by Kaye Draper
His glittering emerald eyes were like daggers. "Knife?" He glanced at his long, thin, deadly as fuck weapon.
I heaved a sigh. "You usually have two of those, you know? Where's the other one?"
He let go of the fae sword and it shimmered and blinked out of existence. His green eyes met mine again and he gave me a sad grimace. "I could only call the one." The power that had been rolling off him sucked back inside with an audible snap. His eyes rolled back in his head and his slender form crumpled to the floor like someone had just cut his strings.
"Oh, fucksticks!" I breathed, rushing to him and pulling him into my arms.
Oisin barely had enough magic left to heal himself, let alone pull powerful auras and yank magical blades out of thin air. I was such an asshole. I scooped him into a bridal carry and headed to the bedroom, wondering why he let us all stay here. Clearly, he should just stab my ass and be done with it.
Chapter 5
I carried the unconscious fae to my room and lay him on the bed in what was getting to be a far too familiar routine these days. I probably should have taken him to his own room, I supposed, given how pissed he'd been. But fuck that. This was where he belonged, and he was just going to have to deal with it.
I moved around the bed, gently taking off his shiny shoes and arranging his head on the pillow, as if he cared about neck kinks when he was fucking unconscious.
Growling softly at myself, I tried to get a grip. I was fussing like Kai. Like a clingy fucking octopus. But the sight of Oisin lying there passed out made my chest clench and my palms sweat. It reminded me of days spent hoping he'd wake up. And that he'd be himself when he did.
Feeling like a perv, I glanced at Oisin's perfect features to make sure he was still out before I lifted his sweater, pushing the soft cashmere up over his flat stomach to reveal his chest. I let out a soft breath at the feel of smooth, pale, unblemished skin under my hand. The runes the mages and Cardoc had burned into my fae were gone. The red marks from a few days before were completely faded out as if they'd never existed.
"It still hurts sometimes," Oisin's soft, silky voice startled me and I found him staring down his perfect nose at me. He lifted a graceful hand to touch the spot directly between his nipples, where one of the runes had been. "I know it's in my head, but it feels so real. Like burning worms beneath my skin."
I moved without thinking, forgetting we were almost-strangers now. Brushing his hand aside, I pressed my lips to his skin in the spot where the runes had been, at his solar plexus and over his heart. His hand caressed my hair before I sat up to meet his shimmering gemstone eyes.
He sat up and pulled his shirt down. "I reacted like a child," he said, reaching up a hand and doing that weird gesture again—like he was going to do something, then aborted the movement at the last minute.
My heart broke when I realized what it was—he was reaching for his braid, the long hair he was always flipping around when he was agitated. "I apologize," he continued. "It's not that I question your decisions about the pride, not really. I just--"
I reached out and took his hand, the one that had forgotten he'd been shaved by his captors. "You're hurting still," I said, taking a stab at that emoting thing. "I get it."
He sighed and pulled his hand away to sit over the edge of the bed beside me. "It might help if I wasn't weak as a Godsdamned kitten."
"Yeah," I said with a laugh. "It has to suck not being able to bat your eyes and make everyone do your bidding. You're such a…peasant now."
He gave me a sideways look that told me he was considering snark. He didn't say anything, but hey, it was the thought that counted, right?
Oisin had spoken with his sister the night before. He knew he was a king now. I didn't know how we were going to survive his ego, once he was feeling better and thought to lord it over us all.
"Do you think it would help to shift?" I asked.
He gave me a look and I shrugged. "I know fae animal forms aren't the same as a true shifter but…when I'm injured or…stressed, it feels good to be in gryphon form. And I heal faster."
He bit his bottom lip with his sharp little teeth, and I told my gryphon to stop when I recalled in vivid detail what it felt like to have him to bite my lips. He was hurting, for fuck's sake.
"It's not a bad idea," he said finally, making me drag my mind away from its place in the gutter. "My stag form connects me to the earth—energies flow differently when I'm wearing that form.”
