TWENTY-THREE

Billie

ALESSANDRO, XANDER, ETHAN, and the twins are down in the basement with the three shifters who have all recovered from the beta toxin. They're making sure everything is set up so the twins can watch "our guests" while we all talk. Jax stayed in wolf form until Alessandro and the twins arrived. He's in the shower now. He also nabbed a toothbrush and floss from Marcus because, well, he did fight like a wolf with wolf teeth and all.

That leaves me with The Den.

I don't want to say anything to them without at least one of my mates or Alessandro here. We're all sitting in Marcus's living room. Micky's leaning against the mantle across from the large black-leather sectional that Enzo, Jimmy, and I are sitting on. Dom and Jake are on the love seat near the front windows closest to the door. Marcus is seated between the love seat and the sectional, on the beat-up orange velvet-like recliner that he refuses to get rid of, even though the thing is absolutely hideous and does not go with any of the new furniture.

When Jimmy got here this afternoon, he rushed to me, picked me up in his arms, and hugged me so freakin' tight while crying and blubbering. He let me know that no matter what, no matter what I am or what I change into, I am his sister. I am his Demon, and I better not get my neck gnawed on by a wolf ever again. Enzo and I "talked" briefly. I yelled at him for being so stubborn and not leaving, and he yelled at me for sacrificing myself for him. Then we called it even and hugged it out.

The bathroom door opens, and Jax strides out, wearing only gray joggers, hair towel dried and finger-swept back. Looking at him, I feel a knot of concern twist in my stomach when I notice his head whipping around with wild eyes scanning, nostrils flaring, and shakes rippling through his upper body all the way down to his fingertips. His gaze locks on me, and before I can worry or ponder any further, he's yanked me up from the couch and taken my seat.

"Yeah, sure, just take my—" I start but am cut short by my own yelp as he pulls me down between his spread legs, all in a matter of seconds. With my back to his chest, he tugs me in tighter, banding his arms around my waist and crossing his legs over mine, trapping my willing body inside his. Yup, we're officially back to boa-constrictor-level snuggles, making me wonder if shifters can have two forms. Maybe I'll ask Xander.

I'm about to laugh until I feel a shudder rack his body. He forcefully nuzzles his face into the crook of my neck, his hot breath and—shit, Jax. Tears. My playmate's tears warm my skin. My stomach drops under the weight of emotions as it dawns on me: we haven't been with each other in the same form since everything happened.

He was the first to arrive. Jax and Blondie were the ones to take down DuFraine's wolf. They risked themselves for me and Little Fox. If it weren't for Jax and his wolf, there might not have been anything Xander could have done to save me. To save us.

Once again, I'm reminded my life is not my own. We are all connected, us four and our shifters. Little Fox comes to the surface, wanting to connect with Blondie just as much as I want to embrace this moment with Jax. I rub my cheek against his warm, damp shoulder and open my neck for him to burrow into. My fox begins to hum, sending rhythmic pulses through my back. Jax takes a huge gulp of air, and on the exhale, his wolf murrs in response. Their hums and murrs pulse through us like a physical lullaby until our bodies relax, melting into one another.

With my body feeling a little gooey and a lot less stiff, our shifters settle, and Jax returns his feet to the floor. My cheek warms from his soft kisses, and I tilt my face up to his. Our lips meet, and his hand around my waist slides up to cradle my jaw as my hands wrap around his forearm, which is belted across my chest. Jax pulls his face back, and I gently wipe his tears away with my thumb.

"Listen, Donny," he says on a shaky exhale, and with a twitchy grin he quirks a brow. "I think we've had enough of you being out of your element for a while, yea?"

Shaking my head, I snort a laugh while Jimmy, who's sitting right next to us and has been privy to the whole interaction, snickers and bobs his head in agreement.

I meet Jax's quirked brow with one of my own and challenge. "Are you drawing a line in the sand , dude?"

"Freakin' Christ, Demon! If he's not then I sure as hell am, all right?" Jimmy chides with a teasing lilt to his voice. Jax waggles his brows in cocky triumph, like See, I've got Jimmy on my side now .

Before I can come up with a snappy reply, the basement door creaks open, and Alessandro, Xander, and Ethan all enter the living room. Xander and Ethan immediately come over to Jax and me, Xander sitting down in the spot next to me on the chaise lounge portion of the sectional and Ethan taking the seat next to him.

