Meta Marshal Service 3

by B N Miles

  “Thousands of people work in there,” Penny said, coming up beside him. Her voice was soft but strangled. “I know you don’t agree with what we were doing, but they’re innocent people. They don’t… we didn’t know what was going on.”

  “I know,” Jared said, shaking his head. “But there’s nothing we can do for them right now. Let’s hope most of them can make it out.”

  Penny chewed on a fingernail and shook her head, saying nothing else as she turned away from the smoke and dust that rolled out from the base of the mountain.

  Jared stared at the devastation and wished he could feel something, anything, but only the Need was left.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get the hell out of here and go home.”

  He turned away and marched on. Slowly, the others followed him through the desert.

  53

  Jared stood on his roof deck, looking out over the Philadelphia streets, as the sun began to break through a thin pack of clouds. He held a mug of coffee between his hands and breathed deep, closing his eyes and listening to the street below.

  There was a sound behind him and he turned as the door to the roof opened. Cassie stepped out and closed it behind her. She wore a pair of tight yoga pants and a black tank top, her hair pulled up in a messy bun, her skin flushed from working out. She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head, grinning at him.

  “Thought you could hide up here, huh?”

  Jared shrugged a little, sipped the coffee, and leaned his back against the deck’s railing. “The house has been feeling a bit crowded lately,” he said.

  “Fair enough,” Cassie said. “We have been keeping you busy.”

  He smiled a little bit and tilted his head back, gazing up at the sky.

  Ever since they returned home from Arizona, his world’s been a flurry of constant activity. Allie moved in without asking permission and set herself up in the room at the front of the house. She was confusing at first and barely ever came out of her room, but she began to open up over the last few weeks, mostly thanks to Nikki and Cassie coaxing her down more and more. Now Jared realized she was simply an extremely shy and introverted person, despite her tremendous power and beauty.

  Meanwhile, Lumi and Jared pooled their money and bought a pair of houses, one on either side of them. His neighbors weren’t super into the idea of selling their homes at first, at least, not until they were offered outrageous amounts of money.

  Kerrin and the other girls from the facility moved into those houses. Izzy began spending more and more time with them, and Jared was pretty sure she’d move in any day now. Penny was living in one of the houses as well, and although there was still some bitterness and bad blood between her and the other Meta girls, she’d been working her ass off to try and make amends.

  Cassie walked over and stood with him at the railing. She leaned back against it, tilted her head back, and took down her bun. Her red hair streamed out behind her, and she gave Jared a coy little smile, sticking her tongue out a little bit.

  “Not like I had much of a choice. What was I going to do, abandon them?”

  “Some people might have,” she said.

  “They’re all orphans,” he said. “No family, nobody to help them come back to the world. I’d be a real asshole if I just walked away from that.”

  “They’re not your responsibility.”

  Jared shrugged a little and sipped his coffee. “You’re right, they’re not just mine. They’re all our responsibility.”

  Cassie laughed at that. “We’re building a weird little family here, aren’t we?”

  “Seems like it,” he said.

  “I thought our relationship was complicated enough.”

  “Yeah, well, we just added fourteen new people to it.”

  “Fifteen, if you count Penny. Sixteen if you count Izzy.”

  Jared shook his head. “I don’t think they’re all… you know. Really in this.”

  Cassie raised an eyebrow. “How many have you slept with.”

  Jared opened his mouth then shut it again. He laughed, unable to help himself. “Fewer than you’d think,” he said.

  “I saw Olga giving you look,” Cassie said.

  “I’ve never been with a Troll before,” Jared said. “I’m afraid she’d break me.”

  “She can be surprisingly gentle, if you let her.”

  Jared’s eyebrows rose straight up and Cassie just laughed. He sighed and shook his head, not sure if she was messing with him, and not sure if he really wanted to know.

  “Honestly, it’s only been Kerrin and Allie,” he said. “And Izzy of course. And Penny, that one time, but I think she’s coming around for more sooner or later.”

  Cassie sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. “What about the others?”

  “I don’t know,” Jared said. “If they want to get involved with this… well, there are a few I’m interested in.”

  “You dirty dog,” she said, but she didn’t smile, and she didn’t laugh.

  He put an arm around her shoulder and hugged her tightly against him. She nuzzled him and chewed on her lip a little, staring down at the light brown wooden deck boards. They stood in silence for a little bit, and Jared could feel Cassie’s tension. Ever since they’d come back home, she’d vacillated between her normal, chipper, happy self, and this quiet and more introspective girl that couldn’t seem to stop staring off into space.

  “You’re thinking about him again, aren’t you?” he asked.

  “I can’t help it,” she said. “Can you imagine coming to this totally different world then getting kidnapped by the Medlar? And now he’s some component in a crazy, world-altering spell.”

  “We’re going to find him,” Jared said. “I’ve been talking to Wyatt.”

  “Really? Are you going back to work for the Marshal Service?”

  “Probably not,” he said. “Not yet, anyway. Wyatt knows what’s going on though, and he’s trying to help as much as he can without giving it away. The Medlar have been up his ass lately, asking questions about me.”

