by Quinn Loftis
“Not from where I’m standing.” Jen plopped down on an empty spot on the couch. “Well, sitting,” she corrected.
“Was anyone else surprised that their mate was here?” Zara asked.
A chorus of “nope” filled the room.
“Huh.” Zara frowned and squeezed herself in between Jen and Jacque.
“Don’t worry.” Jacque patted Zara’s leg. “You’ll learn that no matter what you say, your mate will always show up when you tell him you want girl time.”
“Why?” Zara asked.
Jen snorted. “Because their brains do not recognize any words that eliminate them from the equation, in any scenario, when it pertains to their mates.”
Zara seemed to think about Jen’s words for a moment before saying, “That was a very complicated sentence.”
“It will make perfect sense after all the sex endorphins leave your system.”
“So, they’re all gone?” Crina asked.
Jen frowned. “The sex endorphins? Hell if I know. Everybody’s body is different.”
“She meant the guys.” Jacque rolled her eyes. “Are all the guys gone?”
This time, a chorus of “yep” went around the room.
“And the kids, too,” Jacque added.
“Wait.” Zara spoke up again, sounding a little less drowsy. “How on earth did y’all get ‘rode hard,’” she held up quotation fingers, “if you had kids with you?”
“It’s called allergy medicine,” Jen said as Jacque and Sally nodded, “sans the non-drowsy bit.”
Zara’s eyes widened. “You drugged your kids so you could…” She paused and seemed to search for words that were a little less crass than “got rode hard.” Lucky for her, Jen had no such aversions.
“So we could get our cowgirl on? Have rough, angry sex in retaliation for being told we had to give up our very expensive massages?”
“Uh, yeah, that,” Zara said lamely.
Jacque laughed. “No, we didn’t drug our kids. But your face was hilarious, and I could tell you were trying to determine if you should remember that maneuver for when you had kids.”
“So how did…” Zara began.
“Believe it or not, wildcat,” Sally smiled, “even Canis lupus males have a quieter side when it comes to being intimate. And when your kid is as old as ours, you can simply lift their sleeping body and put them on the couch in another room for a little while.”
Zara’s eyes jumped to Jen. “It wasn’t the males I was wondering about keeping quiet.”
Snorts of laughter filled the room.
“You learn new tricks when you have a mini-me,” Jen shrugged.
“By new tricks she means Decebel has figured out more uses for duct tape than just binding her wrists,” Jacque quipped.
That brought on another round of laughter, which Jen joined in on because it wasn’t far from the truth, though it wasn’t actually tape her mate had used to quiet her, but she’d keep that tidbit to herself. For now. She liked to keep the good shock value information for just the right time, and usually her mate needed to be present so he could punish her for it later. Was she a bit twisted? Yes. Did her mate love it? Absolutely.
“Okay,” she said and rubbed her hand across her face, attempting to wipe the rest of her sleep away. “We’ve got cakes to retrieve, and I hear a nap calling my name.”
“You just woke up. Are you sure that isn’t just your mate beckoning you back to your bed?” Elle asked.
“Probably a bit of both.”
“Everyone get dressed,” Jacque started, but before she could continue, Peri said something in her language, and suddenly every single one of them was wearing a cute holiday-appropriate outfit.
“Okay.” Jacque dragged the word out. “That’s done. Now, we just have to get the…” She paused and glanced around the room. “Wait, where are the presents?”
“Adam and the guys took them back,” Crina answered around a yawn.
“They weren’t wrapped,” Sally said.
“Yes, they were,” Elle said and pointed between her and Peri. “We made sure that everything was dressed in wrappings, ribbons, and bows before they carted it off.”
“Not going to lie,” Jen said. “I was not looking forward to wrapping all of those gifts, Christmas traditions or not.”
They’d all slept later than Jen would have liked, but it was clear they needed the rest. Apparently, her demanding schedule had taken its toll. After a quick brunch, they arrived at the baker’s to pick up the cakes.
