What the Fox Page 9

  And the red of her lips was so dark and deep and juicy he wanted to taste them. How did it not clash with her red hair?

  He traced the black velvet choker she wore with his thumb and all the other conversations fell away until it was just him and her standing there in the living room. Hunter wanted to tie her up and display her like the piece of art she was.

  “You look divine,” he finally said. “Delicious even.”

  She didn’t blush this time. “Well, I’m glad I could please your particular tastes.”

  No doubt she meant the dresses he had hanging in his closet. Hunter smiled a little and slipped his hands back into his pockets. “I already like what you wear, but there is something about seeing you in a piece I’ve chosen for you that pleases me,” he admitted. “I can look for more…mainstream items if you like.”

  There was that blush of color on her cheeks he was looking for.

  Kenzie cleared her throat and nodded. “Okay then.”

  Finnick came up and wrapped his arms around Kenzie, breaking the spell. Chatter filtered in, quiet ambient music, Ash calling for Aiden to help him with the timing of the dinner, and through it all was the demon.

  That sensation that felt like chewing on foil came over him again and Hunter held Eisheth’s gaze. It was a challenge and he refused to back down. Seconds ticked by and neither of them looked away. Then finally Eisheth smiled and gave him a nod before turning to Edith and answering her question.

  Odd, the demon had conceded to him. Why? It felt like a silent agreement between males in a female’s life. Possessive, but recognizing each had their place. Eisheth the father and Hunter the lover.

  Hunter tilted his head and narrowed his eyes as he watched him and Edith interact.

  Chance came over and handed him a glass of wine. “Want me to kill him?”

  “You can’t kill a demon. But I appreciate the offer.” Hunter wondered if Kenzie could though with enough power. It was something to think about. If she could turn a fae into nothing but ash he wouldn’t be surprised if she could kill a demon.

  “Is he gay or does he go both ways?” Chance asked, drinking a scotch by the smell of it.

  “Aren’t we all varying degrees of pansexual?” Then Hunter slid his gaze to the blond raccoon who was quite a bit taller than him, but not as tall as Ben. Hunter preferred Ben over this one, but they were a packaged deal. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

  Chance grinned. “Yeah, yeah, but Ben and I don’t fuck each other without a girl there. What about you?”

  He shrugged and watched Finnick sweet talk both the demon and Edith until they were all laughing at something he’d said. Finnick had always been good at the talking – at dealing with people. It was something that had always impressed and surprised Hunter considering how long that one had been feral for.

  Finnick was very attractive with his green eyes and muscles.

  And he was a decent kisser.

  Then there was Ash. Quiet, broody, ridiculous. He used to hide his depression behind the persona he put on in his videos, the man he was when out hunting for a girl to fuck. Those dark blue eyes were always easy to drown in.

  But Hunter never bothered because he preferred women and honestly he had no idea if they’d end up in a triad or not. Sleeping with his friends and coworkers had been a terrible idea. But now?

  There was so much the four of them could explore together once he’d won the game.

  “Why are you asking?” Hunter took another sip of the wine. It was very good. Edith had excellent taste.

  “Eisheth is said to be female in the Jewish religion,” Chance explained with a shrug. “Or so Aiden told me. Which means he’s married to Samael. Clearly he is not female. I just like to know everything I can about demons. Call it a hobby.”

  It didn’t sound like a very healthy hobby. “I’m sure if you had some deal you wanted to make he would for Kenzie’s sake,” Hunter murmured.

  Ash came out with the platter of steaks. It was time to actually socialize. Maybe it wouldn’t be as tedious as he suspected.

  Grinning, he drained the wine glass and poured more. Tedium would certainly be difficult with four raccoons, three foxes, a demon, a void witch, and two powerful witches – one a matriarch.

  All they needed was a hunter to complete this little bit of madness. “Eisheth, you should have invited Jessica,” Hunter said as he sat down. “I’ve been dying to meet her.”

  The demon gave him a vicious grin that told Hunter their silent agreement to keep the peace was solely for Kenzie’s sake.

