“There was a T?” I asked.
“Yeah. There were a bunch and each one had a letter on it which spelled out ‘Happy Birthday Brodie’ in this yummy blue icing.” Seth grinned and my brow dropped.
“So you stole someone’s birthday cakes?” Darcy asked him, looking somewhere between amused and horrified.
“No, not all of them. Just the Hs and the Bs and the Ps…to be honest I did take almost all of them, but I left the last three - the icing just wasn’t up to the standard of this one and I wasn’t gonna eat a substandard cupcake.”
I eyed the blue icing smeared to the right of his mouth and laughed as I realised what he was saying. “So you stole someone’s cupcakes on their birthday, and the only ones you left behind spell out the word ‘die’ right after another guy has been randomly found dead? You’re a fucking psycho.”
Gabriel laughed with me as Seth frowned and Darcy slapped a hand over her mouth like she was trying really hard not to find that funny even though it totally was.
“Are we having cake?” Caleb asked as he shot into position in our group, his arm dropping around my shoulders as he gave me a little squeeze and I quickly accepted the cake from Seth.
“Mine,” I taunted, taking a big bite from it and making him grin at the challenge before he shot towards Seth, grabbed his jaw and held him still so that he could lick the icing from the edge of his lips.
“By the stars, Cal,” Seth gasped as Caleb just chuckled and pushed his jaw further back before sinking his teeth into his neck.
Seth’s hand moved to grip the back of Caleb’s neck as he fed, drawing him closer with a Wolfish growl which sounded all kinds of hot. I exchanged a look with Darcy as Caleb continued to feed, his entire body pressed flush to Seth’s for several long seconds before he finally pulled back with a rueful grin.
“You’re getting sloppy, man,” he teased. “What kind of hunt was that?”
“I got distracted by being an amazing friend,” Seth protested, his gaze on Caleb as he reached out to heal the bite on his neck before sucking the last of the blood from his thumb.
“Yeah well, some might think you’re getting sloppy. Or that you actually want me to bite you.”
“Pfft.” Seth shoved him harder than could really be called playful, his cheeks pinking a little. “I just like having someone to wrestle with who can actually match me, that's all.”
“Well then next time, maybe you should try fighting back instead of making it so damn easy for me.” Caleb grinned then shot away from us, leaving Seth standing there staring after him.
He snapped around to face us again, pushing his fingers through his long, dark hair, his gaze fixing on my sister.
“Darcy, I need a super urgent word with you about the state of these rocks,” he said suddenly.
“Rocks?” I asked in confusion as Seth nodded.
“Yep. It can’t wait. And I need some comfort food,” he added, reaching out to snatch my half eaten cupcake from my hand.
“Hey!” I barked at him, but he was already shoving the entire thing into his mouth and dragging Darcy away from us while she gave me an apologetic smile. “What the fuck was that about?”
“I don’t know and I don’t want to know,” Gabriel replied. “I don’t wanna find out any more about what goes on in that Wolf’s head than I already do.”
Before I could reply, he jerked his chin towards the corridor which led back to the surface and I gasped as I spun to face it.
All of my worries flashed through my mind as I held my breath in anticipation of their arrival. I knew that Gabriel had told them they had to go alone, but that didn’t mean I had to like it and I was going to be giving Darius a piece of my mind just as soon as I made sure he was okay.
Before I could freak myself out even more, a clamour of noise announced the arrival of a group further up the tunnel and my lungs collapsed on themselves as I blew out a relieved breath and ran forward to meet Darius and Xavier.
The roar of a motorbike engine made my eyes widen and I stared in shock as Darius burst from the darkness of the tunnel riding on the back of the limited edition super bike he’d bought me while an entire herd of Pegasuses ran along behind him butt naked and in their Fae forms.
I spotted Xavier running at the front of the herd and as I scoured the group, I caught sight of Tyler and Sofia right behind him, my heart lifting with joy at seeing them again.
Darius sped straight towards me on my bike, the wheels skidding on the stone floor of the dining hall as he yanked it around and pulled up right in front of me.