Heartsblood (Dark Hollow Wolf Pack 10)

“Looking good in your new clothes,” Jax said. He did a little pirouette to show off his own outfit, one that Nicky had helped him pick out. “Not as good as me, of course, but you can’t improve on perfection.”

Jax did look good. He seemed happier too since he’d finally grown used to the changes his body had undergone. Nicky felt closer to Jax than anyone here, with the exception of Marco, of course. Jax knew what he was going through—maybe not exactly, since he didn’t have a wolf inside him that wanted nothing more than to kill his own mate—but still he’d been through some of what Nicky was experiencing and had come out the other side. He and Cade seemed to be closer than ever, too. Marco had told him that Jax would be joining them tonight when Nicky shifted, and he was glad of it.

Casey and Rory came in, with Rory sticking close to Casey’s side. Nicky supposed it would be a little intimidating for a gamma to be surrounded by so many alphas, even if one of them was his own mate. He regretted the distance that had grown up between them, and when Rory glanced over at him, Nicky gave him a big smile. Rory blinked a couple of times and turned his head. So much for smoothing things over.

Marco came over to Nicky and whispered in his ear. “You’re sitting next to me, Nicky, with Jax on your other side, if that’s okay. Gabe will be at the other end of the table with Zack.”

“Whatever.” Nicky shrugged and a surge of irritation washed over him. Seriously, did the stupid, overgrown alpha really think he couldn’t control himself around the fucking human? He’d do what he had to do to allay their suspicions and then…

Nicky shook his head to drive away the alien thoughts that sprang into his mind so quickly. He was very afraid he knew exactly where they were coming from. He grabbed Marco’s hand and tried to send him a message with his gaze. They still didn’t have the telepathic connection Jax and Cade had, and no one was sure why it hadn’t appeared yet. Marco squeezed his hand in return, though, and looked a little concerned. Maybe some of what Nicky was feeling had gotten through. Nicky was suddenly very glad Marco had seated him so close.

Gabe and Zack were the last to appear. Gabe was wearing jeans that should have been against the law and probably were in some states. Strategic rips in the back displayed the crease of his ass on one side, along with the back of one knee. His shirt hit him mid-abs and was tight enough to clearly show the jewelry on his pierced nipples, not to mention the ring in his belly button. He was wearing lip gloss and eyeliner, and as usual, he made a spectacle of himself. So much for toning things down.

Nicky stayed close to Marco as Gabe and Zack drew closer, and the wolf inside Nicky moved restlessly at the sight of Gabe’s hand clutching Zack’s.

“Hi Nicky,” Gabe said. “You look…um…nice tonight.”

“Thanks,” Nicky managed and deliberately turned away from him and back to Jax. “I think we’re having fried chicken tonight, Jax. And some of those turnips greens you like, though I can’t for the life of me understand why.” He smiled to show he was teasing, and Jax made a sound of appreciation.

“That’s ’cause you’re not really southern. I don’t count Atlanta.”

“Sometimes turnip greens and ham hock was all we had for supper and it was good too,” Gabe spoke up from right beside him. When had he gotten so close? His scent was almost too much to bear at this range. Nicky leaned farther into Marco and tried to breathe through his mouth.

“Well, let’s eat. All this talk of food is making me hungry.”

A small buffet table had been set up on the side of the room and they filled their plates and took their places at the table. Nicky paid little attention to what was being said. He was too aware of Gabe making a fool of himself at the other end of the table, allowing Zack to offer him a forkful of his salad and once letting Zack kiss away a smear of salad dressing on his face. It was disgusting.

“So Gabe,” Nicky said, looking down the table at him, “what did you do today besides taking a razor blade to those jeans you have on? Or did you get those off some homeless person?”

Rory snorted until Casey poked him in the side with his elbow. Those were the kinds of remarks Rory used to tease both Nicky and Gabe with in the old days.

Gabe tilted up his nose and made a rude sound. “Obviously you don’t know much about fashion, Nicky. Anyone could tell that just by looking at you in those clothes of yours. You can dress a pig in silk, my mama used to say, but it’s still pork. Besides, I happen to love these jeans. Anyway, the weather was beautiful today. Zack and I spent the afternoon at the waterfall, actually. The one you showed me with the rock out over the stream.”

“Oh yes,” Nicky said, cutting off a piece of chicken. “A great place to fuck. I guess Zack rode your ass like the sweet little bitch you are all afternoon then, hmm? Maybe he won’t be up to our after-dinner excursion after all.”

“Nicky,” Marco said in a shocked voice, his face draining of color. Rory laughed out loud and Gabe glared at him, but the other wolves didn’t look at all amused. Each of them was staring at him with various levels of surprise and interest. Zack looked more angry than anything else, and it was he who spoke up.

“As a matter of fact, I did, Nicky. And I enjoyed every second of it. Not that it’s any of your concern what I do with my mate. As for being too tired to go out tonight, not at all. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Cut the shit. Both of you,” Cade said. “There’s not much sense in sitting here trying to pretend to be civilized when these two want to rip each other apart.” He nodded to Marco. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but let’s try to finish our meal and then I think it’s time we went outside and settled this thing. Casey, we’ll need you to accompany us, please.”

Nicky leaned back lazily in his seat. “No matter how many alphas you bring with you, it won’t matter. My wolf is an alpha too, remember. He won’t just let you try to intimidate him. He’ll fight to the death if necessary.”

“Intimidate him?” Zack snorted.

“Constrain? Browbeat? Badger? Coerce? Do you like one of those words better?”

Zack smirked. “Showing off your vocabulary, Nicky? Does it soothe that deranged beast inside you to pretend to be so smart? Or maybe he’s not deranged. Maybe you prefer unhinged, psychotic, demented?”

Nicky shrugged and lifted one eyebrow. “I was going to say cray-cray.”

Marco stood up and threw down his napkin. “Enough of this. I’m calling the whole thing off. I don’t think it’s such a good idea anymore. What the hell was I thinking?”

Cade shook his head. “It is a good idea, Marco. You know that none of us will hurt Nicky or his wolf, no matter what.”

“Actually, I don’t know that. Zack was ready to fight him a few seconds ago, and I’ve already warned you both that I won’t stand by while he’s being attacked.”

The wolf inside the human watched the battle rage around him and glanced down the table to catch Gabe’s eye. When he did, he deliberately and obscenely licked his lips, showing lots of tongue and smiling at him. Gabe flushed and instinctively grabbed Zack’s hand. Zack, who had been arguing with Marco and Cade looked down at him in confusion and then back up at the wolf, who turned the smile on him and batted his eyelashes with all the innocence of a cat with feathers sticking out of its mouth.