  “Challenge accepted, Hunter.”

  Chapter Ten

  Kenzie

  Pop.

  “What the fuck am I doing here?” Jessica asked looking around the room in angry confusion.

  “Fucking hell, Eisheth!” Kenzie exclaimed, jumping in her chair, nearly spilling everything everywhere. “Your invite didn’t come with a plus one.”

  The demon looked too pleased with himself. He inspected his nails and sipped at the scotch in his glass. “It also didn’t expressly state I couldn’t bring a date. Chance, could you get us another place setting?”

  Jessica fucking James was in her house—the foxes’ den. And she didn’t look happy about it.

  She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Kenzie. Who glared right back.

  No one else moved.

  Then Kenzie sighed and rolled her eyes. “So I was wondering if I could see your enchanted spurs.” Might as well make the best of this.

  Jessica’s eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hairline then she glanced at Eisheth again. “I guess. But I still don’t know what the fuck is going on here.”

  “My sweet,” Eisheth said gently as he stood and took her hand in his. “It was suggested that we needed a hunter to complete this lovely little dinner party.”

  Kenzie eyed them both, feeling like this was some strange paranormal version of meeting the step-sister for the first time or something.

  “Kenzie is one of my newest charges,” Eisheth explained. “And I figured it was time for the two of you to get to know each other. Jess, I would like you to meet Kenzie and her…family.”

  The entire room paused at that, but…Eisheth wasn’t wrong.

  Jessica shook Kenzie’s hand and then sat down next to Eisheth. “At least it smells good.”

  “I hope I didn’t pull you out of anything important.” Eisheth didn’t even look a little apologetic as he made whiskey appear and just handed her the whole bottle.

  “Luke will be pissed, but he’ll get over it.” Jessica drank straight from the bottle and set it down like this was something the two of them did all of the time—crashing dinner parties.

  Kenzie looked at Ash who just shrugged. Finnick was grinning and Hunter’s eyes sparkled. How did a simple dinner to ask Edith and Selene to stay with her turn into an actual party?

  Finnick was already up and extending the dining room table. Aiden brought out the extra plate and silverware while Ash counted the steaks.

  “I’m glad we made extra of everything,” Ash said. “For some reason I just had a feeling we would need it.”

  Kenzie watched her grandmother and sister laugh and chat with the raccoons, the hunter, and the demon.

  This whole fucking dinner needed to go into a record book or something. No one was fighting or trying to kill each other even if there was a weird tension between Hunter and Eisheth. That didn’t make any damn sense because Eisheth wanted her to be with Hunter – he’d basically told her the world would end if they didn’t accept the mate bond.

  And why would he introduce her to Jessica now?

  Kenzie passed the serving dishes, taking a little of everything as it went by. There was salad, soup, green beans, brussel sprouts, and three different kinds of mashed potatoes. And then Ash’s steak. He was the best chef in the country. No one could change her damn mind about it either.

  “This is the most amazing meal I’ve had in decades,” Edith said, taking a bite o
f the parmesan and balsamic brussel sprouts. “And I’ve eaten at the best restaurants in the world. Have you had any formal training?”

  Ash actually blushed. It was so fucking adorable Kenzie couldn’t help but smile as she poured more wine and then handed the bottle to her sister. Edith and Selene were blood. But the rest were family too.

  They were still getting used to each other, and some were brand new, but she could feel it in her bones. These were her people.

  “So you wanted to see the spurs?” Jessica asked, leaning over the table with the sweet and sharp smell of whiskey on her breath.

  Kenzie grinned at the blonde and just knew – they were going to end up best bitches one day.

  “Yeah, I mean if you don’t mind. A fanboy told me about your ancestor being Jesse James and I may have gone snooping in the Council files.” Kenzie grinned and nudged Selene. “Remember?”

  Her sister smiled indulgently while Eisheth and Edith tried not to be obvious they were watching them.

  Jessica looked impressed. “You have access to their files? And which fanboy?”

