20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Rissa

“I like the decorations!” Luis said as he walked into Joy, formally known as Sanguine, and took a seat at the bar.

Rissa laughed. She’d hung one Christmas decoration behind the bar and every person who’d come in had commented on it. Just like everyone had commented on their new furniture when they’d reopened last week.

It’d been almost three weeks since the fight and her officially joining Anatoly’s flock. Christmas was only a week away. Shifters, gargoyles, nagas, and pixies visiting Sanguine all welcomed her to their world with open arms. It was hard to imagine a time before, even though she was new to all of it. This life felt so right and comfortable that she knew it was only a matter of time before she would’ve met Zan and Anatoly.

Those two made her believe in fated mates.

Rissa finished pouring a beer and handed it to the waiting naga before responding to Luis. “I want to put up more, but I don’t want to ruin Zan’s aesthetic.”

Luis nodded. “It’s really Anatoly’s aesthetic. Zan would’ve been happy with folding chairs and card tables as long as he got to visit with people.”

Rissa laughed. “You’re probably right. Do you want your usual, or are you ready to try one of my cocktails?”

“You’re getting good at those mixed drinks. Almost as good as Zan,” Luis complimented her. “But I’ll stick to beer, thanks.” Rissa nodded and started pouring Luis’s favorite stout.

“Speaking of Zan, where is the big cat?” Luis asked, looking around.

Rissa rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. “He and Anatoly are doing something upstairs. It’s all very hush-hush.”

“Rissa!” Briar shouted as she charged through the door. “We’re having a birthday party at the Downward Dog this weekend and you’ve got to come!”

“That girl wouldn’t know how to be quiet even if she was reincarnated as Buddha,” Luis murmured as he took his beer and joined several pack members at a nearby table. It was true that Briar tended to be loud and larger than life, but that was one of the things Rissa liked most about the woman. There weren’t enough large, loud women in the world, so they needed to stick together.

“Who’s birthday?” Rissa asked as Briar hopped onto a barstool. Memphis and Tobias were right behind her, taking spots on either side.

Briar pointed at Tobias. “I’ve decided that it’s his birthday.”

Rissa raised an eyebrow. “Decided?”

“I don’t remember the exact day of my birth,” Tobais explained.

“Briar’s decided that any time she feels like throwing a party, it’s a good time for Tobais to have a birthday. He’s had three this year.”

Rissa barked out a laugh. “Nice!”

“Isn’t it!” Briar agreed with an unrepentant grin. “Now that I’ve got access to money, I’ve found out that I really like throwing big parties.”

“I can’t wait for you to find another hobby,” Tobais mumbled, making both Briar and Memphis laugh.

“I could get my private investigator license,” Briar said. “That would be a fun second career now that I’m only hacking for fun.”

Tobias’s expression turned panicked. “No!”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Briar taunted.

Memphis sighed, giving Rissa the impression this conversation had happened before. “Can we order drinks before Rissa throws us out?”

“I want that same drink you made Memphis last time,” Briar said.

Rissa consulted her tablet. It wasn’t long before she got tired of Zan’s notebook and created a database on a tablet with all his information. Now it was easy to search, and she pulled up Memphis’s drink without any trouble. Zan grumbled at first and kept using his notebook, but it was only a few days before he started using the tablet too.

“Found it,” she said, reading the most elaborate recipe for a gin and tonic she’d ever seen.

“I’ll take one too,” Memphis said. “It’s my special drink anyway.”

She looked over at Tobias. The brooding vampire shook his head.

“Right, two Memphis drinks coming up!” Rissa announced.

“So you’ll come?” Briar asked as Rissa put the drinks together. “You haven’t met Imani yet. She’ll be there!”

“Sure,” Rissa agreed with a laugh. She chatted with the three as she worked.

She finished the drinks and handed them over. Briar sipped hers as Memphis downed half of his in one swallow. At least she knew better than to ask for car keys anymore. She’d learned very quickly that shifters and many other magical creatures had extremely high alcohol tolerances. Still, they liked to tease her about her demanding keys in the first days of working at the bar.

