to demon headquarters. Do you want to come with us, Hope?”
“Yes,” she said, wanting to reach for Pax’s hand but feeling weird about it. They’d kissed, and it was nice, but they were just friends. Hopefully Pax knew that, too. “Dad? Can’t you make the shifters stay in the Realm?”
Her dad reached for her coat on the sofa. “Honey, I’m not even sure I can make the demon nation stay in the Realm right now.”
* * * *
Paxton felt skinny and slow as he walked along the lake by the demon leader. Zane was silent on the journey, no doubt trying to figure out how to fix the Realm. Change sucked. It totally sucked that Libby and his other shifter friends had to leave Idaho. It wasn’t fair that the kids all suffered because the adults kept screwing things up, just like Hope had said.
She knew more about the Seven than she’d admitted. He’d been able to read her for a long time, because she wasn’t very good about keeping her expressions hidden.
Not like him.
He couldn’t believe she’d let him kiss her the other night. It was the best night of his entire life, even though his dad had nearly broken his hip this time. But he’d gotten out, and he’d kissed his girl, and he was like a guy in a movie. Well, except that he wasn’t tough. Yet.
His gut ached at the thought of staying with his uncle, but the demon couldn’t be worse than his dad had been. His memories of his demon uncle were hazy but seemed pretty cool. If he turned into a jackass who hit, Pax was out of there. He’d spent enough time feeling scared, and he was old enough and big enough to make it on his own.
They reached the demon subdivision and walked through the snowy streets to a small home, all brick, at the end of a drive.
Pax couldn’t breathe.
Zane slid an arm over his shoulder. “Your uncle is a decent guy. I wouldn’t let you stay with him if I hadn’t checked up on him.” He rang the doorbell.
The door opened, and Uncle Santino stood there, much bigger than Pax remembered. He had pure white hair and midnight black eyes, showing him to be a pure-bred demon. His chest was wide and his smile wider as he yanked Paxton in for a hug. “Man, you’ve gotten tall,” his uncle said.
Pax awkwardly hugged him back. “Thanks.” The house smelled like chocolate cookies and pepperoni pizza. Boxes were scattered in every direction, evidence of his uncle’s recent move. His stomach growled.
Santino winked at Hope. “Hi there, sweetie. You’ve gotten taller since I last saw you, too. Man, these kids grow up fast.”
She smiled. “Hi.”
Zane slipped his arm around her shoulder. “We’ll let you two get acquainted. Pax? Give me a call tomorrow and check in, would you?”
Paxton nodded, wanting to ask them to stay. But he might as well man up now. “Sounds good.”
They left, and Pax looked around. A comfy-looking sofa faced a crackling fire, while the biggest television he’d ever seen took up another entire wall. Boxes covered it for now. A puppy bounced out of the kitchen and made a beeline for him, wagging his tail wildly.
Pax dropped to hug the dog, laughing as the pup licked all over his face. “What’s his name?”
“You get to name him.” Santino chuckled. “I figured if you lived here, you’d want a dog. All boys should have a dog. He’s a cross between a yellow lab and a collie and probably a few other things. A stray, like you and me.” He grinned. “Figured we’d all do just fine together.”
His uncle had gotten him a dog? A real dog? Pax cleared his throat. “Thank you.”
“Sure.” Santino jerked his head toward the kitchen, just past the television. “I ordered pizza with dessert. I should probably confess right now that I’m not a good cook. This is the first time I’ve bought an actual house and planned to stay in one place. I can make spaghetti and toast, and I order in a lot. We can order in healthy stuff, if you want.”
“Um, okay.” Pax scratched his head.
“Your room. You should see it.” Santino lumbered in the other direction from the kitchen and down a hallway to push open a door.
Pax followed with the puppy tripping over his feet on the way. The room was big with a bed covered in a thick blue comforter. A television was set across from it with