Keep You Warm

Felix

"Is it me or is this shit ramping up, bro?" Fitz looks around, a sour expression on his face as we exit the ridiculous tube to head home. "Days like this make me miss the fucking island and you know how I feel about Bloodstone."

I chuckle, shaking my head. Fitz isn't wrong. The continual summer of Bloodstone is much preferable to snowy winter, especially to our tigers. Poor Chess is bundled up tight because his lithe form doesn't carry as much padding as ours. "I think it is. The snowflakes are getting fatter and coming faster. We might be able to make snow angels or snow animals soon. Princess would love that."

"No snowball fights this time. I can still feel that ice in places it doesn't belong," Chess grumbles. "Her drive to win is as bad as yours, Fitz. Dolly will nail the living shit out of us now that she's been training this year."

Fitz gives us both a crazy grin. "We could take you all on, even the Flying Fartknockers. Baby Girl will be vicious and it would be hot. as. fuck."

I roll my eyes, leading them across the lawn. "We'll see what they're all up to. There's not enough snow yet, anyway, so don't get anyone's hopes up. Princess will pout and the other two will get grumpy. You know how the old softies are when she sticks her lip out."

Chess snickers, his eyes full of amusement. "Oh, yes, Raj. Aubrey and Ren are the only ones who give into the wide-eyed doe look. Mmmhmm. Just them."

"Yeah, bro. All she has to do is add ‘ sir ,' and you're a goner, man. Dolly's a wily little bunny wabbit and I love it." Fitz runs by me in a burst of speed, throwing a playful elbow before he calls, "Last one to strip gets the last kiss, suckers."

Looking at Chess, he bobs his brow then puts his cheetah into running and I groan.

That little shit is faster than all of us and he knows it.

No one greets us when we wrestle our way through the door and I frown. Our workout was pretty thorough; I expected to see our girl and the Frenchman back by now. Aubrey gets lost in the archives, so his absence makes sense. But where are Dolly and Ren?

"Baby Girl!" Fitz yells as he wriggles between Chess and I to barrel into the living room. "Are you hiding? I love when we play Hide & Seek."

Silence is his answer and he frowns, turning back to us. I shrug and walk over to the intercom on the wall. Aubrey had the damn thing installed after we found him and the princess destroying the archives in the middle of the night with giant dragon sex. Dolly blushed and scolded him because she'd never kick any of us out. He just shrugged and replied that it was about safety—what if it had been an intruder and we weren't prepared?

Slicker than greased owl shit, that's the book loving lizard.

"Aubrey Draconis… where the hell is everyone?" I growl into the speaker. There's no reply at first and the hackles on the back of my neck rise. "Answer us now or I'm coming down there, you overgrown gecko."

Finally, an irritated huff sounds out and I grin. "Has no one ever told you that patience is a virtue, Raj? The speaker is on the wall and I was handling a delicate tome. I can't simply drop it to bend to your whims."

He's right, but hell if I'm going to admit it to his cranky ass. "Where's your mopey mate and the princess? Fitz is getting antsy up here."

"They're not back?" He pauses and I guarantee he's squinting at a clock. The dragon loses time entirely when he's working. "Shit, it has been a while. Hold on."

I frown, looking at the other two and they shrug. The signal down there sucks, so I doubt he's calling Renard. After a few moments, a sigh echoes over the speaker.

"They're in the Shird next door. Give me a moment and I'll come up. We can go find them together."

"How did he know that?" Chess asks quizzically. "Phones don't work well down there—only stuff on the hard line."

Fitz rolls his eyes, looking at us both like we're idiots. "Don't be dense. Baby Girl and I have been reading up on mating stuff. Mythicals get fancy mental links or some shit. Hey, maybe we will, too? If she mates with them and then us, I mean."

Blinking, I consider that. Shifter mates have mental connections as well, I just didn't think about those two being bonded already. The cagey old dragon probably tweaked a cord inside or something to figure out where Ren was. That explains how he always seemed to know how to find him in the past and I smack my forehead as it comes together in my mind.

Sweet Hades, we were so stupid all these years.

"I feel dumb as a post," I mutter as we wait for our friend. "Those two were probably cackling to themselves from the moment we got here. They love being smarter and sneaking around made it even more fun."

"We need to get them back with a prank," Fitz says with a toothy grin. "I've been thinking about it since I walked into that room and felt my jaw hit the ground. Not to be mean or anything, just… a little revenge on those smug fuckers."

Chess taps his fingers against his lips, looking interested. "They did give Fitz and I shit about the library a lot. I'm willing to bet that tryst with Dolly wasn't the only one to ever occur without us present."

My eyes dance as the idea takes root in my mind. "I like that plan. Fitz, you're on point. Find a weak spot and we'll plan together."

"Baby Girl will help, you know. She's wicked good at that stuff and she'll help once she knows it's in good fun." He leans forward and whispers, "She might actually be better than me because she sees the bigger picture."

