It was the night before Lupercalia, and the house was eerily quiet, despite the crowd. There was no escaping the strange sense of foreboding that loomed over them. The tension was palpable. They’d done everything they could to prepare. They’d trained every day. Renzo had completed the objects ahead of schedule and even created amulets so the non-reapers of the pack could guard themselves against Tristin’s banshee scream.

They had a plan.

There was nothing more they could do but just sit and wait, And that was exactly what everybody appeared to be doing. Kai sat on the floor of the living room, Rhys laid out before him. R.J. sitting on the other side of Rhys, back to the sofa as Kai drove the small toy car over Rhys’s stomach. Occasionally, R.J. would snatch the car and stuff it in his mouth, forcing Kai to pick up another vehicle. Rhys’s only real participation was keeping an eye on R.J. so he didn’t topple over.

Donovan sat in the corner, headphones on, Evangeline sprawled out next to him with her head on his massive thigh. She was reading one of Tristin’s vampire novels. Aaron, Ember, and Mace were somewhere upstairs. Neoma, Malachi, and Harlow were in the kitchen with Isa and Wren. Tristin sat on one end of the sofa watching Quinn, who sat on the other end watching nothing at all. The only one missing was Astrid. She was playing nice with the Red Oak Coven, so they weren’t suspicious when she disappeared tomorrow.

On the surface, people seemed to be going about their lives, but they were all just faking it. Kai’s eyes strayed to the front door every few minutes, strayed to the three bags beside it neatly packed with R.J.’s, Neoma’s, and Donovan’s things. When Oggie left at dawn, he’d take them with him until the fight was over. At least that’s what Kai told himself.

It was the right thing to do, the responsible thing to do. When the Legionaries attacked, R.J. couldn’t be anywhere near this place. They’d missed killing him once; Kai didn’t think they’d spare him again. And, if they didn’t survive…well, then Oggie and Donovan would make sure R.J. found a pack who could care for him.

As for Donovan, he’d never survive the fight. It wasn’t that he wasn’t physically strong enough. It wasn’t even that he was missing his left hand. He could fight, he could run, but whatever they’d done to him…it was enough to shake him to the core. Donovan had almost died at the hands of his pack, and it had rolled off of him, but the mention of the Legionaries had the color draining from his face, and he would just retreat mentally to some dark corner of his mind, pushing his headphones over his ears. Neoma refused to let Donovan go without her. She told Wren she needed to know he was safe, but that she’d return as soon as she got Donovan and R.J. settled somewhere.

Kai knew both R.J. and Donovan were better far away from them…But Kai didn’t want them to go. It made him sick to think of R.J. at the mercy of others without the pack there to make sure he was okay, without him and Rhys there to make sure he was safe. And he knew that was crazy. They were teenagers. They weren’t even engaged, much less married. Rhys still had a betrothal in place, but Kai didn’t want to be away from R.J. and, even though Rhys wouldn’t admit it, he didn’t want him to go either.

Isa came in from the kitchen, Wren and the others trailing behind her. She stopped short, looking around at everybody.

“Okay, enough,” she said. “This is ridiculous. We aren’t dead yet. Neoma, get the others down here. Wren, order pizza. Tristin, Quinn, grab all the blankets and pillows from the linen closet and bring them downstairs.” Everybody just stared blankly at Isa, including Wren. “What? Did I stutter? Go!” Neoma was the first to move, padding up the stairs to do as her alpha commanded. Wren was next, not even bothering to ask what everybody wanted. Feeding this group meant ordering enough food to shut the pizza place down for the night.

“Donovan, headphones off,” Isa commanded, her tone far gentler than with the others. “Join the rest of us for a night.” To Rhys, she said, “I want all the furniture out of here.”

Rhys frowned at his sister. “You want me to take all the furniture out of the living room? And put it where?”

Isa glowered at her brother, her voice tight. “It’s a big house. Find a place.”

Rhys heaved a sigh, sweeping R.J. up and dropping him in Isa’s arms before picking up one of the chairs and moving it into the dining room. Kai looked at Isa, his tone hopeful as he asked, “Is this what I think it is?”

Isa smiled at him. “What do you think it is?”

“Pack Night Puppy Pile?” he asked.

“I hate when you call it that,” Isa said, “but yes, it’s pack night slumber party.”

“Finally! But puppy pile sounds cooler.”

The house was suddenly a flurry of motion with the others filtering in from the rest of the house. As Kai, Rhys, and Wren moved the furniture, Neoma and Tate went through their movie collection. Isa banned them from picking any movies that might scare the baby. Tristin and Quinn dropped pillows and blankets on the floor, and Ember and Aaron spread them out per Isa’s instructions. Malachi brought down R.J.’s playpen and set it up in the corner, filling it with toys and a blanket.

Soon, all that remained in the room was the large flat-panel television on the wall. There was no conscious decision-making on where to sit, people just sort of fell into place. Kai and Rhys were at the back, Kai sitting between Rhys’s legs with the baby on his lap. Neoma sat cross-legged behind Malachi, running her nails up and down his back. Donovan, Harlow, and Evangeline had formed a triangle with Harlow’s head propped on Donovan’s thigh and Evangeline’s head on Harlow’s stomach. The three seemed to be developing a strange alliance, with Harlow settling in a bit more everyday. Tate sat with Tristin and Quinn. Ember, Aaron, and Mace were closest to the television, and Ember had somehow been given remote control responsibility, though Kai didn’t think she’d earned that kind of power.

They ended up watching cartoons, each of them just pretending nothing would change when the sun came up tomorrow, pretending the next day wasn’t a showdown between them and nine demons strong enough to annihilate entire packs of shifters at once. Wren and Isa stood at the back, Isa leaning her head against Wren’s chest, smile on her face as she just watched the others. Kai pulled R.J. to him and kissed his forehead before tilting his head back to kiss Rhys’s jaw. Rhys looked down at Kai before using his hair to tug him back and plant a firmer kiss on his lips.

Okay, Kai thought, if this was all they had…if this was their last night on Earth, this wasn’t a bad way to spend it.