Page 118 of Fated to Monsters

Silas pushes a stack of chips in, which I think means he calls Dash’s bet.

Bo tosses his cards onto the table. “I’m out.”

Sydney glances around at the remaining card holders.

Wes discards his, and Cameron follows behind.

“Turn 'em up, boys," Sydney tells Silas and Dash.

Silas flips his cards over, not saying a word.

Sydney scans them and slides three of the other cards from the five on the table up higher than the other two. “Flush, queen high.” He turns his attention to Dash, who lays his cards carefully down in front of him.

A grin breaks across Sydney’s face as he takes Dash’s cards. “Flush, king high. Dash wins.” He shoves the chips toward Dash, who had gone completely all-in on that hand, taking quite a chunk from Silas’s pile.

Silas lets out the faintest sigh and folds his arms across his leather jacket-covered chest.

“Aw, don’t be a sore loser.” Willow plants her hands on his shoulders and kisses his cheek.

His resolve softens and he turns to plant one right on her lips. “He’s just having beginner’s luck.”

Bo eyes me. “You keep looking that good and I’m going to put a baby in you.”

“Ew, no you aren’t.” I giggle and shove him. “You’re too much of a baby yourself to have one.”

“Doesn’t mean I won’t do it.” He pokes me in the side and latches onto my waist, pulling me into his lap. “One of these days, one of us is going to.”

“Gross,” Jade says from her spot near the door. She plugs her ears. “You’re going to scar your sister for life.”

I weasel my way out of Bo’s grasp to rise from his lap and walk over to where she stands.

“No offense,” she says.

I laugh. “None taken.” I lean against the doorframe and take in the sight in front of us. So many various people and creatures coming together for something as simple as a game of poker in one of the many rooms in Sydney’s childhood estate we now call home. “Think you can handle things around here while we’re gone?”

“And get a little peace and quiet from Bo tormenting me all the time?” Jade side-eyes me. “I think I can handle that.”

Willow strolls over and stands next to me. “How long will you be gone?”

“Not sure, but I can’t imagine it’ll be much in Arthlia time. A week or two? Long enough to help Pippa and Diego rebuild.”

“Diego’s the wendigo, right?” Jade asks me.

I nod. “Yep. I finally got tired of calling himthe wendigoso I asked his name. Kind of felt bad after all we’d been through.”

“I’m sure he’d been called worse things,” Willow adds.

"Bullshit," Bo calls out before slamming his hand against the table, chips splattering from various piles. The rest of the guys, minus Silas, burst into laughter. Bo shakes his head and leans back in his chair, the two legs barely supporting his large frame.

“I keep telling him he’s going to fall if he continues doing that.” I stare at the legs and wonder how much longer they’ll last.

Willow sighs. “You’ll have to let him learn the hard way.” She turns toward me. “Speaking of, when you return, how about you enroll in some classes at the academy? I could really use your help around here and I’d love for you to learn proper magic.”

“Yeah?” I say, my heart nearly bursting with the idea that I might finally come into my powers fully.

A gentle knock sounds on the front door, and a second later, it opens, and a dark-haired girl comes through.

Willow immediately rushes over, throwing her arms around the new person. “Lills,” she squeals. “I’ve missed you.” Willow releases her and grips her hand, dragging her over to us. “Lillian, this is Jade.”

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