Page 53 of Demon's Game

“Oh, now I get it. You’re right, Dre.” Sammy addressed Jon. “As long as the scent is pleasant, I wouldn’t stress about it.”

“Sound advice.” Jon smiled. “You said you could perhaps help us with the official announcement party. Is that offer still on the table?”

Sammy clapped his hands. “Of course it is! I’ve already made a list of possible locations, and we need to talk food, and drinks, and do you want a florist?”

“Uhm, let’s start with the location?” Jon squeezed Barion’s hand. “What do you think, my mate?”

My mate. It was the sweetest sound in all the dimensions. And it was directed at him! Barion leaned to give his mate a kiss and everything he wanted.

Epilogue

Jon stood next to his gorgeous demon and welcomed their guests. It had been two weeks since his Grann had been challenged and so much had happened that his head was still spinning. After their initial brainstorming at the impromptu party with the book club, Jon had left the planning of the announcement party in Sammy’s capable hands. His friend and landlord had outdone himself, only bothering Jon and Barion when there were important decisions to make, like should they have the party at Barion’s mansion in the Carpathians or at Waaseyaa’s place in Canada. Waaseyaa had cinched the deal by offering to have her famous pancakes coming the entire afternoon and evening. The weather was perfect—sunshine, but not too hot, with a few last patches of snow here and there and the air filled with birds’ song.

With Sammy taking care of everything, Jon and Barion had had the time to close the deal with Jim Dalton and Annabelle Lee from Endless Horizon. Demon Wars would become the next big game in the company’s portfolio, and Jon and Barion had full creative freedom backed by the knowledge and experience of several senior programmers at the company. They worked on the game day and night, sketching demons, designing levels, building the world and the story, and not one second of it was what Jon considered tedious. He got to do what he loved with the demon of his life, and things couldn’t be more perfect if they were starring in a rom-com. The discussions about how to do certain things—well, to be honest, how to do everything—were passionate and always led to things that had little to do with the game. They were seriously considering including several romances in the game, using Iron Bull as their inspiration. They had to watch him and his Kadan a lot to make sure they truly understood everything. Life was sweet.

The book club was already in full attendance, even Declan and Troy had been able to be here from the start, not like at Sammy’s and Dre’s announcement party, where they had come late due to some business that had gone sideways. The two werewolves never talked much about what they did exactly, and Jon had the suspicion that not all their business trips were related to their official company. But they were powerful predators and perfectly capable of taking care of themselves—or so he hoped. Currently they were stuffing their faces with Waaseyaa’s pancakes, praising the woman to the high heavens, which she soaked up like a dried-out sponge. The flirting was casual, as it always was with the two alphas, and Mavis and Maribel were there as well, keeping an eye on things.

Quirion was standing at the edge of the clearing behind Waaseyaa’s diner, talking to Milo, who was hanging on his every word. Contrary to what Barion and Dre had anticipated—that Milo would either quit after the first month working for Quirion or ask for an outrageous amount of money to stay with their brother, which they had hoped for in order to help him and his mother out—the young man seemed to be getting along with the huge demon just fine after the initial shock of getting acquainted with Quirion’s ways. Milo’s mother was doing better, her surgery was scheduled for the next month and the doctors were more than optimistic that she would make a full recovery.

The air between two of the gigantic maple trees that marked the gateway into the forest and—for the initiated, as Jon had learned—to the spirit world, started shimmering. The ancestors appeared, led by Amede and Gaspar. They floated into the clearing, greeting people and waving at Jon. A rip appeared in thin air, through which Grann and Corriwyn stepped, followed by the family. A perfect gentleman, Corriwyn lent Grann his arm to step over the roots of the trees and onto the soft, fresh grass of the clearing. She wore a bright yellow and orange tunic, her hair was done up in a complicated braid adorned with a fake sunflower and a crow’s skull. From her generous cleavage the runes marking her as Corriwyn’s mate snaked their way up to her neck.

Jon couldn’t say he had been surprised to learn that the two were mates, as well. The sparks flying between them could have ignited a soggy piece of loam. What had surprised him was how little time Grann and her bote nob had wasted on becoming mates. According to a shuddering Calixte, who had had the misfortune of walking into the house while they had worked up to the bite, it had happened two days after the challenge. And it had only “taken so long”—Grann’s words, not his—because they had partied so hard at the club attached to the vampire café in Paris that they had forgotten the time. The important thing was that Grann was happy, Corriwyn was happy, the family and the ancestors were weirded out by the insane amount of sex Grann was having but happy, and therefore they had left Jon and Barion mostly to their own devices. It was a win-win situation if Jon had ever seen one.

Grann and Corriwyn came over to them and there were hugs and smiles. Then Grann went to talk to Waaseyaa, Mavis and Maribel. The four witches greeted each other warmly and even Jon, who wasn’t good at detecting magic, could sense the power emanating from them.

Corriwyn stared in the direction of the women and sighed happily. “Isn’t she gorgeous? And so much power. Makes me horny as fuck.”

Barion chuckled. “To be honest, I would give them a wide berth. These four are trouble.”

“Only in the best way. How are you two doing? The party looks nice.”

“Sammy did most of it…thankfully. And we’re doing great, aren’t we, iubit?” Barion pressed a kiss to Jon’s temple, making the skin tingle. He smiled up at his mate.

“We’re perfect. Thank you for asking, Gramps.”

Corriwyn winced. “I’m still not sure what to make of that title. I’m used to being dreaded, not some family figure.”

“You’re mated to my Grann, so that makes you ‘Gramps’. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I like it. It’s just unfamiliar. Speaking of family, where’s Alerion?”

Barion sighed. “He’ll be here shortly. There was another forbidden gathering. I have a feeling some demons are getting restless.”

“They should all find their mates. Then they’d be occupied with more important things.” Corriwyn was staring at Grann again.

“Go over there. We’re not holding you back. When’s your and Grann’s announcement party, by the way?” Barion plucked a neatly cut egg and ham sandwich from the table standing next to them.

“On the full moon after the one in two days. It will be a midnight party.” Listening to the happiness in Corriwyn’s voice, the party could have been at two in the morning on a glacier and he still would have been over the moon.

“Oh, I love midnight parties.” Sammy stepped toward them with Dre in tow. He slung his arms around Corriwyn’s waist.

“I’m so happy you found your mate, Uncle.”

Corriwyn patted Sammy’s back. “Thank you, little one.”

“I heard there was a party?” Alerion’s voice sounded right behind them. Jon turned with a huge smile on his lips.

“Dad, welcome! I’m so happy you’re here.” And Jon really was. Alerion was the kind of father he had always wished for and having to share him with Sammy made the whole family-sibling experience even better.

Alerion stepped forward to greet his sons and Corriwyn when suddenly there was a light breeze tousling their hair, followed by a rabid growl vibrating across the clearing. Declan and Troy were stalking toward Alerion, their eyes glowing in the deep amber that only alpha werewolves had.

“Mate!” they garbled through too-long fangs, shoving aside Dre and Corriwyn, who were standing in their way. Before anybody could react, they pounced on Alerion and brought him down, sniffing his neck like addicts a fresh tube of glue.

“Well, fuck me sideways,” Barion announced to no one in particular.