Fated Heroes

by Brittany Cournoyer

  “What the hell is he going to do to help us? Blind them with his beauty?” I asked rudely.

  “He’s able to help more than you realize. We need to get back inside. NOW!” Nick whispered harshly and pointed to the restaurant. “And stay down.”

  With my heart in my throat, we stayed down in a crouch and moved back inside the building. Joshua saw us practically crawling inside and made a beeline toward us.

  “Come with me,” he said in a serious tone as we stood up. Gone was the sunny smile he’d graced us with only an hour earlier.

  Nick didn’t even hesitate to follow the pretty waiter to a room in the back. The rest of us followed them, and once we were enclosed in a storeroom, Joshua turned to look at us.

  “I see my warning was correct,” Joshua boasted grimly.

  “How did you know?” Nick asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

  Joshua rolled his beautiful eyes. “Really? I am the eyes and ears of this town. I see all and know all. But don’t worry, sweetie, I have a plan.”

  “What kind of plan?” Michael asked dubiously.

  “And why didn’t you warn all of us, instead of just Nick?” I couldn’t help but question.

  Joshua reached over and ran a possessive finger down Nick’s cheek and throat. “Let’s just say my mind and mouth was a little preoccupied.” Joshua smirked and then batted his ridiculously long eyelashes at me. “Please forgive me. But it’s obvious that the message got sent loud and clear.”

  That made us all chuckle, and Nick shifted uncomfortably as he asked, “So, this plan?”

  “Oh yes, the plan. My car is parked right behind this door. Swap me keys and take my car back to the hotel. You’ll be safe. I’ll meet you there when my shift is over.”

  “What about you? Won’t you be in danger?” Kimberly asked, her voice quaking.

  Joshua let out a chuckle and grabbed Kimberly up in a quick hug. “Oh, you are so adorable! Don’t worry about me, sugar. I will be just fine.”

  Nick fished the car keys out of his pocket and wordlessly handed them over to the waiter. Joshua in turn materialized a keychain out of thin air and deposited it into Nick’s outturned hand. I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my lips as I caught sight of the pink, sparkly keychain that read Diva in bold letters.

  “Not one word,” Nick warned.

  “I wasn’t going to say a thing,” I lied with a chuckle and bit down hard on my lip.

  Joshua grabbed Nick’s face and pressed a loud kiss to his lips before turning back to us. “Be careful, lovelies. I will see you in a little while,” he said with his stunningly beautiful smile and waved before walking away.

  “Let’s go,” Nick said and pushed open the back door.

  Nick hit the key fob and we saw the headlights flash on a black, nondescript sedan. We all shared looks of surprise at what Joshua drove. I thought we were all expecting something that matched his sparkly disposition, and the car in front of us was definitely not it. Then we looked inside.

  “Holy shit,” Kimberly gasped.

  “How about we get inside and then we can discuss his choice of interior,” Nick suggested with a voice laced in irritation.

  We all climbed in and took a minute to examine the interior of the car. The inside definitely made up for the disappointment we all felt for the outside of the vehicle. The seats were encased with a hot pink and black chevron pattern. A sequin-encrusted cover wrapped around the rearview mirror, and the steering wheel was surrounded by a hot pink, fluffy cover. And instead of the standard black floor mats—his were hot pink.

  Nick wasted no time circling around the building and heading out of the parking lot. On our way through, we saw the creeps still stalking around our car and I couldn’t help but wonder what they were. They definitely were not vampires. Not from their body movements and just the overall feeling I got about them. No, these were certainly something else. But thankfully Joshua was right, and we got back to our hotel room with no hiccups.

  The minute we were safely enclosed in our hotel room, we instantly bombarded Nick with questions.

  “What the hell is going on, Nick?” I asked.

  “What were those things and how did Joshua know about them?” Kimberly threw at him.

  “Does Joshua have a brother?” Michael blurted out.

  “Really, Michael?” I asked in exasperation. “Fucking priorities, please!”

