Property of the Fae

by Laxmi Hariharan

  “Unless?” I drum my fingers on my thigh. “Spit it out already.”

  “Unless he was feeling something so powerful, something that screwed with his head, enough for him to want to take a walk and clear his head without knotting you again.”

  I blink and open my mouth to speak, but no words come out.

  “What?” she says. “Just because I am human, doesn’t mean I don’t know about the mating habits of the Fae.”

  “The barbaric mating habits of the Fae, you mean?” I swallow down the hundred other questions that roll around in my head and focus on the most important one. I need to keep her off-kilter, just until I have gotten her to free me. Yeah, I am going to get her into trouble, but hey, no one comes between a mother and her kids. Unless you count the fact that I already let the Fae Corps male monopolize my time for too long. I made a mistake, and my kids are not going to suffer for it. No way. “For a virgin, you sure are taking all this casually.”

  Her face goes pink. Bingo. So I was right. That innocent look about her is everything it seems.

  “Not for lack of temptation.” She holds herself stiffly.

  “You mean one of the Fae Corps males has been trying to get into your panties?”

  “Don’t talk so crudely.” She sniffs and shakes back that pale, spun-gold of her hair.

  “Why do you sound like my friend, Gia?”

  “You know Gia?” Her brow clears. “Of course you do. Both of you belong to the Bureau of Shifters.” She takes a step forward. “They accepted Gia, despite her being human. You think they’ll accept me, too?”

  Her face lights up, and her eyes dance with excitement, yet there is a touch of darkness in their depths. For all her innocent demeanor, she's seen the seamier side of life. But she's trying not to let it taint her outlook. This is a woman who’s coming into her own.

  “Will the Fae let you join?” I narrow my gaze.

  “It’s not up to them.” She rakes her fingers through her hair. “Not up to any of them.” She squares her shoulders, and it doesn’t take a scientist to decipher that gesture.

  “Huh. Anyone of the Fae Corps men, in particular, you talking about?”

  “Yeah, but he’s a domineering alpha-hole, and I hate him, can’t wait to get away from him.”

  “Interesting.” I push my tongue into my cheek. “How about a trade, girlfriend?”

  She frowns, and I raise my palms.

  “No offense, but we could help each other.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “You let me walk out of here free, and I put in a word at the Bureau for you. My word does carry weight.”

  “You’d do that?” She shifts her weight from foot to foot.

  “Of course.” I wave my fingers through the air.

  She purses her lips. “You are not going to pull a fast one on me, are you?”

  “Moi?” I cross my heart. “Hey, we women have to stick together if we want to hold our own against these macho males, right?” I hold up a fist.

  “Right.” She takes a step forward and fist-bumps me.

  I loop the telekinetic bond around her wrist, and the bond transfers over.

  Not that much of a clever sentient device then, right? I leap across the bed and am on the floor and racing for the door. Reaching it, I pause.

  She stands next to the bed, her gaze on me. “You are making a mistake, Jessica.”

  I stiffen. “I am not. I need to go. My family is depending on me, and I can’t let them down.”

  “Chef won’t be happy to see you gone. He’ll be less than thrilled that my presence has tainted the mating bed.”

  “Mating bed.” I grit my teeth, “You’d think what he did to me is meant to be some kind of spiritual experience.”

  “It is.”

  “What?” I pull my shoulders back, and goosebumps flare on my skin. “You’re kidding me, right?”

  “He knotted you, Jess. He claimed you. In the language of the Fae, that means he’s bonded for you, mind, body, and soul. You can’t escape him.”

  “You bet, I am going to try.” I turn to leave. “Besides, he sure didn’t think of what we did as being special.” Though making love with him had been sublime, but no way am I letting her in on that.

  “Wait.”

  I shoot a glance over my shoulder.

  “Your clothes?” Her gaze sweeps over my body.

  “I won’t need them. I am going to fly out of here.”

  She stares.

  “Dragon shifter, babe.” I flap my arms. “And I’d rather be naked than wear clothes any day. Shifter blood keeps me warm.” Normally, when I am not heading straight into a heat cycle, eh? Another thing she need not worry herself about.

