by Jeff Hale
“Keep up that attitude and I can find a way for us to pass the time.” There was a bit of a snarl to his voice and I could tell his wasn’t happy. Waiting around was not something he enjoyed, especially when he was worried.
“Oh, bloody hell, no! I’ve no intention of sparring with you and letting you use me as a bloody punching bag! Plus I don’t reckon our host would take too kindly to you getting my blood all over the place.” The last of the injuries Darien had given me had healed up the day before and I had no intent of acquiring new ones. I stalked off toward the group of small tables that surrounded a square bar and dropped into a seat at one them. Darien came over a few moments later and settled into the seat opposite me and if I had hoped that he would seem apologetic, I would have been wrong.
A few minutes later we were approached by a girl with shoulder length curly blonde hair and big blue eyes. She was short and small chested, but had a very sexy walk.
“Anything I can get you two from the bar? Or send back to the kitchen for?” she asked, smiling brightly. I gave her a twice over on my appraisal and she twitched her eyebrows at me. Darien seemed unmoved by her looks.
“Whiskey will be fine.” There was a note of resignation in Darien’s voice. “Unless you have something stronger?”
“Stronger?” she asked, her eyes crinkling.
“Yes, stronger,” he said, giving her a measuring look. “Something that will affect a shifter by any chance?”
Her eyes went big again, lighting up. “We do, actually. Lucien caters to a lot of non-human folk.” Her gaze shifted to me. “You too, honey?”
“No, thanks.” I shook my head. “One of us needs to stay responsible. But I will have some tequila.” I gave her a big smile.
“Sure thing, fellas, be right back.” She sashayed off and I couldn’t help but notice that she had a very nicely shaped butt.
“You planning on following Kris’s orders?” I asked Darien.
If he was looking to actually have his senses dulled, then I wasn’t sure what kind of mood he would be in when Katelyn finally returned. I had no wish to get myself thrashed by standing in between the two of them, but I would if I had to.
“Maybe. Does it make a difference?”
“Depends. Usually when you’re in the mood for a bit of trouble, there isn’t a possible demigod waiting in the background that could fry you. Just saying.”
He gave me a stern glare and I decided to leave it be. He was obviously upset that Katelyn hadn’t been here when we arrived, that she had, in fact, been out with others, presumably Aerick, having fun.
The waitress returned shortly with five shots of tequila accompanied by lime wedges and salt and a large crystal goblet filled with a liquid that reminded me of absinthe, only slightly darker. I could smell an almost fruity scent coming off of it, but it was that kind of smell you get from standing in the thick of an overripe orchard, not the type from you’d get from candy or cosmopolitans. She arranged the shots, limes and salt in front of me and gently set the goblet down in front of Darien.
“What is it?” he asked her, looking at the green liquid in suspicion.
“Fae wine. About the only thing in the place with enough kick to, well, give you a kick.” She winked at him. “Don’t worry, honey, if you need some place to lie down later, I think I could find one for you.” She ran her tongue along her bottom lip, then turned and headed back to the bar with a saunter.
“I think she likes you, Darien.”
He looked over his shoulder at her and when she caught his eye she gave him a wide smile. He turned his attention back to the drink. “Well, she’s cute and all, but she’s not…” he trailed off.
“Katelyn?”
“Yeah.” He picked up the goblet and brought it to his lips, downing half of its contents in a couple of long gulps before setting it back down on the table. A small shiver ran through him. “Damn, she’s right, this stuff has a punch to it. Tastes… interesting anyway.” He lifted the cup again and took another long drink, followed by another shiver. I could see his eyes darkening slightly.
“You might want to take it easy with that shit, I refuse to have to carry you anywhere and if you end up pissed I will leave you to that little barmaid’s tender mercies.”
He glared at me defiantly and I shrugged, despite the feeling of trepidation that wiggled its way down my spine. I had a feeling it was not going to be a good afternoon. I let him wallow in his broodiness.