  “Fucking is my priority right now. If we’re going to die, then at least I want to go out having been laid one more time!”

  “We need to wait for Joshua to get here before we can answer those questions. I think you need to hear about everything from him. And as for you,” Nick said and pointed a finger at Michael, “ask him when he gets here about a sibling for you to play with.”

  The three of us let out a grumble at Nick’s suggestion and sat down on our beds to wait. We were too tense to worry about keeping ourselves occupied with mind-numbing television, and there was no point in wasting our breath with a conversation none of us wanted to have. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait very long for Joshua to show up, and when he knocked on the door we all jumped up to answer it. Nick held up a hand to stop us in our tracks and went to answer the door instead.

  “Well, hello there, handsome,” I heard Joshua say before I heard the smack of lips touching.

  Suddenly, the room felt smaller as Joshua entered it and I instantly felt lighter when he fixed his sunny smile on us. There was definitely something about him that I just couldn’t put my finger on, but I had a feeling he’d tell us about it soon enough.

  “So what were those things?” Kimberly asked him before he had the chance to sit down and get comfortable.

  “Do you have a brother?” Michael burst out again.

  Joshua threw his head back and laughed. My chest felt tight because it was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. Fuck, everything about that man was beautiful.

  “First, to answer you,” Josh said and pointed to Michael, “since you seem to be bursting at the seams, the answer is yes, I do have a brother. And yes, he is single. His name is Isaac and I will give him your number.”

  Michael beamed. That was the only way I could describe it. “Thank you.”

  “Be warned though—he’s a bit of an ass. And as for you, sweetheart,” Josh said as he turned his attention to Kimberly. “My god, you are adorable. I think I need to show you all something first before I tell you anything else.”

  We stared at Joshua as he reached down to pull his shirt off. We took in the sight of Joshua’s lean torso and defined abs, and Nick stepped back to stand beside us. Then before our very eyes Joshua’s body started to glow. Not a glow like Kimberly when she was using her healing powers, but a soft golden light that encompassed his entire body. Almost as if someone was shining a lamp over him. Unexpectedly, I felt a gust of air and two gorgeous pink wings emerged from Joshua’s back. I furiously blinked a few times to make sure I actually was seeing what I thought I was seeing.

  “What are you?” I asked breathlessly.

  “I believe the correct term is Fae,” Joshua said smugly. “And I am here to help save your asses.”

  Chapter 18

  I couldn’t take my eyes off the beautiful man who stood in front of me with his pink wings spread out in all of their glory. It was the most magnificent sight I had ever seen. And considering the silence in the room from everyone else, I was sure they were in agreement with me.

  “Did you know about this?” Michael asked—recovering first from being shocked into silence.

  “They might have popped out earlier,” Nick answered after clearing his throat.

  Joshua began to say, “Of course they did. Sometimes they come out when I get excited. And when you were pou—”

  “I’m sure they get the picture,” Nick said, cutting him off.

  “Oh no, please continue, Josh,” I said with a grin.

  “Don’t encourage him,” Nick piped up when Josh opened his mouth to answer
me.

  “Such a buzzkill,” I muttered with an eye roll.

  “So how exactly are you supposed to help us?” Kimberly finally asked after she regained the ability to use her tongue.

  “Oh, there you go again with your adorableness,” Joshua practically gushed and clapped his hands together almost gleefully. I could have sworn that his eyes were twinkling.

  “I’m being serious,” Kimberly insisted, even though her cheeks were flushed. “And can you please put your wings away? They’re pretty, which makes them distracting.”

  I watched in awe as the beautiful pink wings retracted back into wherever they emerged from Joshua’s back. Then, as if it was no big deal, he casually put his shirt back on and sat down on one of the beds.

  “So the prophecy is true,” Joshua said with a grin. “You four are part of the Exi.”

  “Excuse me?” I gasped out. “How did you know about the prophecy?”

