Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse
Chapter 381: Definitely Not A Cookie

Chapter 381: Definitely Not A Cookie

The moment the door swung open, I leaned around Tank’s side with high expectations. I was ready for anything, my entire body vibrating with happiness.

Maybe it was an apology basket from the house for kicking me out of my own bed.

A hot UPS man offering to grant me three wishes and brought cookies. Or, at the very least, a Girl Scout with cookies. Something fun... and cookie...ish.

Apparently, I was fixated on cookies, and I blamed Daddy for even putting the thought in my head.

But instead of someone standing there, looking for me or looking to give me something, the porch was empty.

No blood, no heads, no screaming survivors or surprise traitors. Just a plain cardboard box sitting perfectly centered on the welcome mat like it had every right to be there.

"...Well, that’s disappointing," I pouted. "No cookies for the Devil, I guess. Maybe the house could make me some. It would make up for the whole getting me out of bed at the ass crack of dawn."

"You woke up at 2:00," reminded Tank absently as he looked down at the box. At first, he was like me, but then something seemed to shift in him, and his whole body turned tense.

I had no idea what he felt or smelled, but whatever it was, it wasn’t setting off any alarm bells for me.

"Don’t touch it," said Tank sharply before sending out a piercing whistle.

I raised both hands, eyebrows arching. "I wasn’t going to," I assured him even as Dimitri came out of the kitchen. Stalking over to us, he looked between the box and me before picking me up and flinging me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Now that I was officially out of harm’s way, Tank crouched down to pick up the box. His eyes narrowed even further as he rotated it in his hands. "No writing," he murmured. "No tape. No seal. Just... here."

He turned it slowly in his hands as he carried it inside. I followed behind him, carried by Dimitri. I probably should protest, but I really was too happy this morning to really care about anything other than I was back in my house and all the guys were with me.

"The house doesn’t feel alarmed," said Dante, taking a sip of coffee. All the food that was once on the island disappeared, creating more than enough room for Tank to set the mysterious box of mysteries down.

If the house wasn’t alarmed... then I wasn’t either.

I knew it was a present, I knew that much. It gave off the same feeling of Dimitri’s heart in a cage. "Did you get me another present?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. "Does Amazon deliver out in the Amazon rainforest?"

"The rainforest is at the other end," answered Luca, giving me a kiss on the forehead. "And I don’t think that even Amazon can get packages to a house that doesn’t technically exist."

I hummed, not bothering to answer him. But if TV had taught me anything, it was that Amazon delivered anywhere.

"What is it?" Luca asked, turning his attention away from me and toward Tank.

The man was setting it carefully in the middle of the kitchen table like it might explode, his face completely blank as he continued to study it.

"No idea."

"It’s a box," Ronan said unhelpfully.

"It’s ugly," Désiré muttered.

"Ugly boxes sometimes have the best surprises," I offered as I leaned over the edge of the table to inspect it.

"Not yet," Tank warned, holding out an arm to block me from getting too close.

I gave him a look, but he didn’t so much as budge. I wanted to tell him that it wasn’t a bomb, that it wasn’t going to hurt me, that he was being a bit over the top. But then I realized that he needed this. He needed to prove himself to me for whatever reason.

So, I did the only thing I could do. I shut my mouth, sat down in my chair, and waited for the guys to realize what I already knew.

It was a gift.

Suddenly... the box moved. Just a little, nothing more than a soft scrape against the countertop, like something had shifted inside.

The room stilled.

"It moved," I whispered, eyes lighting up.

Ronan blinked at me. "You sound too happy about dat."

"It could be kittens," I said hopefully.

"It’s not kittens," Luca muttered.

"Raptors?" I asked, even more hopeful. After Selene had talked about raptors, I was bound and determined to bring some home with me when we went back to Country M. What better way to keep people away from the house than with a moat filled with gators and raptors running around the front yard."

"Too small," replied Dimitri with a smile on his face like he knew a secret I didn’t.

"Cookies?"

"Do cookies move?" Beau asked, baffled.

"They could," I argued. Apparently, I really wasn’t giving up this whole cookie thing.

The box shuddered again. Not hard, but with enough force that we all took a small step closer.

"Alright," I declared, clapping my hands once. "Let’s open it."

"No," Tank and Daddy said at the same time.

"But what if it’s—"

"No."

I pouted, dragging my finger along the edge of the box as the boys gathered closer. "Look," I sighed, the sugar rush I was getting from the coffee slowly dying down now. "It can’t stay closed forever. And if it is a pet, then I don’t want it to die."

"Fine," agreed Salvatore with a nod of his head.

"I’ll open it," followed Dimitri, pulling out his massive knife.

Silence reigned as Dimitri carefully cut through the tap at the top. Pulling back the lid, he looked down into the box.

And blinked.

"Huh," he grunted, a smirk on his face. "I donna know who dat is, but I’m guessin’ you donna like him."

Reaching in, he pulled out a severed head by its hair and turned it around until it faced me.

My body froze as I tried to figure out my emotions. A muffled sound came from the still-living head, and I didn’t know if I liked that or not. "I think I need more coffee," I announced as the gaged mouth started to make noise.

Dante turned around silently and handed me a mug. "I need sugar if I’m going to be dealing with Père this early in the morning."

I think I would have preferred a cookie.

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