It was close to three hours later, and many more shots of tequila for me, and probably too many more goblets of Fae wine for Darien when I noticed the small group of four younger people walk in. People had been coming in and out sporadically since we had gotten here, but only in ones or twos.
The girl in front caught my eye first and I recognized her. Nina. She was wearing sandals and a yellow diaphanous sarong around her hips over small bikini bottoms. She had a purple metallic bikini top covering strategic places on her chest. She was laughing at something, her hand in that of the young man next to her. He had shaggy dark-blonde hair, black jeans and a dark t-shirt that read ‘Save a tree, eat a beaver’.
And then I caught sight of the two behind them.
Katelyn was wearing a loose white tank top that was open almost to the waist in the arms, showing the turquoise bikini top she was wearing as she moved. The tank top came down to just above her knees, hugging her thighs. She, too, was wearing sandals. But it was the fact that she had her arm around the waist of the young man next to her and that he was currently running his lips across the side of her neck as he bent down to whisper something to her that made her blush before she turned and caught his lips with her own, pressing against him briefly with her body before continuing on into the club, that made my heart skip a beat. And the young man kissing her looked much like he had in the Prom picture: shoulder length dark-brown hair and bright blue eyes, although dressed in a dark tank top and dark jeans and boots. The expression on his face when he looked at Katelyn bespoke softer emotions. At the moment, none of them seemed to notice us.
I stole a glance at Darien, knowing that even if he hadn’t seen them, he should have been able to sense her come into the room. He was staring directly at her, his eyes pitch black now, looking ever so much like someone who had just been hit by a brick. A large one.
As the four of them got closer to where we sat, Nina glanced our way and then did a double take, almost halting in place. Her eyes went wide, moving back and forth between Darien and me as though unsure which of us to settle on, before finally settling on me. Her stumble caught Katelyn’s attention and she looked to see what her friend found so interesting, her own eyes narrowing as she spied us, before the color ran high in her cheeks again.
“Darien?” There was almost a note of disbelief in her voice and her hand reached and found Aerick’s as though for support. “I didn’t feel you in my head. What are you doing here?” She stopped, not approaching any closer and I saw the muscles in Aerick’s jaw tighten.
“That’s your Darien?” he asked her tightly, receiving a stiff nod from her in return.
“Alex!” Nina moved toward our table, pulling her hand free of her young man’s. He gave her back an incredulous look before his face flushed with anger.
“Can’t you at least wait until my back is turned before trying to find some other guy to fuck?” he asked loudly, not bothering to hide his anger. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and shook his head. “Fuck this, I’m outta here. Rick? I’m gonna head over to the apartment building, see how the repairs are coming, maybe get an idea when we can move back in. Catch ya later!” He gave Nina a disgusted look and stormed back out the entrance.
To her credit, Nina shot a disappointed glance at her retreating boyfriend before flinging herself into the chair nearest to me, the dim resonance that proclaimed her a wilder pushing at my senses. I wasn’t sure that Darien had even noticed Nina yet the way his eyes were still glued to Katelyn’s every move, so much so that he was pushing himself out of
the chair.
“Darien, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea right now.” I put my hand on his arm as though to deter him but he jerked his arm away, earning me a scathing glare as well, before he resolutely marched his way toward Katelyn and Aerick. He was half drunk from the Fae wine and was probably going to overreact to everything.
As he approached, Aerick put himself between Katelyn and Darien, sliding her behind him with one arm so that she was peeking over his shoulder on tiptoe. Aerick’s mouth was set and his eyes narrowed, his stance wary.
Darien stopped about five feet from them, his eyes meeting Katelyn’s sadly. “Kat?” he said, making her name a question, his eyes going from her to Aerick and back again. His hands fisted themselves against his thighs in agitation.
She peeked around Aerick’s shoulder at Darien and her sea-blue eyes shimmered wetly. “I’m sorry, Darien,” she whispered. “But I told you I wasn’t ready.” Her bottom lip trembled and her fingers where they gripped Aerick’s shoulder were white. He absently reached up and placed his hand on hers to sooth her.