  “Samuel Erickson,” Kenzie snickered. She tried the mashed potatoes with garlic and butter and closed her eyes in bliss. “And I wouldn’t say I legally have access to them. But yeah, I can see what’s on their computers with a little work.”

  Then Jessica glanced at Eisheth, and Kenzie knew she’d been brought here for more than just a meet and greet. “Maybe we can trade some skills? I heard you have…stuff going on. And I need access to what the Council has.”

  It was one of those things. Kenzie didn’t like not knowing exactly what she was agreeing to, but having a demon witch trained as a hunter on her side right now was probably a good idea.

  “Sure, we can set up a trade,” Kenzie said slowly. “But I can’t promise what you need will be there. I can only get you in.”

  Even though there was chatter Kenzie could tell her sister and grandmother were listening in. Especially Selene. Her sister may have freaked just a little bit after Kenzie told her what Brad had said about his exit plan.

  Having Jessica on their side would be a huge help, even if all she did was set up a few extra wards.

  “That’s fine. The information I’m looking for should be easy to find,” Jessica told her, sawing at her steak. “It’s not even dangerous information. I just managed to piss off the wrong fanboys. And Samuel Erickson, the tiger Alpha?” Jessica practically ripped the piece of meat off her fork with her teeth. Girl was straight vicious.

  Kenzie smiled as she remembered the way Samuel had looked as he’d told her about Jessica. “Yeah, he’s a Councilman too. So file that away for future information.”

  The demon witch snickered and then downed some whiskey. “Well, that’s helpful. He’s always been nice. And Eisheth here doesn’t know where all the seals to Hell are, but the Council should. You’d think they’d help me out but apparently that’s not information they give one person.” Jessica shrugged and wrinkled her nose at the brussel sprouts.

  The raccoons were muttering about the video game they’d been playing and how Finnick had wiped the floor with them. Ash smiled at her from across the table and Hunter just stared like he always did. He was always trying to figure her out.

  It was kind of flattering.

  “So, some shit’s about to go down,” Kenzie finally said, glancing at her sister sitting next to her. “We need you and Edith to stay here for a while where we can keep you safe.”

  Her grandmother pursed her lips as she sipped at her wine. Edith was not pleased. “What did you do now Kenzie?”

  “Nothing you didn’t ask me to do Gram-Gram.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her grandmother. There was still so much she wanted to ask Edith, but now that they weren’t living in the same house she’d barely had time to talk to her outside the necessary bullshit.

  Edith narrowed her eyes at Kenzie. Clearly she didn’t appreciate getting called out. “Yes, well, you better deliver.”

  “This is our contract technically,” Ash said. “We hired Kenzie to help us, not the other way around.”

  He was trying to diffuse the situation, but he’d just made everything worse. Edith turned that glare on him. “I like you fox, but don’t test my patience.”

  “I was just saying,” Ash muttered, turning back to his food.

  Then there was Finnick with his shit-eating grin, just…smiling wide at Edith. “Taking down this particular witch is not going to be easy. He has a few things up his sleeve and we expect him to retaliate. I like you too much Gram-Gram to see you die. So stay in our fucking house so these bozos can protect you.”

  Selene and Edith looked at the raccoons. Then Edith sighed. “At least they’re attractive.”

  “Please don’t sleep with them,” Kenzie muttered as she rolled her eyes.

  “You ruin all my fun,” Edith snapped. “Fine, I’ll have our things brought over in the morning. But I’m not staying cooped up in this…den for more than a few days.”

  Jessica threw back more whiskey.

  “You are my favorite mortals,” Eisheth said, sipping on his scotch.

  “Glad we could entertain,” Jace said wryly. “Now that that’s settled, can we enjoy this dinner like regular people?”

  “We will never be normal,” Hunter said. “So we might as well enjoy being ourselves.”

  “Truer words were never spoken,” Eisheth said quietly, eyeing the alpha fox like he was seeing him for the first time. “The only way we can survive is to be ourselves.”

