“Damn, that’s something straight out of Mateo’s telenovelas.”
Major chuckled. Mateo, their best friend and cousin, was now a doctor, but he’d gotten hooked on the Spanish soap operas while visiting his grandmother as a teen. He tried to get the twins interested, but since they didn’t speak the language, it didn’t work. Opening the small refrigerator, Major was surprised to see it well-stocked. He grabbed a beer, popping the top. “How’re the girls?” he asked before taking a swig.
“Feisty as ever. And get this. Fallon complained to Anders about Nahla tackling her, but it didn’t go the way she thought it would.” Marshall laughed softly, then continued. “Nahla told him the whole story, so Anders explained to Fallon that if she continued harassing his customers, he’d ban her from Ripley’s.”
“I bet she loved that,” Major deadpanned.
“Oh, she flipped her shit, but Kayden and I had stopped by to eat supper, and you know how he is, all broody and fierce. He stalked over to where Fallon was giving Anders what for, leaned down until he was eye level with her, and growled, flashing his dire wolf eyes. I thought Fallon was going to shit her pants. He whispered something to her, and she closed her mouth and slunk out of the place with her head down. Kayden slapped Anders on the shoulder, winked at Nahla, then sat back down and dug into his food. He’s now Nahla’s favorite cousin.”
“Well damn. I’m sorry I missed that. I’ll have to buy him a beer when I get home.”
“Eh. I bought his dinner, so it’s all good. Have you and Tabitha talked about where you’re going to live?”
“Not yet, but I was thinking we could split our time between Atlanta and Troy. I don’t want to completely leave you and the girls, and Tabitha will want to stay with her own twin. Speaking of, holy shit, Marsh. Anthony met his mate, and get this; she’s a fae from another realm. One where they have dragons.”
“Right. What have you been smoking?”
“I’m serious. Her name is Elle. Her brother and sister are warrior guards for the dragon prince and princess from a land called Evyndral. The dragon princess is mated to Brent McKenzie, one of the Goyles over in Norway. It seems there was this huge battle about ten years ago, and the fae queen sent Cassi, the princess, and her guard through a portal to keep them safe. After that same battle, when the queen opened the portal to bring them back, Elle’s biological father, who is a dark fae, dragged Elle through the portal, only they didn’t end up in Norway. They landed in South Carolina.” Major went on to tell his twin the rest of Elle’s story, ending with Anthony and crew taking down Grevolus.
“Well damn. I want to meet a fae warrior.”
“Not a dragon?”
“Eh. You know I’m not a fan of dinosaurs, and what are dragons but dinos with wings?”
Major cracked up. They had watched a dinosaur movie when they were younger, and it gave Marshall the willies. “Since Tabby and I are mates, Elle is family, which makes her your family. I’m sure we’ll meet Elle and her siblings at some point.” Major’s phone vibrated with a text from Tabitha. “Tabby’s texting, so I’m goingto let you go. Take care, Brother, and give the girls my love.”
“Will do.” Before he disconnected, Marsh muttered, “Fucking dragons.”
Major chuckled. He would never make fun of his twin, but it was humorous for a Gryphon to be leery of another beast. Opening his texts, he read his mate’s message. After Tabitha admitted Major was her fated mate, he changed her name in his contacts from Tabitha to FML, or Future Mrs. Lazlo. Sure, it looked like it could also befuck my life,but no one saw his phone but Major.
FML:According to Adams’ assistant, the studio did not approve the changes to the script, and Adams is flying in tomorrow to talk to Trista.
Major:Does this mean the whole movie is off?
FML:Not sure yet. Trista told Adams she would not do the film if Nora wasn’t the heroine, and she also told him she didn’t want to work with Craig.
Major:What a clusterfuck.
FML:You said it. For now, it’s a wait and see situation.
Cursing came from the next trailer.“Get your ass here now, Donnel, and play the fucking role you agreed to.”After that, Craig was quiet, so either he orDonnelhad hung up.
Major:So, Craig just cursed at someone he called Donnel. Before, when they were arguing, Daniel called CraigCreegon.I’m assuming these are their true names. I’m going to text the Trio with this information.
Major opened his previous text thread with Nikita, copying Carleigh and Harlow, then sent the two names. Seconds later, someone pounded on his door.
“Major,” Craig called out.
Major stood and opened his door. “Yes?”
“I’m headed to the mess tent. Let’s go.” Craig didn’t wait for Major to respond. He headed away from where their trailers were situated. Major closed the door behind him and caught up to the man in a few strides. Craig received some icy stares, but he ignored them. When they reached the tent, Craig strode to where a small buffet was set up and dished out a plateful of food. Major didn’t crowd him. But he also didn’t remain standing. He sat across from Craig at a long table and studied everyone present.
“You can eat,” Craig groused.
Major bit his tongue to refrain from being a smartass. “I’m good.” He would grab something to go when they returned to their trailers. While Craig ate, Major took stock of everyone milling around. There had been dozens of people walking across the park. Some had tablets like Marilyn and Sarah, while others either talked or tapped away at phones. He recognized some minor actors and even a couple of bigger names who were also starring in the film, if it wasn’t completely scrapped. Major couldn’t imagine the money that had already been sunk into production with all the salaries of the production team, the wardrobe folks, and everyone else it took to put together something of this caliber. He had been excited to see the behind-the-scenes action, but now he hoped it shut down so he and Tabby could get on with their lives.
Craig had wolfed down about half his food when his phone rang. He dropped the fork with a clank and wiped his mouth before checking the screen. “Fucking Daniel,” he muttered, then stood, walking away from Major before hitting the accept button. “What?”
