Page 80 of Bad Blood Wolf

Christmas day was sunny and clear, the light sparkling off the snow and making everything look like a Christmas card. Flynn made his special pancakes, with brandy sauce, and after breakfast Lissa danced around like a demented elf, putting Santa hats on people’s heads.

Xander batted her hand away. “Forget it, Christmas Nazi Bear,” he said. “The only way you’ll ever get a Santa hat on my head is if you put it on me in my coffin, after I’m dead. And even then, I’ll come back to haunt you.”

“No brawling on Christmas,” Tank bellowed from the kitchen.

“Presents,” Sloan called, doing a baseball slide to the foot of the tree and rattling boxes. “Who’s first?”

They gathered around the tree, opening gifts. There were silly presents and useful presents, and a crap-ton of alcoholic presents. Lissa had way too many gifts, because Tank couldn’t stop buying her things, but everyone had something. Jasmin and Brody had gotten Flynn an oversize coffee cup with a picture of a kitten behind bars and a mug shot in the background. The caption read, “Bad Kitty.” He grinned.

“The baddest,” he said.

“Jasmin, open mine and Xander’s,” Lissa said. “And there’s one for Brody that goes with it.”

Brody gave Jasmin a questioning look, and she shrugged.

Lissa’s present was a long shallow box. Inside was a randomly-shaped piece of flat red vinyl, like a frozen puddle. One side of it turned down at a ninety-degree angle, with irregular shapes like drips.

“Um, thank you?” Jasmin said, looking questioningly at Tank.

“Don’t look at me,” he said. “I don’t know what the fuck it is.”

“It’s a cutting board,” Lissa said. “Except, it’s shaped like a pool of blood.” She demonstrated on the coffee table, laying it flat on the top and shoving the angled part against the edge. “See? Some of it is dripping over the side.”

Lissa beamed at Jasmin. “Every time you cut vegetables, it will look like you’re killing someone.”

“I like it,” Jasmin said. “Thanks, assholes.”

Xander shot a beer cap at her. “Lissa made me. She made me go in on Brody’s too.” Behind him, Lissa was shaking her head and pointing at Xander. He picked them out, she mouthed.

Brody opened the matching box. In it was a full set of knives, with a knife block in the shape of a cartoon man. When you put the knives in it, it looked like they were stabbing through his body.

Brody burst out laughing. “Awesome,” he said. “Makes me feel like a real Bad Blood.”

“You are,” Lissa said. “You’re Jasmin’s mate. That makes you one of us.” She reached for Tank’s hand and squeezed it.

“Yeah,” Sloan said. “Someone has to keep Jasmin in line.”

Jasmin stiffened, but the conversation moved on. Only Brody noticed her reaction, a small frown creasing his forehead.