Page 51 of Death God

“I’m fine,” I said, beaming at her. “His weight is nothing to me. I’m much stronger than any human. In fact, I’m stronger than vamps and shifters as well.”

“Are you a shifter too?” Jacob asked.

“I can be a rainbow wolf,” I said. “I’ll show you one day.”

“But I want to see it now.”

Just then, a flock of ravens flew overhead, making a series of cawing sounds. Duck Shit looked up warily, ready to dodge if the birds rained down poop.

I squinted at him.

“With you around? No one knows what kind of shit is going to drop next,” he said.

An alarm blared. DS gave me a disgruntled look, and I shrugged.

What now?

The guards herded us to the side, leaving the center of the court vacant.

Three jeeps roared through the portal and landed in the center of the courtyard in a triangular formation.

My heart skipped a beat before bursting with joy.

Shade emerged from the driver’s seat before the jeep even touched down properly. He always liked to be behind the wheel. He was a wild boy and a control freak.

His gaze found me right away, joy and relief glinting in his golden gaze. I handed Jacob back to Dylan and sprang toward my friend.

Going-gray rose from the passenger seat. In his old age, he didn’t move as fast as his young cousin. I’d point it out to him next time, since he scowled at me while I ran to Shade.

“Canary!” I screamed and flung myself into Shade’s arms. He was a strong gray wolf, so I didn’t knock him down.

His golden boy look had faded. His blond hair was longer now and curled down to his chin. He wore a blue-and-gray military uniform, like Going-gray, but he had one less golden stripe than his older cousin, which meant he still ranked lower than the commander.

Shade lifted me and twirled me in a circle, two circles. I laughed.

Marlowe wouldn’t be pleased if he saw this. He’d warned me not to hug any male for more than two seconds if I valued that male’s life. The possessive vampire had issued a warning when Shade had crashed our date last time. It was hilarious to see the Vampire God, who was as ancient as the mountains, get jealous.

Marlowe wasn’t here now, and this was Shade, my best friend.

When I married Marlowe, I’d have Shade give me away. Then I bit my lip, remembering that Marlowe hadn’t proposed to me. He was dense sometimes, but then we hadn’t had enough time to talk about it. When he came for me, I’d give him a nudge and a clear direction. I wasn’t a shy girl. I went for what I wanted.

I dragged my mind back to here and now. Tears flooded my eyes as he lowered me. I couldn’t help it. I hid my wet face against Shade’s chest and dried my tears on his uniform.

He put me down, still hugging me, and waited until I got my act together.

“Really, Catnip?” He frowned at me. “Really?” He managed to let displeasure crack into his tone. “Do you know how much this uniform cost? And you have to ruin it?”

I pulled away to grin at him.

“I’m loaded, Canary,” I bragged. “I’m not poor Pip anymore. I’m also a lady now. They all call me Lady Pip Ophelia. I even have a butler, and I don’t need to pay him.”

“You’re always Catnip to me,” Shade snorted. “Lady Ophelia, my ass.”

I retaliated by tussling his hair. He was vain and hated people messing up his hair.

“Do that again, Catnip, and I’ll bite you,” he said menacingly.

I laughed. “Flirt with me again and see who’ll get bitten.”

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