In the pack, they often huddled together, standing close. At the last meeting she'd attended, she'd been plastered against Julie, so close their thighs had touched, and Julie had casually patted her shoulder or her hand every now and then. That appeased their animal selves; in Avani's case, her entire self.

She and Greer sat at least ten feet apart. There was no hope for a casual touch that wouldn't have seemed weird here.

Maybe she should get a puppy. Or a cat. She liked kitties.

Too bad they didn't like her back.

"It's a shame we never met, then. Back in the day, it was pretty boring; teenager me, older students, and a dozen immortals."

Avani winced on her behalf. Then, smirking, she leaned forward. "So, which one of them did you have a crush on?"

Greer snorted. "Like, all of them, at one point or another. I think my goal in life was being as cool as Ruby when I grew up, though. I spent most of my teens with dark lipstick and white dresses."

Avani could imagine Greer would have been quite gorgeous in that, though she was the kind of woman who would have been beautiful whatever she wore. With her dark hair with red highlights, and exotic blend of Indian and Irish features, she was dynamite.

The conversation flowed seamlessly, going from music to magic and, of course, the Institute. At twenty-eight, Greer was a professor, as she'd spent most of her life studying here.

"I only teach one class and assist Alexius," she said. "Right now, my priority is learning everything I can about alchemy."

"Why alchemy?" Avani wondered. There were many fascinating branches of magic; focusing on that specific one seemed odd.

There wasn't anything wrong with alchemy specifically, but it was rather boring compared to throwing fireballs or crafting complex curses, in Avani's opinion.

Greer bit her lip. Avani could tell they'd delved into personal territory. She half expected the woman to tell her to back off. Instead, her voice lowered. "My clan comes from here. A few generations ago, they moved away; they spent time as nomads, traveling Japan, China, India, Egypt. They were accumulating knowledge about magic. When I was little, my family was working on something—something big. I don't know what exactly. I remember its smell, its feel, though. And it was a potion. I think that's why they were killed; someone was after their work. I want to know what they were doing. I want to know who killed them."

Hearing the steel resolve, Avani had no doubt she would find them. And that she would destroy them.

She grinned again. "Insane and a little bloodthirsty. I like you, witch."

Greer grinned before lifting a half-full bottle of rosé. “Shall we?”

Avani didn’t drink in pack territory; she’d never let her guard down enough to allow herself to chill like that. But here…she felt safe. She knew that if someone stepped on the hill right now and tried to hurt her, there would be at least five people jumping in the way of harm.

So, she shrugged.

Why the hell not?

Meddling

Coming out of the shower with a new set of clothes, after attempting to slake his growing thirst with a bottle of synthetic blood, Alexius returned to the drawing room to find Greer and Avani chatting like they’d known each other their entire lives.

Probably because they were both plastered.

Glancing at the occasional table between them, he saw that the bottle of rosé he’d opened for Greer and Chloe was empty now. As it had been half full when he’d left, it wouldn’t have been enough to get him even a little bit tipsy, but Avani was giggling like a schoolgirl. Definitely drunk.

“Lex!” She beamed when she saw him.

And he wasn’t going to analyze why he felt so damn good about it.

“Come. Join us.”

Two orders. That should have made him snort and leave the room on principle. Then she crooked her finger.

He stepped forward.

“Yes, come here. You have more wine,” Greer said, somewhat accusingly.

He laughed. “Are you sure you want more wine right now? You’ll regret it in the morning.”

She nodded enthusiastically. “It’s the weekend. Wine is allowed. No, recommended. Besides, I make a killer hangover cure, remember?”

Who was he to argue? He went to his bar and hesitated in front of the large fridge. No, nothing here was worth their time.

He slid open the hidden door behind an upright piano, revealing a refrigerated cellar. Both girls whistled as he pulled out a bottle of rosé bubbly that was worth more than the median household income in the country.

“I’m opening this one as long as you promise to drink a glass of water for each flute you ingest. Deal?”

Greer pouted. “I guess I have some catching up to do.”

He handed them each a bottle of mineral water and poured the champagne in three flutes, taking a seat in the armchair halfway between his apprentice and the intriguing she-wolf.

Avani leaned forward, and sniffed him. Then she smiled. “You smell good.”

So did she. She was a blend of spicy vanilla, musk, and wood. Positively bitable. He knew better than to tell her that. “Why, thank you.”

