by Melissa Haag
“Let me help,” Fenris said, switching our trays since he’d already eaten his. “‘Bend you over’ is a loose euphemism my kind uses for mating in our preferred position. Priming is specific to incubi and succubi. And you wouldn’t end up as puppy chow because eating human flesh is forbidden. But so is attendance by non-wolf species, which makes any concern over your welfare a moot point since you won’t be there.”
Eugene gave Fenris an odd look.
“Thanks. I think.”
“Trust me, you’re not missing out on anything.” Fenris dug into my helping of potatoes and missed the hurt look that Willow shot his way. I kicked him under the table.
“He didn’t mean it like that,” I said.
Fenris sighed and set his fork aside.
“I know none of you wants to hear this, but I love you like sisters. Playing hide-and-seek is fun. Being chased by any of you during a mate run isn’t. It makes me uncomfortable. I don’t love you any less for it, though. I understand why you hope it might be me, but it’s not. Maybe my dad will be less aggressive about Saturday if we all can just accept the fact that I’m with Eliana now.”
Everyone’s gaze shifted to me, and I felt myself flush scarlet.
“Does that mean Eliana is coming this Saturday?” Jenna asked.
“That’s up to Eliana,” Fenris said. “I’m not going to force her to do anything. I’ve been there and not enjoyed it.”
“Am I really invited?” I asked.
“Even if you weren’t, would you let that keep you away if you wanted to join in?” Fenris asked.
I studied him a moment and supposed he was right. I’d shown up on pack territory before without an invitation. Well, if I didn’t count Fenris’s standing invite. But that was before Raiden told me not to come back. I wasn’t sure if I had the courage to attend Saturday now that I knew his feelings on the matter.
Fenris nudged me. “Don’t worry about it.”
I nodded, even though we both knew that worrying was what I did best.
As soon as Fenris finished his second tray of food, we headed back to the red room for more game time. He kept the conversation and bets light and playful. When LuAnn checked in on us again, we were lounging on the floor pillows and deep into another card game.
She didn’t say anything, only poked her head in and then left again. Still, Fenris gave an aggrieved sigh.
“She’s killing any chance I ever had in this room.”
I grinned at him.
“You never had a chance in this room. It’s all about me, you, a red dress, and the woods, remember?”
He set down his cards. That was the only warning I had before he leapt on me. The playful roll ended with the discovery that I was ticklish. I squealed and begged for Fenris to stop even as I reveled in all the touching.
With a lick to my nose, he got up and offered me a hand.
“I didn’t even know I was ticklish,” I panted.
“Really?”
“Really. Dad wasn’t the playful type, and I’ve never been close enough with anyone that I would have welcomed that kind of touching.” I smoothed my hair down and straightened my shirt.
The sudden burst of pity coming from Fenris had me jerking my head up.
“What?”
“That’s just so sad. Come here.” His hug swallowed me whole before I could get away.
“Why is that sad?” The words came out muffled.
“Everyone needs hugs and tickles.”
“I got hugs. I wasn’t deprived.”
“Be honest. Did you receive hugs or give hugs?”
“Shut up, Fenris.”
He just hugged me harder.
“Now I know why we’re together. I thought I was here as the element of fun and some eye-candy. I’m here to give you your daily dose of affection.”
“Eye-candy?” I asked, unwedging myself.
“Slice of side cake? The pudding in your pie?”
“How about we finish our game so we can head to Megan’s?”
We didn’t wait for the final bell to ring and left early. Fenris’s new goal to shower me with affection made me too nervous about what forms of PDA he might expose me to. He knew it, too, because he’d murmured, “Chicken,” when I’d made the suggestion to leave.
Our departure was brought to an abrupt halt when I saw words scratched into the side of my car. Bring the fury. There was a horribly rudimentary drawing of the Oracle underneath it. I only knew it was the Oracle because of the rocky hill and squiggly lines for water that accompanied it.
