The Moonlight Breed 8: Leap in the Dark by Gabrielle Evans (chrysanthemum read aloud .txt) 📕

“Now who needs to stop stressing?” The jealousy was unfounded, and it served no purpose. The possessiveness was kind of hot, though.

Xander chose to ignore him other than a glance out of the corner of his eye. “Everyone listen up,” he called as they entered the common room. “We all stay to the woods just behind the cabins. No one crosses the fences, and we stay on our guard.”

“The werewolves aren’t a threat, but be careful of anyone else you see tonight,” Demitrius added. “The members of the coven are more tolerant than most, but some are still leery of Moonlighters. We don’t want anyone getting hurt because some idiot panics.”

“Feel free to roam the sectioned area,” Logan continued, outlining the rules. “No one goes off on their own, though. Treat this like kindergarten and stick with the buddy system.”

“I call dibs on the doc!” Sauntering across the room, Jacobi laced his fingers through Spiro’s and pressed up against the man’s side. “Isn’t he delicious?”

Poor Spiro looked like someone had waylaid him upside the head. “Um, yes, I suppose that would be okay.”

Braxton had to turn away to hide his smile. It appeared that Jacobi had found a new target for his affections, and Spiro didn’t seem to know what to do with him. Happily, he didn’t look opposed to the attention, more like a deer caught in the headlights.

Braxton, however, would be surprised if the pair made it through the night without killing each other. Spiro was definitely a no-drama kind of guy, and Jacobi was all drama wrapped up in a very colorful package. “I like the hair,” he called to his new friend.

“Yes, well, it was a blue kind of day.”

“I can see that.”

Not only was his hair an electric shade of blue that Braxton didn’t think he’d find in any Crayola box, but Jacobi had also donned a pair of matching shorts that left very little to the imagination. To top it off, that was all he had on besides a pair of turquoise, zebra-printed, cowboy boots.

“So, can you change your hair color at will?”

“Yes, sir.” There was no smile, and Jacobi’s usual air of flamboyancy was absent as he scuffed his toe across the carpet. “I can’t change what they made me in that lab, but I figure I can at least have some fun with it.”

Everyone in the room fidgeted and looked around uncomfortably at the mention of The Hive. The former Desirables of the group looked even more unsettled at having their ugly past dragged to the forefront.

“Well, I think it’s awesome,” Braxton declared. “Do whatever makes you happy and to hell with what anyone thinks.”

“I’ll toast to that!” Keeton piped up as he bumped his shoulder against Braxton’s. “You work it, girlfriend.”

The tension vanished as everyone dissolved into laughter over Keeton’s unique brand of encouragement. The front door flew open, drawing everyone’s attention as Raven swaggered into the room with a smirk on his lips.

“Okay, I’m here. The party can now begin.” He rubbed his hands together eagerly as he surveyed the room. “Now, who am I babysitting?” Then his eyes landed on Zuriel, the smile vanished, and he actually took a step back. “Please tell me that one is going with you.”

“He’s just playing hard to get,” Zuriel whispered loudly to Jacobi. “He secretly wants in my pants.”

“You grabbed my dick!” Raven exclaimed.

“And you loved it.”

Braxton couldn’t stop laughing as he fell against Keeton and struggled to catch his breath. Having a very large, extended family wasn’t always fun, but times like these made all the other crap worth it. To see a big, tough vampire cower from someone as tiny as Zuriel was the highlight of his day, and he could only imagine what other antics would occur before the sun rose in the morning.

“Okay, everyone get out of here and wipe your paws before you come home.” He made shooing motions with his hands as he ushered everyone to the front door and watched them file out into the moonlight.

It was good timing, too, because they’d no more than made it down the front steps before the pack started transitioning into their animal counterparts. Mihail and Jacobi were beautiful in their tiger forms but not nearly as gorgeous as Xander.

“Be careful out there tonight.” Braxton wrapped his arms around Xander’s neck and pushed up on his toes to deliver a blistering hot kiss. He had no reason to think that anything would happen, but he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that settled in his gut. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Stay inside and lock the doors. Demitrius and Oscar will probably be back early, but they have a key. Otherwise, don’t let anyone in, not even if you know them. Got it?”

It was a bit drastic, but clearly Xander was having the same unsettling feeling, and if there was one thing the paranormal world had taught him, it was to follow his instincts. “Got it.”

Xander pecked his lips once more, caressed his cheek, and gave him a lingering look before leaping off the porch to begin his own transformation.

Everything will be fine. Braxton repeated it to himself several times as he reentered the house and locked the door behind him. Then he went straight to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Yes, everything would be fine, but he doubted sleep would find him until dawn came and Xander was safe at home again.

* * * *

Nothing fell from the sky. No one jumped out from behind a tree with a lethal weapon. Not a single member of the pack was harmed in the making of this film.

Xander could joke about it now that the sun was beginning to rise, but he’d been on edge for most of the night. Every rustle of leaves, crack of twigs, or disturbance in the air had him on high alert, but thankfully, the full moon had passed without incident.

As they gathered in the front yard of the dorm and