I ponder that for a moment, noting that our cheetah is nodding. If he agrees, Fitz is certainly on track. I knew Princess was clever and she's definitely shown she has leadership skills this year. Perhaps letting her help is a good idea? After all, she's the bunny in the middle of everything. No one will get mad at her.

Perfect.

"Do it, brother. Talk to her when you're having reading time or whatever." My twin bounces on his toes excitedly and for a brief second, I worry he'll go too far. But Dolly won't let him, even if she does tend to encourage his feral side. She loves those winged weenies too much to allow Fitz to go overboard.

"Why does Fitzgerald look like he's going to explode despite burning off energy at the gym?" Aubrey comes out of the hallway that connects the building to his library with a suspicious look on his face. "I thought that was the point of your training time, Raj."

"It is, " I reply smoothly. "However, we're going to find the princess and you know how he gets about her. He's like a kid in a toy store."

The dragon tilts his head, then nods. "Fair enough. I only hope she's ready for it. Spending all this time with Rennie should have made her relaxed as hell. It's one of his many gifts—being totally chaotic or calming as hell with not much in between."

"You don't say?" Chess snickers as he turns towards the door. "Come on. I'm curious about what they've been doing over there for hours."

His expression says he's not curious at all, but he's keeping it under wraps for some reason.

"Care to share, Chester?" I eye his smile and he shakes his head. Obstinate little shit is going to make us wait, I see.

Gritting my jaw as I watch the formerly regimented group of shifters exit our current home, I try not to be irritated at my complete inability to manage them now. Control always makes me feel secure, but since our girl, she's the one holding the reins. I'm learning to accept it, but sometimes, it makes me panic that someone so young and inexperienced is at the helm.

Then she rounds us all up and lays everything out like a damn general.

"Definitely the perfect mate for you," I mutter to myself as we trudge across the lawn again.

"What was that, bro?" Fitz calls over his shoulder as he kicks the dusting in the air.

I snort. Hell no, I'm not repeating that. "Nothing, Fitz. Let's get out of the cold."

"I could heat it up if the kitties are freezing their wittle pawsies off," Aubrey says mildly as he traipses alongside us with much less winter gear on.

Damn dragons and their internal fires.

"No, that won't be necessary on a two minute walk."

"Bullshit! I want to see the Savory Skink light it up. He never lets us hunt with them. His fire is better since he got laid. I feel cheated."

"Fitz, Aubrey is not going to set shit on fire just because it amuses you. He's not a toy."

My brother pouts at his lover and I chuckle as Chess snuggles under his arm. "We coddle you too much."

"Agreed," the dragon grunts as he opens up the door to the Shird. "Though I'll be happy to provide a demonstration if I can set his ass on fire."

" Fitz, no…" Chess clucks his tongue before my twin can even answer. "Our angel will murder you if you get hurt just to play around."

"Yeah, but her punishment is so worth it. Plus, I get to see grumpy gila monster blow flames. Seems like a win-win to me."

Rubbing my temples, I sigh as we walk in.

No wonder these two went AWOL by themselves.

" What are they doing over here, anyway?" Fitz asks as he catches up to me. "Is she singing? I was gonna go looking for a new trophy from that snooty Drama teacher, but Dolly said no. She didn't care if the witch cast those plastic girls because she had so much on her plate. But I wanted to see her dance."

"I'm sure there's music. You can hear it a little through the soundproofing of the hall," Chess replies as he scans his arm to open the theater. "Can't you?"

We all pause, listening at the doorway as a jaunty tune echoes through the room. I frown, trying to place it, then smile when I realize it's one from the cartoon about the Ice Queen and her sister. Surprisingly, the typically quiet gargoyle is singing the guy's part and our girl is giggling in between lines. Stepping inside the auditorium, I spot them at the piano together, both playing as they go back and forth.

I'll be damned.

"Finally. I wondered when he was going to give this one up," Aubrey mutters as he listens. "He's been sitting on it for over a year."

I arch a brow. "Ren was waiting to tell her he could play? Why?"

"Because he wanted a moment to share something special with her," Chess answers with a knowing expression. "I get it."

The dragon huffs and rolls his eyes. "His damn romantic notions…I've been listening to him hem and haw since he saw her at the talent show. Thank fuck it's out in the open."

Fitz claps him on the shoulder, winking as he walks by. "Don't be a hater because you don't have a special thing yet, big guy. You'll figure it out. It can't be music or body parts, though. Those are taken."

My jaw drops as he skips up the stage, joining them despite the fact that he can't carry a tune in a fucking basket. His bad rendition makes Dolly laugh even harder and the gargoyle glare, but he doesn't stop. Chess shrugs, taking off to meet them without another word.

Looking at the dragon, I mumble, "A special thing? What the fuck are we going to do about that?"

He snorts a smoke ring and strokes his jaw. "Fuck if I know. I've been trying to decide since Rennie said this was his. I'm still not sure."

Great. If the know-it-all lizard is stumped, what hope do I have?