Alessandro gazes at the—ready for this? —buri peacock armchair that Marcus brought in from the front porch. And yes, the thing is just as ugly as his orange recliner, and yes, it's part of a set with a matching chair and small circular table. Alessandro contains his reaction to a small smile before gracefully floating down into the rattan seat. Crossing one leg over the other and resting his arms on the short armrests, he manages to make the hideously seventies chair look like a damn throne. The skills of a principe , I guess.

"Everything good down there?" Jax questions in a muffled voice, his face smushed into the top of my head.

The three of them share a look. "For now," Xander exhales, laying a hand on my thigh and squeezing.

There's a moment of silence, then Jake groans out in whiny agitation. "All right, Demon. You gonna spill, because"—he points a finger at Ethan— "Tight Lips over there wouldn't say much."

I turn to Ethan, who just lifts a shoulder and says nothing.

"Huh, apparently he's still a little tight-lipped," I observe. I know this conversation needs to happen, and I know I'm the one who has to initiate it, but knowing that doesn't mean I want to. Taking a moment, I blow raspberries in bratty resignation.

Alessandro coughs, and I swing my gaze to him. He reangles himself in what I will forever refer to as Alessandro's rattan throne, to face me. He says, "Bare basics, la mia stella , for their safety, yes?"

I nod.

Repositioning myself between Jax's thighs, I recline back with my legs out straight, ankles crossed, fingers intertwined over my upper stomach, and my head craned back, eyes on the ceiling. I take a large inhale to speak. Then Jimmy curses under his breath.

I flop my head to the side on Jax's chest and look at Jimmy with raised brows. He meets them and motions his hand down the length of my body. "This position ya in, Demon? I know it. This is your word-vomit position."

There are several groans of pain echoed throughout the room. "Shit," Dom huffs, pulling the hood of his orange hoodie over his head and leaning back into the love seat. Rubbing his stomach, which is probably still recovering from last night's bad decisions, he groans. "Last time she did this to me, I had indigestion for two days."

My body vibrates from Jax's soft laughter. I smile and let my head fall back again, refocusing on the ceiling. In my best robotic voice, I say, "You are correct." Then I inhale and puke all over them. "My parents were shifters, I never knew. I didn't shift when I guess I was supposed to because of where I lived and my lack of exposure to other shifters. From what I can guess, I was first exposed when I went up to WMU for a tour." Rotating my head to gaze at Marcus, I give him a crooked grin. "Remember how I had all that nervous energy and we did everything we could to calm me down, like that fifteen-mile run?"

Marcus swipes a hand down his face and painfully snickers. "Yeah, because I couldn't walk for three days after that, and you still had energy."

I nod while Xander's hand gives my thigh a firm squeeze. Because, oh yeah, he knows what I did with that extra energy. I force a cough and continue. "Right, that was my shifter waking up after being in a semihibernated state, thanks to where I grew up and all the running and mediation."

"When does—" Dom starts, but I hold up a hand and tsk. "Nuh-uh, Dom. Word vomit. Don't stick your head in until I'm done, or things will get messy." Jax chuckles heartily, and damn, I love him so much. I snuggle deeper into his warm, loving body and continue. "This fall, when I went up to WMU, the criteria needed to shift was finally met, only I didn't know anything about any of this." I wipe the air in front of me with my palm. "I was running at all hours of the night, even with two-a-day soccer practices, thinking it was just my anxiety or PTSD acting up. I was hoping it would adjust eventually. Long story short, I finally had my first shift in a panic-induced state." I look at Micky and grin. "She's been with me all this time, and I think she took my Elder Wiser Self meditation and input herself in there."

Adjusting his weight from foot to foot—the guy doesn't like sitting down or standing in one place—Micky smiles a denture-filled smile. "I like herh already."

"My shifter form is a fox, like my momma. I'm unsure about my papa, but I have memories of a red-and-white dog from before they died. It was trying to find me when I was eating candy or sneaking around." A hurt from a loss that will forever be with me lances through my chest, and I blow out a pain-filled breath. "Humans aren't supposed to know about shifters. When we found out that DuFraine and the other two guys were shifters during the match last night, I was worried Clyde would really hurt Jimmy, so I asked Xander to help me intervene with what they were doing in their corner during rest periods." Slumping the side of my head on Jax's chest, because I'm far too tired to lift it up and I like resting on him, I meet Jimmy's eyes. "Jimmy, you won that title fair and square, against a shifter with shifter strength. We just prevented the healing similar to what you saw Xander do today."

