My heart pulled at the sight of all that gleaming hope in his eyes, but there was nothing to suggest Caleb wasn’t just getting protective over his Source. Hell, I really hoped for Seth’s sake it was more than that though. My fluffy Wolf friend might have been an asshole in the past, but he had such a squishy heart these days and I really wanted to see him happy.
“Bullshit,” Caleb snarled. “I bet you’ve checked out his veins plenty of times since we got here.”
“Why would I be interested in the blood of a mutt? I’ve got a Vega princess as my Source,” Orion said proudly.
“Are Power Shamed Fae even allowed to legally have Sources?” Caleb asked airily, pushing a hand into his blonde curls and flexing as he tightened his grip on Seth. Orion stiffened as though he’d been struck and I could see a war breaking out in his eyes.
“Don’t call him that,” I hissed.
“Don’t worry about it, beautiful. He’ll be tasting his own blood in a second.” Orion rose from his seat and Caleb stood too, both of them posturing for a fight.
“For the love of Hyacinth the first! Do sit down you pompous, sharp-toothed velociraptors!” Geraldine banged her fist on the table. “We have a murderer in our midst, and the game is afoot. We must solve this mystery before one of our own is found butchered in the night. Or would you rather we have this discussion while picking up the pieces of our beloved Xavier, because let us be unduly honest, he is quite the target with his sweet innocence and gentle soul.”
“Hey,” Xavier protested around a mouthful of lasagne. “I’m not innocent.”
“On a completely unrelated side note,” Orion addressed him as he and Caleb fell back into their seats. “I need the blood of a virgin for the Zodiac Guild elixir, do you mind if I grab some from you after dinner?”
Xavier spluttered his way through swallowing, his cheeks turning bright red. “I’m not a virgin.”
Darius boomed a laugh and Tory smacked him while the rest of the Heirs cracked up and Geraldine doubled over, wheezing as she held her side.
“Oh my great aunt Gweneth on a merry-go-round, I needed that laugh during this sombre eve, dear Xavier. Thank you,” Geraldine said, wiping tears from under her eyes.
“I’m not joking,” Xavier balked. “I’ve had plenty of…sex.”
“With who?” Darius demanded, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms.
“Girls,” Xavier blurted. “Lots of girls. I’ve had girls on their knees while I rut my…horn on their swollen…parts.”
“Oh dude, please go fuck someone, it’s painful to hear you talk about something you’ve never done.” Caleb pointed to another table where a group of girls sat together and Xavier’s shoulders stiffened.
“I’m not a virgin,” he insisted, his cheeks getting somehow redder.
“It’s okay, man.” Seth leaned across the table toward him, lowering his voice. “How about I teach you some stuff? Ease you into it with a nice orgy, huh? I could get five or six of those hot Oscura Wolves over there to fuck you sideways.”
“Five or six…” Xavier visibly gulped.
“Not everyone’s first time is a fucking orgy, Seth,” Max laughed.
“Well, it should be,” Seth insisted. “Then you can work up to the one-on-one stuff later. If there’s five other people fucking around you, you can learn on the job, pick up tips from the best fuckers while they guide your hips. It’s like a swimming lesson.”
Everyone laughed, even Orion, but he quickly caught himself, flattening his smile into a glare at Seth like he was offended that the Wolf had made him laugh.
“Can we move on from talking about my little brother having an orgy?” Darius asked.
“I actually wanted to apologise to you, Gabriel,” I said, biting my lip in concern as I caught my brother’s eye.
“About what? Oh,” he said as he saw the answer and nodded. “About the fact that the house I painstakingly built with earth magic for my family was badly damaged by Lionel Acrux when he captured you?”
“Yeah…that,” I said sadly.
“Yeah, sorry Noxy,” Orion added.
“I’m hardly going to blame you for that,” Gabriel said, waving a hand. “Anyway, I’ve already seen a new wing I’m going to add with an indoor swimming pool. So no harm done.”
Relief rushed through me, though I still planned on paying for that damage and I’d get him a big ass hamper full of all kinds of his favourite stuff too when this war was over.