“That can happen? I thought it was almost impossible.” Turning my gaze to Muss, I narrowed my eyes as he cocked his head up and down in a bird-like nod. Linne was the one that answered me though, and I tilted my head as she stared thoughtfully out the windshield.
“It is almost impossible, but not entirely. Humans are fairly malleable, especially during their evolution. I imagine the Seelie is also responsible for your legend about angels, as they have white wings. Unseelie have black wings.”
‘Do not look so shocked, Derek the Lion. You are the culmination of thousands of years of selective breeding.’ Muss stared right at me, and I was slow to tear my eyes off my mate before easing onto the gas. She couldn’t hear what he’d said, and his voice rang in my skull like iron being banged together. ‘With your deformity, you should understand that the acts in the ripples of time have unintended consequences.’
Letting the silence stretch on, I tapped my fingers against the wheel as I slowly navigated my way around town. Only a small part of my mind focused on direction while the other parts raced to find some explanation for a question that only just popped into my head.
If Linne was my mate, did that mean that others of her kind had mates in the human realm? Why did Linne land here, of all places?
I’d never thought such a thing could ever cross my mind, and I rolled my jaw absently. Hopefully this witch would be able to give me some answers; Jackson mentioned that she was old and wise.
The house my GPS took us to was rather large and well-maintained. I parked in the large driveway and peered out the windshield. Pristine, white rendered walls rose up three stories, and bay windows on the first floor were riddled with potted plants. Pulling my keys out of the ignition, I pushed open my door before Linne unbuckled to follow suit.
“This is a pretty house.” Speaking up from across the car, Linne stared up at it as I shut my door. I only grunted in response. The place was almost stereotypical; lots of plants in the windows, a garden skirting the foundation, and a tingling at the back of my neck that made me want to shift. Shoving my keys into my pocket, I walked slowly towards the heavy stained-glass front door of the house just as it creaked open.
“You’re right on time!” A stick-thin, middle-aged woman popped her head out from beyond the doorframe, and I eyed the long, thick strands of grey that streaked her light brown ponytail. Her wide smile showed off deep dimples, and she stepped out from the archway to stride down the walkway towards Linne and I. “I’m Melinda. Jackson told me a little bit about you both. I’ve got to say, I never thought I’d meet a being from another realm.”
Shaking my hand, Melinda turned her attention to Linne, but my mate only stared at her outstretched hand under furrowed brows. A long moment slid by on pins and needles before Melinda awkwardly retracted her arm, and my own wrapped around my mate’s waist before she spoke up.
“You are not old…” Blurting out the declaration, Linne frowned deeply as her feathers ruffled in perturbed surprise. Melinda’s sharp, brown eyes flickered to them, narrowing, and I frowned deeply as she waved off my mate’s words uncaringly.
“I may not look it, but I am almost one hundred-and-fifty years old, my dear. Why don’t you come in and we can get right to the point of this visit, okay? You can let down your wings, if it makes you more comfortable.”
‘How interesting.’ Muss hovered in front of Melinda’s face, but she obviously couldn’t see him as she whirled around on her heel to stride back inside. Flapping his wings wildly, he tossed his head side to side as his annoyance seeped into my brain. ‘She is very powerful. I am surprised she cannot see me.’
“Maybe she’s got the right idea and is just ignoring you.” Sniggering at my jibe, Linne rolled her shoulders and arched her back as feathers brushed down my forearm. Ignoring the heavy gaze of all five of Muss’ eyes, I made to follow Melinda even as his troubled tone slithered into my ears.
‘This is what you would call ‘weird’, Derek the Lion. I do not understand why you can see me, but she cannot. She has much more magical power than you. It does not make sense.’ Frowning deeply, I reached to swipe my free hand down my face; no matter how close we came to answers, we only seemed to find more questions. I could see Muss, but this powerful witch couldn’t. The fact that Linne and I were mates in the first place had bothersome implications.
Drugs. Magic nightmares. Even a simple fucking explanation about Linne’s wings would’ve been great at this point.
