture he will literally murder you in your sleep and I will not stop him
But also
IVY
THIS IS NOW MY NEW LOCKSCREEN
The old one had a good run, but this is ART
VALEK
You are most welcome.
WRAITH
signal too bad to see pictures
should I be relieved?
WHISKEY
Nah bro it wasn't anyone's cock
THANE
Let's change the subject, please
WHISKEY
Why do you hate dicks so much bro??
You have a dick
I've seen it in the locker room
You can't miss it
I mean, you're not hung like your brother, but who is??
WRAITH
what
THANE
OK
I'm muting the chat
Val sends another.
This one's zoomed out, showing more of their upper bodies, Plague still fast asleep with his hand slightly gripping Val's side.
VALEK
It could be cock, if you want
When he wakes up
WRAITH
I do not want
WHISKEY
Damn bro I don't know if I should be jealous or not
Leaning toward… no
Cuz he looks cute as fuck, all relaxed
VALEK
Don't be jealous. We haven't done anything yet. We took a shower and he fell asleep as soon as we came home.
Apparently, shopping for cat items is exhausting.
WHISKEY
Nah man it's exposure to countless germs and weird fuckin critters from around the world that's exhausting for him
Also, I see the 'yet' there bro
What, you guys miss us so much you couldn't resist?
VALEK
Hmm
Perhaps
I'm cackling so hard an old dude filling up across from us looks at me all worried like I'm some kind of psycho.
We get back on the road, still laughing, still looking nuts to everyone who can see us in this miserable fucking town, and hit the flower shop by the care facility first. I work my usual charms on everyone inside and get Ivy laughing so she doesn't notice I got a little extra somethin' to go with the purple flowers I have Wraith approve over text.
Because I'm a passive-aggressive jackass at best and I just can't help myself.
I park Hogzilla in the visitor lot and kill the engine.
Ivy peels herself off the bike and shakes out her hair again, her cheeks flushed from the ride and the cold mountain air. "That was incredible. Every time. I'll never get used to it."
"Told ya. Nothing beats Hogzilla."
"I want one just like her."
"Thane would have a fuckin' heart attack."
"Thane doesn't have to know I was serious."
I point at her. "You're dangerous."
She grins because she knows she gets whatever she wants, and it freaking Thane out is just icing on the cake.
"Okay." I crack my neck. "Let's go see Satan's landlady."
"Be nice," Ivy warns.
"I'm always nice."
Claire's room is overly warm and I already feel a little dizzy just from the unrelenting humidity. Kind of smells bad in here, too. There's a chair by the window, a dresser with a framed photo, and an empty glass vase where flowers should be, right next to a reed diffuser.
The source of the stink.
And the woman in the chair looks exactly like I expected from someone who would like a star anise and banana reed diffuser.
Glasses. Purple sweater the same shade she likes in flowers. Gray hair tied back tight enough to give me a sympathy headache, or maybe it's the star anise.
She looks like a tiny evil librarian.
I used to volunteer in a residential care facility. This lady isn't just mean because she's sick. She's got the stink face of someone who's been bad to the bone for so many years, it sank into the lines.
She sizes me up from head to toe in about half a second.
"You have a fat one too?" she says to Ivy.
Oooh, we're off to a wild start.
I look down at myself and grab a handful of gut through my shirt and give it a jiggle.
"Yeah, fair."
I cross the room and set the purple bouquet in her empty vase, arranging them just right. Stems trimmed, greens fanned out, tallest ones in the back.
"There we go. Place was lookin' kinda sad without flowers." I tap the rim of the vase. "Didn't Val bring you some?"
She stares at me. "Val?"
"Yeah. The tall alpha with the statue face and white hair."
Claire's lip curls. "I threw them out."
"Why?"
"They were the wrong color."
I look at the bouquet I just put in.
"These are the same color as his," I say, jabbing my thumb at them.
"No they aren't. Yours are fine."
"Okay. Sure. Cool. But that's 'cause Wraith approved 'em over text," I say. "Sent him a picture in the shop. He picked those exact ones."
Claire's eyes widen. Her fingers dig into the armrests of her chair, and her eyes dart toward the door like she expects seven feet of scarred alpha to come crashing through it.
The fuck does she think he'd do?
Hug her?
"He's not here," I say quickly, holding both hands up. "Relax. He's miles away in the woods, setting up a campsite to mark your future daughter-in-law."
Ivy smiles at that, even though she's radiating so much nervous energy, I'm surprised she doesn't pop like a little overheated popcorn kernel.
"Oh! Almost forgot."
I open up the gift bag hanging off my fingers and pull out a small terracotta pot about the size of a party cup.
Claire watches me with narrowed, suspicious eyes.
I set the venus flytrap on the windowsill beside her chair, right in the sunlight where the flower shop lady told me it'll want to be. The trap heads are bright green with pinkish-red interiors, each wide open.
"Whiskeyyyyy," Ivy hisses, pushing my arm, but she looks like she's about to bust up laughing, so I know telling me off is all performance.
"Perfect, isn't she?" I ask my mate before turning back to Claire. "So here's the thing. Wraith says you like purple flowers. And yeah, okay, fair enough. But I think you're more of a venus flytrap kinda gal."
Claire stares at me.
"You know what these do, right?" I tap the rim of the pot. "They eat bugs. Flies land on 'em, and SNAP." I clap my hands together. "Gone. Brutal little plant. Zero remorse."
"I know what a venus flytrap is," she says icily. "I'm not stupid."
"Never said you were, ma'am."
Claire stares at the tiny open jaws for a long time. Her hand drifts toward it, one finger hovering over the trigger hairs.
"Don't touch those," I say quickly. "She'll getcha."
Claire pulls her hand back, but there's a gleam in her eye I haven't seen before.
Almost... entertained.
Of course she's entertained by a carnivorous fuckin' plant.