by K. N. Banet
“Not that I can think of,” he said, taking my hand and kissing it. “I’m used to keeping this secret, and some of it I’ve tried to forget. I’m not part of that circle anymore, and repeating this sort of information could get me into trouble. When I walked away, I swore I would never mention stuff I talked about with other Alphas, and we weren’t…friends yet.”
“You’ve tried to dump it,” I said softly. “So you were never a vulnerability to the werewolves.”
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “And when it comes to fae? I was a client to some, but the rules about werewolves and fae tangling were unspoken. A pack would go to war if a fae was stupid enough to screw with a pack member. If that pack was big enough, it could spiral out to several issues. So, everyone played nice and paid their bills on time. It kept us working together as a community, say if I needed fae charms on my vehicles, but we’re not a particularly close two species. So, I only know certain things, general public and open information. Brion leaving and Cassius abdicating the throne was a political firestorm. It trickled out to us over the years. The fae don’t gossip outside their own, but an overheard word here and there, and we already knew Brion was gone, and Oisin jumped into the open Tribunal spot.”
“And let me guess, none of it matters to the werewolf Alpha who had a pack to run, so long as their businesses were still open,” I finished for him.
“Exactly.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “Jacky, twice in one week, I’ve lost my temper—”
“Twice in a week, you’ve been confronted with something that could hurt your family.” I knew better than to accept this apology. “Not telling you about Brion rightfully earned your anger with me, but I won’t apologize for it, and I won’t accept an apology for a reaction I deserved. So, let’s just drop it?”
He sighed, nodding. “You’re lucky I’m madly in love with you.” He gave me a small, playful smile.
“You’re lucky everyone blames this sort of trouble on me,” I retorted with a smile as well, taunting and devious. I wanted to flirt with him, tease him, be normal for a minute, and his smile was the invitation I had needed.
“Excuse me? I am not the root of this.” He seemed deeply offended, but his smile grew.
“I would have never met Brion and his family if not for needing to run away with Carey,” I reminded him and watched him pale. I hadn’t meant to do that. His scent locked down, but not before I caught a whiff of guilt as he realized I was right. “Heath—”
“You’re right, aren’t you? I was right.” He looked away. “I really did bring all this trouble to your life.”
“I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s fine,” he whispered, kissing my cheek before he walked past me and headed inside.
We had been doing so well for three years, testing the waters and finally becoming lovers, making our own sanctuary out of my territory.
Why did I feel like the honeymoon phase was over?
I followed him inside after a few minutes. Looking at Fiona and Rian, uncomfortably sitting in my living room, I eyed them for a moment, wondering how much trouble this could bring me. It was the more immediate problem. I was guarding the human wife of a fae king, and it didn’t seem like anyone really knew who the enemy was.
It was, in its own way, much less complicated than my recent problems with Heath Everson. My heart wasn’t on the line with the fae, only my life.
Hasan wouldn’t agree with my priorities, but one of my family would.
“When either of you is in contact with the fae, who do you talk to?” I asked.
“No one important,” Rian answered. “Normally, one of my older brothers, someone who can pass the word along about things going on, like you. For a long time, we were just an obscure and useless fae family. No one paid us any mind because we didn’t mean anything to them. It was really easy to do because the fae don’t give a damn about you unless you’re nobility, then how much they care depends on the type of nobility. Are you a minor lord with a single holding who answers to someone else? Are you a knight who fights for a specific person? These things are messy and complicated, but if you have none of those claims, you might as well be invisible.”
“Like humans,” Heath said from his place by my kitchen. “The politician doesn’t normally know the name of the factory worker.” He directed that at me. “They’re not like werewolves. I knew the name of every single werewolf in my pack.”
“Yeah, I get it,” I murmured. “So, you just stayed under the radar, a fae family no one cared about. Good. That might help keep you safe.” I nodded at Fiona. “Maybe not you, Rian. If your father comes out on top, you know it’s going to make you a fae prince, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Rian mumbled, keeping his head down.
“We understand what’s happening, Ms. Leon,” Fiona said tightly.
“Do you?” Heath asked. He didn’t wait for a response, walking into the kitchen.
“This can go quietly,” I said as I walked into the kitchen behind him. “There’s a chance everyone is going after Brion, and we’ll be left alone.”
“There’s a chance,” he agreed. “I don’t know the odds because I don’t know who his enemies are.”
“One seems pretty obvious. If Brion goes back, Oisin loses his spot on the throne,” I said with a shrug. “Right?”
“Yes.”
“So, we know the Tribunal fae king can come for us. Brion already confirmed that, actually,” I said, putting my hands on the counter. “Therefore, whoever might work for Oisin is the enemy. Alvina must be the fae he doesn’t know about.”
“Agreed,” Heath said, leaning next to me on the built-in island, able to stare at each other. “The rest of the Tribunal won’t join in unless Hasan discovers you’re involved.”
“Which is why he won’t know because then everything comes crumbling down. What about Callahan and Corissa? Would they care about your involvement?”
“They would care, but if I got myself killed, they wouldn’t blame the fae. They would see it as me paying the price for the decisions I’ve made. They wouldn’t retaliate on Brion. They’re not my family.”