But nothing was simple; it never had been.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Linne
Holding my breath, my throat tightened, and my eyes stung as I stared hard at Melinda. Slowly, she leaned back on the cream-colored loveseat, and I rubbed my fingertips together in my lap. Her expression was drawn in concentration, deep in thought behind furrowed brows. She had a grave face that revealed fine, thin wrinkles around her mouth and eyes.
“Well, I suppose I can help you find out who’s doing this to you. I’ve heard of this kind of thing happening before, but I never thought it would be potent enough to affect someone that isn’t from this realm.” Relief poured into my chest, forcing my breath out in a heavy sigh, and I leaned forward as anxiety coiled in my gut. “First, though, I want to find out what made you susceptible to this world’s magic in the first place. Do you mind, Linne?”
“No! Please, I need help!” Nodding furiously, my high-pitched declaration only caused Melinda to smile gently, and I clenched my hands into tight fists. “I do not mind at all.”
Jumping to my feet when she patted the spot next to her, I rounded the coffee table on legs thrumming with tension. Gnawing on my bottom lip diligently, my heart pounded against its cage as she cupped my face in warm, smooth hands. My breath caught in my throat when her eyes began to glow, slowly changing color from a deep, dark brown to a light purple.
My wings shuttered and ruffled as the familiar sensation of magic weaved through my veins, and I clenched my jaw tightly. The prickles started at my shoulders, sticking like needles down towards my toes, and I stretched my wings in a futile attempt to rid my spine of the pain. Only a few seconds ticked by, and Melinda’s firm touch left my cheeks as the color seeped from her eyes.
Leaning back, she cocked her head at me to stare for a long, tense moment, and I nearly bounced in my seat from the apprehension tangling my gut.
“That’s weird… you’ve got this thing inside you that I would call a limiter.” My heart leaped into my throat, and I flapped my wings stiffly even as Melinda continued her explanation. “It doesn’t limit your input – the magic that you use, but it does limit your output – the magic that you secrete when you cast a spell.”
“W-what? I have a wild magic limiter? How does that let the nightmares into my brain?” Whipping to Derek, my eyes widened as he shook his head in helplessness with a deep grimace. “That does not make sense. Wild magic cannot be used in such a way.”
“Calm down, Linne.” Melinda’s soft, soothing voice slithered into my ears, and I stiffened as she took my hands in hers. Pursing my lips tightly, I inhaled a shallow breath through flared nostrils as she smiled comfortingly at me. “It does make sense since a magical limiter will help you hide when you do use your magic. Think of your output – your wild magic – as a wall that helps deflect attacks on you. Since the limiter weakens that wall, it’s easier for someone to cast a spell on you.”
“Oh.” Exhaling harshly, I tore my eyes off Melinda as my mind whirled from this revelation, but it was Derek that spoke up first.
“Kaslni gave you that pebble thing to protect you from being a blazing target in a world without enough wild magic to hide you. That’s what you said, remember, babe? You couldn’t hide from Bareiijnr because there wasn’t enough wild magic to disguise you.” My eyes widened as they flew to my mate, and my jaw slackened as he leaned his elbows on his knees to clasp his hands together. Intensity raged across his expression, and his eyes narrowed into feline slits as he stared back at me.
“She must think things are going to get bad real fast. That was over two months ago… Muss said there’s nothing new to report. This is sounding a lot like the calm before the storm.”
“That does not help me right now; what about the nightmares? I am much more worried about them than Bareiijnr…” After a long moment heavy with expectation, Derek only shrugged with a low, displeased grunt, and I turned back to Melinda with a growing sense of panic swirling in my chest. “How do I stop the nightmares?”
“You can take the limiter out – that would be the quickest way… but, if you need it for whatever threat this Bar-guy poses, that’s not an option. I can try to track down the spell threads – just from the kind of things you’re describing, there isn’t a lot of finesse in this spell…” Trailing off, Melinda frowned for the first time, and my breath caught in my throat underneath the thick lump that threatened to suffocate me. “But, you’ll need to be asleep – without the pills.”