To her surprise, Mikey showed up with several other members of his pack. “What are you doing here? Don’t you own two bars already?” she teased.

He grinned at her as he walked behind the bar. “Zan didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?” Rissa asked, confused and a little annoyed at Mikey standing in her territory. She was about to politely ask him to move when Zan came rushing into the bar from upstairs.

“Mikey!” he shouted, leaping over the bar and grabbing Rissa. “Thanks!”

“What are you—” her question ended in a scream as Zan threw her over the counter. Anatoly was there and caught her, cradling her against his chest.

“Nice catch,” she said to him, then glared at Zan. “What did I tell you about doing shit like that?”

Zan’s grin was unrepentant as he leapt back over the counter. “Don’t.”

“He’s very excited to show you our surprise,” Anatoly said as he turned to take her up the stairs.

“We can’t leave the bar unattended!” she protested and wiggled in Anatoly’s grip. “And carrying me up those stairs will kill your back. Let me down.”

“You weigh nothing to me,” Anatoly said. “Try telling me what to do again and see what happens.”

Last time she’d put herself down, Anatoly had given her a spanking, then he and Zan fucked her until she saw stars. She was still undecided on the spanking, but the stars had been perfect.

“Mikey and the others are going to finish out the night and close up for us,” Zan explained.

“But I need to show him how to use the tablet,” Rissa said as Anatoly headed up the stairs, Zan right behind them.

“Everyone can live without special cocktails for one night,” Zan said.

“Only one night!” someone shouted from below and there was a chorus of laughter. Then they were in the apartment, and they couldn’t hear anything, which added to the ambience Zan and Anatoly had created while she’d opened and worked downstairs.

“What did you guys do?” she breathed, trying to take it all in. In the last few hours, they’d transformed the apartment into a Hallmark movie.

There were wreaths and garlands draped on every wall. All the flat surfaces had figurines or overflowing candy dishes. The stylish rugs were replaced with colorful ones in greens and golds.

The item that took her breath away was the Christmas tree. How they’d gotten it up here without her seeing was a mystery. The thing was at least twelve feet high and dripping with lights and decorations. It was so covered; she could barely see the branches! Under the tree were piles of brightly wrapped gifts.

It was all so perfect; it could’ve been the set of some holiday movie.

“I told you it wasn’t too much,” Zan said to Anatoly.

Even though they could feel her reaction to their effort, it was important they heard the words. “I love it,” she murmured, grabbing the two of them in a hug even as tears streamed down her cheeks.

***

Zan

“Wait, are you crying?” Zan asked, panic going through him. Was there something wrong with their link? All he could feel was love and appreciation coming from Rissa, but she was crying. That couldn’t be right!

A wave of reassurance came from Anatoly. “They’re happy tears, Zan,” Anatoly said as he rubbed Rissa’s back. “If you had sisters or dated women for more than a few weeks before meeting me, you’d have experienced it.”

Zan sighed with relief. “It’s not my fault no one did it for me except you and Rissa.” Hunching over, he nuzzled Rissa’s face. “Is Anatoly right, sweetheart? Are these happy tears?”

Sniffing, Rissa nodded. “I can’t believe you guys did all this for me.”

“There’s more,” Zan said, eager to distract her from her tears with gifts. Grabbing both Rissa and Anatoly, Zan lifted them up in a bear hug and walked them to the couch. Once he set them down, he encouraged them to take a seat.

“I really don’t need any presents,” Rissa protested. “All of this is more than I ever expected.”

“Well that’s just sad!” Zan said playfully. “You better start expecting a whole hell of a lot more from us, baby. Because you’re getting it whether you like it or not!”

With that, he rushed into the kitchen and returned with a mug of hot chocolate for Rissa. Even with a few tears streaming down her face, she laughed at the ridiculous mug in the shape of a snowman, complete with a top hat that came off.

“There are cookies too,” Zan said. “Don’t worry, I didn’t make them. Jesse dropped them off when he brought over a complete meal for you and I.”

“I thought that was stuff for Titan,” she said.

“Nope, that was our romantic dinner!” Zan said.

Anatoly snuggled in close. “Try your hot chocolate. It’s supposed to be some of the best you can buy, and Zan and I fixed it exactly as directed.”