  “Chef's gonna be livid.” She bites her lower lip.

  “We’ve already established that.” I snicker.

  “I mean you wandering around naked in front of any other man.”

  “He doesn't get to tell me what I can and can't wear.” I plop my arms on my hips. “And PS. I see what you’re up to. Engaging me in some uber-feminine chit-chat. But”—I roll my shoulders— “you’re right, I need clothes for when I arrive at my destination.” I stalk to the closet in the corner of the room and wrench open the door. Then pull out the first thing I get my hands on. One of Tristan’s shirts. Guess I am borrowing another of his things. He’ll probably not miss it anyway. I shrug it on, and it comes to below my knees. Even when he’s not around alpha-hole makes sure to shield me from the gaze of other males. I slam the door shut then walk to Alice and survey her sneakers. “I am going to need those.”

  I kneel and untie the laces, then slip them off her feet and wear them.

  They are a size too small, but they’ll do. Straightening, I look at the tray of food. I should eat something just to keep going, I will need my energy. I grab a sandwich and chew on it. The bread sticks in my throat, ugh! I snatch up the glass of water and wash it down. “Thank you and all that," I slap the glass back on the side table. “I have to get out of here.” Turning, I march toward the bedroom door.

  “Wait.”

  “Now what?” I shoot her a look over my shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep my promise about putting in a good word for you with the Bureau.”

  “No last message for Tristan?”

  The breath stutters in my chest.

  Maybe hearing his name breaks down whatever little resistance I’ve been building up inside me, or perhaps it’s just that I am a masochist who likes to shatter my heart over and over again. I straighten my back. “Yeah. Tell him I am sorry I lied to him.”

  34

  Tristan

  “Motherfucker.” My spine curves with the force of the blow.

  For a surgeon, Doc always did have a mean punch.

  His massive fists resemble hammers. It’s the other reason he never gets into a fight because when it comes to punching his way through his opponent, nothing stops Doc once he gets going.

  The man beats his chest then throws his head back and bellows.

  The sound slams through my ears, and I am sure my eardrums have burst. My head reels. My chest feels like it is splitting in half. And I am kidding myself if I think it is the effect of the fight. I have been slowly falling apart since I left her in the room and walked away. All that emo shit the females talk about…? Seems it’s all true. Fuck me already.

  “You going to stand there and get your ass handed to you on a plate, girlfriend?” Doc cracks his neck. His hair, flies around his shoulders. The man resembles a deranged wrestler who's escaped from an insane asylum.

  I grab my balls to check I still have them—yeah. They are here, for now. They don’t belong to me, though. They are hers. All hers. Every part of me is stamped with her essence. I thought I was staking my claim on her? Guess what? I got it so wrong. Boo-fucking-hoo to me.

  “You done playing with your nuts, Chef? They’d make a tasty soup. Or, maybe you wanna save them for another occasion, eh?”

  The fucker is so going to
get what’s coming to him. “You’ve been on my ass since you ran into me in the corridor. That’s what this entire charade is about. You’re trying to distract me, dickwad? Trying to get me to lose my shit or blow off steam or whatever? Get this, bitch.” I hold up both my fists. “You succeeded.”

  “Let’s see what you’ve got, mofo.” Doc holds his stance.

  Anger is a steady rain that patters on my nerve endings. Blood fills my eyes. My vision tunnels, and I charge at him.

  I hear the sound of growling and realize it's me. Then I lower my head and butt the big man straight in the gut.

  The impact ricochets down my spine and my shoulder muscles scream in protest. My thighs contract, and I dig in my heels for purchase.

  Doc growls, then he grabs my shoulders, and flings me to the side.

  I arc through the air then hit the ground, shoulders first.

  My back crashes down. Pain smashes up my side, and sparks flash behind my eyes. I lie there panting, my breath coming in gasps. A shadow covers me, and Doc’s massive grinning face comes into view.

  “You ignored the first rule of fighting, Chef.”