“No! I won’t!” Ripping my hands from hers, I pushed myself up onto stiff legs as venom coated my tongue. “No! Do it somehow else – any way else!“
“Linne, just consider it, babe – ” Derek tried to coax. Spreading my wings high and wide, I whirled to face him as he shot up from his seat, and I shuddered from the force of the anger and fear that slammed into my chest.
“No! You do not understand – I cannot make you understand. It-it hurts!” Shadows in the tiny corners of the room that weren’t bathed in sunlight darkened and spread across the floor, and I wrapped my arms around myself tightly. It felt like I was standing at the edge of an abyss. I jerked back when Derek tried to touch me, and he frowned beneath blazing eyes, a beacon in the darkness. “I-I won’t. I won’t do it.”
“I’ll come with you, Linne. You can do that, right, Melinda?” I couldn’t tear my eyes off my mate as my heart squeezed and sputtered dangerously, but his gaze was full of determination. “She can do it, babe. I’ll help you… We’ll do it together, yeah?”
Slowly inching towards me, as if I was a scared animal in a corner, Derek flashed bright, hazel irises. His fingertips grazed my forearms, and he froze when I stiffened with a sharp, whistling inhale.
Apprehension pooled in my belly, but he wasn’t perturbed as he carefully encircled my shivering body. Fast, heavy beats of his heart reverberated against my chest, in sync with my own, and I whimpered softly as the shadows around us began to recede.
“You’re a badass, Linne. You’ve killed innumerable enemies, remember? Melinda will lead you – us – to the witch, and you’ll do what you were trained to do, right? And then I’ll worship you in her blood and bits, like the Goddess you are.”
“I have never killed for myself…” I mumbled wobblingly into Derek’s shoulder. I took a deep breath of his scent as he wrapped his arms firmly around my torso. Tucking my wings against his forearms, a shiver slid down my spine when he squeezed me gently.
“It’s no different, trust me.”
“Hmmm…” Humming softly in acknowledgment, I exhaled smoothly while he stroked my feathers with the backs of his fingers soothingly.
“I know how hard it is for you, Linne, but I know you can do this. I’ll be with you each step of the way.”
“We don’t have to do it today if you don’t want to, Linne,” Melinda piped up. “This was just a meeting to see if I could even help you. You’re more than welcome to come back whenever you’re ready.”
“I would like to come back another day.” Although my words were muffled in Derek’s warm skin, Melinda was still able to make them out. She made a little grunt to show she agreed. Stiffly pulling away from my mate, I raked my hands through my hair and down my face to expel a heavy sigh. “You are right.”
‘Derek the Lion is unexpectedly correct despite gender-profiled stereotypes, is he not?’ Muss’ deep voice caressed the deep crevices in my brain, and I peeked over Derek’s shoulder to glare lightly at his glimmering form. ‘Does it not get frustrating that you are wrong more often than not?’
“Go choke, you damn bird. Fuck…” Derek’s growl reverberated through the floor and up the walls, and I cracked a smile at the annoyance in his tone. Twisting to glare at Muss, my mate bared his teeth threateningly while Melinda watched through curious eyes. “You haven’t been any fucking help at all, you know. You’re not exactly in a position to be haughty.”
‘I can only do so much in this realm, Derek the Lion. Do not assume that because I was unhelpful this time that I will not be next time. And trust me – the next time is coming.’ Muss’ ominous threat washed down my spine with needle-like prickles, and Derek’s lip curled in a snarl even as the raven disappeared. Clenching and releasing his fists by his sides, my mate forced his gaze from the spot he’d been fixated on to glare at Melinda. Interest seeped from her pores; her expression straight but for her wide, intelligent eyes, and he snorted roughly before rolling his shoulders hard.
“Let’s go, Linne. We’ll be back.” Bopping my head in a nod as the tension slithered from the room, I took hold of Derek’s hand as resolve firmed in my chest.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Linne
“Just one more, babe – you got this.”
Grinding my teeth audibly, I groaned as my palms burned from how tightly I gripped the weighted, iron bar.
“Put your wings into it.”
“I do not… got t-this!” My arms wobbled dangerously, and Derek grabbed the bar with a strong grip to keep it from falling on me. Panting harshly, I struggled to sit up as a burning, shooting pain spread through my entire body. Even my wings trembled and ached and twitched from exertion, and the clink of metal rang in my ears beyond the blood that pounded wildly.