Marcus thumps an arm against his chair and exclaims, "I knew something was up! None of it made sense."

Rolling my head back to center, I close my eyes and inhale. "Yeah, what they were doing should never happen. From what I understand, which is very little, shifters should not be interacting with humans in any way that would draw attention." Admitting how much I truly don't know has what feels like a den of slithering snakes nesting in my throat, choking me on my own ignorance. How much that lack of knowledge could cost me, how much danger I've put my family in because of my own stupidity. I wipe a tear away. Stupid tear. "This morning when I went on the ride with Enzo. . ." I pause as my lower lip trembles, both from what happened and the conflicted emotions I've been avoiding. "I refused to listen to Xander's concerns about going out without one of them, knowing those shifters could still be around. I just wanted to be Billie from The Den." I turn to Enzo. His tatted arms are so tightly wound around his waist, it's like he's trying to hold himself together. He stares at me, and my gaze blurs from my tears, and my words are garbled with emotions. "I wanted to be with my oldest and closest friend on his bike while he tried to scare the bejesus out of me. To be like we used to be, just him and me, and he almost died because of it." Enzo's body shudders with his effort to contain his emotions, yet a few tears escape and drop down his cheek. He lets them. He lets them because they're for me, for me to wipe away, like I always have. I inhale a clogged breath. "Now you're all at some sort of risk because you know about shifters." Tear after tear rolls down my face. I sniffle a jagged breath. "And I am so freakin' sorry. I know that doesn't cut it, and all I can think of is how my stubbornness, fear, and defiance has put the most important people in my life in danger. Fuck ."

Jax's hold on me tightens, and he rests his chin over my shoulder, his cheek rubbing mine. Xander's hand on my thigh massages and kneads my flesh. Silent support from my mates feels so good, and then I feel guilty because my mind and heart are still thinking about and feeling for another—for Enzo. I'm scared of losing a relationship that, though stitched together and bound through trauma, is one that is irreplaceable.

The room is quiet.

"Ya done, kid?" Micky asks with a tilt of his head. I gaze up at him. He's rolling his teeth around in his mouth, assessing me. This is the man who took me in, who helped me find my way and loved me like his own. I nod. He stands tall, recrossing his arms over his chest, and he raises his brows. "I mean ya done with the whinin' and whimperin,' or ya need more time?"

I know he truly means what he's asking. Do I need more time to process these emotions, or am I just letting myself hang out in them because I'm afraid of dealing with the outcome of my choices? The tone in his voice, though. I know that tone, and I know once I'm ready, Micky will be giving me a let's-get-ya-shit-togetha verbal smack over the head. Sitting up taller, I pull my hair back into a messy bun and dry my eyes with the sleeves of Marcus's sweatshirt. "Yeah, I'm done."

"Good, 'cause it happened," he grunts. "Now ya gotta figure out how ya gonna respond, without shame, blame, or guilt." He pauses, and his blue eyes search over my head while one hand rubs up and down his other arm. Jimmy and I look at each other because this is classic Micky. A small smile spreads over his face when he looks back at me. "We'll get the details later, but right now, kid, ya need to change ya view of this. Think of it like ya final test, the final level in the O'Sullivan School of Personal Powah." There are several chuckles in the room, and Micky continues. "Find the gift. Play the game. Work with whatcha got. Ya don't know what any of this means. Choose what ya want it to mean. What do ya want to happen?"

Knowing my first concern is protecting The Den and feeling more energized and empowered, I turn to Alessandro and Xander and query, "Humans must have found out about shifters before. What do we know, and how can I protect them?"

"They can sign a shifter NDA," Xander suggests on an inhale, his hand on my thigh gripping deeper into my flesh. He doesn't look pleased, and when his gaze drifts over The Den, his glacial eyes are hard and his voice clipped. "You sign that, and she becomes responsible for you not talking. You break it, even if it's just once, even if it's just one of you, she forfeits her life."

Ethan scrubs a harsh hand over his short-shaved head and adds, "With the way things have been going lately, if other shifters find out about the NDA, especially"—hesitating, he slides his gaze to Xander and swallows— "wolf-shifters from our home pack, they will try to get you to break it. One verified slip-up, and she's dead legally."

"Holy fuck!" Jake blurts out with his jaw hanging open.

I nod. "Yeah, I'm learning shifters don't mess around." Hence wolf teeth in my neck this morning over a boxing match.