“So, asking them for help if we find trouble…”
“Would be completely pointless,” Heath said, nodding. “We don’t know the odds we’re going to find trouble.”
“No, we don’t. I can only imagine how many enemies a fae king has who might want his wife and son in their hands to get him to yield.”
“Too many,” Heath agreed. “Why don’t you head to bed?”
“What?” I frowned.
“Get some sleep. We were headed that way, anyway. You go get some sleep, and I’ll keep an eye on these two. We can switch off at dawn or something.”
“I would really like if—”
“Not tonight,” he whispered. Before I had a chance to even make a remark, he reached out and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me into his embrace. He nuzzled into my neck, his black hair soft on my cheek. “It’s not you. It’s not us.” There was no lie there. “It’s safety. They should have someone with them as much as possible.” He pulled back, his arms still around me. “You should know that.”
“You stomped off, and I didn’t like how you did that. I didn’t like what you said before you left me outside, either,” I countered.
“Tomorrow,” he murmured, his lips drifting over mine. His scent held nothing about his emotional state. “I have too much on my mind with the fae to talk about us.” He slowly pushed me out of the kitchen and to the bottom of my stairs.
I went up the steps, knowing I could give him a few days to think whatever he needed to.
I needed a few days as well.
11
Chapter Eleven
When I woke up, I knew Landon was in the house, below me in the kitchen with Heath. After so long, I didn’t really notice the werewolves with my territory magic unless they were doing something out of the ordinary, or I was purposefully watching out for them. Landon being in or around m
y home for the second time in a week was out of the ordinary.
The second thing I noticed was Heath’s scent on the pillow next to mine. He’d come up at some point and laid down when he’d told me he wouldn’t. I didn’t know whether to feel elated about that or upset, so I decided to ignore it.
I showered before thinking about doing anything, taking my time to face the potentially angry second werewolf and son of my lover. Today, I knew I had to pay attention to him. Landon and I were easy enough around each other. I respected him, and he respected me. He trusted me with a couple of his secrets, and he was willing to help me if I needed it, but we were not really friends. Allies through his Alpha was probably the most apt way to look at it. He would never let me run off with his father without making sure I knew what I needed to help his father or to keep his father alive. I knew he disagreed with the relationship I had with Heath. He thought it was stupid and dangerous.
Maybe this would finally cross the line.
The running water in my shower kept me from hearing any conversations. I wished I could scrub out the fae magic. Waking up, knowing I’d made a fae bargain that could blow up in my face, left me feeling weirdly dirty. I remembered how it hooked into my heart and bound me.
I blow-dried my hair for speed once I was out of the shower, then dressed in something comfortable I could easily move in. While on Duty, I needed to be ready for violence at any time. That line of thinking made me grab my holster and my sidearm from the bedside table drawer.
I heard nothing from the werewolves in my kitchen as I walked out of my bedroom and went downstairs. They would know I could hear them and had stopped talking. Instead, I heard and focused on the rustling of plastic bags, ignoring the sleeping Fiona and Rian in the living room. Fiona’s son had taken the floor as an adult son should, leaving the couch for his mother. I could hear what Hasan would say about that if he saw it.
Good boy, taking care of your mother.
I stopped when I could finally see into my kitchen and saw it wasn’t only the werewolves. Dirk was with them, silently emptying bags from a local grocery store and stocking my home. Heath’s nostrils flared, and he turned with a smile.
“Good morning,” he murmured, coming to me. “You haven’t been down as long as I thought you would be.”
“You came to bed,” I whispered, eyeing him.
“Landon knew I wouldn’t sleep and came over so I could get some shuteye. He took Carey to Dirk and Oliver’s. They watched her until the stores opened and Dirk could pick up supplies. Landon woke me, so he could help Oliver with Carey while Dirk went out.”
“Where’s Carey right now?”
“At the bar with Oliver. I wanted her out of my hair. She doesn’t know what’s going on except that you were called to Duty as she had once done to you.”
“You’re keeping us apart,” I said, knowing he was dancing around that.
“I don’t want you to have to decide between saving Carey or saving Fiona,” Heath said, swallowing. “I don’t want to be in that situation, either.”
“There would be no decision. We’d save Carey and break the bargain with a fae king,” I said, huffing. “Yeah, keeping her out of this is…definitely for the best, isn’t it?”
“I can manage Carey,” Landon said, coming up behind his father. I expected to see him angry and to say something pithy about the ill-fated relationship I had with Heath. Instead, his eyes were sharp, as if he was ready to go to war.
But not with me.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “For helping.”
“Anything for family,” Landon said, nodding to me.
“Am I family? Are we finally at that point?” I was genuinely surprised, my mouth dropping open. Heath reached out and closed it, gracing me with a smile, then went back to helping Dirk.
“Yes, we are at that point. You are part of the pack, and you are part of the family,” he said as he emptied another bag of groceries.
“I’m not a werewolf,” I reminded him. He looked up and gave me his perfected blank stare.