I slapped my knees and stood. "Great. It'll be good for the rest of us too. Gods know we could all stand to burn off some stress with a good run."
White's babysitting gig wouldn't start for a few days still, so we could take the whole pride with us. Con would be home any time now from his part time work, so it was perfect. I just had to get the mage to watch the bookstore and we'd be set.
Sometimes I'm pretty delusional.
The others were as excited as I was to be able to spend some time in animal form. And Con wanted to hike around the woods looking for plants to experiment on with his witchy talents.
What I didn't anticipate was yet another argument with Halstad. The mage crossed his thick arms over his burly chest and glared at me. He'd taken the time to scrape off the beard and wipe the mud off his boots since he got here, but he still managed to look rough and scruffy, with his shoulder-length, dishwater blond hair escaping its loose ponytail and his eyes crinkled at the corners while he ass-eyed me. "I'm coming with you."
I huffed. "Halstad. You're not even a shifter. Why the hell are you so adamant on coming with us to tromp around in the freezing woods?"
He smirked at me. "You natural-born animals just think you're hot shit, don't you? No way could anyone else have an animal spirit. I shift just fine, I'll have you know. I worked my ass off to cultivate a relationship with my animal essence." He turned to pull on his jacket. "Besides, you lot can't go more than ten seconds without trying to get your fool asses into trouble. It wouldn't hurt to have a mage along, sweetheart."
I growled at him, even if it was pretty damned impressive that he could shift. Who was this guy? "You're an asshole."
He smiled. "Thank you."
Throwing up my hands, I marched down the stairs to join the others. "Halstad's coming with us," I muttered, getting my jacket off the coat rack and stuffing my arms into the sleeves forcefully, like I was punching a mage.
"We don't need the company of a mage on our run," Oisin said, with that deadly softness in his voice.
I gave him a warning look. "He won't touch you. I promise. There's nothing to worry about."
It was the wrong thing to say. Oisin straightened his spine and glared down his nose at me, looking haughty, but ridiculously young with his short hair and exposed ears. "I'm not worried about anything, gryphon. I simply can't stand the stench of unwashed caveman when I'm in person form, let alone in my animal form."
Halstad entered the room and the fae sneered, then turned and walked out the door, making the bells jangle extra hard when he slammed it.
I rolled my eyes. "Con? Maybe go talk to him?" Gods knew Oisin wouldn't admit to me he was scared of mages. And he wasn't going to let Hisashi comfort him. And Kai would just use the excuse to harass him or try to get laid.
My human gave me a wry smile that said he knew exactly what I was thinking and rushed outside after the fae.
I turned to Halstad. "You stay the fuck out of his way, okay?"
The mage just stared at me, and I couldn't fathom what he was thinking behind those weird mismatched eyes. Fae eyes. He'd probably killed not one, but two people to get them and the power boost the body parts contained. "Hard as it is for me to not go around murdering every pointy-eared thing I see every day," he said in a sarcastic, acid tone, "I'll try make an exception, for now."
He pushed past me and the rest of us followed him outside. A light layer of puffy snow had coated everything, and the little town looked like something out of a Hallmark movie. It was magical. For all of about two seco
nds before Halstad ruined it. "Where the hell are you morons going?" he demanded, unclipping a ring of keys from his wizardly utility belt.
I arched a brow when he pointed to the Range Rover parked at the curb. "You have a car?"
He shook his head. "Of course I have a car. I'm a fucking functional adult. What the hell is wrong with you people?" He hauled himself into the driver's side and slammed the door.
I shook my head but got in the passenger seat. I had left my clan in disgrace, pissed off and empty-handed. I wouldn't have taken their damned money if they'd offered. Which they didn't at the time. I managed to make do with an old jalopy that was about one second from death. I mostly walked in town or took a ride-share when I had to go somewhere farther. That way I didn't risk my car needing a tow. Plus, it was only a two-seater.