Rissa took off the top hat cover and sipped the hot drink cautiously. Zan loved both the look of approval and the sense of deliciousness he got through their link.

“Whatever you had to pay for it, this was worth it,” she declared.

“I put in a standing order,” Anatoly said with a big smile. “Now to the presents.”

“But Christmas isn’t until next week,” she pointed out.

“We have a few we want you to open now,” Zan explained. He pivoted in place and kneeled next to the tree, gathering several parcels in his arms before walking on his knees back to Rissa. Instead of sitting on the couch, he made himself comfortable at her feet before handing her the first gift. He could feel her excitement at receiving gifts from them.

“This one is from both of us,” he explained.

It was a thin box that looked like it should hold a plaque. Setting her hot chocolate on an end table, she accepted the gift. At first, she tried to open it delicately, but Zan used too much tape so she ended up having to shred the wrapping. Her brows knitted in puzzlement as she opened the thin box to reveal a small stack of papers inside.

“Um, is this a rental agreement?” she asked, scanning the legal document. “Do you guys want me to start paying rent here?”

Anatoly chuckled. “Flip to page three.”

She did as he instructed and started reading. Her eyes went wide, and she looked up, her gaze bouncing between the two of them. “This is for Joan’s shelter! This is a second building for Joan, and you’re only charging her a dollar a month with a ten-year lease!”

Tears started pouring from her eyes again as she clutched the documents to her chest. “I can’t believe you did this for me. You’re already letting Samatha lease the place next door for almost nothing and now this? I don’t know what to say!”

“Joan helped you,” Anatoly said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and drawing her close. “Anyone who’s helped you in your life is important to us.”

Zan really didn’t like the tears. This called for more presents!

“This one now!” he demanded, shoving another box into her hands. She carefully set the paperwork aside and accepted the box.

“I’m going to need to go shopping for more gifts for you guys,” she murmured. “I know you won’t let me go alone, but what if I make a day of it with Maddy and Mikey? She’s a good shopper, and he could be protection.”

“As long as he brings at least two more wolves with him,” Anatoly agreed.

“Maddy might talk Briar into coming and that means Memphis will be with us,” she pointed out as she gave up on keeping the wrapping paper whole and started ripping again.

“Memphis is a chimera. Rissa will be safe,” Zan said, enjoying the way she tore the paper. He was going to go back and make sure there was plenty of tape on all the gifts, so she’d have to rip them open. She was even giggling, despite the tears drying on her face.

Under the wrapping was a box with three smaller boxes inside. “Okay, that’s interesting,” she said as she opened the first box. It was a ring, but when she tried to put it on, it didn’t fit her finger.

“I think it might be a little big,” she said with a smile at Zan.

“Open the other two,” Zan urged.

She did and found two more matching rings with the third one a perfect fit for her left-hand ring finger.

“Oh!” she said, sliding it on, then holding the other two in her palm. “They’re matching rings for all of us.”

Zan held up his left hand and wiggled his naked ring finger. “I got them specially made. The outside is steel, tough and hard. The inset is gold, a soft malleable metal. That’s us. To the outside world, we’re hard and tough, but we are vulnerable and soft for each other.”

Both Anatoly and Rissa stared at him. He felt gentle startlement at his gift, then deep affection. “This was very thoughtful, Zan,” Anatoly murmured as he tugged off the ring he normally wore and held his hand out to Rissa. “Would you please?”

With a suspicious sniff, Rissa nodded and slid the ring on him.

“They’ll always fit perfectly because I had them spelled,” he explained as he held his hand out to Rissa. “It’ll stay with me even when I shift. Although I guess that’s not a worry for you when you take your owl form.”

Rissa pinned Anatoly with a curious look. “Owl form?”

Zan could feel discomfort coming from the vampire. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

“But I want to see,” Rissa said.

“Maybe,” Anatoly said, and Zan heard the unspoken in many many years from now.

“I’ll ask for it on my birthday,” she said as she drew their hands together to admire their matching rings. “These are the best gifts I’ve ever received. Thank you, guys!”

