It was well past 4 AM when we finally turned the game off, but neither of us got up right away.
Things had changed between us while we played. We felt like… friends.
It was weird, but in a good way.
A really good way.
The way things had only been on a few different occasions when I was a kid and teenager. Bo and Artie had so rarely been willing to hang out with me that the times they did were some of my favorite memories.
And least favorite, considering many of them involved arguing. Loudly. Sometimes violently, when one or more of us shifted forms and we ended up fighting like literal animals.
“So,” Bo said, leaning back against the couch cushions. One of his hands was on my thigh. The other was sprawled over the armrest.
“So.” I turned a little, meeting his gaze for a moment.
His eyes lingered on mine. “I’m not ready for this to end.”
The words took a moment to register. When they did, my body warmed. “I’m not either.”
“Then tell me something.”
“What kind of something?”
“Anything. About your friends. I haven’t heard their names before. Or about your dance studio. I hadn’t heard that you took over.”
“My friends are lot more interesting than my dance studio.”
Bo squeezed my thigh lightly. “I have a hard time believing that.”
“One of them is a blood witch. The other one is a kelpie.”
I caught him off guard with that.
“Don’t most witcheshuntblood witches?” he finally asked.
“Mmhm. Sage would be dead, but she mated with a phoenix. The guy who runs the resort, Liam. I think I told you about them. Anyway, his magic keeps her alive somehow if someone tries to kill her. She’s strong enough that no one really gets into the resort unless she lets them, so that doesn’t happen often.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah. She’s crazy powerful. I was there this one time when this vampire guy threatened her, and she drew a rune on her leg with her own blood to poison him. Her magic killed like a dozen vampires.”
“Remind me not to get on her bad side.”
I smiled. “The funny thing is, she doesn’t really have a bad side. You wouldn’t think she could be vicious the first time you met her. Or any of the other times. She just protects herself when she has to. Vera is a lot more vicious than Sage is.”
“Vera is the kelpie?”
“Yep.”
“What does a kelpie even look like?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t going to ask her to shift. I think it’s some kind of water horse monster? Vera is insanely good in the ocean, so I’m sure about the water thing. You should’ve seen her on that surfboard.” I shook my head. “Actually, she’s looking for her fated mate in hopes of avoiding her own arranged marriage. So if you want to meet her, I can set it up.”
Though I immediately hated the idea, I didn’t want my friend to get stuck marrying the bastard she was engaged to any more than I wanted to get trapped with my fiancé forever.
“Bears don’t have fated mates,” Bo said.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t be hers.”