“The mermaids really need more time in art class,” I said.
“I guess it’s a good thing you haven’t bothered to get it repainted yet.”
I grinned at him as he opened my door. The graffiti didn’t bother me. It was par for the course in Uttira. However, it seemed to bother Fenris. As we left school grounds, he got quiet and started tapping the steering wheel, which normally meant he was agitated. But he didn’t feel upset. Only restless.
“Is something wrong?”
“No. I’m just planning.”
I debated if I wanted to know or not. Then I realized what I was doing. Hiding from the truth again.
“Okay. What are you planning? If it’s concerning the mermaids, they’re not worth it.”
“It’s not them.”
“Then what is it?”
“Can’t tell you. It’s got to be a surprise. But, I think you’ll like it. I won’t. At least, not the first part of it. It’s going to be tricky. I might get hurt.” He glanced at me. “Are you going to give me hugs and kisses if I get hurt?”
“Not if you’re planning on getting hurt on purpose. It’s probably going to make me not want to talk to you.”
“Hmm.” He turned into Megan’s driveway before I could demand the answer from him.
“Come on, chipmunk. We have a busy night ahead of us.”
I wrinkled my nose at him as he walked around the car to open my door.
“A busy Fenris-won’t-get-hurt night, right?”
“We’ll see.”
Shaking my head, I followed him to the door. With Fenris, I was learning it was pointless to try to contain his enthusiasm for creating trouble. I only hoped he was teasing about the getting hurt part.
Megan opened the door and waved us in. Then her gaze caught on the car.
“Who’s asking for me?”
“The mermaids,” I said as Fenris took our bags from the back.
“Who would have thought fish could hold grudges for so long. I thought they had smaller brains. And what’s up with the sperm?”
“I think it’s supposed to be the Oracle,” I said.
Bags over his shoulder, Fenris wrapped his hand around mine, and we started for the door.
“Nope. It’s sperm,” she said. “Fenris, next time you see them, tell them I’m not interested in their fish sperm.”
“Glad to,” Fenris said.
“Good.” Her gaze swung to me, and her annoyance faded. “I’m so excited for tonight. What’s in the bags? Are you two planning on staying over?” She wiggled her eyebrows. “You know I only have one spare bed, right?”
“No, we’re not staying. But, I brought the grey dress to change into for dancing.” I gave her a worried look. “You saved that gorgeous dress from New York, right?”
“She did,” Oanen said, walking into the kitchen.
Fenris moved in a blur of speed, crossing the room and crashing into Oanen before Megan or I knew what was happening. Trapped in Fenris’s embrace, Oanen looked at us.
“I know I promised not to hurt him, but this is crossing a line.”
“Come on, Oanen. Use your arms. Brothers hug.”
Megan began to laugh then did her best to cover it up with coughing. I rolled my eyes, suddenly understanding why Fenris wasn’t sure if he’d get hurt tonight or not.
“Fenris, cut it out. You’re making Oanen uncomfortable, and I never agreed to anything.”
“It’s fin
e,” Oanen said, wrapping his arms around Fenris. “There. We’re hugging. Now, let go.”
Megan gave up trying to hide her laughter.
Fenris released Oanen, turned to her, and opened his arms wide.
“There’s some ‘good boy, Fenris’ scratching on the line, Megan. Help me out.”
“I am not scratching you,” I said as Megan chuckled her way into Fenris’s arms.
Oanen strolled over by me.
“Say the word, and I can toss him in a sack and fly him to a river.”
“Where’s the love?” Fenris asked, releasing Megan.
“I dunno,” she said. “But he better find it or he won’t have any tonight.”
The sudden burst of lust sent me scurrying to Fenris. He welcomed me with open arms and didn’t seem to mind when I burrowed my nose into his chest.
“Sorry, Eliana,” Oanen said.