Darien nodded, his jaw tightening as he glanced away from her to the corner of the room, then back. “Yeah, I understood that, and I backed off like you wanted. Because you weren’t ready for a relationship. So what the hell do you call this?” His voice was thick with anger as he indicated Aerick with a tip of his head.
Aerick’s mouth twitched and he shifted the center of his weight into something more defensive. Smart move on his part, as I could tell that Darien was teetering on the edge of really losing his temper.
“Back off, asshole. You’re taking a tone with my girlfriend that I really don’t like,” Aerick said in warning.
“Your girlfriend?” Darien’s nostrils flared and he gave a surly laugh. “So what makes this guy relationship material instead of me?” he asked Katelyn, eyes darkening even more. But there was a pleading note to his tone that made a single tear finally slide down her cheek and her expression soften towards him.
“Because, Darien, you were making plans for a lifetime commitment, a really freakin’ long lifetime commitment, and Aerick isn’t. Maybe we’ll get to that point someday, and maybe we won’t, for either of us. And I’m just fine with maybe right now.” Katelyn’s voice quavered as she said it and she hid her face against Aerick’s shoulder when she was done.
I could see Darien’s shoulders sag a little, and a ripple of confusion and partial desperation crossed his face. “I can do maybe,” he said softly, ignoring the ever growing look of disbelief that was crossing Aerick’s face.
Katelyn lifted her face from Aerick’s shoulder, shaking her head slowly. “No, Darien, I don’t think you can,” she said gently.
He took an involuntary step forward, shoulders bunching again. “How do you know if you won’t let me try?!” His voice rose in volume again and his hands were clenching and unclenching.
I heard voices mumbling in concern not too far from me and I turned my head to see the barmaid talking to Lucien, both of them very intent upon what was happening. She suggested that Lucien might want to step in and break things up but he told her that he wouldn’t unless it got way too ugly, that they needed to work this out, and that the shifter was in more danger than Aerick anyway.
Nina was still sitting in her seat at our table, eyes wide and glued on what was happening, her mouth open in a little ‘o’ of worry, hands gripping the edges of the chair. I stayed put. Darien could take care of himself and any interference from me at this point would just piss him off more.
Darien’s last comment was the last straw for Aerick and he took a step forwards himself, closing the small space between himself and Darien.
“Don’t you fucking threaten her!” Aerick’s voice was loud and direct, and anyone who hadn’t already left the room seemed to find excuses to be near the outer edges of it. Little flames danced in his eyes as he glared at Darien. “You seem to be forgetting that she chose to be my girlfriend, not yours, so why don’t you just leave her the fuck alone and go back where you came from?”
“She was mine before you took her from me!” Darien shouted in fury.
“She was never yours.” Aerick emphasized the words, as though trying to get something across to a child. “And we both know that.”
A growl burst from Darien’s lips and in an instant he had shifted to Aspect, a clawed hand darting out to rake Aerick from left shoulder, across his chest and abdomen, to the edge of his jeans as he towered over him. A strangled gasp escaped Nina and I heard Katelyn shriek.
Blood flowed with abandon from Aerick’s wounds, soaking the remains of his shirt and his jeans before dripping onto the floor like little ruby raindrops. There was a look of sheer surprise on his face, quickly replaced by one of ruthless determination as he pushed Katelyn away from him with his right arm and conjured a sword of gleaming ice with his left.
He feinted left and then lunged at Darien with enough force that the ice blade came out Darien’s back below the ribs and they both toppled to the floor. Darien howled in pain before grappling Aerick and trying to push him away. I heard a ragged snarl and then there was a third body flying into the mix, small, sleek and silver as she began clawing and biting at both of them. I knew Katelyn’s shifted form was going to be that of a cat, but would never have guessed a lynx.
At first I thought Katelyn was coming to Aerick’s defense, but it only took a moment to realize that she was indiscriminate in her attacks and when I got a glimpse of her night dark eyes, I realized that she wasn’t in control of her actions, her beast was, and all it knew was that it wanted part of the action.
