August sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. For a second, I’m stunned by how eerily similar he looks to Angel when my mate is tired of my shit. Then he extends his hand, silently asking me to hand over my extra gun, and I know Angel has thoroughly corrupted my baby boy.
“Are you sure you want to play fair, kiddo? We can beatAngel. And think how fun it’ll be to watch Hazel sulk.”
I try to lure him to the dark side because it’s more fun here, but he just blinks at me like I’m the one acting ridiculously.
“Ugh, fine! You’re turning into a mini-Angel with all those morals. Here, take away my chance to crush these assholes and make them wish they never challenged me.” I give up my extra gun, making sure he knows exactly how much I hate it.
August throws his hands in the air, reminding me where we are.
“Oh, I know it’s just a game, wisebutt!” I whisper-yell, crossing my arms and abandoning both guns before plopping down cross-legged on the ground.
August pads over, cups my cheeks in his little hands, and plants a kiss on my forehead before grabbing my extra gun and skipping away.
I watch August hop away, giggling through every colorful hit, when a gun on my back makes me stiffen. I look over my shoulder, and my heart leaps to find Angel behind me, his gun aimed at my chest.
“You’re going to shoot me?” I gasp, placing a hand on my heart and another on my forehead, fake crying a little to make it all the more heartbreaking. “A faithful lover turned enemy over a silly game of paintball. How. Very. Tragic.”
“I came to kiss you before the game ended, but now I’m rethinking my decision.” Angel laughs, quickly kissing me when a loud alarm goes off.
The team of dragons keeping score walks in, and I groan inwardly. I have nothing against Dragons, or I didn’t until one strutted right into Angel’s personal space.
“Hello again, handsome! We have the scores ready. You sure you don’t want me to bump you up?” she asks with a high-pitched, nasal laugh, her gaze glued to my mate as if I’m fucking invisible to her.
Angel takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. “Thanks, Lacy—”
“Tracy,” she corrects, her eyes locked on my hand restingover Angel’s heart.
I smile sweetly. “Sorry about that. My husband has trouble remembering names that aren’t important.”
Angel fakes a cough to hide his laugh, and Tracy’s face turns red, but this is on her. Hitting on a man who’s clearly with someone, especially in our world where mates are sacred, is appalling.
Don’t like the embarrassment? Maybe check if the guy actually wants you before breaking out the flirty tricks.
She would’ve seen us kiss earlier or heard him introduce me as his mate if she wasn’t so busy drooling over Angel and making jokes about how he was strong enough to lift her.
I can lift her, too. I’ll even throw her… far, far away.
When the dragon lady quickly scurries off without a goodbye, Angel turns to me with a grin so wide I wonder if his cheeks hurt.
“Husband, huh? Now that you’ve wholeheartedly embraced the idea, I’m going to wife you up real soon, sweetheart.”
Judging by the giddy smile on his face as he leads us back to the group, I know he’s already planning our wedding in his head.Silly man.
I burst out laughing when I saw everyone covered in bright pink… the color I was assigned.
Before the game, the guys were dumb enough to suggest a girls vs. boys match. Of course, we won. While Seiji and Harvey grumble over their loss, Angel keeps whispering how proud he is of me.Fates, I love this man.
And yes, I shot my own teammates.
Why? Because it was fun and it made Hazelfurious. A bonus in my eyes.
A member of the paintball team nervously approaches, probably scared by how my group of weirdos took the game a little too seriously, and asks if we’d like a photo to remember the day, and of course, we agree.
Seiji rants about how neon pink isn’t his color, but agrees to bear the shame of this photo because he loves us so much.
Angel wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. August runs to stand between us, grinning wide and aiming his gun at the camera. Harvey steps to my right, tugging Grace in front of him and wrapping his arms around her waist while Seiji and Hazel take their place on my left.
Just before the camera clicks, Seiji cracks a joke that makes us all burst into ugly, unhinged laughter. But when I see the result, I’m in awe. The photo perfectly captured our carefree expressions and the sparkle of happiness in our eyes.
