Page 49 of Reaper's Pack

“What the fuck are you wearing?”

Something ridiculously uncomfortable. I held out my arms and rotated in a slow circle for the benefit of my pack.

“I believe it’s called a… suit.”

Seated in his usual enormous chair next to the hearth, Knox cocked his head to the side, then went back to the historical tome in his lap with a snort. Declan, meanwhile, continued his appraisal of my absurd outfit from Knox’s bed, dressed in the most comfortable of all our attire—sweatpants and a loose T-shirt.

All of us had become more and more covered the longer we lived in these four walls, making use of the clothing that just appeared in closets and drawers courtesy of the reaper who seldom haunted this side of the house. In fact, the only time we were naked these days was before and after a shift, and even then, it was a quick hop into a cold shower to soothe the burn of the transition away, then into something soft that smelled distinctly of our individual scents.

This monstrosity was new.

It had materialized on a hook on the back of my bedroom door this morning, and I’d have to be a simpleton not to assume it was for my outing with Hazel this evening. Well. Evening had come, and I’d been a dutiful hellhound by putting on this thing with some direction from the internet.

And it was… constricting.

“Looks like a nightmare,” Knox mused from across the room before licking his finger and slowly turning one of the thick, yellowing pages. I huffed, spearing both hands through my rogue curls, my hair in need of a shearing.

“Couldn’t agree more.”

“I think it looks nice,” Declan insisted. He crawled off the bed and padded over to me, holding the lapels of my jacket with a frown. Then, without warning, he buttoned my crisp white shirt all the way up to my neck. “Pretty sure all the buttons are supposed to be closed.”

I smacked his hand away. “Well, now I can barely breathe.”

“You look dapper, as the humans say,” the youngest among us told me, his ease a contrast to my irritation thrumming along our bond. And it was me and me alone tonight that made the bond tense; Knox had been oddly settled since his bout with a vengeful spirit in the forest, and then Declan… Well, a good fuck would bolster anyone’s confidence.

Bit annoying, really, this new Declan. I so despised being out of my element, and tonight, I was the only one struggling to find my footing in this place. Hazel had yet to tell me where we were headed for our first—and possibly only—non-training venture into Lunadell, and the rest of my pack seemed to delight in my ignorance.

“I think this is supposed to be in some sort of bow—”

“I am aware,” I snarled, swatting Declan’s hand away again when it reached for the loose black silk around my neck. A flash of teeth and a warning along our bond had the hellhound retreating somewhat, but the display did nothing to frighten away his smug smirk. Rolling my eyes, I went for the tie, looping it as I’d seen done on the online tutorials—and failing miserably to construct anything remotely like a bow. “It’s meant to… do something…”

Declan’s eyes twinkled with an unfamiliar mirth. “Yes, most things are.”

“Oh, fuck off.” I turned and stalked to the window, tussling with the bow tie. “You know, you’ve become quite insufferable since you rutted with her.”

Knox’s black gaze flicked up, catching the low flames in the hearth. We had yet to discuss Declan’s new bond with Hazel—which astounded me, because for a hellhound pack, that connection was monumental. He had done what we’d all yearned to do from the moment we first saw her. And that changed things. It shifted the dynamic. Pushed Declan up the hierarchy. Gave him a different standing in our pack. Should a new member somehow find their way into our ranks, Declan was no longer the bottom hound.

Beyond all that, it implied a progression in Knox’s and my relationship with Hazel as well, and the fact that we hadn’t broached the subject in the twelve days since it happened told me we were on the same page: best just ignore it.

Hopefully, as we all bonded just a little more outside of reaping and training, she would find it in her heart to free us sooner rather than later.

Not that Declan would be all that keen to leave her behind.

And I…

Well, I rather liked the hunt. I craved that almost as much as I craved…

But never mind. There were greater issues at hand right now, namely this fucking bow tie that refused to loop like it was fucking supposed to—

“This is impossible,” I announced curtly, two seconds away from tossing the damn thing in the fire. “Humans must purchase these things ready-made or something, because it simply cannot be done.”

“Let me try,” Declan offered, crossing the room with an irritating little bounce in his step. My eyes narrowed.

“Get away from me.”

The bastard didn’t even slow. “Gunnar, stop being stubborn.”

“You can’t be the best at everything,” Knox added distractedly, squinting down at his book in the dim light, barely paying either of us any mind. I ground my teeth together; nothing screamed the change in our dynamic louder than this, right here. In the past, I’d seldom found myself ganged up on by Knox and Declan—Declan was rarely ever involved in any playful taunting, actually. But here, in my moment of weakness, they came together to poke and tease.

---