  “We can’t give up, you know,” Cassie said. “Not just for Wade’s sake. But for… everyone. I mean, they want to get rid of the Accords. What would even happen to the world if they managed to do it?”

  “I don’t know,” Jared said. “And I really don’t want to find out.”

  He kissed her hair, breathed her scent deep, and held her for another moment until the door burst open again.

  Allie stepped out onto the deck. The Demon girl stared at them, her disconcerting dark eyes taking them in. Her long, thick, dark black hair flowed around her shoulders and parted around her stubby horns. She wore a sports bra and a pair of short Lycra shorts, showing off her slim, athletic body and her round, firm breasts. She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head.

  “I was looking for you two,” she said.

  “Sorry,” Cassie said. “I sort of ditched the workout.”

  “You made it halfway,” Allie said. “It was pretty pathetic.”

  Cassie laughed and pulled away from Jared as Allie came over to join them. She looked up at Jared with a mischievous little smile and leaned against his chest, her body pressed to his, and he couldn’t help reacting to her. She was a Demon, built to seduce Humans, built to feed on Magi and their power.

  And gods damn, she was tempting.

  He leaned down and kissed her plump, pink lips. “I would never ditch you like that,” he said.

  “I know you wouldn’t,” she said. “It’s because you’re afraid of me, though.”

  “Definitely not afraid,” he said, reaching back to grab her ass.

  She laughed and hit his chest. “You can pretend all you want, but all you Humans are terrified of Demons. You can’t really help it though, it’s biological.”

  “I think I like being afraid of you,” Jared said.

  She stood up on her toes, kissed his check, and pressed her lips against his ear. “Makes it more fun when I’m ridin
g you.”

  Jared laughed and slapped her ass hard. She pulled away, grinning at him.

  “Enough of that, you two,” Cassie said, stretching her arms up. “I want to finish this workout before you guys end up in bed together.”

  “I think I’d rather just have you two right here,” Jared said.

  “Maybe later,” Allie said, turning toward Cassie. She walked over and slipped her hand through Cassie’s arm. “We have a workout to finish.”

  Jared waved at them as Allie led Cassie back to the door. “Have fun then,” he said.

  Cassie smiled at him, winked, and then they were gone.

  He turned back to the city, sipped his coffee, and tried to compose himself. Allie always did that to him. He knew she just found it fun and easy to rile him up. But god damn that woman was something else.

  And he really was terrified of her.

  After a little while, he went back downstairs. Lumi was in the shower, washing her hair, and Jessalene was in the kitchen getting started on breakfast. Several of the Meta girls were lounging around, including Olga, Millie, and Lorissa.

  Millie hopped to her feet, her little fox ears perked up, her long bushy tail wagging behind her. She was a Shifter, which meant she had more control over the shape she chose. She tended to go for a fox girl, which was just about the cutest damned thing in the world.

  “Good morning, Jared!” she said.

  “Morning, Millie.”

  She bounded over to him and looked up with her wide, doe eyes. “Did you hear what we’re doing today?” she asked.

  “Not yet,” he said, raising an eyebrow at Lorissa. She was a tall, thin Elf woman with light blonde hair and startling blue eyes.

  “We’re going to the art museum,” Millie said. “I’ve never actually been before, but Lorissa said she’s been a hundred times, she said she remembered when it was, like, first made. Isn’t that amazing?”

  “It sounds like fun,” he said.

  “Think you can come?” she asked. “Oh please, Jared? It’d be so awesome if you came.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I have some work to do today.”

  She looked a little disappointed then perked right up again a second later. “You’re coming over for movie night though, right?”

  “That’s a definite yes,” he said, “I promise.”

  “Awesome,” she said. “Yeah, awesome.”

  “Okay, Millie,” Lorissa said. “Leave poor Jared alone.”

  He grinned at Lorissa then leaned down and kissed Millie’s cheek. She turned bright red and ran back over to the table, sitting down with a thump on a wooden chair, her tail flitting in the air.

  He bumped fists with Olga on his way past and headed into the kitchen. Jessalene looked up and offered him some bacon, which he accepted. He gave her a quick kiss, refilled his mug, then turned back toward the front door. He heard Allie and Cassie in the basement doing some workout video, both girls grunting, and he was tempted to go down, but he knew that would only distract him even more.

  “Checking on the girls?” Jessalene asked.

  “That’s the plan.” Jared ate his bacon in three bites. “What’s this about the art museum?”

  “Lorissa’s playing den mother again,” Jessalene said. “I keep telling her she doesn’t need to, but she doesn’t seem to mind.”

  “Millie seems excited.”

  Jessalene smiled and flipped a pancake. “Millie’s always excited. Especially when you’re around.”

  “Uh oh,” Jared said. “That obvious, huh?”

  “That obvious,” Jessalene said, waving her spatula. “Just be careful with these girls, okay? Some of them went through some pretty bad stuff, Millie included. I think that’s why she’s always part fox, she’s trying to hide what she really looks like.”

