Page 58 of The Good Boys Club

“What do they win?” I asked.

“Bragging rights mostly, but also the champion gets carried in on the shoulders of the other wolves, so that they can show off their prize catch. Your mate used to win it every year.” My mate, right. “Every fucking year. It drove Zach wild with jealousy. Oh, here they come.”

Like the swell of a tsunami, the hunt wolves piled into the marquee, tails wagging and with cacophonous cheering. In the centre, elevated several feet above everyone else, was Felix, who was being held aloft by his father and Mash.

“Mum!” he yelled, holding out his arms to show off his haul—a bass, which I could only describe by using the word “whopper.”

“Tell me you didn’t hook the biggest fish of the day,” Clem said playfully.

“Yup. I caught it.”

Mash and Sean placed Felix on his feet.

“Biggest catch goes right in the centre,” Sean said, patting his son on the back.

Felix dumped his enormous fish onto the middle of the table, then after accepting a reluctant kiss from Kimmy, who placedher fish next to his, he jogged over and let his mum fuss over him. It was the typical “don’t embarrass me, I’m a teenager, but secretly I love all the affection so don’t stop” type interaction.

“Well done, poppet,” Clem said.

“Actually, it was uncle Mash who caught the fish,” Felix said in a whisper. “He switched the rods and said to pretend I caught this and don’t tell anyone, but . . .” He looked at me. “Make sure Ci finds out how selfless and generous he is.”

Clem rolled her eyes. “I don’t think you’re meant to be that obvious about it.”

“Thanks,” I said. My cheeks pulled themselves into a smile, and my insides went all soupy and warm.

What did he mean by that? If this was all for show, why go out of his way to make sure no one else knew? Why only me?

Suddenly, Mash was by my side, grinning from ear to ear. “Behold, my bounty!” he yelled. From each hand dangled two massive fish, though not quite as big as the bass Felix came in holding.

“Good work,” I said.

His smile grew wider. Oh no, he had that glint in his eye. “Good work . . . for my . . .” He leaned closer. “Good boy.”

I screwed up my face. Tried to focus all my efforts into keeping my tail rigid. “Fuck you,” I whispered back when it started wagging.

“The tail suits you, by the way. And these.” He motioned with his head to my ears, then all at once seemed to realise he’d fucked up. “Oh, shit!” He turned to Clem. Luckily, it was only us three in the corner. Felix had wandered off to chat with his other uncles.

“She knows,” I said. Then, because we still had other secrets that needed to be kept, I hastily added, “She remembered that I’m a shifter.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t?” Clem asked.

“Yeah, kinda,” Mash said. “Who else knows?”

“Only Sean. I’m not gonna tell Alpha—not yet, anyway—but you’ll have to at some point.”

Mash sighed. He looked at me and without having to say anything I knew what he was asking: “Does she know about the fake-mates thing too?”

I shook my head infinitesimally, and his expression softened.

And then, because Clem was still watching us, and because I remembered Felix saying“Make sure Ci knows,”and because I’d caught a glimpse of Dylan and Riley out of the corner of my eye and Rita on the other side, I arched onto my toes, pulled Mash’s face down, and kissed him on the mouth.

There was a fraction of a second when he froze in shock, but the next moment he melted into me, every ounce of resistance vanished. It was a chaste kiss. Neither of us opened our mouths or used tongues. It lasted approximately five seconds, and we only broke apart when someone—Sean—wolf whistled.

After the kiss ended, Mash stared wordlessly at me. The smallest hint of a smile ghosted his face. His tongue popped out of his mouth and traced his bottom lip.

Was he . . . licking the last of me away?

Dog Eat Dog World

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