Every muscle relaxed at once, and I would have toppled over if Koa hadn’t caught me.
“Seri?” Zane’s voice sounded almost fragile. When I looked up, I found his eyes, still red-rimmed from crying, fixed on me. “I love him so much.”
That broke something in me. Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks as I nodded, unable to form words past the lump in my throat.
“Let me see your hands.” Casimir turned his attention to Zane’s injuries.
The cuts were already beginning to knit together, one of the benefits of dhampir healing, but they were deep enough that even accelerated healing would need extra time.
Koa, his strong arms still wrapped around me, kissed my forehead.
“Arabesque soaked the apple page in antifreeze. My guess is because the stitches there were very dense and would hold more than any other page. I think I can save the rest since Brummy didn’t chew them.”
“That would be wonderful.” Gratitude bloomed in my heart to know I hadn’t lost the whole book.
“The evil stepmother sent afang-rotted poisoned apple?!” Zane growled. “How cliche can you get?! She gonna appear in disguise with an enchanted rose next? Lure us into a gingerbread house? Leave glass slippers on the stairs to trip us?”
“She lost today, but she’s still going to pay,” Koa spoke over his ranting.
The cold fury in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine. Sweet, steady Koa was the last of the brothers to anger, but also the most terrifying when pushed too far. He didn’t show his anger like the others. Where Casimir grew cold and Zane wild, Koa turned quiet, deadly, banking his rage like coals that would burn all the hotter.
He was right, though. Arabesquehadfailed.
The thought kindled something fierce and protective in my chest. My stepmother had tried to take Brummy from us. She had calculated exactly how to bypass my mates’ magical defenses. But she hadn’t counted on how fiercely we would fight for what was ours. Because that’s what Brummy was. Ours. Family.‘Ohana.
“Sheisgoing to pay for this,” I echoed. “One way or the other.”
Then Brummy let out a strange sound, halfway between a whine and a hiccup, drawing our attention back to him. His eyes rolled in opposite directions for a moment before focusing on Zane with an expression that could only be described as utterly, completely sloshed.
“I think we might have created a monster,” Koa said, amusement creeping into his voice.
Brumous’ paws slid in opposite directions as he tried to stand, looking like a newborn fawn on ice. When he finally managed a wobbly stance, his tail wagged with lazy abandon, slapping against the nearest bookshelf and sending small trinkets clattering to the floor.
“You’re my shining star.” Zane grabbed Brummy in a tight hug, heedless of the drool soaking his “The Vibe is Feral” t-shirt. “My disco ball of death. My special boy.”
Brummy collapsed across Zane, his blue eyes unfocused as he attempted to look up. Another strange sound emerged from his throat, this one more burble-y.
“I didn’t know wolves could giggle.” Zane grinned as he gleefully broadcasted drunk wolf thoughts like a tipsy DJ.
Alpha Ffffffffffun. Izzzz so warm in ’ere.
“Brummy?” I asked with a startled laugh. “Are you okay?”
His head lolled toward me, ears flopping comically.
Big brave wolf! Grrr! Oops. Bite tongue. Heehee.
I clapped a hand over my mouth, torn between horror and hilarity.
“SEE?SEE?” Casimir bellowed. “This is why I needed to calculate dosage—”
“Oh, forgive me forSAVING HIS LIFE, professor!” Koa retorted, his arms crossing over his chest, but his lips twitching as Brummy nuzzled Zane’s face.
FIGHT THE MOON.
There was a beat of silence as we collectively tried to process what Brummy could mean by that.
“Damn it, Ko.” Casimir dragged his hand down his face.
