Falk Clan Tales - Chapter 97: Chapter 97

“Minnie!” Sunny yelled from inside the enormous sitting room at Castle Falk.
She gasped at the change in her best friend. Sunny had always had a disposition to match her name, but the brown eyed, braless, sometimes self-deprecating hippy she-Wolf she’d grown up with had been transformed into a gorgeous and positively glowing woman who exuded confidence and happiness.
“Sunny? OMG! You look radiant!” Minnie gasped, leaning in for a hug.
“Thanks,” her bestie replied easily, eyes going wide when she saw the man standing behind her.
“Oh Sunny, this is Nick,” she said, making introductions.
“No shit, it’s Nick! I know Nick, Minnie,” she replied, snorting her disbelief. “But how do you know Nick?”
“Hello, Sunny. I brought Minerva for the Outreach program party. Where is my brother?” Nicholas asked, and Minnie’s eyes went wide.
“Wait a second? You know Sunny. And you are mated to his brother, and you told me you were mated to a Dr-Dragon? You’re a fucking Dragon!” she screeched, drawing several pairs of eyes glancing their way.
“Yes. I am a Dragon. Is that alright?” he asked in a low voice, fiery eyes concerned.
Yessssss, her she-Wolf replied readily, which was odd cause she was usually blasé about Minnie’s bedmates. And yet—Nicholas was more than that. Even though it pained her to admit it.
“Minnie,” Sunny hissed, and her eyes went wide as she realized he was still staring at her, the original concern in his stare was now tinged with sadness. Fuck. He probably thought she was rejecting him.
“Fuck yes, it is alright. It’s fucking outstanding,” she said and bit her lip. “Will you show me later?” she whispered and could almost feel him relaxing by the second.
“Yes. My Dragon wants to meet you too. I will show you later, minx,” he growled and kissed her quickly.
Minerva spent the next half hour being introduced to the entire Falk Clan and their mates and children, along with greeting some high profile members of the Macconwood Pack. She was enjoying a glass of eggnog while she observed some of the art on display by the Macconwood-Nighthawk Teen Outreach Program.
“These are really good,” she mused, looking over some small figurines that graced a table set up to look like a miniature of Maccon City.
“It’s a Maccon City Christmas. My girlfriend Grace came up with it,” a young man said, approaching her with a timid looking girl next to him. “Marty, and this is Grace,” he said, offering his free hand.
“You’re Minerva Lykos, the sculptor,” Grace whispered, blue eyes wide as she stared at Minnie.
“Yeah, I am. You know me?”
“I know your work. My mom took me to the city to see one of your shows before she, um, that is⁠—”
Minnie’s heart squeezed inside her chest, and she reached out and clapped the girl gently on the shoulder. She smelled fur and pine needles and recognized the two as Werewolves without needing to be told. The reputation of the Outreach Program was known by everyone in the Pack. Minnie was proud to belong to a group of Shifters who were dedicated to helping those in need.
“Well, you are both very talented. Tell me which ones are yours,” she said, turning her attention to the display.
The kids were clever, she would give them that. The tiny replicas of the town had been made using all recycled materials, and the attention to detail was uncanny. The inhabitants were where they’d really had some fun, she mused, looking at all the two-legged Wolves, Bears, Tigers, Lions, Jersey Devils, and Dragons walking about town. The result was whimsical and fun, fat snowflakes littered the ground, and a tall evergreen was lit up right in the center of town.
“This is great,” a deep, familiar voice said from behind her, and Minnie turned so quickly she almost toppled over, but Nick’s hand reached out to steady her.
His silver eyes were blazing, rimmed in orange flames, glowing bright with his beast, and something warm unfurled inside of her. Damn. He was sexy, and caring, and sweet. And she should not be having thoughts like that about a fuck buddy.