  Joshua rolled his eyes and studied his nails. “You can’t be around for as long as I’ve been and not learn a thing or two.”

  “Just how old are you?” I asked. I was still reeling. There was a Fae with wings in front of me, and not only that, he knew about the Exi prophecy.

  “Old enough, but let’s not start discussing numbers. We have more important things to talk about.,” Joshua waved off my question and turned his attention to Nick. “How soon can I get you alone again?”

  Nick’s eyes grew heavy with lust. “Not soon enough.”

  Joshua looked excited as he said to Nick, “Maybe next time we can try that thing where you put your ton—”

  “Not to be a cock block,” Michael said, cutting him off. “Lord knows I would just love to hear exactly where you want Nick to shove his tongue.” He rolled his eyes. “But we have more important things to discuss. Like vampires, people being held hostage in a cave, and those creepy things in the parking lot that were probably going to kill us,” Michael reminded them.

  “Oh you are such a downer. You and Isaac should definitely meet up. Actually,” Joshua rolled his eyes and put his forefinger against his plump lips, deep in thought. “Now that I think about it, he probably needs to be here for this conversation as well.”

  “Wait, what? You want Isaac to come here?” Michael asked with a gulp.

  Joshua shrugged and magically produced a phone. Seriously, where did he pull his items from? His pants were so skintight that there was no way he could fit anything into his pockets. I watched him press a few buttons and then place the phone up to his ear.

  “Hey, I need you to come to the Statford hotel. Room 302. It’s them,” Joshua said. Gone was any of the playfulness he’d had toward us earlier. Instead, Josh was very direct and serious. His tone expressed that he was not joking around. “Right. See you soon.”

  “Isaac will be here in a few minutes.” Joshua smiled sunnily at us after he hung up his phone. The transformation between how he was when he was on the phone to after he hung up was astounding. “I think all further conversation about the ‘prophecy’ should be put on hold until he’s able to contribute.”

  “So what are we to do in the meantime?” I asked.

  “I’m going to go get changed so I don’t look like I’m homeless,” Michael declared and stood up to rifle through the bag of clothes before disappearing into the bathroom.

  “Pity that he got in there before you and I could.” Joshua pouted as he ran a suggestive finger across Nick’s thigh.

  Before Kimberly or I could comment, there was a thunderous knock on the door. “What in the hell is that?” I asked.

  Joshua rolled his eyes and hopped off the bed. “That would be Isaac.”

  “How is he here already? You just called him like less than a minute ago,” Kimberly asked in confusion.

  Josh shrugged. “I guess he just flew here.” Before we could say anything in response, there was another loud bang on the door. This time there seemed to be some impatience behind the thuds. “I swear, he is anything but subtle.”

  I shot Joshua a wry look. “Really? You don’t say?”

  “I knew I liked you. Even if you do have creepy visions.” Joshua smiled at me. “And yes, before you say anything, I do know that you’re a seer,” he said with a wink when I opened my mouth to reply to him. “I just told you that I knew everything,” he said in a sing-song voice as he walked over to the door.

  Michael quickly left the bathroom and came over to stand beside the bed I was sitting on. I could feel the nervous anticipation radiating from his body. Kimberly and I cast anxious glances at each other, then stood up to move beside Michael. Anyone who could make that kind of ruckus had to be a very dominant person. I bit on my lip and winced when I ripped off a piece of skin.

  “Why am I nervous all of a sudden?” Kimberly mumbled to me, echoing my thoughts.

  “No reason to be nervous, Cupcake. Isaac is just pissy because I woke him up from his beauty sleep. And honestly, he needs all he can get.” Joshua laughed, the gorgeous sound echoing off the walls.

  “Did he just call me Cupcake?” Kimberly asked when Joshua opened the door and stuck his head into the hall. “And how could he hear me?”

  Joshua walked back into the room with a hulking man towering behind him. Everything I’d read about Fae in the past instantly evaporated from my brain. Fae were supposed to be small and beautiful. They were supposed to look like Joshua. But Isaac broke all of the rules.