Marcus turns a narrowed gaze to Xander and Ethan, and asks, "Wait, what's been going on lately, and why wolf-shifters, and why from your own. . ." He falters. "Pack?" He scratches his head. "Your family doesn't like you being with Demon?"

Before either of us can attempt to answer Marcus's question with as little information as possible, Alessandro interjects. "A royal decree." With eyes on me, he intertwines his fingers over his lap and lifts a shoulder. "You could have them listed as protected under a royal decree, la mia stella ."

" Royal ," Dom chimes in, slanting forward and pushing his hoodie back. Gazing at each of us with a curved brow, he queries, "Who's royalty here?"

My face is hot, really hot, and Jimmy scoffs. "You feckin' serious, Demon? You're a, what, royal shifter?"

Hiding my face behind my sleeved-covered hands, I mumble, "That would be a yes." Then uncovering my face, I readjust my bun. "I have no idea what any of it means."

"Demon, are ya gonna have to wear dresses?" Jimmy chuckles.

Turning to face him, I rub my middle finger over the area above my right eyebrow where his scar is, and give him an all-too-sweet smile. "Some of us know what happens when I'm forced to wear a dress, don't we Jimmy?"

Marcus, Micky, and Jake burst out laughing, but Jimmy pays them no mind. He maintains eye contact with me, trying to look pissed. But he can't, not when I almost died today. He rubs his scar with his middle finger and snickers. "How could I forget."

Out of nowhere, Enzo asks, "What are mates?"

All laughter stops. I perch forward in my seat to look at Enzo. He's leaning back against the corner of the couch, wearing a black muscle shirt with his tatted arms still hugged firmly around his waist. One of his arms is a full-sleeve tattoo dedicated to him growing up here with us—The Den and me. His left shoulder is filled with a black-and-white realism tattoo of a girl with twin French braids, snuggled up on the chest of a boy with long dark hair, both sleeping. The artist created a near-perfect rendering of a picture Jimmy snapped of Enzo and me sleeping together.

I had snuck out that night to see him. He was in a bad place. It took hours of talking and silent presence to finally get him to sleep. With me having a tendency to run off, I agreed to always have my phone on me and also agreed to have my location app on at all times. Sometimes I just needed to run to get away or to see Enzo. And while I know it's unconventional and by no means what any parenting group would advise, it's what we worked out. Jimmy found us under a bridge not too far from Micky's place, just before sunrise. It's my favorite picture, with the soft, predawn light casting a warm glow over the two of us. That was the moment Enzo truly became part of The Den.

"Where did you hear that term, amico mio ?" Alessandro inquires, looking at Enzo. They truly could be related.

Enzo shrugs. "The guys." He clasps a hand in front of his mouth and coughs. "The shifters. They kept saying it in reference to Billie."

Marcus sits up taller and adds, "When they"—he points to Jax, Ethan, and Xander— "somehow figured out you both were in danger, Jax used that term as well."

"Um. . ." I feel heat flush my face. " Mate is the shifter term for what we are. Jax, Ethan, Xander, and I." Yeah, I'm sure that broad, nondescript definition of mate would totally be found in a shifter dictionary. Not.

Knowing my aptitude for telling the truth while avoiding the details, Enzo groans in frustration and raises his brows while scoffing. "Okay, but what does that mean? Like boyfriend-girlfriend, boyfriend-boyfriend, friends with benefits, or. . ." He falters, and his throat bobs with an audible swallow. "Is it something more?"

I glance over my shoulder at Jax, then slide my gaze to Xander and Ethan, who are all looking at me with silent expectation, wondering what will I say. How will I handle this? I'm asking myself the same question. I don't want to lose Enzo. I can't lose him. But I need to submit to who I am, to being a shifter. To being a mated shifter to three unbelievably amazing souls. I'm about to speak when Alessandro coughs a delicate cough. I gaze at him and I can just tell. He understands what I'm struggling with, and my chest warms with appreciation. He traces two fingers over his lower lip and softly smiles. " L'amore si presenta in tutte le forme, la mia stella." It sounds nice, but I have no idea what most of it means.

Swinging his gaze to Enzo, he raises his eyebrows and implores, " Amico mio , before la mia stella answers, please let me say one thing?"

Enzo jerks a stiff nod. "Sure."

