Page 55 of Magic and Muffins

When I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer, Cross quietly told Vena to claim a guest room when she was ready. He picked me up off the couch and carried me to our room.

* * *

When I openedmy eyes the next morning, I knew I was no longer snuggling with Cross. At some point in the night, they had switched.

“Morning,” Shepard said sleepily and hugged me even closer to him.

“Morning. When did you get here?”

“A few hours ago.”

“Is everything okay at the pack house?”

“For now. Hugh wants Cross and me to do another spotlight interview in a few days to explain our relationship and the kiss. Especially my reaction to the kiss.” He sighed. “Not looking forward to it.”

He mumbled something about a troublesome vampire and nuzzled into my neck.

The door flew open, and Vena bounded into the room with her hand over her eyes. “Cover your privates!”

Shepard groaned. “The ass didn’t lock it.”

She waited a beat. “Are your bits covered? If they’re not, I don’t care. I’ve seen too much at wolf run night. I’m immune.”

“What? What’s wolf run night?” I asked.

She dropped her hand and grinned. “It’s when the moon is full, and the guys all strip down and run. I’ve never seen so many mate masts in my life. You have to come next time.”

“If I say yes, will you go away?”

“No. I have juicy news.”

“What?”

“Shross is shipping!”

Shepard glanced at me, confused. I returned the look.

“It’s too early for this, Vena. What is Shross?”

“It’s Shepard and Cross. A fan group is shipping them as a couple. You should see the fan art they have already. It’s spicy.”

CHAPTERTWELVE

Shepard groanedand hugged me tighter as Vena bounced on her toes and told us about Shross.

“No, this is great news,” Vena said. “It’s something light and loving andnotabout how either of you are murderers. It’s about adapting and rolling with the punches, like you said, Shepard. We need to encourage your fans instead of coming across as a hard-ass this time. Be the gentle Shepard who likes to snuggle Everly.”

He leaned back enough to look at me. “Is she making any sense to you?”

“Of course I am,” Vena said before I could answer. “Yesterday, you gave the viewers angry Wolf Boss and walked off in a fit. Not a great public image. Meanwhile, Cross was calm and kissed you to prove a point. It’s shitty they cut out his explanation of the kiss, by the way.

“You need to be the calm one too. Embrace your relationship with Cross and focus on that instead of trying to convince the public that they’re in danger and Orphia is evil. People want drama, but they don’t want to believe they’re going to die. They’re like Everly. They’ll ignore that shit until it’s biting them in the neck.”

“Hey,” I said.

“Sorry, babe, but it’s true. Avoidance is your M.O. until you can’t avoid it anymore. That’s the general public, too. So give them something they don’t want to avoid. Show them your bromance in all its glory. Being loved by the public in any form will mean Orphia’s hate campaign will lose its foothold.”

“Unfortunately, she’s making sense,” I said.

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