Reese (Pack of Misfits #2) - Raven Kennedy Page 0,78

ritual mating dance for Wynn and trying to beat each other for her attention.”

“So they’re having a mating dance-off?”

“Yep.”

Someone, I’m not sure who, pulls out their phone and starts blaring the song, “Bustin’ Out” by GRiZ. Pretty soon, my packmates gathered around start whooping and shouting encouragements to the dancing shifters.

“Yeah, Gunter! Bob that scaly head!” Addie yells.

“Don’t take that shit, Jenson! You have fuckin’ skirt feathers and a Mohawk! You got this! Twirl, fucker! Twirl!” Mitzy shouts, pumping a fist in the air.

I break into laughter as the two of them go at it hard. They start circling around each other mid-dance, and the lizard—Gunter—even puffs up and his beard starts changing from green to black.

Then the music ends, and both animals stop on cue. Clearly tired, the lizard deflates, his head hanging from all the bopping, while the bird’s feather skirt and wings tuck back in.

They both look over at the female they were trying so hard to woo…only to find that Wynn fell asleep. She’s even snoring.

I swear, I can actually hear the bird sigh. The lizard looks like he wants to swallow his own tongue.

“Well, that’s unfortunate for them.”

“Honestly, they should’ve expected this,” Freya says, looking at them. “If you leave her sitting still for more than five minutes, she conks right out.”

I watch as the bearded dragon and the bird of paradise shift back into their human forms. They both yank on some board shorts left in the sand before stalking to each other. “What the fuck, man?” the blond dude—Lizard Gunter—says to the redhead—Bird Jenson. “I was doing my mating ritual first.”

“My bird can dance for Wynn whenever the hell he wants!” Bird Jenson snaps.

Lizard Gunter’s lips press into a thin line. “Well, your dance fucking sucked.”

“Fuck you, man.”

“Hey, Jenson, don’t listen to him,” Stinger calls out. “You danced so pretty in your feather skirt.”

Jenson points at him. “Shut the fuck up. The bird of paradise mating dance is goddamn sacred.”

“Hey, bozos, you’re going to wake her up if you keep on whining and hollering,” Freya reprimands.

As if they just remembered Wynn is lying on the ground between them, Jenson’s and Gunter’s eyes look down at her prone form.

Gunter sighs. “You carry her. I’ll get her sleeping bag ready.”

“Yeah,” Jenson says, leaning down to scoop her up. Together, the males carry her toward the tents, tucking her into the sleeping bag with gentleness.

“Wow,” I say, looking around as the rest of the group disperses. “That was...really something.”

Luca chuckles. “Crazy shit like that happens all the time with a mixed shifter group like us,” he says, pulling me close and placing a kiss on the top of my head. “Get used to it, baby.”

I hear a sigh and look over my shoulder to see Susie sitting on the sand in her pink bikini. “Are you really calling her baby, already?”

Luca stiffens. “Why do you care what I call her? It’s none of your business.”

“You’re my packmate and my friend, not to mention my ex. I know you. This is fast. I don’t understand.”

Alright, I’m done being Susie’d. I pat Luca on the arm to let him know I got this.

“Look, Susie, I know it probably sucks to have to watch an ex date someone else. But like you said, we’re packmates. We can be adults about this, right? I’m not the enemy, and Luca isn’t either.”

“I didn’t say you were the enemy,” she replies defensively.

“Good. Because this pack is new to me, and I don’t want you to hate me. I’m sorry if you’re feeling weird about me and Luca dating, but I hope you can move past it.”

Susie looks taken aback, like she expected me to react with anger or by lashing out at her. But I don’t want Luca’s and my relationship to be tainted with that negativity. I don’t want Luca to be stuck in the middle. I’ve lived with enough distrustful, competing pack members, and I don’t want to have that with my new pack.

“I don’t hate you,” she says, looking between me and Luca. “I just…” She lets out a breath.

I can see in her face that she’s trying to settle on an emotion of how she feels. For a second, I worry that I’ve made it worse, but then Susie sighs. “You’re right. I’m being a jealous, petty bitch. I’m sorry.”

I blink at her. I didn’t really expect that to actually work. “It’s fine!” I quickly say. “I hope we can be friends. And if not friends...at least not