I leapt from my chair, moving quickly toward them to try to bring this mess under control. I wasn’t worried over much about Darien, at least not from what Katelyn would do to him, but I was worried that either she would get hurt from one of the two men, or she might hurt Aerick worse than she already had and wouldn’t be able to forgive herself for it later.
Surprisingly, Nina got to Katelyn before I did, tackling the lynx from behind and rolling with her, her momentum taking them away from Darien and Aerick, who were still trying to get a purchase on one another.
I wondered at the bravery, or stupidity, of that girl trying to take on Katelyn in lynx form, but she wrapped herself around the cat, miraculously avoiding teeth and claws, pressing her face into the ruff of fur at Katelyn’s neck, her lips moving as she whispered at Katelyn to calm down. And then I was completely stunned as what the girl did worked, and Katelyn shifted back to human, rolling naked in the girl’s arms until their lips met in an aggressive kiss, so stunned that I couldn’t even appreciate what I was seeing.
Aerick and Darien didn’t even notice as they tried to batter each other on the floor, both men resorting to plain brute force after their initial attack. I wasn’t sure what would stop either of them. Wading into the middle of it myself would only rouse Darien to further aggression since he would either see me as aiding him or hindering him.
“Stop!” The word was screamed out at the top of female lungs, full of anger and fear. Katelyn was sitting on the floor with her arms around her knees, the other girl hovering protectively over her, the lighting from the floor casting an eerie glow on them both. A wave of something rolled off of Katelyn, something that demanded attention, and I heard what sounded like a boom of thunder from outside the building, despite what I knew was a sunny day. “Stop! Stop, stop, stop, stop! Please!” she cried again, her voice breaking on the last word as she finally broke down into loud sobs.
The effect on the two men trying to tear each other apart on the floor was instantaneous. They pushed away from each other as they both turned all their faculties on Katelyn, one of them a bloody human, the other with his form still melded between that of man and wolf, a gaping wound sluggishly pushing out blood from his stomach and back. They’d both live, although I was a bit worried that Darien’s injury wasn’t closing up as fast as it should, possibly something to do with the magical weaponry that Aerick used.
Aerick got to his feet, giving Darien one last baleful glance before moving towards Katelyn. Darien did as well, shifting back to full human, heedless of his nudity as he closed in on her from the opposite side. They were both brought up short as another cry came from her and she held warding hands out to each of them.
“No! Don’t come near me, either of you!” There was fear in her voice… and something else. Her eyes were still midnight dark and as they neared she took a deep shuddering breath, her eyes closing and her head moving from side to side as though she were fighting something. The other girl stroked her shoulders, murmuring words of reassurance. “I can’t, I just can’t, not right now.” She was breathing hard, trying to focus on something other than Darien and Aerick.
I felt my stomach clench, felt a dull weight form there as I realized what was happening to Katelyn. She was in the throes of what shifters referred to simply as the thrall. She was trying to fight it off, something that should have been much easier than it was appearing to be, especially since she wasn’t shifted. But she was in human form and it was still trying to take control of her. Her eyes met mine and the misery and desire for violence in them had me moving toward her again.
Aerick seemed confused as I moved up next to Katelyn. He was respecting her demand to not come closer, but he clearly didn’t like it. The fact that she was making the same demand of Darien was probably the only reason he hadn’t argued with her about it.
Darien sat on the floor facing her, a hand pressed against his stomach, his eyes lightening and defeat now in them. He was so wrapped up in the emotion, something he’d never really dealt with before to my knowledge, that he was oblivious to Katelyn’s distress.
“Alex?” She whispered my name like it was a lifeline, reaching out for me and letting me draw her up and into my arms, clinging to me in desperation.
“Ssh, Katie, I’m here.” I stroked her hair, shielding the front of her body with my own, while Nina retrieved the tank dress and then pulled it over Katelyn’s head. Luckily for Katelyn, her animal form wasn’t too much different in size than her human form. Less damage to the clothing on the way out.