  Something about the words struck a strange chord deep in her chest. Kenzie considered the demon who was quickly becoming the dad she’d never really had – the kind of dad she’d always wanted.

  After what he’d said earlier regarding the ‘murky’ future she felt like there was more weight to his words than anyone suspected. To survive she had to be what she was.

  But what was that exactly?

  Was she the witch who was not a witch still? Kind of. But she was also a void witch and sister to the most powerful matriarch in San Francisco. She was a Kavanagh whether she liked it or not.

  She was a badass hacker who loved her sister – who had protected and raised her. Selene was kind but also strong.

  Kenzie was also mate to the only known triad of foxes.

  Charge of the notorious demon Eisheth.

  But none of these were her. Not really. Kenzie was more than a handful of labels and titles.

  Then she noticed Jessica watching her closely. The demon witch had more power than Selene and Morgan combined – or so she’d heard. There was a trick only she could do as a demon witch. They called the magic ‘hellfire.’

  Did Jessica have the same issues as Kenzie? After all the chick had twice as many labels as she did.

  Kenzie guessed she was all of those things just like Jessica was. Each aspect of her life had shaped her into who she was now. Tracing one of the runes on her wrist Kenzie wondered if she would be as strong as she was without the suffering she’d had to endure.

  Had Edith known, or had she simply had enough of watching them torture her?

  “Everything okay?” Selene whispered.

  Kenzie squeezed her sister’s hand and smiled. “Yeah, everything is perfect, S.”

  And at the moment, it was.

  “What is this?” Jessica asked, frowning at the closet in Kenzie’s office. “It’s warded to high heaven.”

  The sounds of the dinner party still going strong downstairs filtered up, but no one was screaming or shouting so Kenzie blocked it out while she concentrated. Jessica had been easy to pull to the side after dinner. All she did was crack the occasional joke while drinking whiskey like it was water.

  Eisheth and Edith chatted and passed the time comparing notes on charms and enchantments. Selene was playing video games with Ben of all people while the rest of the raccoons and her foxes started comparing who had better…well, anything.

  “It’s a vault,” Kenzie explained
, nervously chewing on her lip. Showing Jessica what she had in there was a risk, but this demon witch had different powers than normal witches did. She could access the power of hell and lace it into her spells.

  “No shit,” Jessica snorted. “Why am I staring at it?”

  Kenzie shook out her hands and grabbed the key from around her neck. It clicked on the chain against other charms she had on there. Quickly she opened the vault and explained in rushed, quiet words the situation with Brad and what she and Selene had created.

  “The Council doesn’t know about it, so uh, don’t tell on me.” Then she opened the door as the pink glow from the wards dissipated.

  Jessica tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder and stepped forward. The motorcycle boots she wore were surprisingly quiet. She noticed Kenzie’s frown and grinned. “An enchantment. I’ll have to give it to you. Saved my ass a few times now.”

  Then the demon witch stepped into the closet. “This is some awesome shit,” she said. “You have tech magic that doesn’t even exist yet. And it works?”

  “Most of it,” Kenzie admitted. “Not all. So Brad wants this.” She tapped the portal and gritted her teeth.

  Maybe she should just destroy it. But without knowing more – without knowing how to safely disperse the power they could end up creating a magical black hole that sucked their entire reality into nothing and everything she knew and loved would cease to exist.

  “What do you want me to do?” Jessica asked. She eyed the device but didn’t touch it.

  “Can you, I don’t know, hide it in hell or something?” Kenzie peered over the hunter’s shoulder and shook her head. There was so much power coming off of it, but the crystal core combined with the titanium had stabilized it. The power didn’t fluctuate at all.

  “I guess,” Jessica muttered. “But you could ask Eisheth to do that. And who’s to say something worse wouldn’t find it?”

  Then she turned and studied Kenzie from head to toe. “I could add a special set of wards. But then only I would be able to unlock them. If you needed anything in here you would have to wait for me. Not even Eisheth can unlock those. It has to be a demon witch and I think there are only three of us right now.”