Page 6 of A Killer Crescent Valentine

“You just made it up,” Edison scoffed, his hands flexing where they’d come to rest on my back.

“Actually,” Brannigan put in, his tone the intelligent and enthusiastic one I loved so much. “Cream pies do exist, and not just in the sense you’re thinking of. I remember having a chocolate cream pie many years ago when I lived in America. I believe now it’s known as a Boston cream pie.”

“Is that when we take Rebel to Boston and all come inside her?” Dean asked with a wicked smirk that made me want to climb him like a tree.

“It’s a cake with a cream filling,” Brannigan said, unamused with their bullshit.

“I could be a cake with a cream filling,” I told Brannigan with a wink.

His eyes creased when he laughed. Immune to everyone else’s bullshit as he might be, Brannigan had a particular weakness for mine.

“I already filled you with cream,” he pointed out, straightening his bow-tie and betraying that he was still a little self conscious with dirty talk. And fucking adorable.

Hugh groaned. “Enough cream talking. You make me hungry.”

Judging by the darkness in his eyes, he wasn’t talking about food-hungry. I swallowed, a little shiver moving across my skin.

“We’ve got time for round two, right?” I asked hopefully.

“Always, babygi—” Dean began, but his head snapped around to the screen. I spotted the same streak of movement he had.

It was only a small blur, but it was enough to see a figure creeping through the woods with white feathers tumbling down their back, wings dragging along the ground.

“That’s the Cupid,” Dean growled, straightening to his full height. “Let’s go.”

I sighed heavily, heat pounding inside me. I was going to complain about this the whole way.

“You get to kill the Cupid, gingerbread,” Slasher reminded me.

I grinned. He was right. We had a killer to hunt, and this was going to be fun.

CHAPTER 4

“Onward, noble steed,” I cried, my fingers buried in Hugh’s ink-black fur as we raced through the Whimpering Woods. Slasher and Brannigan blurred far in front of us, and Dean raced beside Hugh, dressed in fur and claws. I could have taken my own form—bigger, faster, and better than everyone else’s—but I never missed an opportunity to ride Hugh.1

His body shook with a low rumble of playful annoyance, but it wasn’t enough to deter me from pointing ahead of us like a knight charging into battle on a white charger. Air tore past us, trees rushing by so fast they became one big green smudge in the corner of my eye, but I kept my stare fixed ahead as Slasher and Brannigan veered off the path, following the same scent that filled my lungs—bright, verdant plant-life, rich, loamy earth, and a trickle of sharp blood with something sweet, like vanilla custard.

Hugh dug his claws into the ground, sending us swerving off the path after my vampire mates, and I cackled like a madwoman as my stomach went swoop.

“Stop enjoying this!” Edison yelled, his voice high and strained.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention my darling witch mate was riding Dean, clinging to his fur for dear life as my Sexy Sir took the curve off the path like a fancy formula racer.2

“Wheee!” I shouted, only my last brain cell stopping me from throwing both my arms up as my ride raced through the woods. A face full of twigs and dirt would put a swift end to my fun, not to mention losing my front teeth. I kept my hands where they were.

Good thing I didn’t let go; Hugh jolted into a sudden halt that would have thrown me off his back. My ass lifted as it was, my thighs slipping where they gripped him, but gravity dragged me back down, and I grunted at the force of the landing.

“Slower,” Edison screeched at Dean. “If I fly off your fucking back, you’ll regret it, mongrel.”

“Hey!” I complained, twisting to look at him. “I’m a wolf, so you’re insulting me, too.”

“You’re a beautiful pedigree, Blossom,” Edison replied breathlessly, his pale hair slicked to his face and sweat shining on his inked neck. Poor Edison. “He’s the damn mongrel.”

Hugh rumbled a soft noise.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “What’s Hugh?”

“One of those weird dogs with the snaggletooth that everyone falls in love with.”