2

Winter

“Why do you always have to alienate everyone? I told you I would come up here and speak to her alone,” I said to my brothers. They were both doing what they did best, ignoring my request and fucking everything up.

“We were curious, little brother, and we wanted to see her. We wanted to know if she was as beautiful as we imagined. The seer told us she was the answer to survival. We had to see if it was true.” Sky tore himself away from the window.

I know what he wanted to do. He wanted to get on the balcony and really freak her out. Show off his muscles and dive off the ledge to land unharmed nine floors below.

I hadn’t even told her what had happened tonight. Some part of me knew she wouldn’t be able to handle it with Husk’s deep stare and Sky’s weirdness. I love my two brothers, but when it comes to matters of the heart, they’re as brutal, and as rough, as it comes.

Husk’s idea of a pick-up-line is, “You, me tonight my place.”

Sky’s was a wink.

I’m the one who does all the negotiations, the one who doesn't scare away anyone we do business dealings with, because of the other two. Their wolf instincts always take over, and it goes bad. Every single time.

“I wonder if she felt it? I felt as if my insides were about to rip from the moment we entered the room. I couldn’t speak. Everything was out of control, a weakness I never knew I possessed until now,” Sky said as he tried to open the balcony.

“Fuck, Sky. You’re not going out.” Husk opened the nightstand drawer, moving stuff around before grunting and closing it back. “Remember the last time you did that. You nearly gave one of the cleaners a heart attack when you jumped off the damn roof.”

“My wolf instinct wanted to take Fagua.” He shook his head. “Claim her, so damn badly I could hardly speak. The only way to calm myself down is to fly.”

Husk snorted. “You don’t see me running around in the casino. You need to control yourself. Seriously, we don’t need our secret coming out, and the way you’ve been reckless lately, it may just happen. But I do understand what you mean. I felt it too. Winter didn’t. He was as calm as always, which reminds me…” He paused to pull out his cigar. There was a no-smoking policy, but we were the owners, and at times, we broke the rules. Husk could complain about Sky feeling the need to fly, but there was no doubt the smoking cigars kept Husk’s wolf urges at bay.

He opened the door. Sky hesitated as he was about to join us outside, and then he went back inside the room. He went to the mini bar to pour himself a drink. I didn’t know which was worse, his newfound love of drinking or flying over the casino?

“How long will you give Fagua downstairs before she figures it out?” Husk lit his cigar, taking a few puffs. He kicked up his cowboy boots onto the metal table. His smoke curled up into the night air. “We could be here all night, and we have work to do.”

I nodded, “I know, but she needs time to process her loser husband who has done a runner and left her with his debt.”

Sky said, “Good news. They never had sex.”

I shook my head as Sky kept sniffing the sheets and concluding Fagua was a virgin. Their wedding may not be consummated, but Keith had his pleasure with her, even if it was in other ways. Filthy dog. We had a deal, and he had clearly stepped over the line, first by marrying her, and then bringing her here as his wife.

Sky only shifted around three months ago. He knew it was coming, but whereas Husk and I had shifted since we were teens. It took Sky a lot longer, and with it came gifts so strong he hadn’t been able to control. A bottle of JD seemed to have become his new best friend.

“Go. Go talk to her. Before your brother drinks out the mini bar,” Husk commanded.

He was the first to be born and loved to shove it in our faces. Not that he needed to, he was bigger and stronger than us in human form, and even bigger as a wolf.

I didn’t dispute the need to go and see Fagua before Sky lost control and would need to be dragged out of the hotel suite. It wasn’t a pretty sight at the best of times, and even worse when there were guests around. We needed to maintain an image, after all we owned the casino.

“I don’t even know if your silver tongue is gonna help in this case. She looked ready to bolt earlier.”

Sky lifted the mini bottle of booze in a toast. “Good luck.”