  Jared nodded and looked back through the kitchen toward where Millie was leaning over the table, talking to Lorissa and Olga and making excited little gestures. He couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt cute little Millie, but the Medlar scum had put all the girls through a series of fucked up experiments that left them all a little scarred, a little broken.

  “I’ll be careful,” he said.

  “The girls all look up to you,” Jessalene said, turning back to her pan. “It means a lot to them that you’ve been giving them a place to live.”

  “Hasn’t all been me,” Jared said. “Lumi tapped into her savings too.”

  “True enough,” Jessalene said. “But we all know you drained your bank accounts for this. I just want you to know how much they all appreciate it.”

  Jared nodded a little, sipping his coffee. “Just trying to do what’s right.”

  Jessalene rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. What a great man.” She came over, got on her toes, and kissed him. He kissed her back, felt her soft body against his, before she broke off and returned to cooking. “Now go say hello to the other houses.”

  “Roger that.” He stepped toward the back door but stopped and looked back at Jessalene. She took one pancake off the pan and began a new one, pouring the batter in a slow, thick drip. “Hey, Jessa. I love you, you know that?”

  She looked up and smiled, bright and dazzling. “I love you, too.”

  He ducked his head and stepped out the back door and into the yard, shutting the door behind him.

  And found Nikki sitting at the back patio table with Izzy and Penny.

  “Ladies,” he said.

  “Morning, darling,” Nikki said, looking up.

  “I didn’t know you were coming over today,” he said. “I thought you were busy with Vampire stuff.”

  Nikki rolled her eyes. “What do you think Vampire stuff entails, darling?”

  “Oh, the usual. Blood, stalking villagers, that sort of thing.”

  “You’re half right,” she said.

  Jared laughed and gestured at the three of them. “What are you all talking about?”

  “Penny’s got some… interesting ideas about how healing magic works,” Izzy said. “She’s running it past Nikki.”

  “I have to say, I’ve never heard it before,” she said.

  “What do you think, Jared?” Penny asked. “Want to hear about it?”

  “I do,” he said. “Let me go say hello to the girls then I’ll listen.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Penny beamed at him and he grinned back. She’d been opening up more lately, and she seemed to have a particularly strong connection with Izzy, which made him happy.

  He wanted her to feel comfortable and at home here, which he knew was difficult for her. She harbored a lot of guilt and self-hate, but some day, maybe she’d soften a little bit, and he suspected Izzy would have a lot to do with that.

  He walked to the fence and opened the newly installed gate. He crossed over into the neighboring yard, a mirror image of his own, except with brightly colored flowers planted all along the edges. The previous owners were big time gardeners, and a few of the girls had taken it on themselves.

  The back door was open a crack, and he could see inside. Four girls stood around talking, and beyond them, another three sat in the living room. They were all different shapes, sizes, races. They had different smiles, different laughs, different auras and smells.

  But they all were damaged, and only a week has passed since they really started to come out of their shells, slowly beginning to realize that this situation, this set up with the house, the comforts, it wasn’t going away anytime soon.

  He took a deep breath and let a smile drift across his lips.

  These girls were his.

  Not his to own, not like that. They were his to protect and to help. If they wanted to join his littlie relationship, well, that was something they could discuss, and it wasn’t entirely up to him, anyway. But regardless of that, he swore he’d watch over them, swore he’d protect them, and he wasn’t going to let them down.

  He stepped in through the door. The girls looked over, and he loved the way their faces lit up. Kerrin sat on t
he counter in the corner wearing a loose, flowing yellow sundress that suited her slim curves. She hopped down and came to him, beaming huge.

  “Morning, dickhead,” she said. “Where the fuck have you been?”

  “Morning to you, too.” He pulled her against him and kissed her, nice and slow and deep. She kissed him back and he tasted snow and ice and pure winter water.

  She pulled back, her blue eyes sparkling. “Come on, let’s go say hi to everyone,” she said. “Dickhead.”

  He grinned at her, took her hand, and let her lead him through the house.

  This was his family, his new family. They were his responsibility, but they were so much more than that.

  They were his love, his future. And although the Medlar were still out there, still had Wade, still planned on trying to tear the universe into pieces for their own selfish gain, at least he had the girls, at least he had his own small paradise with them.

  And he’d do anything to keep it.

  Thanks a ton for reading! Please leave a review. Since I’m a new author, reviews are a huge help.

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  Start the next series now! Meta Gods War is set thousands of years in the past and reveals some crucial secrets about the Magi families. Cam never dreamed of anything beyond his own small village. He was content to fall in love with the girl he’d known all his life while training with sword and spear. At least until his father was murdered by Werewolves. Now the wolf pack was coming for Cam and his people, and he knew there was only one choice: lead his friends and family to the safety of the great mountain Mansion, or else die trapped behind their village walls. >> Click Here to read it!

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  - BN

  About BN Miles

  BN lives in a suburb of Philadelphia with his wife, two boys, and his black lab. He spends most of his time listening to his record collection, playing FPSs, and complaining about things on Reddit.