by Lynn Stark
“Yes, father.” Pebin flew over the hedge as they walked into the yard through the gate. Father and son embraced. “This is Cain Windgate, of Boston. He’s the leader of the vampire coven there. Then this is Larson Brekken. He’s from Michigan. He’s a tree doctor. And this is my mate Chance Harding. He’s a brave werewolf guardian of the farm where I will be living.”
“That’s quite the assortment, son. No wonder your brothers are giving you so much grief. They are jealous of your good fortune.” His tone was jovial and there was a sparkle in his eyes. It was obvious he was pleased.
“They’re mean and evil. I won’t be naming any of my children after them.” Pebin turned to Larson, Cain, and Chance. “This is my father, Macel.”
They shook hands with the male. Macel seemed to be genuinely pleased to meet them. After shaking their hands he stuck his thumbs in his belt and rocked back on his heels as he grinned from ear to ear. His shiny, pale blue wings were beating rapidly.
“Your mother is in the house and packing your belongings. I was helping her with it, when we felt your arrival. I made your brothers collect everything from where they had hidden it.” He scowled, his tone becoming that of an authoritarian as he continued, “I’m afraid some of it was ruined by their careless antics. Trust me, Pebin, when I say your brothers will replace everything and will be spending extra time in the gardens.”
Looking around, Larson didn’t see any gardens, as in small plots of land contained to raising carrots, cabbage, and other things. What he did see were fields over rolling land. The part of him that had studied horticulture in high school and college wanted to investigate further. However, this wasn’t the time. Pebin was clearly upset by losing things that were important to him. Larson wanted to kick the brothers’ asses. He felt guilty for not helping his mate out before this.
The jovial Macel returned. Larson blinked, wondering at the swift mood changes. “Come in. Come in. The rain won’t last long, but there’s no point in getting wetter.”
Larson, Chance, and Cain had to duck their heads to get in the door. Macel chuckled. “It looks like I’ll have to make some changes around here to make my new sons-in-law more comfortable when visiting. Please, gentlemen, sit. The benches would probably be best.” He chuckled again. “Pebin, your mother will be pleased that she will be able to choose new furnishings to be made. Now, would you gentlemen like something to drink? Mother, we have guests.”
Macel left the room as he called through the small house for his mate. Larson looked at Pebin. “He likes you guys,” he whispered, obviously both pleased and proud.
Larson nodded. “It seems so. I found him very pleasant. Does your mother need help packing your belongings?”
Pebin moved toward the door. “I have to check with her. I can’t wait for you to meet her. She’s going to try to mother all of you.”
After carefully seating themselves on the small benches, Larson and his two mates looked around the room with interest. Fairies certainly did love color. The walls in what he guessed was the sitting room were painted a sunny yellowish-orange. The fireplace, with a chimney above it, was made from stones that had shiny chunks of colorful stones encased in them. The floor was relatively ordinary, but there were rugs with the most amazing, colorful patterns woven into them.
“You’re looking at your future home, gentlemen,” Larson told them. “You might want to tell Pebin what your favorite colors are.”
“Kind of shoots the whole dark, gloomy vampire thing in the ass,” Chance commented as he stood and walked to the fireplace where there was a collection of cobalt-blue glass vases in whimsical shapes. “I like all this.”
“Yeah, it’s kind of nice,” Larson agreed, rather surprised Chance was taking an interest. The werewolf had the bad habit of keeping to himself, basically hiding in the forest, where he wouldn’t be bothered by anyone. Having learned some of Chance’s past, it was probably to be expected. The man had been on the fringe of human society for a very long time, being ignored, wanting to disappear. Now he had mates and would have to learn a new behavior. “I’ll leave most of the decorating decisions to Pebin.”
“Me, too. I don’t care what color any room is,” Chance agreed.
Cain shook his head. “You two are spineless. If you sit still too long, Pebin will have you both covered in glass beads and glitter.”
“Yeah, and your coffin will be lavender with rhinestones covering it.”