***

Anatoly

“We aren’t done,” Anatoly said, nodding his head at the two gifts sitting on the floor next to Zan. The shifter gave him a dubious look at the same time Anatoly could feel doubt through their link. The two had argued over giving Rissa these tokens. Zan thought they’d freak her out, but Anatoly was confident that she’d appreciate what they meant.

“We could save them for later,” Zan urged.

“Wow. That feels really odd!” Rissa exclaimed, blinking rapidly.

“What’s odd?” Zan asked.

“You guys don’t agree on something,” Rissa said. “I can feel it. It’s like my brain is being gently tugged in two directions.”

Anatoly still couldn’t believe how well Rissa could read both of them. It was unusual for one member of a flock to get more information from a link than the others, but that was the case with Rissa. If he wasn’t blocking her from his thoughts, she’d be hearing what he was thinking even though all he got from her were emotions and an occasional image, just like with Zan.

“I’m not sure Anatoly’s gifts are appropriate,” Zan said with a rueful smile and handed her the first one. “But I guess there’s no turning back now.”

“Yeah, no! I need to know what they are!” she agreed with a chuckle. “I’m dying of curiosity. Is it more jewelry?”

“I can make them into jewelry for you,” Anatoly offered as she ripped off the paper, then opened the box.

She stared at the contents, then finally looked up at him. “Are these, um, human teeth?”

“They’re from the dentist who pulled your tooth without anesthesia or any numbing agent,” he explained. “I hired a private investigator to find your abusive foster father, and he turned up as well. It seems he was running a scam where foster families would come to him, and he’d do as many procedures as he could, bill the state, then give the foster parents kickbacks.”

She blinked at him and for a moment, their link went totally quiet. That meant she was so stunned she wasn’t feeling anything.

“I told him that was a weird gift,” Zan grumbled, resting his chin on her lap and rolling his eyes up to look at her.

“Is he still alive?” she asked, holding up the box.

“Yes,” Anatoly said. “And he was awake and aware for the entire process.”

A fiendish smile curved Rissa’s lips at the same time as a deep sense of satisfaction rolled through the link. “Good.”

She looked back down at the teeth. “I don’t want to turn these into jewelry, but maybe something else. Like putting them in resin and turning them into a Christmas tree ornament. Every year, I could remember how much pain that asshole was in when you did this and smile as I hang it on the tree.”

Anatoly chuckled. “That’s my human, slipping toward the darkness.”

“Is this gift better than Joan’s new shelter?” Zan asked.

“No, Joan’s shelter is still the best thing anyone could ever give me,” Rissa said.

“Then you're not sliding too far to Anatoly’s side,” Zan declared with an exaggerated relieved expression. “I was worried for a moment.”

“Wait until she opens the next gift,” Anatoly cautioned Zan.

Leaning over, Rissa grabbed it off the floor, squishing Zan’s head with her breasts. Anatoly could feel the contentment coming from the shifter. Having his head in Rissa's lap was probably going to become his new favorite lounging position.

“What’s in here? His fingernails?” Rissa joked, unwrapping the larger box. After opening it, she made a startled sound. “Oh shit, this is a human skull. I thought you said you didn’t kill the dentist?”

“That’s not from the dentist,” Anatoly said. “That’s your foster father.”

It was hard to put the emotions he was getting from Rissa into words, but if pressed, he’d say she was feeling a combination of triumph and satisfaction.

Picking up the perfectly cleaned and disinfected skull, she held it up and sneered at it. “You won’t be hurting anyone ever again, you fucking bastard.”

“If you’re not freaked out by that, then I guess we really do all belong together,” Zan teased.

Rissa dropped the skull back into the box and set it aside before leaning over to give Zan a kiss. Straightening up, she leaned into Anatoly with a happy sigh.

“Thank you,” she murmured, petting Zan’s head while snuggling against Anatoly. “After Mom was gone, I always dreaded the holidays, but not anymore.”

“There is nothing for you to ever dread again,” Anatoly assured her.

Love flowed between the three of them as Christmas music softly played in the background and the smell of hot chocolate mingled with the pine of the Christmas tree.

It was the first of many merry Christmases to come.