“Thanks Mr. Graystone!” Marty exclaimed, his hand in Grace’s, who was blushing furiously. “Well, Ms. Lykos, maybe you can come to our studio at the center someday and give us some tips,” the precocious young Wolf said and winked before tugging Grace along with him to line up for cookies and hot cocoa.
“Talented kids,” Nick muttered, not releasing her arm as he guided her towards a table heavily laden with all kinds of delicious little yummies.
He handed her a dish and started filling her plate with things, lifting the tongues and gesturing, mindful when she nodded, and when she scrunched her nose in a firm no.
“So, you like crab stuffed mushrooms, but not pimento cheese spread. That’s a yes to the black olives, no to the green,” he murmured, one hand on the small of her back as he offered more selections.
Minnie liked this game, and that was troubling since she’d never been the kind of girl who needed coddling from a man. But there was something about when he did it that felt different. Nick was not being condescending, he was taking care of her and that was as surprising as it was welcomed.
“You know, I would have guessed Dragon eventually,” she said, biting the piece of battered and fried asparagus he held to her lips. “That’s good!”
“It is, right? Noelle, Sander’s mate, owns a catering company. It’s how they met, actually,” he told her as he made his own plate.
Minnie waited until they both held two plates overflowing with goodies, and laughing, they found a pair of empty seats at the long table in the formal dining room. There had to be a hundred people there, milling about the ornate halls of Castle Falk, but there was nothing pretentious about it.
“Look at all these children,” Minnie commented with her eyes wide.
They were simply adorable and ranged in ages from toddlers to teens. A couple of older ones were reading Christmas stories and acting them out as they sat around one of the several large Christmas trees decorated throughout.
“Yes, it is a miracle, isn’t it?” Nicholas replied, his silver-fire stare zeroing in on her. “I never thought I would live to see the day where so many supernaturals produced offspring so prolifically. Gives me hope.”
She snorted her response, and Nick cocked his head to the side, watching her carefully.
“Explain that sound,” he murmured, voice hushed as he waited for her answer.
“Well, you’re right. I mean, Nick, I have never seen so many happy young together either. It wasn’t very long ago that Wolves had a terrible time of it. Just a few years, really. My parents,” she said, hating the way her voice hitched.
She cleared her throat, closing her eyes at the way he brushed his fingers up her spine in a soothing touch. “My parents were beside themselves when they suffered a miscarriage after my birth. Then they had my brothers,” she added with a sad smile.
“Brothers?”
“Oh yeah, I have brothers—well, let me back up. I have an older sister. Artemis was born first, then there is me, and then the twins. Damien is two years younger than me. His twin, Angel, never made it past that first day,” she whispered, sadness at the loss damn near drowning her. “There was a complication. The midwife couldn’t do anything, and the risk was too great for them to try again. My mother had to have an emergency hysterectomy a little while letter when the hemorrhaging got so bad.”
“I am so sorry, Minerva. Devine and I are the only two surviving offspring of our sire and dame. Of her ten pregnancies, only five were viable, and three did not survive puberty. That was centuries ago, of course, but the memory of her pain and father’s sorrow is still fresh in my mind. Apologies, sweet Wolf, I did not mean to make you sad.”
“I know you didn’t,” she said, reassuring him with her words and a squeeze of her hand on his leg. “And it’s okay, really. It was a long time ago. No one expects that kind of thing, of course, but the family has grieved about it and gone to counseling together, so we are good now. But thank you for your kindness,” she told him, meaning every word.
“Kindness? Who me?” he asked, eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. “Woman, I am the gnarliest, grumpiest beast on the entire East coast.”
“I call bullshit, Nicky. You have to be the softest-hearted, mushiest, touchy feely Dragon in the universe.”
“Oh, am I? I’ll show you how touchy feely I am,” he growled playfully, then tickle-tortured her until she damn near peed herself.
“Nicholas? Is that you? And are you actually smiling?” a huge man with a booming voice said and clapped Nicholas on the shoulder.
“Hello, I’m Minnie,” she said, grinning at the new addition to their group.