“I would never dream of treating you like a werewolf. If I could, I would have already smacked you all around the county to keep you out of trouble.”
“Landon,” Heath said, his warning filled with humor. “Be nice.”
“He is,” I mumbled. That made everyone in the kitchen laugh. I jumped in to help them, and we got everything put away quickly. Fiona and Rian didn’t move, our noise not even rousing them. Once everything was done, I looked out at them, frowning. “They must have been exhausted. I should have realized it last night. They’ve been running for their lives.”
“We were taken off guard,” Heath reminded me.
“It doesn’t matter; I should have noticed. She’s in my protection.” I didn’t bother trying to hide the touch of guilt I felt.
“I noticed,” Heath said softly. When I gave him a sharp look, he continued, “After you went to bed, I’m the one who got them the blankets and pillows. They’ll be fine. Fiona is human, but I think she understands this didn’t happen the way things should. Normally, Duty doesn’t need a fae bargain to hold it in place.”
“A fae king would never leave anything to chance,” Landon commented. “He’s going to do anything in his power to keep what is his safe. So, he added another layer of protection.”
“Dirk, do you know anything?” I asked, turning to my human, and he sighed heavily.
“Well, I could, but I would have to reach out to Niko. I know how to bargain. I’ve seen them pass through home, talking to Niko about things. He’s the most outgoing of the family when it comes to other species. He told me how he had a fae as a lover for about twenty years, but it was well before I was born.” Dirk pulled out his phone and put it on the counter. “You decide. Do I call him?”
“No, that wouldn’t end well for us,” I answered, only needing a moment to think about it. “He would have to tell someone else in the family, and it would get back to Hasan.”
“Then Hasan, ruler of the werecats and member of the Tribunal, would join the fight,” Heath said softly. “We’ve already discussed what happens if we go down that path.”
“We have,” I agreed. “This is just us. We make do with who and what we have. Luckily, Rian is a fae, so maybe he has some tricks up his sleeve if we need them. He might be able to answer more questions.” Although I didn’t even know what to ask.
“He doesn’t even know his brother’s name,” Landon said with a growl of distaste. “He’s as useful as far as I can throw him. Family doesn’t hide from each other. Brion was a fool.”
“Landon, let’s not call an ancient fae king, first of the sidhe, a fool,” Heath said, his words full of patience and an undercurrent of Alpha power—an order wrapped in the tone of a loving and indulgent father.
“What does that mean?” I asked, crossing my arms. “First of the sidhe?”
They all looked at me, but it was Heath who dared to ask the question.
“How much do you know about fae history?”
“Not enough and less than my father would have probably wanted me to go into the world with.” I looked at Dirk, who shrugged.
“Not part of my education.”
“Of course, and there’s been no reason to break it down for you since we’ve met,” Heath said with a heavy sigh. “I know some general facts about their ancient lore. It’s required for an Alpha werewolf to have a basic understanding in case they ever find themselves dealing with the fae. Oberon and Titania are not sidhe. They’re the parents of the sidhe, god-like beings who were once a couple. They had several children as they moved around, which created terms like Irish fae and Scottish fae. Their children used to stay in the places where they were born...mostly. Brion is their firstborn, the first of the sidhe. For a time, he was alone, the only sidhe if you think about it before that name was even applied to their children.”
“You should know the sidhe are the youngest but most powerful of the fae,” Landon added.
�
�What?” I blinked.
“Brownies, trolls, goblins…all real. All fae,” Landon said, shrugging. “But anything that comes from the fae lands is fae. So, that’s what we call them.”
“Like we’re all technically human, but we’re moon cursed humans, making us werecats and werewolves.” I needed the real-world example from my own life.
“Very close,” Heath agreed. “So, the sidhe are one type of fae, coming from the union of Oberon and Titania…and others. At some point, Oberon and Titania went their separate ways and found other lovers. Humans. Now, the royal family is specifically only the children from their union. The children they had separately with humans are what you could think of as clans. They each started a line of different powers. Those children are the ones you would think of as light and dark or summer and winter fae, whatever lore you wish to pull them from. Most people go with light and dark, but it’s more complicated. I wouldn’t recommend becoming a fae scholar at any point. Believe me, it would make your head explode.”
“I mean, it sounds like it should be pretty simple. Royal family, clans.”
“Interbreeding, loss of power in this world, bad mythologies from around the world,” Landon said. “Added to that, only the purest of the fae from each clan really care about their clan and hold any power. Most of the sidhe have lost track of those bloodlines or are too weak to care anymore, and no one cares about those fall-offs and who they marry which it sounds as though Brion and his family were pretending to be.”
“This is made more complicated by their lifespans and the realms they live in,” Heath continued. “They’re not from our world. They’re from the fae realms, where time moves differently. I don’t know how, but I once met a child fae at the Market with her parents. She wanted to meet her first werewolf, and after some discussion, her parents realized I wouldn’t eat their child and let me. Three years later, I was back in the Market, and she was an old woman with grandchildren. She saw me and asked if I could be the first werewolf they could meet.” Heath had this distant, heartbroken look as he traveled through memories I hadn’t heard yet.
