Page 18 of Hostile Holiday

“Yes, there are warlocks and councils we need to speak to. I have to make some appointments.”

“Well, they won’t refuse you.” Yesoff shrugged.

“True. Now, go and show Orla her room. I will make a snack.”

Yesoff blinked. “You will?”

Hunter smiled. “I will start a fire.”

“Better. I will be back in a minute.”

Orla nodded and followed Yesoff down a hall and up some stairs. The house smelled clean, and there was no dust anywhere.

“He had me get clothes for you and set up a room, but he wasn’t sure about your sizes. So, I got mediums and larges.”

“Thank you.” She saw the dark sweatsuits folded at the edge of the bed with a bag with utilitarian underwear that was stretchy enough to fit anything. She would be seriously comfortable.

“I am going downstairs before Lord Winter tries to cook something. I don’t know what has gotten into him.”

“Me neither.” She shrugged and slowly unwound the ugly sweater from her arm.

“Do you want me to dispose of that?”

“No. I am attached to it. It is comforting.”

“Very well. I will clean it and return it to your room.”

She nodded and finished unwrapping it, handing it over.

He stared at her hand. “Is that...”

“Hunter put it on me when he was a big wolf, and then, he booted me through the portal. Because of the sweater, they didn’t see the ring, and I signed a contract for the arena.”

“Wait, you were in the arena?”

“Yes. Eighteen rounds. It was Hunter that knocked me on my ass.” She paused. “Well, my back. It suddenly made breathing harder.”

There was a clatter from downstairs. Yesoff nodded. “I will clean this and bring it back to you. After I save my kitchen.”

Orla chuckled and closed the door behind him. The velvet dress she was wearing was barely surviving. This was something that could be trashed. The pile of the dress was pushed into a corner, and she hand-washed her underwear. It was a way to make sure she would have something to wear. The bags had a nice selection of panties and stretchy sports bras in grey. She put them on and then put on a set of bulky navy blue sweats and shirt. The huge, fluffy socks made her feel that all was right in the world.

She thought about it and decided to leave her room and go downstairs to get a glass of water.

She opened the door and slowly walked down the stairs. Yesoff was making coffee, and she smiled. “Smells good.”

He turned and nodded. “Thank you. We have pie, cake, and cookies. Lord Winter eats a lot of sugar.”

“Oh. Nice. Um... cake and cookies?”

He chuckled. “I like it. The pie is chocolate cream, by the way.”

“With pie for dessert.”

“Nice. Have a seat and tell me what your time in the arena was like.”

“It was fine in the lower levels, but I was just hitting a higher tier, and the guys of that ranking are scary. They got really intense and started making me offers. I did not care for those offers. Even the one who trained me got creepy when there was the chance at sex.”

“Were you willing?”

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