“Don’t be sorry,” Megan said. “High five her. She didn’t run away. Oh, I made brownies, the good kind, not the kind that tries to bitch-slap you for calling her a horrible mom. Want some?”
I lifted my head.
“Dewy?”
“Yep. She was something.”
While Oanen and Fenris went to the living room to check out Oanen’s new gaming console, I stayed in the kitchen with Megan and helped her prep dinner.
“Has Elbner been back?” I asked.
“No. And it’s a good thing, too. We had a brief run-in at the marshes, and I felt an unhealthy amount of wickedness from the little blight. Unhealthy for him. Just goes to show how messed up my mojo was back when I first met him.”
“But everything is okay with you now?”
“Yep. Most people have a certain amount of wickedness that I can easily overlook. It’s the ones who are really bad that I can’t ignore. Gran says that the older I get, the more I’ll become sensitive to the wickedness. I’ll be able to feel people around the world and know who needs harvesting next.”
“That doesn’t sound very fun.”
Megan shrugged. “It is what it is. Honestly, I don’t think it’ll be any worse than dealing with the brownies this morning.”
“Did you meet with their leaders?”
“They don’t really have any. It’s like a free-for-all orgy out there. Even the ones who are married stray, and it’s completely normal.”
We both made a face.
“But I think they’re going to start taking their role in how Uttira treats them more seriously. I gotta say, Piepen surprised me. He’s a lot more responsible and mature than I remember him, and it’s only been a few weeks.”
“They mature faster than we do.”
“I know. But he seemed more grounded than a lot of the older brownies. He’s the reason they’re going to put together their own brownie council and start making up rules and keeping track of each other. I warned him about how critically my kind views and holds to the rules created by any species, and he seemed to understand. He even asked if I’d come back to listen to a proposal in a few days.”
“Wow. That doesn’t sound like the Piepen who’s been tormenting me.”
“Right? I was impressed. Based on the looks he was getting, quite a few of the ladies were impressed, too. You might have some serious competition for his affection soon.”
“Good. I hope he finds someone. Just not Dewy.”
“I wanted to squish her so bad but knew the brownies would stop talking to me if I did.”
“I flicked her out of the air once,” I admitted. “I feel zero guilt. She was going to poke me in the eyes.”
“Meh, I don’t feel even a twinge of wickedness from you, so it was justified.” Megan grinned at me.
“Are you worried about feeling any at the club tonight?”
“Should I be?”
“I honestly don’t know. Regardless of all the protective spells on the place, it’s a feeding ground. I imagine not everyone there will be nice. Eugene made it sound like he had a close call on Friday after I left. He said to thank you, too, for getting him back into school.”
“It’s stupid to make him stay home when everyone else is going about their lives like thousands of banshees didn’t scream a week ago.” She shook her head and was a little aggressive when she cut the tomato.
“What?” I asked.
“It’s frustrating me that the Council isn’t putting a priority on discovering what caused it. And it’s not just the one here. All the strongholds are like, ‘meh, bad shit happens all the time. Used to be worse when the gods were around.’ Oanen’s the only thing keeping me from strangling them all.”
She stopped slicing and looked at me.
“I want to go see the Oracle.”
“But you’re not going to,” Oanen called from the living room.
Megan gave me a do-you-see-what-I’m-dealing-with-here look.
“I think, considering the mermaid graffiti decorating the car, you should only go there as a last resort.”
“Thank you,” Oanen called. “That’s what my parents said too.”
“The mermaids don’t worry me. I can hell gate to the witch’s cave and out without ever touching the water.”
“She’s an oracle, Megan. She can see future events. Who’s to say that the mermaids didn’t do that to my car because the Oracle already told them that you’ll be coming?”
She made a face at me.
“Stop trying to be reasonable, Eliana. Your logic isn’t welcome here.”
I laughed. “How long have you been waiting to say that to me?”
“Since the moment you said it to me,” she said, refocusing on the tomatoes.