“It’s true,” she insisted, bobbing her head up and down enthusiastically. “I want to bottle it and sprinkle it on my pillow.”

Jesus. The woman was seriously fucking with his already practically nonexistent self-control.

One rule. He had one rule. And that one rule meant that he couldn’t screw her until next year like he longed to. In just twenty-four hours, she’d become part of the hill. She lived in his house for now, for heaven’s sake. Thinking about the many other ways he could get his scent on her bed sheets wasn’t fucking helping.

“I suppose, as a shifter, you’re a lot more sensitive to smells than we are,” Greer slurred. She wasn’t nearly as drunk as Avani, but she was getting there.

“Yes. Smells are everything. I can smell when people are angry, or tired, or horny; there’s a difference. It becomes clearer when you know the person well, but even with strangers, certain tones are pretty familiar. Alexius is everything. It’s like his pheromones are trying to send out every signal at once. It’s an explosion of scents. I can’t smell anything else. It’s so soothing.”

That made him pause, and narrow his eyes.

He was always tired, and angry, and frustrated, and yes, horny too. He thought he hid it well. Most people considered him laid-back, if not a little teasing. He showed what he wanted to show to the world.

Avani had seen right through him. Or rather, sniffed right through him. He didn’t know what to make of that.

Greer grinned mischievously, and before she even opened her mouth, Alexius was fairly certain she was up to no good.

“If you like it so much, perhaps Alexius can give you a shirt to sleep with.”

“Greer.” His tone was cautionary. While he added nothing, the subtext was Greer, Greer, Greer. Must you make me assign you to rat poop cleaning duty for a month like that?

That didn’t stop her from smirking knowingly. She’d no doubt seen Alexius’s attraction toward her, and she was pushing him for fun.

“Would you do that?” Avani asked, eyes widening as they set on him. “The one I used yesterday was all bloody, I had to put it in the wash.”

The deep caramel-brown eyes were mesmerizing at any time; when her attention was solely focused on him like that, they were a spell in their own right, impossible to resist. She could have demanded just about anything.

Alexius shrugged off his blazer, then removed his shirt and handed it to her before putting the jacket back on.

Avani lifted the fabric to her nose and sniffed it. Then she beamed. “Thank you.”

She was acting like he’d given her a damn diamond, not a dirty shirt. He shrugged.

Greer wasn’t done with them. “Of course, you could just hop in his bed. That’s bound to be a lot more soothing.”

One day, the girl was going to fall for someone, eventually. And he’d be there. He’d make every single step as awkward as possible, and take photographic evidence, too. She should know better than to mess with a childish, vindictive guy with a vampire’s memory. Sure, his could be selective, but he was going to remember today.

“An intriguing idea.” His reply was light and casual. “Let’s open another bottle and see what else you can think of, little witch.”

This time, he served them aged port, fully intending to get them to crash as soon as possible.

“Do you think you’ll be happy here, Avani? I want you to stay. I like you.”

Oh yeah, Greer was drunk. She wasn’t one to talk about feelings; after all, she’d been raised by ancient vampires.

“You guys are nice. I don’t get why you’re helping me, though. I won’t relax until I do. And the lack of touch is going to be painful.” Avani curled up on her armchair and closed her eyes.

“Touch?” Greer echoed, yawning and rubbing her eyes. She was only halfway through her first glass.

Mission accomplished. Now he just had to hide Greer’s flasks of hangover remedy as payback.

“Hm-hm.” Avani went limp, falling asleep.

She hadn’t had more than a few sips of port. That stuff was lethal, even to vampires.

Alexius got to his feet and walked to her, wrapping his shirt around her before pulling her to her feet.

“You’re not going to carry me, too?” Greer teased.

He glared at his assistant. “Go to bed, smartass. And if you believe tonight will be without consequences, you don’t know me very well.”

She looked far too pleased with herself, and equally indifferent to his threat. Probably because the annoying kid knew Alexius would never hurt her. Though he certainly intended to embarrass her.

“You really like her. Admit it.”

Alexius’s jaw tightened. “I don’t know her.”

Greer rolled her eyes. “You’ve given her your sister’s bedroom. You like her. As a person. Everything she’s said and done makes you respect her. If it was anyone else, you’d just get to know each other and jump each other’s bones. When he felt that level of attraction toward Chloe, Levi jumped. He knew better than to let something that unique go. But you’re going to run, aren’t you? For some dumb reason, it terrifies you.”