Chapter 91

Laila’s eyes dart between me and Tony as she stands perfectly still, clearly trying to come up with some kind of excuse – any excuse - for why she’s in silky lingerie and coming out of Orion’s bedroom. She lets out a pathetic little squeak, her shoulders slumping, as she utterly fails.

“Laila!” I hiss as I trip over my own feet in my effort to get to her, my hands already reaching for her shoulders. I glance over my shoulder towards at Orion at the bar – casually making coffee, of all ridiculous things - as I push her back into Orion’s bedroom and follow behind.

“Junie, it’s not what you –“ Laila gasps out as she stumbles back. I grab, the door, slamming it shut behind me, wanting privacy.

But Anton steps right through the barrier.

Laila and I both spin our heads to stare at him, her eyes wide, mine narrowed alongside my snarl that clearly commands him to go away and leave us in peace.

“If you think I’m missing this,” Anton says, slipping his hands into his pockets and grinning eagerly between us. “Then you are very foolish Princesses.”

I roll my eyes and give a little snarl, half annoyed and half acquiescing, as I spin my head back to Laila. “Did you sleep with him!?”

Laila gives a too-innocent squeak of protest, clasping her hands to her chest. “Juniper! How could you –“

“You’re in his bedroom, Laila!” I argue back, not buying it. “In really cute lingerie!”

“It is very cute,” Anton murmurs.

I whip my head back to snarl at him for a half a second but he gives me a smug little shrug, like he’s just stating the facts. Again, I endeavor to ignore him.

“How dare you think that I would abandon my chastity and give myself to a man after a single evening of debauchery, Juniper!” Laila says, tossing her hair back over her shoulders and giving me a stern, prideful look.

But something about the too-pronounced turn of her frown…

“Spill,” I demand, narrowing my eyes at her and crossing my arms tight over my chest.

“Juniper!” She gasps, appalled.

“You tell me right now!” I shout, laughing a little and whipping a finger up to point in her face. “Something happened! I can tell!”

“Nothing!” She says, shaking her head. But then her eyes dart away, her gaze shifting to the floor.

I gasp, scandalized and – I admit – a little delighted at the drama. “Spill it, Lai!”

“Nothing happened!” she repeats, dropping her shoulders and looking up at the ceiling, guilt all over her face. “Except like…a little…light cuddling…at night…”

“Laila!” I gasp, beaming at her, pressing my hands to my chest. “You secret hussy!”

She gasps, turning her shocked eyes to me. “I am not a secret hussy!”

“You totally are!” I say, laughing, my voice going all squeaky as I open my arms to her. “That’s so cute! Come here, I’m so proud of you, you loose, immoral woman –“

She gasps again, swatting me away with her hands. “How dare you, June! I am not! And why would you be happy about something like that!?”

“Because,” I coo, slipping between her smacking hands and wrapping her up in a big hug. “You’ve been pretending to have the moral high ground for weeks since you found out that Tony sleeps next to me – and here you are, having secret nighttime cuddles with our mutual boyfriend –“

“June!” she shrieks, going stiff in my arms. She flushes a deep and fervent red as Anton bursts into laughter next to us. “That is so not the story –“

“Oh, pleeeease,” I sigh, holding her tighter and not letting her get away. “Let me enjoy this –“

“I am not a hussy!” she growls, trying to shove me away.

“I for one salute you,” Anton says, still laughing and grinning at Laila as he teases. “Get Orion into bed – I mean, I don’t think it’s a hard task, but I do think you’re the first of the girls to do it. Look at you and your wiles -“

Laila shrieks in horrified protest at the idea just as the door opens, Orion peeking in around it. “What the hell is going on in here?”

“We’re congratulating Laila on her conquest,” Anton says, waving a hand at the scantily-clad girl still wrapped up in my arms, me laughing, still holding her close.

“Her…conquest?” Orion asks, pushing the door fully open and frowning around at us.

“We heard all about your nighttime cuddles,” I say, nodding seriously to Orion. Laila groans in mortification, going to puddy in my arms as she tries to collapse to the floor in a heap. But I don’t let her.