We turned our conversation to less serious things like going to check on Kelsey and Zoe soon and speculating how long Adira would continue to absent herself from my business now that Megan was back.
Once the table was set, we called the guys into the kitchen, and the four of us ate a relaxed dinner together. The burgers Megan had made were good, but they weren’t what I needed. As discreetly as possible, I fed from Fenris while I nibbled on my meal. I knew he felt it based on the surge in his lust, but he gave nothing away.
After we cleaned up, Megan dragged me into the guest room so we could change clothes. It felt so good to have her back in my life. She was the same hopeless Megan when it came to fashion and let me dictate her makeup and hair.
When it came time to put on our dresses, she teased me when I turned my back on her, but it wasn’t mean or judgmental. She accepted me as I was, just as Fenris did.
However, when I turned around and she saw the front of my dress, she howled with delight.
“Tell me Fenris hasn’t seen this yet.”
“He has. But with body paint to cover up the middle.” I reached into my bag for the paint, but the jar was missing. Panicked, I dumped the contents onto the bed.
“I know I packed it. Where is it? I can’t go like this.”
Megan took me by the arms and turned me around. A hint of flame showed in her eyes.
“You are gorgeous. The dress is stunning. You don’t need paint to hide a thing.”
I gave her a dry look and pointed to the glowing spot in the valley of my breasts.
“It makes the dress,” she said firmly. “It’s pretty and interesting like you. And it’s a mark of who you are and how far you’ve come if you can walk out of this room indifferent to its existence. If you own it, it doesn’t own you.”
I gave her a small smile.
“I missed you so much,” I said.
She hugged me hard and started to sniffle. I jerked back and gave her a warning look.
“Don’t cry or we’ll have to redo your makeup.”
“Or I could go without it.”
“Not a chance, Fury. I want Oanen to see you in all your glory.”
She pulled back and grinned at me wickedly.
“He already has.”
I wrinkled my nose at her, and she laughed.
“Come on. I want to see Fenris’s face when he
looks at you.”
I shook my head at Megan since Fenris had already seen me in the dress. It didn’t matter, though. Based on the guys’ stunned expressions when we came downstairs and the explosion of lust, they liked what they saw.
Fenris’s gaze traveled my length, and a slight tremble rocked through him. When he finally lifted his gaze to mine, I could see his need, and the smile that stretched my lips didn’t quite feel like me. At least, not the version of me that I was comfortable with. The moment my smile started to falter, he stepped toward me.
“Don’t. Stay just like you are. You’re perfect.”
That thing inside of me basked in his praise, and my smile returned. He shivered when I glided closer to him and ran a finger along his jaw.
“I can feel your need,” I said softly. “I want more.”
Something dropped to the floor as his arms came around me. I didn’t care. I needed his lips against mine. He groaned and gave me what I wanted.
“Don’t mess my makeup, or she’ll kill me.”
Megan’s words brought me back to reality. I pulled away from Fenris and saw Oanen was kissing the heck out of Megan.
“I’m sorry,” I said, quickly reeling in all the things I’d been feeling for Fenris that had influenced their behavior.
Oanen reluctantly allowed Megan to retreat. My friend’s eyes danced with fire as she grinned at me.
“Don’t be sorry. That shit is hot. Feel free to do it again, any time.”
Her attention shifted to Fenris, who was picking something up off the floor. He grinned at me as he held out my container of grey body paint.
“You took it?”
“I wanted to see you without it.”
I took the container from him and glanced down at the exposed strip of skin. Piepen’s mark wasn’t horrible. Its iridescent glow was actually kind of cool. How I’d gotten it still bothered me, but after seeing the way Fenris watched me without the paint, I decided it didn’t bother me enough to cover it up.
Fenris made a satisfied noise when I set the container on the table.
“Gran says that I can carry more than one person when I hell gate. Want to give it a try?”
“I’d rather not tempt fate by visiting hell in person,” I said. “Could we carpool instead?”
