Raini stifled a smile. He’d been overbearing as hell since learning Devon was pregnant. It was cute, but it was also grating on the hellcat’s nerves. Hence why she kept suggesting baby names that she knew would annoy Tanner.
Maddox had insisted on going ahead with the party that Raini had organized, only he’d turned it into a “welcome to my lair” party that doubled as a celebration for their mating, so here they were at the casino Raini had chosen as the venue. He’d headed to the restroom with Hector, leaving her with Carmen, of course. His protectiveness hadn’t eased up, despite the danger having passed.
Built into one of the many luxury Underground hotels, the casino boasted high ceilings, mirrored walls, patterned carpets, rows of backlit gambling machines, and a small bar where patrons could sit, talk, and drink. People were scattered around the room at the various tables, or sitting on stools while playing machines. There was a lot of noise and activity. Slot machines blooped and bleeped. Dealers called out for bids. Dice tumbled along felt. Alarms dinged to announce winners. Voices muttered, cheered, or cursed.
Pretty much all the guests who Raini had invited were in attendance. The imps mixed surprisingly well with the descendants. But then, the two breeds did have one thing in common—they dealt with a fair bit of scorn from other types of demon.
The casino workers—who were no doubt usually stoic when dealing cards—appeared somewhat paranoid and anxious. Understandable. Imps were fucking brilliant at cheating, but you’d never catch them at it unless they wanted you to. It wouldn’t surprise her if they made off with some of the luxury prizes that were on display. Probably not the cars or motorcycles, but definitely the jewelry.
“We should go find a seat, kitten,” Tanner declared. “You shouldn’t be on your feet.”
Devon shot him a look of exasperation. “I’ve only been standing for, like, twenty minutes. Before that, we were eating our meal while watching the band play in the restaurant.”
“Twenty minutes is a long time.”
Devon turned to Raini, her eyelid twitching.
Raini felt her lips curve. “He’s going to be hell to deal with throughout the entire pregnancy.”
“Don’t I know it,” Devon mumbled.
“Do you think the baby will be a hellcat or hellhound?” Carmen asked her.
“Hellcat for sure.” Devon sniffed, all superior. “My kind have more dominant genes.”
Tanner snorted. “If you say so.” He tapped her bottle. “Now drink.”
Instead, his mate lifted a brow at Raini and asked, “So, how is being a Prime working out for you?”
Raini flicked a hand. “I leave the Prime stuff to Maddox. I’m not interested in leading.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re not his co-Prime,” Carmen pointed out.
“Well we can pretend it does.” Raini had figured, what with him being so controlling, that Maddox wouldn’t want to share his power. That would have suited her fine, because she wouldn’t know the first thing about leading a lair. But he wanted them to be partners.
She’d officially moved in with him the day after the battle. Although she missed being part of the same lair as her parents, there was nowhere else she wanted to be.
“Has Marcella left yet?” Devon asked.
Raini nodded. “She scuttled off to her new lair last night.” After which Raini had done a mental fist pump.
The hellcat sipped her water. “Did you speak to her before she left?”
“Only to say ‘bon voyage.’” Raini had somehow managed to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
Devon snickered. “I hear you’ll soon be saying the same to Demi.”
“Yup.” Raini sighed. “I’m not all that surprised she wants to leave her lair, considering everyone kind of turned on her.”
“It’s no less than what she deserves,” insisted Tanner.
“That’s what pretty much everyone says.” Dwain’s parents badly wanted her gone—in their mind, if she’d told someone he was behind the boycotting, Jolene would have detained him … thus robbing Euan of the chance to capture Dwain. His parents essentially blamed Demi for his death.
“I can’t help but notice that she isn’t here,” Tanner added.
Raini had anticipated that her sister wouldn’t show. “She won’t go near Maddox, which is probably for the best.”
Tanner’s mouth quirked. “He still wants to dole out a punishment, huh?”
“Oh yeah,” Raini replied. “Knowing Jolene took care of it isn’t enough for him. He works off the rage on his brand-new personal punching bag.”
“As in Euan?”
“Yes. I’m getting the sense that the guy is going to be a guest of ours for a long time to come.”
Just then, Martina approached wearing a wide smile. “See what I got from one of the boutique stores over there?” She stroked her handbag. “Isn’t it fabulous?”
Raini didn’t doubt for a moment that the woman had stolen it. But she didn’t ask, because her attention was snatched by something else. “Do you realize someone drew on your face?”
“Oh yeah,” said Martina. “Khloë drew a baby hippo on me. She called it Fritz. Is it cute? She said it was cute.”