There was a softly cleared throat, obviously preventing Cain’s response. He appeared frustrated. They turned to see a small woman who was almost as round as she was tall walking into the room. They stood as she did so. Her peach-colored wings were fluttering excitedly. There was a cheery smile on her face as she carried a tray with a pitcher and four glasses on it.
“Pebin will join you shortly. I’m Marta.” As they introduced themselves, she hugged each tightly. She reminded Larson a lot of the women in his family. They were nurturers above everything else they did. They expressed their love and saw that those they loved were well cared for. “My, you’re a healthy bunch. I’m looking forward to many grandchildren.”
Larson knew he shouldn’t be able to blush at his age, but he did so. He didn’t want to discuss creating children with the woman who was essentially his mother-in-law. Thankfully, she changed the subject as she looked around with a frown.
“We will definitely need new furniture to accommodate you large fellows, to make you comfortable when you visit.”
“We’re fine, ma’am,” Chance reassured her. He held up his glass. “This juice is very good.”
“Thank you. It’s my own blend of the different fruits we grow in the gardens. And I must insist you call me Marta.”
They sat there and chatted as they waited for their mate to return to them. Larson knew Cain had a meeting to get back to. Vampires were very anal about meetings, rules, and protocol. Larson thought the guy might explode, if anything went wrong and he wasn’t able to tend to his responsibilities.
Marta asked about each of them. She focused a lot of attention on Chance, as if she could sense how wounded his soul was. She would reach out to pat his arm or give his hand a gentle squeeze. Chance appeared somewhat uncomfortable, but he didn’t pull away. Larson and Cain exchanged glances. Neither of them knew Chance’s entire story, but they could both see that he needed to heal. Hopefully when they were mated, that process could truly begin.
Their conversation was interrupted by shouting and something breaking. An expression of displeasure crossed Marta’s face as she rose and shook out her skirts. “Excuse me, gentlemen.”
Then she was gone, all but running from the room. Larson wanted to follow. There was more shouting, and someone sounded as if they were being hurt. He looked toward Cain and Chance. They appeared as curious as he was. They shrugged their shoulders in unison and rose to follow Marta.
The cottage had seemed small from the outside, but it went deep. There were several rooms off a wide, central hallway. They ducked around light fixtures and peered through open doorways as they went. It wasn’t long before they found what appeared to be a bedroom. It was either that, or a greenhouse. There were plants everywhere and a colorful, woven hammock suspended from the ceiling. On the floor beneath it was their mate. He had another male in a headlock and resisted Marta’s efforts to separate them.
“Pebin, release Elbie at once! I don’t think it’s wise to let him be purple for so long.”
“He has my frogs!”
“One frog,” Elbie choked out in denial. “It’s the little one with the crooked hind leg. He needs special care. You won’t have time to take care of him, now that you have so many mates.”
Pebin released his brother and sat up. “Then you should have said that. How can I trust any of you? You’ve taken my things. You’ve broken much of it. Now I find you hiding my frogs.”
“One frog,” Elbie repeated. “Can I have him? Please? I promise to take very good care of him. And you can visit him anytime you want.�
��
It took a few minutes, but Pebin finally agreed to allow Elbie to have the frog. Elbie was ecstatic and hugged his brother tightly until Pebin protested. Once Elbie, the frog, and Marta left Pebin’s room, Larson and the other two men ventured further into it.
“You like plants.” Larson had a degree in horticulture. He didn’t recognize one of the plants and wondered if they were all from the fairy realm.
A smile spread across Pebin’s face, replacing the disgruntled expression. The fairy was gorgeous, something he seemed to be completely unaware of. “I love plants.” He inhaled deeply. “They make life so much better.”
“They do,” Larson agreed. “Now, what can we do to help? Where are your things?”
“My father and brothers have already taken what I have left. They’re leaving it outside the house where I stayed last night with Cain.” He looked around. “All I have to do is get my favorite frog.” He grimaced. “I know my family enjoys them, so I’ll only take the one.”