Hisashi was even more broke and alienated than me. And Kai had been a slave until we rescued her. Con and Oisin both worked in town and walked or took cabs. We didn't need a car. You know, until we started getting involved in White's shit or taking trips to the airport on a semi-regular basis…or wanted to go anywhere together as a group.
I'd just said last week that we needed a damned car. And my newest, reluctant pride member just happened to have a giant Range Rover. Quite a coincidence.
"Nice ride," I commented to the mage, taking in the rugged interior, which perfectly accommodated me and my passel of assholes.
He shrugged. "Job perk."
I narrowed my eyes and tapped my fingers on the center console as we pulled out and headed toward the national forest. "Are you saying your boss gave it to you?"
He shrugged. "Weird, giving your slave a gift like that, but I wasn't about to turn it down. Rich folk just have a really weird sense of what's appropriate sometimes, you know?"
I looked out the window. "Oh, trust me, I know." Derek fucking White had just served me up a mage, a potential pride member, and a stupid car, for fuck's sake. I knew this was going to come back to bite me in the ass. Hard. And I still didn't know what his actual game was. Only that he seemed to think he owned me and my pride…and the whole damned city. He probably saw the car as outfitting his servants with better tools.
The fucker.
We pulled up to a dirt lot on state land and unloaded. A couple-mile walk took us deep enough into the forest at the base of the Porcupine Mountains so we could shift without being spotted by the odd sighted human.
Hisashi and I stripped down, stuffing our clothes into the backpack that Con carried. I glanced at the fox in surprise when he didn't hesitate. Usually, he wanted to undress in private, self-conscious of his body and worried about people's reactions. Apparently, there were some really stupid people out there—stupid enough to mock him for having extra equipment. But he was unconcerned today. It made me smile, knowing he didn't feel the need to hide from any of us. That he didn't fear being judged.
"Oh my Gods," Kai breathed from beside me. "No wonder Gesa's grinning."
I elbowed her in the ribs. "Shut up. That's not why."
Hisashi winked at us and shimmered, his tall, lean body morphing into his beautiful, white nine-tailed fox form. I followed, shifting to gryphon form to escape Kai's taunting.
We both turned to Oisin and I laughed when Hisashi pranced around the fae, nipping at his clothes and making weird little yipping noises. He was always more playful in his animal form, and he never missed a chance to annoy the fuck out of the rest of us.
Oisin swatted him away. "Off, dog."
Hisashi whined and pinned his ears to his head, then launched himself at the fae, the giant fox knocking the slender redhead to the ground to roll in the snowy leaf mold and twigs. Oisin cursed in elvish and shimmered, becoming a majestic stag.
It took longer than it used to, but when Oisin was done shifting, he shoved the fox away with his massive, twisting tangle of antlers and stood, shaking out his rippling red pelt.
The stag snorted and shook his rack, and even in animal form he managed to look arrogant, with a superior little lift of his head.
I trilled at him at him. Honestly, what a princess.
"Morons," Halstad muttered from behind me.
I turned my head to glare at him and found myself staring at a stark-naked mage, shivering in the light dusting of snow that covered the woods. Con finished stuffing Halstad's clothes in the backpack and zipped it up while I stared. Damn. Fucking asshole was ripped.
And it was cold outside and all but…Jesus, Buddha, and Odin that didn't uh, diminish anything.
He glared at me. "Enjoying the show?"
I pawed the ground and flexed my wings impatiently, clacking my beak for good measure.
"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. Then he started chanting something under his breath. His magic washed over him and he glowed for a minute there, right before he fucking melted.
I stepped back a few paces, hopping from foot to foot, wondering what had gone wrong. Fuck. Halstad was melting!
Then he seemed to just pour into another shape. One much smaller than his human form. I gaped as he solidified and shook out his fur.
Kai started laughing her ass off. Con grinned. "Well, that was unexpected," the human said, rubbing a hand over his lips to keep from laughing.
I paced over and stared down at the fluffy little ferret that had once been the burly, muscle-bound mage. If I had a human voice box, I'd be crowing with laughter. A ferret. I don't know what I'd expected, but definitely something bigger with as stocky as he was. Maybe a bear or a boar, possibly a wolverine—something grumpy. Not the adorable little ball of fur in front of me.