Alessandro grins. " Grazie, grazie . I watched the surveillance video from the attack today." His eyes slide to me and then back to Enzo. "What I know from watching the video is she loves you, mio amico. She will always be there for you, si. She jumped up in front of a wolf to protect you. To save your life. Quello è amore . That is love."

"But you can be healed, right Demon?" Dom muses scratching his chin. "Less chance of you dying than Enzo."

"She thought she was going to die," Ethan cuts in with a slight bite to his voice. Taking a big inhale, he falters and looks at me, but I can't decipher what he's feeling. Confusion maybe? "She had said her final goodbyes to us... as unique as they were." Returning his gaze to Dom, he says, "So yes, she could heal, but she fully expected to die."

"What were her words?" Dom asks, his eyes bouncing from Ethan to me.

Jax huffs a laugh from behind me. "Shit, besides to take care of Jimmy, Micky, and all of The Den?" He pinches my waist, and I twist around to look at him. Smiling down at me, he shakes his head and says, " Peace to your butt crease, MOFOs. Those were her final parting words, to be left in our memory forever should she have died."

Every member of The Den breaks out into full-on hysterics, even Micky. Jake nearly chokes on some peanuts. Dom laughs so hard it looks like his hangover is about to make an encore performance. The orange recliner creaks like it's about to break under Marcus's shaking form. But that ugly ancient fucker holds strong.

Once they've finally gotten control over themselves, Jimmy backslaps Jax's arm, still laughing. "She thought that was the most hysterical thing back in the day. Said it all the time to the point we had her promise never to say it again." His shining blue eyes swing to me. "She negotiated, like Demon always does, to. . ." His laughter subdues when he realizes that I really did think I was going to die today. "If she was on her deathbed, she could say them."

With a watery smile and watery eyes, I give Jimmy the softest of nods.

"How'd you hear them?" Dom probes. Always curious, always thinking.

Knowing I just need to say it, I blurt, "Because they're my bonded true-mates." Turning to Enzo, I speak my truth and pray I don't lose him. "Mates are more than boyfriend-girlfriend. The attraction and connection are evident when you. . ." I feel my cheeks blush. "When you, uh"—I tug on my ear— "hang out with each other." Jax's fingers are making circles up and down my spine, while Xander's hand has rubbed it's way higher up my thigh.

"You can do it, love," Ethan states from his leaned-back position, where he's nibbling on his lip ring, smirking at my discomfort.

I look to Xander. There's no smirk. There's no smile. There's no humor. There's only need. Knowing he has my attention, he bites that lower lip and takes a large inhale through his nostrils, dipping his gaze down to the V of my legs. Where his semen is still leaking out of me. Tosser.

Ignoring the shaking bodies of Jimmy and Marcus as they half-heartedly try to restrain their laughter at my embarrassment, I focus on Enzo. Enzo, who is not laughing, who's biting his thumb and anxiously gazing at me, silently waiting for an answer.

Rolling my lips between my teeth, I press my hands down on Jax's thighs and push up to standing. Squeezing my way past Jimmy's tree-trunk legs, I face Enzo. Pulling the bottom hem of Marcus's sweatshirt up and pushing down the waistband of my joggers, I expose my left hip bone. "This here," I say, pointing to my mate symbol. "You see this scarred symbol? This is our mate symbol. It only happens when destined mates decide to bond."

Enzo slants forward, and using his two first fingers, he pushes my pants down lower. He doesn't hesitate to touch me. He never has, and I don't think there's ever been a time when I've denied him. Even when I was angry or hurt, I could never say no to him touching me. Not when I know how uncomfortable with touch he is, and how much he craves it all the same. With featherlight strokes that have goosebumps shimmering over my skin, he traces the triangle, the three dots, and all the lines connected to the center dot where his fingers stay. With his eyes intently focused on the dot and his fingers pressing into the marked flesh, he says in a strangled whisper, "You."

"Me," I reply so softly, so lowly, I don't know if I said the word or only thought it.

Jimmy and Marcus lean in to look at it, and I'm thankful for their presence. Yet Enzo keeps one finger on my dot, like he wants to tattoo his fingerprint over it. Claim part of me as his.

"Here," I hear Jax chirp from behind me. Rotating my head around, I notice he's gotten up and is strolling over to Micky, Jake, and Dom. Pulling his joggers down, he points to his symbol and says. "The four of us all have it."