“Cuddles?” Orion asks, looking at Laila. “I mean, she just slept here because she was too drunk to go home –“

“You fell for that old line?” Anton asks, dry. He moves close to Orion and rests an arm on his friend’s shoulder, leaning casually against the Prince and looking at him with a great deal of pity.

“It wasn’t a line, she was drunk!” Orion says, casting out a hand towards our friend. “She just needed somewhere to sleep!”

When Laila doesn’t respond, her head still tucked against my shoulder, her body mostly limp with embarrassment in my arms, Orion goes pale. I cackle with glee.

“Oh my god,” Orion whispers, staring at Laila. “Was it a line!?”

“It wasn’t a line!” she moans, shaking her head against me. “I was drunk!”

“This is the best,” Anton whispers, looking gleefully between our friends. “I’m so glad I got up today.”

“I know,” I say, giving Laila a happy squeeze. “Now you two go away and get us breakfast sandwiches. Laila needs girl time.”

Orion screws up his nose, glancing between me and Laila. “Are you two going to take another bath?”

“Mayyybe,” I say, grinning at him and then nodding to Anton, who understands me perfectly and moves Orion deftly out of the room.

When the door closes behind them Laila lifts her head and looks sorrowfully over my face. “Are you mad at me?”

I laugh as I shake my head at my friend. “Why would I be mad at you!?”

“Because,” she murmurs, taking half a step away from me and looking down at her feet. “I made a move on our mutual boyfriend.”

“Oh, Laila,” I say with a sigh, stroking a hand over her hair and then slipping an arm around her waist, pulling her again to my side. “It’s fine. You have as much right to hit on him as any of us.”

She lifts her head and studies my face for a moment. My own face falls after a minute when I realize that she’s sincerely confused about something. “What?” I ask, genuinely curious.

She shakes her own head a little in turn, studying me. “You’re just…I mean, don’t get offended, Juniper, but you’re a very jealous person. You flipped out when…well. You have had strong reactions at other times. And you just found out that something kind of…happened between me and Orion – that we slept in the same bed and we weren’t just friends – at least, not as far as my motives were concerned. And…you’re not mad?”

I go a bit still as I realize what she’s saying. And I realize, too, that she’s right – that my wolf is just…completely calm right now. Entertained, pleased, happy but…

No. Not jealous. Not at all.

“Yeah, I guess I’m…I’m not mad,” I say, looking with interest into her dark eyes. I shrug, not getting it myself. “Maybe I’m just…accustomed to the idea of sharing him? I mean, there were twenty of us to start with. I guess I’ve never thought of him as…mine. Do you…” I purse my lips a minute as I study her. “Do you think you’d be jealous, if the same thing happened with me?”

She sighs, long and a bit dispirited. “I think I would, June.”

My eyes flash a bit with surprise. “Wait, do you have like a crush on Orion!?”

“You don’t!?”

I burst out laughing, giving her a little shove away from me. “I mean, he’s gorgeous – I can barely stop looking at him when he’s in the room –“

“Seriously, June,” Laila says, laughing a little as she shakes her head at me, baffled. “You don’t…you don’t have like, feelings for him?”

I again stop, turning inwards towards my wolf, who always knows better about this than I do. But she just stands a little still in my soul, either inscruitable or unable to answer. “I don’t…know…” I say, cocking my head to the side. “But you do?”

Laila bites her lip for a moment and then gives an eager little nod, glancing towards the door. “I really do, June. I…I – he’s just so cute,” she blurts out, clasping her hands in front of her chest. “Since we’ve gotten to know him more – since we’ve all become friends – he’s just so kind, and so sweet, and so handsome – and he’s trying so hard to be better –“

I blink at my friend, completely shocked. Because I had absolutely no idea she felt that way about him – damn. Secret hussy is right.

“I don’t want you to be mad at me,” she whispers, looking seriously at me like she’s terrified that I’ll get angry now. “And I know we’re in a weird situation – I’m not staking a claim or anything. But even outside of this competition, June…I think I’d fall for him. I think I’d fall hard.” She sighs, looking over at the door.

“Do you think he feels the same?” I whisper, still shocked, not knowing how to process this.

Laila – my Underworld bestie – kind of in love with the guy who the prophecies are sort of suggesting is supposed to marry me?

God, how the hell will we ever work this out?