Page 146 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

“Of course. I’ll just hint at her that I know something she doesn’t. It’ll drive her nuts.” We laughed for a bit and then he asked, “So is he still the same serious, grumpy Gus he used tobe? I’ve barely talked to him since you guys stopped needing a babysitter.”

I was about to answer him when Elim knocked on the door.

“Come in,” I called out, and Elim pushed open the door.

He looked around and his brows furrowed.

“Hey. Sorry. I thought Chris was here. Luna Bells said he wanted to help catch the demon dog.”

“Do you not know what it is yet?” I asked.

“I do, but it sounds silly calling it a chupacabra,” Elim chuckled.

“And demon dog is so much better?” I giggled.

Elim chuckled again and scratched the back of his head. I shook my head.

“Chris is in his room.” I pointed toward the bathroom.

When Elim disappeared, Adrien smirked at me.

“What?”

“What was that?” he asked in a hushed voice.

“What?”

“Elim doesn’t get flustered. You made Elim get flustered.”

“I didn’t do anything,” I said, whacking him with my pillow when Adrien cackled at the blush on my face.

“This place has been good for you, Vi. Have you thought about staying here for a while longer? Maybe even a year until it’s time to go back to school?” When he saw me wonder how he knew, Adrien blushed. “I ask your mom for updates all the time. She told me you deferred again.”

“I might stay another month or two if Bells still needs me, but I do miss home,” I answered as Chris and Elim walked back into the room.

Chris took in my red-rimmed eyes but didn’t comment on them, knowing whatever Adrien and I needed to talk out would have been heavy and emotional. Adrien stood and walked overto the cage, jumping back a little when Coco made a weird noise and ran into one of its napping structures.

“Was that a rabbit?” Adrien asked.

“Yep. I found it injured. I’m just keeping it until you guys get rid of the demon dog.”

“I guess it can sense I’m a vampire,” Adrien muttered as we left the room.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked when we were downstairs.

“I thought we could come up with a game plan and get everything done tomorrow night,” Elim answered. “I haven’t seen much wildlife in the last few days, and it’s only a matter of time before it gets hungry and ventures out of the woods to find food.” His eyes flickered to Chris for a moment, before he pulled out a rolled-up blueprint. “Luna Bells gave me a copy of the pack grounds. I thought we could find the best place to trap it.”

I let them talk it out, watching them interact with each other. Chris was a little tense at first, unsure of how to act in front of Adrien, but my cousin had a way to make people feel comfortable and eventually, Chris was making his own suggestions, and shooting down ideas with reasons why he thought it wouldn’t work.

By the time breakfast arrived, they felt they had a solid plan for tomorrow, and Adrien was giving me the thumbs up anytime my man wasn’t looking.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Bellarose

Cade had been pouting since Adrien got here because I told him he couldn’t sleep in my room while my cousin was here. It was only for a few days, but he was making it seem like it was the end of the world. He felt like I was hiding him when I wasn’t. Not really. Violet hadn’t told anyone about Chris, either. Was it so wrong to want to keep things from them until I was ready?

I did have to admit that I missed him already, and it hadn’t even been a full day yet. It was one in the morning, and I couldn’t fall asleep. I sighed and put my phone down, hoping the darkness would help.

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