“Was ten really necessa…” Elle began but stopped.
Jen turned her head to find both Jacque and Sally making cutting motions across their necks at the fae. They immediately dropped their hands and smiled at her.
She simply smirked at them. “I was actually thinking twenty would have been better, but I didn’t want to overdo it.”
One by one, the bakers brought out each box. Jen grinned as she watched the eyes of all the females widen. The cakes were not small. Why are they surprised? She had warned them that everything in Texas was bigger.
A baker by the name of Ben began opening the boxes for her inspection.
“Oh, um, wow,” Rachel muttered when she got a look at the first cake that was revealed.
Jen walked over and grinned down at the cake she had made for Drake and Bethany.
“By now, I should not be shocked. I really shouldn’t be. But no matter how many times I tell myself to be ready for anything, she amazes me.” Sally stared wide-eyed at the cake.
“What is it?” Crina asked from where she stood at the end of the row of cakes.
“A penis cake?” Zara said, her voice rising an octave as she added, “That doesn’t seem appropriate for a baby shower.”
“Read the writing, Z. It makes perfect sense,” Jen pointed out as she motioned to the cake in question.
“This is how you do it. Congratulations on the rugrat,” Zara read out loud.
There was silence, and then Peri shrugged. “She’s not wrong.”
Jen held up a hand, and the high fae gave her a high five.
The next three cakes were for the kids’ birthdays. Thankfully, there were no phalluses or genitalia of any kind. Each cake was shaped like a wolf, and the icing was applied in various shadings so each wolf looked a little different.
“Okay, I’ll admit, this is hilarious,” Jacque said.
“It really is.” Rachel laughed.
Crina, who still couldn’t see the cakes, said again, “What is it?”
Zara was still laughing as she said, “They’re wolf cakes for the kiddos and they say, This is what comes out when you do it. Happy Birthday, Rugrats.”
They moved down the row to the fifth cake. This one was two wolves facing one another, their heads bowed and their foreheads pressed together. It read, In celebration of two lives who changed the world without the world even knowing. There was silence as everyone stared at the cake for Vasile and Alina. Jen’s heart tightened, and she wondered if she would ever be able to think of them and not hurt.
“That’s beautiful,” Crina said. She must have gotten sick of not being able to see what was happening and had squeezed herself in between Rachel and Elle.
“It really is.” Jacque nodded.
Jen swallowed hard and then pointed to the next box. She couldn’t say anything about the alphas’ cake without tears falling, so she moved on. The next cake was shaped like a key. It was a huge key, but like the other cakes, it had to be big to fit all the words that Jen had requested.
“Happy adoption day, Trevor. I mean, Talbot. Or was it Tiberios? Your name doesn’t matter kid, just know you hold the key to your pack’s heart.”
“Dammit, Jen,” Sally mumbled and wiped tears from her eyes. “How do you manage to tease someone and still make it incredibly sweet?”
“It’s a gift.” Jen smiled. “Besides, you know I only mess with people I like.”
The next cake was a bed. Jen’s smile widened as everyone around h
er groaned. “I figured there was already a theme going with the other four cakes, might as well keep it up.”
“Might as well.” Elle laughed.
The cake read, “This is where you do it … after you’re bonded, mated, and married … just for clarification for the rugrats. Happy anniversaries missed because of all the asshole bad guys.”
“Now I understand why all the cakes had to be so massive,” Crina said.
There were three cakes left. Jen motioned to the one that was an enormous Christmas tree. The words on it said, Merry Christmas to our pack. “I went simple with that one.”
“Simple is good,” Peri said.
“Okay, but she didn’t go simple with this one.” Zara pointed to the next cake. “She went straight up disturbing.”
Jen laughed. The cake was made to look like a vagina. “When you have a penis cake, it’s only appropriate that you have a vagina cake as well.”