“Ah, the elusive Minerva. I have heard many tales of terror from your youthful exploits,” the man stated mysteriously.
He looked very much like Nick except that he was taller, and not as wide. She liked him. He seemed friendly and genuinely surprised to see his brother having fun.
Interesting.
“I’m Devine Graystone, Sunny’s mate.”
“And that would explain the knowing about my bad kid days,” she muttered.
“Indeed, it does. So, how do you know my brother, then? He is not the friendliest of beasts, and never strays from his routines, but here he is. At Castle Falk, mingling and laughing, and all without a decree from the Alpha, imagine that?”
“Dev,” Nick warned, but Minnie was too curious to remain silent.
“Oh, well, that’s easy. Nicholas hates bullshit, and well, I propositioned him to be fuck buddies for the holidays. That way we don’t have to do any of these rapidly increasing—and for some reason mandatory—get togethers alone. So, we scratch each other’s backs—and other stuff—and bang! Happy fucking Holidays, Devvy,” she replied baldly.
Minnie batted her eyelashes, smiling brightly at the dozens of, thankfully adult, eyes that were now zeroed in on her and Nicholas. Devine gaped at her for a full ten seconds before he was laughing so hard, she thought he would bring down the whole damn house.
“Fucking hell,” her grumpy Dragon grumbled while his brother continued to laugh so hard, the man was crying actual tears.
“Oh, Nick. Nick! She is perfect. Thank you, Minnie, I do believe you just gave me my first Christmas present of the year⁠—”
“Hey, I thought I did that this morning?” Sunny asked, joining them with a grin and four glasses off spiked eggnog precariously balanced in her hands.
“My love, you are the only gift I will ever want or need,” Devine replied, taking the glasses from her, and handing them out before dipping down to kiss her so thoroughly, Minnie had to look away.
Wow. Her best friend had definitely lucked out. The Dragon was so obviously in love with her, it was palpable. She swallowed a huge gulp of the frothy beverage, loving the way it burned going down.
“Are you alright?” Nicholas asked, seemingly unaffected by the way she’d introduced herself to his brother.
Shit. She did not deserve his ready forgiveness. Minnie had behaved badly. Anytime anyone tried to make her admit to feelings or put her in a tight spot, Minnie sabotaged herself by being a loudmouth. It was her coping mechanism, but for the first time, she felt guilty about it.
“Nick, I’m sorry if I embarrassed you⁠—”
“Embarrassed me? When?”
“With your brother, you know, when I kinda said we were fuck buddies in front of everyone here,” she said, cocking her head to the side.
He was there. It happened two seconds ago. Maybe the Dragon was crazy or something.
“Minerva, everyone here heard you. Supernaturals have that tendency, as I assume you well know, but my hide is not that thin as to have your harmless teasing hurt me⁠—”
“No, I know. I mean, sometimes, my mouth runs away with me, but I did not mean to cause any hard feelings,” she said, standing up and placing her dirty dish in a bin a passing server was carrying while Nick stood to do the same.
She started walking into the next room, but he caught her in the hallway. His cocky grin was her undoing, and Minnie allowed herself to be gently pushed into a dark corner, where Nick nipped her lip with his teeth before plunging his tongue into her mouth. He tasted like fire and eggnog and delicious man, and Minnie could not get enough.
“Little minx, the only hard thing between us is this,” he rumbled into her ear, leaning close enough so she could feel the steel rod in his pants press against her hip. “Stop worrying you offended me. Besides, even if you did, don’t you know what Dragons do to naughty little minxes with sharp tongues?”
“What?” she asked, eyes dancing with mischief.
“We eat them,” he snarled, and turned on his heel, leaving her to follow him.
Her sex tingled and heart pounded. The man was driving her nuts with his innuendos and constant touches. Hell, he’d gotten her off twice that day already, but by the time they left the party, she was a quivering, needy little mess.
But damn. What a way to go!