He stood up on his back legs and chittered at me, and I just knew he was cussing me out for judging him. I flapped my wings, making him fall to all fours and brace himself to keep from being swept away. Oisin's stag snorted.
Hisashi yipped and went running right at the little fluff ball, ears perked and nine fluffy tails waving. A look of utter oh fuck passed across the ferret's cute little face before he took off running into the woods.
"Oh Gods, that was the best thing I've seen in weeks," Kai snorted, holding her middle as she shook with laughter.
"He's not really going to eat the little guy, is he?" Con said, only half joking.
I shrugged one feather-and-fur-covered shoulder and turned away. Fuck if I cared. I was just glad Hisashi had someone else to bug for a while.
Kai and Con walked along together, since she wouldn't shift until we got to the water. I ambled along beside Oisin, nudging him with my shoulder. He regarded me with eyes that were way too green for a deer. I wanted to ask him if it was working, if it felt better now, being more connected with the earth magic that was second nature to his people. But all I could do was make a weird cooing sound in my throat.
He seemed to get it though, because he nudged me away with that massive rack of his and trotted away from me, swishing his short red tail as if telling me to fuck off.
I laughed internally. He must be feeling better if he was acting so much like his old self. He always hated when I worried about him.
I stretched out my legs and ran, racing the stag to the edge of Lake Superior. He was lighter on his feet than me, more nimble. But I had more sheer power, and in the end, we reached the rocky shore together.
Kai followed behind us, stopping to strip off her clothes and hand them to Con. She paused at the water's edge, reaching out to stroke Oisin's shoulder as he drank from the icy water. "Someday, you all need to come swim with me," she said wistfully.
We watched the curvy goddess wade out into the fucking frigid water as if it was a warm bath. Then she ducked under the surface and disappeared, somehow dodging the thick chunks of ice that floated on the waves.
Oisin shifted back to human form, fully clothed and wrapped in his long wool coat. Stupid fae. They weren't actually animals when they shifted, they were using magic to take on the form—kind of somewhere between shifting and illusion. So, he got to keep his fucking clothes.
"I saw a kraken once, as a child
," he breathed. "But not so close. Will she come close when she's in full shift?"
I tilted my head at him. Gods, it fucking hurt. He had seen her up close the last time we all came out here together. I leaned against him and he absently wrapped an arm around my neck, ruffling the feathers there.
Con ambled off with a botany book, muttering something about charms. Kai did eventually swim up closer, risking a strange sighting on satellite maps just so she could tease Oisin with her tentacles.
I watched my fae snark at the massive beast of legend and wondered if maybe he was remembering how he interacted with Kai in the past—he certainly sounded like himself.
I started when something rustled in the underbrush and a brown and white blur launched itself out of the bushes. It climbed up my haunches and ran up my back before I could react. The ferret gripped my feathered ruff with its tiny little paws, chattering up a storm, just as Hisashi burst out of the woods, his tongue lolling out of his head like a dog playing fetch.
I rolled my eyes skyward. Idiots.
But they were having fun for the first time in weeks. Hell, something told me Halstad had never had fun in his life. I let out a long sigh, the tension leaving my body. We might all be a little fucked up, but we were together.
On the way back, Hisashi took forever to shift back from fox form to human. I stayed with him and sent the others on ahead.
I told myself he was just messing around, lolly-gagging because he didn't want to stop running around the woods causing mischief.
But I saw the way the pretty beast trembled, the way his misty magic swirled up in mini tornadoes for just a second, before he finally managed to pull it back to him and shift. I handed my handsome fox his bundle of clothes and watched as he slipped them on in a hurry to keep from freezing his tail…uh, tails…off. "You okay?"
His ice-blue eyes met mine and he smiled. "Yeah, I'm great."
But his lips trembled a little and his hands shook, and I swear I felt a cold, ghostly hand trail down my back.
