“Well, deities are just dirty cheaters, and that’s all there is to it.” Brody walked up to Xander and bumped his shoulder. “Not to mention Little Red here was hardly any help.”
Xander chuckled. “I would argue that we weren’t giving it our full effort, but neither was that pompous one over there.”
Levi chuckled. “You’re the ones who wanted this. It was a nice little warm-up for me. Helped get me loose.” He smirked as he strolled up to them.
“I always thought when Reiya found her mate, we would instill fear in him. He would be so afraid of us that I would know he would treat her right.” Hunter said in disappointment.
“I would never treat her badly,” Levi said with a small smile.
“UNBELIEVABLE!”
They all shifted their glances over to Reiya, who was fuming. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot angrily. “Here I am, coming to fetch you guys for dinner, and you all snuck over here and sparred anyway.” Her blue eyes pierced Lee’s.
Xander smirked. “Now you see that right there, Hunter? That is the look of fear in a deity’s eyes. That’s the power your sister has.”
Lee growled lowly at Xander and flashed him an irritated look. He walked up to Reiya, who had her brows raised, staring him down.
“It wasn’t my idea, Reiya,” Lee said as he studied her face. Soon, a small smile spread over her lips.
Reiya giggled. “I don’t care, but next time, let me know. Don’t leave me out of the sparring. I’m sure Freja would have loved to get in on it, too.”
Xander tilted his head to the side and looked at Brody. “With Reiya on our side, we would achieve victory for sure.”
“A win is a win, right?” Brody chuckled with a shrug.
“Where’s Freja?” Hunter looked behind Reiya to see if Freja had followed her.
“She went to get Jin. And like I said, the food is ready, so you better get over there before Sam, Adam, and Winston eat it all.” Reiya giggled.
“Say no more. I am starving,” Brody said as they all began to make their way behind the pack house.
“So …” Reiya whispered quietly, tugging on Lee’s arm. “You beat them good?” She grinned up at him.
“Real good.” Lee winked at her and chuckled. Xander was right. There was only one thing that truly scared him, and it was anything having to do with Reiya. She was his only weakness.
Xander ventured away from the pavilion as everyone chatted away among themselves. This was his first time in werewolf territory, and he was curious to see what it looked like. He was surprised to see there was no barrier of any sort around the place. Nothing that could keep unwanted demons from walking in freely. He felt a bit apprehensive about having Reiya here. Demons could just charge right in if they wanted to.
It felt peaceful here, though. The atmosphere was very happy. You could hear laughter and see children playing. Family houses spread across the territory, half-hidden among the trees or sitting in wide, sunlit clearings. He could see how well-kept and organized the training facility was. It looked like it was a nice place to grow up. He imagined that Reiya had a warm childhood here with her family. Completely different from what he’d had. Most people couldn’t be near him because of his burning aura. And then his own father had left him. He was never able to get over the loss of his mate, who had died from carrying Xander, his aura having burned her up during childbirth. He was practically raised by Levi and Grandpa Sage.
Reiya ran up to him. “Where do you think you’re running off to?” She had noticed him sneaking away and wanted to check on him. Lee was busy having a ‘man-to-man’ chat with Hunter and Chasen, who were basically doing the brotherly check on him. So while he was being interrogated, she managed to escape.
“I’m not the one who’ll get in trouble for sneaking off.” Xander gave her a side grin and she giggled back at him.
“I just followed you. So we both know how this will go down.”
“Yeah, with me getting blamed for your disappearing act.” Xander shook his head, chuckling.
“Well the damage has been done. Let me show you around.” Reiya wrapped her arm around Xander’s as she began to pull him through pack territory.
“No way! That is not my sweet little Reiya girl, is it?” Kristen gushed as she ran up to Reiya. She wrapped her arms around her. “I’ve missed you so much. Look at you. You look even more grown up now.” She then took a few steps backward as sweat beads began to form on her forehead.
“Oh, sorry, Kristen. This is my soul twin, Xander. He is the Dragon King of the West. I’m afraid he has a strong aura, and it burns some people who get too close.”
Kristen wiped her forehead and finally landed at a comfortable distance away from Xander. “It isn’t bad as long as I’m not right up on top of him. Nice to meet you. I’d shake your hand, but I prefer not getting burned.” Kristen giggled.
“Sorry about that. I can’t control it.” Xander frowned, feeling bad.
“Nonsense. It’s just who you are. You better be taking good care of her. She is my favorite of Asher’s daughters,” Kristen scolded playfully.
