by M. J. Haag
Ignoring them, I looked at Brenna.
“Speaking of built men, I saw Thallirin jump on the wall to help you. I’m glad he was there.”
She nodded.
“Why are you afraid of him?” I asked.
All subtle movement stopped.
Brenna looked down at her hands.
“It’s not just him,” she said. “I don’t like to be touched.”
“Then, tell him that. If there’s one thing I learned while getting to know Shax, it’s that open, clear communication is key. Plus, you’re way too badass to meekly scurry into the house with the pregnant womenfolk when he points. That kind of reaction will give the fey all kinds of crazy ideas.”
“Yeah. Like we’ll suddenly start listening to them,” Eden said with a snigger.
The door opened, and Drav stepped in.
“The houses are clear, and Matt is on his way.”
Chapter Twenty
I walked with Mya and the rest of the women toward the entry circle. Drav had said that many of the other survivors were already there. Those who weren’t, we saw along the way. Carol and Harry’s heads were on the ground near their house, the door broken in and marked with a bloody handprint.
Garrett was standing near them, looking down. I broke away from the group and went to him.
“Hey,” I said. “Are you okay?”
He exhaled heavily.
“Yeah. For all the trouble Carol and Harry caused, I never wanted this to happen.”
“No one did.”
I reached for his hand, but a low growl stopped me.
“No touching Garrett,” Shax said from just behind us.
Garrett paled, but I grinned and turned around.
“I’d kiss you to prove you have nothing to worry about, but you have a little blood on you.”
He didn’t have a little. Shax was covered in blood from head to toe. It plastered his clothes and matted his hair. Garrett was spotless. Based on his wet hair, I figured he’d just come from showering.
“Are the rest of your housemates okay?” I asked him.
“Yeah. They’re inside.”
“Did you know these people?” Shax asked.
“These are two of the people who lived with me.”
“The people who ate Angel's food?” Shax asked.
“Yep. The very same,” I said.
Shax growled low.
“There's no point in that anymore, Shax. They're dead.”
He grunted and looked down the street where Mya and the others were walking.
“You should stay with them. It's safer.”
“No, it's safer with you and Garrett. Besides, why do we need to go to the wall anyway?”
“Matt is coming. He will take the survivors to Tenacity.”
“That still doesn't answer why I have to be there.”
“You will help decide who can stay.” Shax looked at Garrett and crossed his arms.
“Crap,” Garrett said under his breath.
“You know I'm going to vote for Garrett to stay, right?”
Shax grunted, and I reached for Garrett's hand again, despite Shax's warning growl.
“Is Drav your brother?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“By blood? Do you have the same mother and father?”
“I do not know.”
“And if you did know, would you still call him your brother even if he wasn't related by blood?”
“Yes.”
“And the baby I'm carrying? Will you call this your child even though you didn't help make it?”
He frowned, another low warning growl emanating from him.
“I really wish you’d stop annoying him,” Garrett said softly.
“I'll take that as a yes,” I said to Shax. “So, then you’ll understand how I feel about Garrett. He’s like a brother to me.”
Shax studied Garrett.
“Do you want to be her brother?”
Garrett’s hold on my hand changed. Where I’d been the one keeping the connection before, now he was.
“I’d like that a lot.”
Shax uncrossed his arms with a long exhale.
“You can be Angel’s brother like Ryan is Mya's brother. You will help me protect Angel.”
“I will,” Garrett said.
Shax grunted. “You can stay.”
I grinned and started dragging Garrett toward the rest of our group.
“Come on, let's go talk about your citizenship.”
When we arrived, the group of women from Mya's house gathered in a cluster. The survivors stood near the wall. It was sad to see the number so greatly reduced. But, there was no taunting or yelling this time. Too many had been lost for the hatred to push its way through the grief.
A rumble outside the wall brought many of the people out of their shell-shocked stupors.
Brenna, who stood on the wall under Thallirin’s watchful eye, called out.
“Matt Davis is here with the trucks.”
Fey came leaping over the walls, the number of them swelling and outnumbering the survivors. One of the fey brought Matt over and set the man on his feet.
Matt’s gaze swept over the crowd and found Mya and Drav. He walked up to them and spoke loudly so everyone could hear.
“I’m sorry it took so long. Thank you for housing my people and keeping them safe.”
“Safe?” someone yelled. “Look around you.”
Matt did, his gaze flitting over the infected bodies nearby and a few of the survivor bodies further away before he faced his people.