“You did better than yesterday, Linne.” Familiar, callused hands massaged my shoulders, and I hissed with a sharp roll as fire shot down my spine. “I’m proud of you, babe.”
“I refuse to allow you to commit the acts of sexual intercourse for a long time, Derek.” A low, heady growl filled the gym, and multiple pairs of eyes landed on me while my mate dropped onto the bench behind me. Sweat ran in rivers between my breasts, and I arched sharply with a grimace at his added heat.
“Strong bodies nurture strong minds, babe. When your nightmares aren’t a problem anymore, I’m going to put all this new muscle to use and fuck you until you pass out – over, and over, and over again…” Murmuring threateningly in my ear, Derek licked the sweat off the side of my neck heavily, and my core clenched tightly. The throbbing of my body was tinged with need, and my heart stuttered in its cage. “I’m going to mount your gorgeous ass in my shifted f – ”
“You’re disgusting, you know that?” The pure venom in Rachel’s tone sent shocks through me, and I twisted to watch through narrowed eyes as she sneered. Her eyelid twitched, and she tossed her head in an avian motion that looked awkward for a human. Arching one of my eyebrows when she didn’t follow up her question, I glanced at Derek as confusion washed over me.
“I did not know that – no?” Frowning up at this woman that I hadn’t thought about for a long, long while, I pursed my lips tightly as her glare intensified. “Is there something you would like? I am busy.”
Rachel turned beet red over every inch of her exposed skin – even below her face. Magic raced through my veins faster than she could so much as jerk to swipe at me, and I leaned back as I beat my wings slightly. With a pathetic sort of ease, my magic slithered into her mind to break her brain’s connection with her hands. The appendages hung limply off her wrists, and Derek’s warmth left my back as he shuffled further down the seat to avoid my feathers colliding with his face.
“I do not understand why you would try to attack me. I have already proven I am more powerful than you, Avian Rachel. This is very foolish.” Even as I spoke up in the still silence, I silently wondered how Rachel had even recovered so well in the first place. Her mind was easily penetrated, but she must be very resilient; that was my only conclusion. Staring in shock at her hands with her mouth w
ide open, she sputtered for a second before returning her glare to me.
“You can’t do shit without your magic, can you? I bet I could beat the fuck out of you in a physical one on one.” A harsh, snorting choke of a laugh burst from my throat at Rachel’s threat, and the sparse patrons of the gym started to inch closer, sensing a showdown about to start. Her glare burned holes into my face, and I shirked off my mate’s grip to stand up. Vigor rushed through my veins with the force of a tsunami, and the weakness that plagued me only seconds ago had vanished.
“How do you even know I will not be using my magic?”
“Oh, I’ll know. I won’t fall for that shit again.” Rachel shuffled on the balls of her feet, slowly turning away from me as she glared fiercely into thin air. She could only see what I wanted her to see, but everyone else was unaffected. Smirking slightly as Derek’s snigger floated thickly along the floor, I flexed my toes against the mats before opening my mouth.
“What do you wish to bargain with? Your life for mine?” The gathered crowd heard what I said, but I blocked out their murmurs from Rachel’s ears as she huffed loudly. Her head jerked in a sloppy nod, and she lunged almost instantly at the empty space between herself and a rack of barbells. Metal against metal, the harsh clank of falling weights filled the gym, and she jumped up as one landed directly on her foot.
“She doesn’t even need you to fuck her up. How did she become top female in the first place?” Awe laced the deep, masculine voice, and I twisted as a boy, only just becoming a man, trained his gaze on me. Affection poured into my chest, and I smiled brightly even though I couldn’t really answer his question.
In fact, no one answered him; the few spectators were too busy watching Rachel flail around like a mad woman.
“Babe, she gave you permission to kill her. Just do it and let’s get you in the bath.” Derek’s complete disregard for this woman was endearing, and my smile widened even as I shook my head. Turning my gaze to him, I reached to take his hand firmly as my magic calmed into nothing.
Finding My Mate Page 14