“Pets can be very comforting,” Cain said as he nodded. “I have two dogs of my own.”
Turning, Pebin began searching through the plants. Larson admired the man’s curvy little ass in the tight spandex leggings he favored. The fabric stretched over his flesh, leaving virtually nothing to the imagination. Larson felt his cock twitch. He had no idea how long it would be until their mating would be complete. Pebin had made no secret in the past about not wanting mates, and that had been before Cain had entered the equation. Chance and Larson knew Pebin had spent the night with Cain. They also knew that nothing had happened between the pair. A mating bite would have been visible, and Pebin’s scent would have changed.
Did that mean that Pebin and Chance would know that he and Cain had mated? It was likely, although neither had said a word about it yet.
Larson was startled out of his thoughts when Pebin reappeared from the dense jungle his plants created, with his slender arms wrapped around a frog that was nearly as large as an English bulldog. It was black with bright blue swirls. Its front legs were resting on Pebin’s arms, and its rear legs were dangling, the webbed feet nearly touching Pebin’s. It was far larger than the frog Pebin’s brother had left with.
“Holy shit!” Chance shouted. “What the fuck is that?”
The fairy scowled. “This is Tobias. And you shouldn’t swear. My mother wouldn’t approve.” Pebin stomped past them and out the door. “Let’s get going. I want to show Tobias his new room.”
“We don’t even know where we will be living, but the frog will know,” Chance grumbled as they followed Pebin out of the room. “He won’t bark all night, will he?”
“He sings. He’s not a dog, so he doesn’t bark. Will you be howling all night, flea bag?”
“Pebin Xavier Muldoon!” Macel exclaimed. “Is that any way to speak to your mate?”
The younger fairy hung his head in shame. “No, Father, it isn’t. I won’t do it again.”
“See that you don’t. Mates are to be loved and respected. You give those things freely and, if all is right in the world, you will receive those things in return. If it’s not, just let me know. I will not have any child of mine being abused or neglected.”
The elder fairy looked at Larson, Cain, and Chance with a meaningful expression in his eyes. There was no mistaking what he was telling them. If they didn’t treat his son well, they would face the consequences. Larson had no idea what that might involve and had no intention of finding out. He would never abuse a mate. They were to be cherished.
Once they returned to the human realm, Cain leaned down to kiss Pebin before heading to his meeting. That left Larson and Chance to help Pebin settle in. Larson didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. After they got upstairs of the gothic-style house that had been, for some mysterious reason, painted gray and black, they discovered there were six bedrooms.
“No. Absolutely not,” Chance said when Pebin declared one of the rooms was to be for Tobias. “It’s a frog. We’ll find a room downstairs. And if this is to be our house, then we will create a special room just for you and him to enjoy. What about one of those fancy garden rooms I’ve seen in magazines?”
Pebin opened and closed his mouth. Larson suspected he’d been ready to fire off an angry retort to Chance, but he ended up with a smile on his face. Crisis averted. If the two began arguing again, he would get a headache. It never failed.
“That would be nice. That way I could grow plants, too. Fairies aren’t happy, unless we’re growing things.”
Having immersed himself in horticulture and forestry, Larson could easily understand Pebin’s love of plants. When they returned downstairs they were pleased to discover a room next to the laundry room that had a lot of windows letting in sunlight that would be perfect to place a few plants to start Pebin off and to house Tobias. Pebin placed his pet gently on the tile floor. He clapped when Tobias hopped across the room to jump up on the window seat and into a patch of sunlight.
“Perfect. I’ll put his swimming pool in here and a few plants. Then I’ll get something for him to eat.”
“What does he eat?” Chance asked curiously.
“Big, fat grubs, beetles, and moths. I’ll have to get them from the fairy realm. It would take too many of the size you have here, although I suspect he will enjoy those, too, as a snack.”
“That’s it? Just grubs, beetles, and moths?”