“Whiteman wasn’t safe. With each breach, we were losing more and more of our number. We couldn’t stay there. Mya and Drav willingly offered the use of Tolerance as a refuge for us while we started building Tenacity. Since you entered these walls, Mya and Drav have been sending me updates daily, and I’ve been doing the same.
“The losses we have suffered today are tragic and should be viewed as a lesson.
“The fey, alone, cannot keep you safe. Walls alone cannot keep you safe. You alone cannot keep your loved ones safe. The only way we will ever have a chance is if we stop segmenting ourselves and start working together as a united front to face the infected.
“I look around at those who have fallen, and I feel deep sorrow for those they’ve left behind and humanity as a whole. Our numbers are dwindling. We can try to find fault, or we can take responsibility. One will see the end of us and one might just save our race.”
He turned to Drav and Mya and indicated the crowd.
“Your turn,” he said.
Mya stepped forward.
“Matt’s right. It’s time to set differences aside and start living together for a better future. But, we’re not going to force a peace you don’t want. Those who want to leave and live at Tenacity can head for the ladders. However, know that there will be no fey there to guard the walls they helped build. That is on you. And supplies will not be delivered like before. That is on you, too.”
Several outcries were made, and Matt raised his hands.
“The fey will go on supply runs daily, and anyone who needs food is welcome to go with them and gather what they need. There will be no handouts. We don’t own the fey, and they owe us nothing.”
“And if we stay here they’ll guard the walls and keep giving us supplies?” an angry voice asked. “Is this your way of trying to whore more of us out?”
“No,” Mya said. “Those who want to stay will need to prove they know how to live with the fey. People who use them and their generosity and give nothing in return will not be welcome here.”
“Some of us aren’t willing to sleep with a fey to get their help,” another voice said.
“I can’t believe you assholes are still judging,” Eden said. “Did you not see what happened? Those of us sleeping with the fey appear to be immune to infected bites.”
Matt glanced at Mya.
“Is that true?” he asked.
“Eden was bitten and didn’t tur
n. Female survivors not having physical relations with the fey were bitten and did turn.”
“I believe it might have to do with fluid exchange,” Cassie said.
“Bring on the baby batter,” Emily said under her breath.
“Is it true?” someone asked.
“This is bullshit. They’re just trying to make us sex slaves?”
“What about the men? I ain’t into dudes but have no problem with the fey.”
Matt raised his arms again to quiet the crowd for Mya.
“This information isn’t a ploy to force relationships. We don’t even know if it’s true or not. It's speculation.”
“And not something we’re willing to test on others,” Cassie said clearly.
“You have a decision to make,” Matt said loudly. “Tenacity or Tolerance. Both have rules. Stealing supplies will get you booted from either place.
“If you want to stay at Tolerance, you need permission from Mya and the other women. If you want to stay in Tolerance, you accept their housing assignments which very well could be with one of the fey. You will not need to go on supply runs if you stay at Tolerance, but you will need to pull your weight.”
“If you want to stay in Tenacity, Matt will welcome anyone,” Mya said. “Like in Tolerance, you will need to pull your weight. Matt will continue to assign duties based on your capabilities. Unlike in Tolerance, you will be allowed to choose your own living companions.”
Grumbles started when she finished.
“Or you can strike out on your own,” Drav said loudly. “No one is forcing you to choose either place.”
“There’s the ladder,” Mya said, pointing.
People who wanted to stay approached our group. Most of them were women with a few men thrown in. The married couples were assigned to stay with a fey on a probationary basis. Single women were assigned a fey roommate at random. It was like Christmas for the fey.
The majority of the survivors went to the trucks.
Matt came over to talk to me since I didn’t have much input for the group when deciding who should stay.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Good.”
“Heard the cat’s out of the bag.”
“It is. The fey are in love with the idea of babies, so it’s not as bad as I’d thought it would be.”
“And this one?” Matt asked, nodding to my right.
I glanced over and saw Shax striding my way with a scowl on his face. He was clean and wearing shorts and nothing else.
“That one loves me,” I said with a smile.
When Shax reached me, I stood on my toes to press my lips to his.
“And I love him, too,” I whispered.
Epilogue
Sweaty and sated, I lay in Shax’s arms. Outside, I heard the low rumble of a plane passing overhead and jumped out of bed.
“Come on. Let’s go.”