  “No doubt you are going to rehash those shitty guidelines for my benefit.”

  “Anyone ever tell you, when you’re angry, your vocabulary gets reduced to these endearing four- and five-letter words.” He chuckles.

  “You done with your gloating, Doc, so I can get out of here with some of my reputation intact?”

  Doc holds out his hand, and I grab it. He yanks me to my feet. My knees buckle; what the hell? And he grips my shoulder to steady me.

  “This fight doesn’t count, Chef. Your mind’s too full of your mate.”

  “Not my—” I can't bring myself to complete the sentence. Well, shit. “I am fucked.”

  “You can say that again, friend. You’ve messed things up, between us and the dragons. But hey, why not face the craziness in one go, eh?”

  “What you talking about?” I frown.

  “You’ve been too focused on her—and not that I blame you, by the way—to know that Eve, the alpha of the dragons, is having a heart to heart with Dante as we speak.

  “They are trying to figure out how best to salvage the relationship between the dragons and the Fae, given this mission the two of you were supposed to go on took off in a completely unplanned direction.”

  “Yeah.” I blow out a breath. Not that I give two hoots to that, but hey, I guess I do owe the Fae Corps an explanation. Not. “Do I sound concerned?”

  “You should be." He snickers, "Bet you're going to be thrilled with the solution the two have concocted up."

  "Huh?” My instincts go on alert. “If that fucker Dante thinks he can use me and my mate in whatever hairbrained scheme he comes up with next… I…” My words die in my throat. “Whatcha grinning about?”

  “Nothing.” He wheezes. His shoulders shudder. Fucker seems to be having a seizure or…

  “Don’t you laugh at me asswipe," I frown.

  “You are such a goner, man.” He straightens and wipes the tears from his cheeks. “This has been so much fun, watching first Dante, then you crash and burn.

  “Glad to entertain you.” Blood rushes to my face, and fuck me, but I swear that’s a blush. “If you are done having a meltdown, can you tell me how to salvage what’s left of the mission? I mean, I am obviously not allowing her to come with me.” I crack my shoulders, trying to loosen the tension building at the back of my neck.

  “She know that yet?” He scratches his chin.

  “What?” I growl.

  “That you are passing a decree on her movements?”

  My guts lurch. Yeah, and that’d go down like a ton of bricks with Fire. Not that I’d ever say that directly to her face. I need to plan for this with as much care as a battle strategy. I have to tell her that she can’t go on this mission or any other assignment, for I plan to keep her…what? Tied to my bedside so I can have my way with her, and that would be a start, right?

  “Fuck, brother, you already overstepped your limits with her, didn’t you?” Doc peers into my face.

  I step away from him, then wince when my side protests. The man got me fair and square in that flash fight of ours. At least one of us was thinking on our feet, or with our fists. Apparently, I did need that hit to my head to shake some sense into me. “Didn’t have a choice.”

  “That’s a load of crap, and you know it. We always have a choice, in a fight or otherwise.” Doc takes a step forward then freezes. He angles his head as if listening to something. His gaze narrows, and his nostrils flare. “What the fuck did you do to her, man?”

  “What do you mean?” My pulse thuds. “Not that it’s any of your business what I do with my mate, motherfucker.”

  “Not her, Alice.” His cheeks pale.

  “Who?” I blink. I was right. Doc’s losing his mind.

  “She works for me in the infirmary, but the question is, what is she doing in your bedroom?”

  I take a step forward, and our chests bump. Aggression rolls off Doc. I can see the whites of his eyes. Clearly, whoever this Alice is, Doc has a soft…or is that hard spot for her? I swallow down my snicker. Considering he’d just spoken about the lot of us going down like flies, it didn’t apply to him? Bull-fucking-shit, that. And now is not the time to rub that into his face. “There’s only Jess at my place, asshole.” My shoulders stiffen. “How did Alice get in there?”

  Doc’s face reddens. “I may have mentioned to her that you were holding your mate against her will, and that human female has a heart that bleeds for anyone who needs help. She’d do anything to comfort another person in pain, and clearly the condition you left your mate in warranted that.”