Catching my gaze Jax gives me a quick wink, and I smile at him in appreciation. Feeling more at ease, I explain. "This would only occur, only happen, if we were truly meant to be together." Inhaling, I shake my head. "I'm not going over all the details—I feel like I'm already oversharing—but I love you guys. And I love them. This is part of me. This is part of who I am. They are part of who I am." With a quick tug of my ear, I exhale. "It's pretty simple with shifters to know if you're with who you're supposed to be with. You're attracted to their scent, and your body responds. If and when you decide to bond, then you'll know for sure. There's no question about it. The marks and the symbols show or they don't."

"So you're bonded?" Jake asks, looking up from Jax's hip to his face.

Jax chuckles. "Totally. The symbols and marks"—he points to my bitemark on his neck— "are normally hidden to the naked eye, but your savage Demon over here is a duchessa , so ours show, fully claiming us as hers for all to see."

"Your Demon's?" Jake questions with a wry grin on his face.

"Hell yeah, we are," Jax affirms, puffing out his chest.

"And she's ours," Xander adds from his leaned-back position on the couch. His body and face may look chill, but his eyes are heated and lasered in on Enzo's finger, which is still pressed against my flesh and heating the area.

Enzo taps my dot, and I glance down to see him looking up at me. Letting my sweatshirt drop, I squat down in front of him, with my hands on his knees. His hands sweep around to cup the sides of my face. His fingers press into my flesh while his thumbs softly caress my cheeks. Closing his eyes, he exhales an unsteady breath. "I can't lose you, Billie."

"I can't lose you either, Enzo," I reply without hesitation. "You'll only lose me if you push me away, or leave me, because... I'll always be here for you, like I always have."

Marcus lightly hits the armrest at the end of the couch where Enzo is sitting. Enzo and I both turn to him. He's got a frustrated look on his face. His gaze lifts quickly to Jimmy, then drops back to us. He huffs. "Listen, Enzo. Billie's always been there for you. You know she loves you. She loves us all, but you two—yeah, you share something beyond us because of the horrendous shit you went through togetha." I swallow and keep my eyes firmly on Marcus. I've yet to tell either Xander or Jax about me and Enzo, and Ethan only knows a fraction of it. Marcus scratches his fingers through his short hair, then gestures a palm to my mates. "Her current relationship status doesn't change any of that. You two haven't been TOGETHA for close to two years, but you've still been supah tight. Unless"—he hitches an accusatory brow at Enzo— " you decide to pull away. She's never once pulled away from you or resented you for disappearin' on her as you have in the past. Believe in her. Believe in the connection you both share." His gaze lifts to Xander, Ethan, and Jax, and he tips his chin up. "Believe in them, what they did, and how they've been with us. Even before they met us, they fuckin' care about her, man. It seems like they care about us too."

Jimmy shows Enzo his hand and slowly, so Enzo can watch him, places it on Enzo's back. He sighs. "We love you too, man. Trust in your relationship with us and with Billie. Trust in her and in you."

"She's the only person I trust with the depths of my soul," Enzo declares.

His eyes meet mine, and I beg, "So keep trusting me then."

"Three steps back" is all Enzo says, all he needs to say, and I'm jumping into his lap, straddling his legs. His arms wrap hard around my waist, and mine band around his neck and head, pulling his face into the crook of my neck. "Even blinded, I trusted you," he says in a husky voice thick with emotion. I feel his head shake in my hold. "I won't leave you. We won't lose each other. We'll figure it out."

"We'll figure it out, Enzo," I vow and nod my head against his, holding him with one arm while my other hand begins to stroke his hair.

The creaking of the hinges of the basement door opening has me twisting around in Enzo's lap to look over my shoulder. Ducking his head down, Heydar steps through the opening. Standing tall, his dark eyes search the room until they finally land on me. " La duchessa ," he says, then jerks his head over his shoulder to the doorway behind him. "They wish to speak to you. They know things about your parents."

"For cryin' out loud!" I wail and climb out of Enzo's lap. Planting my hands on my hips, I crane my head back and yell at the ceiling. "How much more can possibly be put on me in one freakin' day?" I throw my arms out to the sides "Huh?"

"When was the demon last fed?" Jimmy asks, and I sling my head around to face him with a suddenly heaving chest.

Silence.

My stomach growls loud, long, low, and completely unladylike. Definitely not befitting a duchessa.

"Demon needs to eat before she goes down there, or she may gnaw on one of them," Jimmy insists while rocking up from the couch. Looking at me, he tilts his head to the side and laughs. "Shit, like maybe for real, huh, sister!"