“They still need to land and return here with news,” Shax said, not getting out of bed. “We have time.”
“Not if you want to help me shower,” I turned my back to him and exaggerated my walk on the way to the bathroom.
His hands cupped my breasts before I reached the shower. Once he’d learned that he had the cure to infection, he’d been doing his best to vaccinate me. And I was loving it.
Thirty minutes later, I was dressed and sitting at the table when Garrett let himself in.
“Did you hear it?” he asked, pulling up a chair.
In the days since the infected break-in, Garrett had grown more comfortable around Shax. The other fey were treating him like another Ryan, too. A helpful human male to be protected. There weren’t many who could claim that status.
“Yep. That’s why I managed to sneak out of bed.”
“If you start going into details again, I’m leaving without you,” Garrett said.
I grinned.
“All I said at the last meeting was that Shax needed more clothes. Dawnn’s the one who said the fey’s equipment matched their height, and the pants you get on supply runs need to be loose enough or the whole world’s going to know which way they hang.”
“Then you and Eden started comparing which way your men hung. It’s not something a brother should hear. Back me up on this one, Shax,” he said as Shax walked into the room, wearing loose-fitting athletic shorts.
“Why does hearing about my cock bother you? It does not bother me to hear about Ghua’s cock or how he uses it to get Eden to say funny things. Sharing stories is how you learn.”
Garrett dropped his head into his hands in defeat while I laughed my ass off.
“You should come with me to talk to Ghua,” Shax said. “Maybe you can learn something, too.”
“Nope. I think I’ll stick with Ryan and focus on supply runs. Are you going to finish that cereal or keep laughing?” Garrett asked me.
I quickly drank my milk and got my jacket on. Together, the three of us went to Mya’s house where the rest of the couples were already gathered.
It didn’t take long before a fey and a human also arrived.
“Any news?” Drav asked.
Although Whiteman’s base no longer housed humans, a few fey continued to guard the remaining planes, the only means we had of monitoring the world beyond the borders of the supply runs.
“We spotted several signs of survivors to the west. Vehicles driving and groups of infected gathered not far behind them. We kept our distance from the vehicles but used the plane to distract the infected. We’ve given Matt the coordinates so the next search party can check it out.”
“But no sign of Molev?” Mya asked.
“No,” the fey answered.
The group was quiet.
“Then we keep searching,” I said.
“And until we find him, we’ll continue what we’ve been doing,” Mya said. Around the room, everyone agreed.
Since the break-in, we’d decided to stop surviving and start living. Granted, we lived in the eye of an apocalyptic storm. There was no denying that. But we were embracing it. The supply runs were for more than just supplies, now, and they were equally manned with fey and humans. What we needed to make Tolerance and Tenacity self-sufficient havens was almost complete.
We just needed spring to arrive. I set my hand on my belly, a sense of anticipation building. I couldn’t wait for the next step in our journey.
Spring would be a new beginning all around.
Thank you for reading Demon Night! Want to know as soon as the next one is ready? Sign up for my newsletter at MJHaag.melissahaag.com/subscribe!
Authors Note
Thank you for reading Demon Night! Angel’s story was just too fun to write, and I’m excited to dive into the next story. But who to choose? There’s the question of where Molev went, Thallirin’s hopeful interest in Brenna, and whatever’s going on between Hannah and Merdon. Not going to lie…that last one is brewing up to something intriguing.
As you can see, I have some ideas but I want to know who you’d like next. Sign up for my newsletter at mjhaag.melissahaag.com/subscribe and cast your vote!
While we wait for the votes to roll in, I’ll be expanding another world I’ve created. That’s right! That Beastly Tales will not be the only fairy tale retelling after 2019. Watch for the Tales of Cinder this summer. It’ll be dark and full of conflict and sex and maybe some conflicting-sex. We’ll just have to wait and see on that one. I’m still writing. ;)
If you want to keep up to date on what I’m working on, join my facebook fan group, MJ’s Curvy Cartel. Hope to see you there!
Series Reading Order
Resurrection Chronicles
Demon Ember
Demon Flames
Demon Ash
Demon Escape
Demon Deception
Demon Night
*More to come!
Beastly Tales
Depravity
Deceit
Devastation
* * *
Tales of Cinder
&n
bsp; Disowned (Prequel)
Defiant
* * *
Connect with the author
Website: MJHaag.melissahaag.com/
Newsletter: MJHaag.melissahaag.com/subscribe
