Page 118 of House of Lilith

He lets out an awkward little laugh and scratches himself on the head. “Well,Nyx,” he says, peering into my eyes in this really endearing way, “I’m actually here because your brother has put me in an awkward position.”

My eyebrows pull down. “What did he do?”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that,” he says with a wave of his hand. “He’s given methis…”

And he rummages through his pocket, producing an expensive looking fountain pen. “And he won’t let me refuse it.”

He puts it back in his pocket and scratches his head again, squinting at me with embarrassment clearly written on his face. “So now I have to come up with a gift for a duke on the budget of a church mouse.”

It makes me want to hug him. I contain myself, but my voice is still a lot softer when I say, “Seriously, don’t bother. Nikolay has everything he could ever possibly want for.”

I hesitate for a second before I say, “Besides, he loves giving people stuff. It makes him happy.” For a second, I remember the way heusedto be — considerate, protective, loving. Now he reserves that for others. When did it all turn to shit, I wonder. But I make myself snap out of it.

“So,” I tell Ricky, “if you want to say thanks, take him for a night out or something.”

“Thanks, Nyx,” he replies with a smile and a nod. “You’re really kind.”

I let out a little laugh. “Not something people often tell me.”

He throws me a warm smile and says, “I’ll be out of your hair now. Have fun.”

I nod, but it’s at that moment that I hear Dahrian’s voice sound from my right and my eyes dart to his circle, where I see the girl with the highlights standing quite a bit closer to him.

And I reach out my hand to stop Ricky just as he moves to walk away. “No, hey, Ricky…”

He stops, blinking at me in anticipation.

“Why don’t you have a drink with me?” I suggest with a smile. I motion at the circle my brother and cousin are standing in. “I’m not too eager to listen to my brother talk about video games,” I say with an awkward little laugh. Then I add, putting an effort into sounding nonchalant, “And I’d be curious to hear how today’s training went for you.”

Ricky throws me a knowing little smile that makes my heart skip a beat.

“Keep your enemies close?” he asks.

I breathe a sigh of relief. “Something like that,” I say with a conspiratorial wink.

He laughs. “Well, wouldn’t matter either way.” And he motions for me to join him at the nearest empty table. “I’m far from the strongest in the pack,” he starts as soon as I do. “Inmycase, training means getting to know the pack’s behavior better so I can support them in combat as best I can.”

I nod, but that’s not what interests me. “I’m guessingHowewould be the strongest,” I say flatly.

“Look atyou,” Ricky drawls, throwing me another knowing smile. “Working on some diabolical plan?”

I let out a laugh. “Always.” And I anxiously wait for the answer.

“Of course he’s the strongest,” Ricky says simply, “he’s the alpha for a reason.”

But that doesn’t get me any closer to the answer I’m really looking for. “Yeah,” I start, a little hesitantly. “But I saw his fox today and something about it sparked my curiosity. It seems…morethan strong.” I wave my hand in an apology. “Sorry, I don’t know how else to put it. And of course, feel free not to answer,” I rush to add, understanding what I’m asking.

“Not a secret really,” he says with a shake of his head. Then he lets out a little laugh. “I mean, I know for a fact thateveryonewho bet on the Games already has this info, which makes for a hell of a lot of people.”

I smile, but he quickly turns serious. “And I know exactly what you mean when you saymore than strong.”

It makes me hold my breath, the possibility that he’s actually about to answer my question.

“So,” he starts, getting instantly engrossed and making me lean a little forward, “every shifter has two sides to him or her, one human and one animal.”

I nod. “Of course.”

“We all know, deep inside our bones,” he continues, passionately, “that this bond should never be severed. There’s, like, this really strong gut feeling at the very thought of it being destroyed. But it’s not the same task for everyone.”

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