Larson recognized the expression on Pebin’s face. He watched as the fairy’s small body tensed as he looked at Chance. “Sometimes he will eat fleas, too.”
Yeah, he felt a headache coming on, as he stopped Chance in mid-lunge.
Chapter Five
Pebin had the house to himself. Cain was still at his meeting, and Chance and Larson had to go to work. Being alone was driving him mad with boredom. He needed something to do. Tobias was all settled into his room, happily sunning himself after his meal of grubs. The little garden area was the only room in the house that now appealed to Pebin. The house and all its rooms were depressing. As far as he was concerned, shades of blue, gray, and white were not in any known color spectrum. It was definitely something he would have to do something about. And the outside? It was like a black hole had been turned into a house. Just looking at it sucked the joy right out of him.
A grin spread slowly across Pebin’s face. The design of the house wasn’t too bad. It was something he could work with. Besides, it suited his mates. They were big men and needed room to move around. The house was large enough they wouldn’t be living on top of each other. They could also entertain many guests, something Pebin looked forward to doing.
Despite not originally wanting mates, the idea was growing on him. Especially after the night he spent with Cain. The vampire knew exactly how to make Pebin beg for more. Maybe being mated wouldn’t be so bad. He would have to wait and see. His parents had assured him that once he came to know his mates, he would wonder why he had resisted the idea.
Then there was the fact that he knew Cain and Larson had mated. He could sense the change in them and could smell the rich, sexual musks that they exuded. Yeah, smelling them had made him horny and there was nothing he could do about it at the moment, because all of his mates were busy with their jobs. But there were other matters that needed his attention and would keep him occupied until they returned home.
After trying to figure out how he was going to get paint for the house, when he had none of the human currency the residents of the farm used, Pebin decided to visit the clan’s leader. Surely he would be willing to help Pebin out with his project.
In order to impress the warhorse shifter, Pebin took his best clothes from the basket his mother had placed them in, and ironed each item until they were wrinkle-free. After taking a shower, he dressed, adding one of Cain’s ties he found in the closet. He didn’t know how to tie it, so he made a bow under his chin. Then he put on his newest shoes. He hated shoes, but he didn’t want to take a chance of offending the man he had to answer to while he lived on
the farm. Once his hair was finished, new beads braided into the strands on either side of his face, Pebin left the house and headed for the path that had been made between the two sections of the farm.
“Why are you walking?” a gravelly voice asked from a group of shrubbery beside the path. “You have wings. You should fly.”
Pebin’s gaze searched for the source of the voice. He blinked when Fred stepped out. “What are you doing in the bushes?” he asked suspiciously.
“Lurking.”
Shuddering, Pebin gave the troll a wide berth as he moved around him. “That’s just creepy. I’ll talk to you some other time.”
Fred laughed. “I’m just jerking your chain. I’m looking for my daughter’s kitten. You still didn’t answer my question. Why aren’t you flying?”
Frowning, Pebin stared hard at the troll. “I’m trying to stay in shape. I have three virile mates.” He kept his distance from Fred. “Now, I have to go. I have something important to see to. And I just saw a gray kitten run under those bushes over there.”
Turning around, Fred waved and hurried off. Pebin continued on his way, but a little faster this time. It was late afternoon, and he was certain the meeting would end soon. When Pebin arrived at the older part of the farm, he asked where the meeting was being held. When he was pointed in the direction of a building near the community center, he could have smacked himself in the forehead. It was the obvious place for the farm business to take place. Seeing a pair of benches placed in front, he went over to sit down on one.
Pebin thought it was probably a good thing he didn’t own a watch, otherwise he would have been looking at it every few seconds. He believed he’d sat there for nearly half an hour before the doors opened and a dozen or so men and women walked out. They were a mix of shifters, elves, and vampires. While Ian’s word was law on the farm, he did listen to every concern, complaint, and request. When the clan’s leader saw him sitting on the bench, he smiled and walked toward him. Pebin stood and smoothed his shirt nervously.