“That sentence is wrong on so many levels.” Sally sighed.
“Vagina or not, that’s just too funny,” Crina said and then read what was written on the icing. “Congratulations! Now you will never forget that on your birthday, you were pushed out of one of these. You’re welcome.”
“I’m assuming that’s a cake for everyone who hasn’t gotten to celebrate a birthday in the past few years?” Jacque asked.
Jen nodded. “Vaginas and birthdays go together like”—she paused—“well, like penises and vaginas. You can’t have one without the other.”
Everyone stared at her, blinking like cartoon characters.
“Do we need to explain how that doesn’t make any sense?” Peri asked her.
“I just have the one,” Crina said.
“Me, too,” Jacque added.
“Stop being obtuse. You know what I mean. It completely makes sense.” She continued to the last cake and grinned. Just like the others, it had turned out awesome.
It was a huge question mark, and the words on it read, For all other things worthy of celebrating, you are not forgotten. Okay actually, you were forgotten, which is the whole point of this cake.
Jacque snorted next to her and bumped Jen’s shoulder. “Only you would make a cake that covered anything you might have forgotten.”
“They’re outstanding, Jennifer,” Peri said, her voice sounding a little tight with emotion.
Jen looked up at the other women, who were all nodding.
“No one else could have picked better cakes,” Elle added.
“Or more creative ones,” Zara said.
“You say creative, while I think of how I’m going to have to explain them to my son,” Sally said, though she was smiling.
“It’s never too early for ‘the talk,’” Jen said, using air quotes.
“Uh, I think it is actually, but perhaps since you’re his aunt, the sooner the better.”
“All right.” Jen rubbed her hands together. “Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve, the cakes are done, the house is decorated, and the men are temporarily sated. Let’s take these bad boys home.” She began closing the lids on the cakes, and Rachel started helping.
“Does that mean we have nothing to do tonight?” Zara asked.
Jen laughed because that statement was hilarious. “We have to go over the menu for Christmas dinner and make sure we have everything we need. And we have to make Christmas cookies with the rugrats. The guys need to be on firewood duty so we have wood at all the fireplaces.”
“Peri and Elle, if y’all wouldn’t mind checking on the toilet paper situation throughout the mansion, considering the number of pack members that will be over,” Jacque said.
“Good point,” Jen told her BFF. “And we need to—”
Zara cut her off. “A simple no would have been sufficient.”
“Elle and I will take care of getting the cakes to the mansion. You guys stay put and out of trouble.” Peri picked up the first huge cake.
“I take it you’ve done some magic to keep out prying eyes?” Jacque said, glancing around the bakery.
“No, I totally forgot because I haven’t been a high fae for thousands of years,” Peri said dryly just before she flashed.
Jacque pursed her lips. “She’s funny. Not.”
“The nineties called,” Jen said. “It wants it’s saying back.”
“Really?” Jacque asked. “That’s interesting because I just had a call from your mom’s vagina. Apparently there’s been a recall on all children born from it in the year 1993.”
“Really?” Jen frowned. “Because I thought I read somewhere that 1993 was like the cream of the crop year for children being born.”
“Thanks for that. I was born in 1994,” Sally pointed out.
“Are Peri and Elle done yet?” Rachel glanced around the empty bakery.
“Why? This is better than television.” Zara motioned toward Jen and her two friends. “They’re like that Saturday Night Live show: unscripted comedy that never stops.”
“Don’t encourage them.” Peri appeared right next to Zara. “It’s like feeding the animals at a zoo—highly discouraged.” She held out her arms, and Elle, who’d appeared a second later, did the same thing. “Let’s go. The furballs are getting restless.”
“Baby.” Decebel’s voice was filled with humor as he spoke through their bond. “The cakes…”
“Are awesome. I know. I totally outdid myself.”
“Exactly. That’s exactly what I was going to say,” he choked out around his laughter.
“Thought so.”