  “I have better hearing than a dog. So whispering around me isn’t going to work. You would just die if you knew some of the things I’ve heard.” Joshua grinned.

  “You can’t be serious. This is them?” A deep voice rumbled from the giant of a man standing behind Joshua.

  “Excuse me? What in the hell is that supposed to mean?” Nick snapped.

  “It means that if you four are the ones who are supposed to save the world, then I can see why my brother called me here,” Isaac sneered at us.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off the man in front of us. Where Joshua was stunning with his graceful beauty, Isaac was damn near gorgeous in a more rugged manner. He looked as if he had muscle upon muscle covering his body. I followed my eyes up his long legs, past his trim waist, and finally settled on his piercing gray eyes. His square jaw was locked, like he was grinding his rear molars in anger, and his eyes were narrowed at us.

  While Joshua had short brown hair, Isaac’s was darker in color and long enough to pull back into a messy bun on top of his head. Usually I didn’t go for that style, but on him it looked absolutely perfect. To top it off, a dusting of hair covered his jaw to give him that just crawled out of bed and didn’t bother to shave look. His lips were just as plump as Josh’s, and his broad shoulders were so big, it was as if he bench-pressed small cars for fun. He was absolutely delicious.

  “Again, what in the hell is that supposed to mean?” Nick growled in anger. “Do you have an issue with the four of us?”

  I halfway expected Joshua to stand by his brother in a united front, but instead he sidled up to Nick and stood there grinning. He clearly loved the fact that someone was standing up to Isaac.

  “I just don’t see how you four are going to help save anyone. You two definitely don’t have the look of shifters,” Isaac sneered and gave my shifter friends a once-over.

  Michael let out a growl that emanated from deep within his chest. “And you clearly don’t have the looks of a fucking Fae, but you know what they say about appearances.”

  Isaac took a step closer to Michael. I could see Isaac’s breathing getting labored as his chest heaved with each lungful of air he took. “Apparently I don’t. Why don’t you fill me in, Shifter?”

  Michael didn’t back down and stood chest to chest with Isaac. “Just because I’m not the size of you, doesn’t mean that I won’t shift into a wolf right this second and rip your fucking throat out,” Michael growled. “So back. The fuck. Off.” Michael poked Isaac’s chest with every word.

  “Okay! Break it up, you two. We have a lot of
ground to cover and we don’t need any bloodshed in here. The housekeepers already have enough bodily fluids to clean up in the other rooms,” Joshua announced with a clap of his hands.

  “This isn’t over,” Michael snarled at Isaac.

  “No, it’s not,” Isaac said through his clenched teeth before he backed away.

  “Wow, the sexual tension between you two is astounding!” Joshua announced. “Now, let’s talk about how Isaac and I know all about you four. It’s story time!”

  Chapter 19

  “Your brother is an absolute dick. There is zero sexual tension between us two. I wouldn’t touch him with a borrowed dildo,” Michael snapped in disgust.

  “I certainly don’t recall extending the invitation for you to do so. I came here because my brother asked me to. But I can sure as hell leave faster than I came. Make no qualms about that. I don’t need to help you. I’m actually doing your ass a fucking favor by being here right now,” Isaac growled.

  Nick intervened by saying, “How about you both just sit down and shut the hell up so Josh can talk. Clearly, Josh invited him here for a reason. Go ahead and put your hackles back down, Michael, so the story can be told.”

  “I might have brought him here to play with Michael’s beefsicle,” Josh quipped.

  “Josh!” Nick and Isaac yelled at the same time.

  “Kidding!” Josh held up his hands in surrender. “He really does need to be here to corroborate what I’m about to tell you and fill in anything I leave out.”

  “Whatever, just get on with it.” Michael sighed and sat down on the bed.

  The rest of us followed suit, aside from Isaac, and sat down on the beds and available chairs in the room. Isaac chose to stand—looming over us like a hulking giant.