“I am not poor Destroy,” Destroy said. “I just think if you’re going to play, you should have to play right.”
“’Arnge p’ay goood!” Carnage insisted.
“Yeah, well next time, you have to use all the same clubs as everyone else.”
“Actually, that’s not fair. Every player has the right to decide which club to use on which hole,” Daniel said. “In all honesty, he’s very good. He’s got a natural knack for it. I only spent a few hours teaching him the basics this morning.”
“You had to teach him how to play,” Destroy snarked.
“All except his favorite club, that’s all him,” Daniel said.
Destroy ground his teeth but managed to control his mouth and the words that really wanted to spew from it.
“Rather than be angry, why don’t you try to figure out if there’s a certain club you work with better than the others and see if the same concept might work better for you,” Enthrall suggested.
Destroy glanced back at Enthrall, questioningly. He didn’t condemn the idea, but neither did he say he would try it. It was clearly a matter he’d consider later, though.
They all headed toward Destroy’s home, laughing and trading jabs at each other. Except for Destroy. He was calculating as he began to hang back and watch the others as they walked ahead of him. Nodding to himself, he increased his stride just enough to catch up with Daniel. He rested his hand on Daniel’s shoulder, then held Daniel back just enough to make him realize he wanted to talk to him. “I was thinking… if you could teach Carnage to play that well in such a short time, youcan teach me. Let’s make a plan to get together, just the two of us, and…”
“Noo!” Carnage shouted, glaring at Destroy like he’d lost his mind while he reached between Daniel and Destroy, took hold of Daniel’s bicep and yanked him away from Destroy. Carnage leaned toward Daniel. “Mine Dahn!”
Daniel laughed, patting Carnage on the back as he shook his head at Destroy. “Sorry. Family has to stick together,” Daniel said.
Carnage smirked at Destroy, his nose wrinkling up as he did. “Faahmlee!”
~~~
“We’re home,” Destroy yelled as he opened his front door. He stood aside as the males — Enthrall, Daniel, Boon and Carnage — all filed past and into his home. “Carnage, too.”
Carnage patted Destroy on the head, causing Destroy to snarl.
He went right over to Carolena and plopped down beside her after smacking a noisy kiss to her cheek. “My ween!” he announced.
“You did?! That’s wonderful!” Carolena exclaimed.
“It’s only because he had a teacher that none of the rest of us had access to,” Destroy said, ending his statement with another snarl.
Carnage grinned at him.
Angelle’s brows went up at the feigned animosity between Carnage and Destroy.
“Ignore it. They would actually kill for each other. They’re very loyal to one another. But they’re even more competitive,”Boon said, coming to a stop behind her chair with a hand resting on the back of her chair.
“So is Maverik and anyone who is winning instead of him,” Angelle said.
Daniel heard her from across the room and started laughing. “You have no idea how easy going Maverik actually is when he’s losing compared to these guys.”
“Oh, my gosh,” Angelle said, starting to giggle.
“Poor Mav. He gets a bum rap all the time,” Avaleigh said.
“And Maverik is…” Enthrall asked.
“Maverik is the Wolf shifter Tempest met when she ran away to the store to get candy when she was little. He’s a member of the shifter clan where she and her mate live,” Carolena explained.
“Ahhh, okay. I knew I’d heard the name. He’s a good male, from what I hear,” Enthrall said.
“He’s the best male. He’s always had my back even when I wasn’t sure what I wanted. He just said, ‘I got you. You decide and that’s what we’re doing’,” Avaleigh said, her expression indicating she was thinking of Maverik fondly.