“I love you and your awesome cakes. Now come home.”
“Bossy.”
His voice deepened to a purr. “You weren’t complaining last night.”
No, no she hadn’t been. But she wasn’t about to admit that to him.
Chapter 11
“On the eleventh day of Christmas my werewolf gave to me eleven dozen headless werewolves, ten Jen cakes, nine werewolves prancing, eight laughing females, seven perfect kisses, six packs of Oreos, five satisfied smiles, four hours of hotness, three growling males, two cursing pups, and a furball in a fir tree.
How many of you can make those words work in this song without screwing it up? Yes, I’m laughing at you as you try to sing it.” ~Jen
Fane stood staring at the desk he’d inherited much too soon. He’d yet to sit in the chair that had once been his father’s. Even being in his da’s office was occasionally difficult. Most times, it was a kick to the gut when he initially walked in, but then after a few deep breaths, he was able to get his emotions under control. Today was Christmas Eve. It was the first Christmas Eve in his life that he would spend without his parents. It was the first Christmas Eve his son would ever experience, and the boy’s grandparents would not be there to watch as Slate learned the joy of unwrapping a gift. There would be singing … but without the sound of his mother’s sweet voice. There would be hurried chaos … but without the calming presence of his father.
Fane clenched his jaw to keep the pain at bay, something he found himself doing often these days. There were brief moments, he was beginning to notice, when he didn’t miss them more than life itself. But other times, the reality of their loss hit him like a freight train, and he found himself unable to breathe. This was one of the freight train moments.
Warm arms wrapped around him from behind, and immediately the pressing feeling of their loss subsided, if only but a little. His mate’s face pressed into his back. Fane placed his hands on top of Jacquelyn’s and rubbed her soft skin. His wolf breathed in her precious scent and released a contented sigh.
“I love you, Alpha.” She pressed herself tighter against him.
His eyes closed as her words washed over him. Though he missed his father desperately, Fane was not uncomfortable in the position he had inherited. He had spent little time imagining himself as alpha. Fane had been too young to seriously consider what the job would entail, and a small part of him had always thought his father would be there forever. But if he would have been asked, the
word daunting would have come to mind. And though he now knew the magnitude of his responsibility, he also knew that it was exactly what he had been created for. His path had been set, and the Great Luna had called him to it. She would not let his foot slip, and his mate, his constant champion, reminded him of that often. Even if it was with just one word. Alpha.
“And I love you, Luna,” he whispered back.
They stared out into the slowly darkening night, watching as the stars lit up the sky and snow fell. Pack members were coming up the driveway, some of them driving and others trotting up in their wolf form, carrying bags in their mouths, which no doubt contained their clothes.
“My mom would have loved this.” His throat was tight as he watched each member arrive. There were smiles on their faces and a sense of excitement that had not been present for months.
“She would have,” Jaquelyn agreed. “She would have hugged every single member and made sure they felt as welcome as those who live in this mansion.”
“Is that your subtle way of telling me to get my butt downstairs?” Fane chuckled.
“I’m pretty sure it wasn’t subtle.” She gave him a final squeeze and then took his hand, pulling him toward the door. He couldn’t help but take in the beautiful dress she wore. Emerald green that set off her stunning eyes and made her auburn hair look even redder than usual. As always, she took his breath away.
“It’s just a dress, babe,” she said, having picked up on his thoughts.
“It’s not the dress that makes you stunning, Luna. It’s you who makes the dress something worth admiring.”
“Smooth. Keep talking like that and you’ll get your Christmas present early.” She glanced over her shoulder at him and winked.
The knot that had been forming in his stomach loosened, and soon he was downstairs, shaking hands and hugging pack members. For a moment, simply breathing no longer felt like a monumental task.
“Alpha.” Andrei, a pack member that lived away from the mansion, greeted Fane and bowed his head toward him and then to Jaquelyn. “Thank you for having us.”