  I rub the back of my neck. “I didn’t leave her in pain… Not really.” I had left her sad and needy. I should have stayed with her. “Still doesn’t answer how Alice got into the suite.”

  Doc straightens his shoulders. “She must have taken the master key, which I have access to as the primary health care professional for all of the Corps.”

  Hmm. “So she knew how to find the codes that unlock the homes? What other secrets have you shared with her?”

  “What’s this, some kind of interrogation, asshole? For let me tell you, the only one in the wrong is you. Besides, she is a trained nurse, you idiot, and I have full confidence in her.”

  “Do you now?” I know I have an insane grin on my face, but hey, given how Doc had ragged me about Fire just seconds ago, it feels good. Too good. “So how did you sense Alice in my room?”

  “I am tuned in to her, asswipe…” He clamps his jaws shut. His eyes widen as if he’s just heard his own words.

  I pat his shoulder. “There, there, Soldier, you’ll get over the shock.”

  He swivels his torso, and my hands drop away.

  “I have no fucking idea what you are talking about.” He turns and stalks toward the building we’d teleported from.

  “Hold on.” I jog and catch up with him. “What’s that on your cheeks? Is that color, Doc?” I smirk. “Are you embarrassed, Doc? For let me tell you, from where I am standing, it seems it’s you who is a goner. You’re falling for this human, whoever she is and—”

  Doc rounds on me. His ears lengthen; he bares his teeth, and his canines drop.

  I hold up my hands. “Whoa, hold on, big man, just having a go at you, that’s all. Just a bit of ribbing.”

  “You better save your energy, asshole. You’re going to need it to rein in Jess—”

  “Jess—” All my instincts go on alert. For the first time since my essence mixed with hers, I reach out to her through the psychic plane, and a whoosh of energy flares over me. Blue and amber and gold, the colors shudder and fall apart, then fold back over each other before streaming away from me. “She’s in trouble.”

  I glance at Doc, who jerks his chin at me.

  The air around us lightens, and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. I unravel the telekinetic energy tucked against my
rib cage, letting it flood my cells. Then together, we teleport.

  When the portal reforms, I race across the floor of my bedroom to the bed. I don’t need to look at the lone figure standing next to the headboard to know it’s not Fire. “Where is she?”

  The slender woman straightens and meets my gaze. “If you are talking about Jess, she left.”

  “What did you do to her?” Anger throbs at my temples. Loathing twists my belly, and really, all the emotions are aimed at myself. I left Fire alone. I should have stayed with her. It’s because of me she was shot. Now she’s gone and she’s in trouble, I know it.

  I don’t realize I have stalked forward, not until Doc steps around me and cuts off the sight of the female behind him. His shoulders bunch and his biceps seem to swell. “Get away from her.” His voice is cold, very different to the easygoing Doc I know.

  But fuck if I care. “Jess left me.”

  “You’re scaring Alice.” Doc lurches forward on the balls of his feet.

  “And I am still in the room, alpha-holes. Just to be clear, I am not scared of some half-out-of-his-mind-with-heartbreak man who only wants to hunt down his mate, so if the two of you will get your heads out of your asses and just get this stupid telekinetic bond off my wrists, maybe we can figure out where she went to so Tristan can go after her before it’s too late.” Alice’s voice cuts through the room.

  Doc blinks.

  So do I.

  His shoulders heave. Then he swivels around and stalks to her. With a flick of his wrist, the telekinetic bond fades.

  Without acknowledging him, Alice stomps around to stand between us, then props her hands on her hips. “You guys listening?”

  35

  Jess

  I circle the island off the coast of Norway.

  If the mission had gone ahead as planned, this is where I’d have brought Tristan…led him to his death. At least I’d managed to get that right, but my children… If something happens to them, I’ll never forgive myself. I reach out through the blood bond and sense the kids are there. Their energy is dull; their presence is faint on the psychic plain. They are exhausted but alive. My scales tremble. I huff out a breath, then tuck my wings at my sides and come in for a landing.