by Jo Penn
“Go.” Mac nodded, stepping closer. “Why would I want my mate to leave? I haven’t even gotten to know you yet. So right now, I feel like my stomach has been used as a slingshot and I’m sure I look like I’m hung over or on drugs, but what do you say? Let me take you to lunch?”
Fale relaxed. He’d been oversensitive and overreacted. Mac had just learned they were mates and then had a horrible night. He brightened and nodded.
“Okay.”
“And can you stop offering to bond with me just to make me healthy? I’ll get a complex soon.” Mac winked and, turning, walked toward the bathroom. “Give me twenty minutes?”
“Yep! Not a problem, take your time.”
Excited again, Fale managed to hold it in, but once Mac was in the bathroom with the door shut, he fist pumped the air and grinned like a madman.
“Mac’s feeling better then.”
Flushing brightly, Fale spun around. “Yeah. He’s taking me to lunch.”
“Great.” Lacy held out a small plastic container. “I have to go to work and will be on a seventeen-hour shift at the hospital, but Layke will be here tonight if you need him. And remember, you’re not looking after Mac, you’re with him. We’re all here and will help. These are medicines and pain killers. Vinn is with his mate all day today so he won’t be here doing security, which means Vicus is home watching over everyone. Eber will be on call in case Vicus needs to go…” Lacy frowned. “You do not understand why I’m telling you this, do you, honey?”
“No idea.” Fale winced.
“Let’s go downstairs, and River can explain. He’s home for lunch, probably to check on Macario.”
River, who was tall with golden blond hair and the golden Aston eyes, was very attractive and had a way about him that made you feel comfortable. Lacy kissed her brother’s cheek, told him to explain about security to Fale and make sure Layke ate.
“I doubt even Vicus can get Layke to leave his dungeon until he wants to.” River waved at the seat at the end of the kitchen counter from him. “Go to work, Lacy, I’ve got this.”
“Thanks. Bye, Fale, have fun at lunch and don’t forget, Cas wants you to pop over to the Morgan guild this afternoon.”
Fale nodded and waved good-bye as he made himself comfortable on the stool. “Mac’s up and feeling better.”
Which would have surprised him but Lacy had explained that with Macario’s enhanced healing care of his shifter genes, they were finding that he would have a few bad days after chemo and radiation, but then be fit and fine for three or four days. It was a see-saw ride.
“Good. Why don’t you collect a plate and join me?”
“Oh, thank you, but Mac said he was taking me to lunch.” Fale grinned.
River smiled. “I’m glad. But that does lead us to the issue of security. As you may guess, an Avenger’s family are a target for Renegades, Hunters, and anyone else with a grudge or vendetta. Mac is a CPA for the Alliance, which draws attention. While many won’t see a CPA as anything important, he has his finger in everything the Alliance, and some parts of what the High Council, does. He gets snatched, and Renegades get their hands on the Alliance accounts, they’ll fund their cause for the next hundred-odd years.”
Fale was wide eyed. “I hadn’t even thought of that. Is he really a huge target?”
“Yep. For a few reasons. One is Vicus, of course. Creatures think it’d be a good idea to snatch an Avenger’s family to get leverage over them. Then there is Vinn, who is a very rare and very powerful demon. Demons are hunted for their unique powers, plus Vinn is mated to Prince Emile Sanchez, so he is an attractive target. Our Eber is, also, as he is a cousin to the royal Surkov’s.”
“I’ve heard of them! They’ve just moved into the valley.”
“Yes, they wanted to be closer. Eber is actually Prince Eber Surkov Aston. Do you see what I am saying, how Macario, myself, every single member of this family is a target? And that you will be now, also.”
“Me?” Fale stared at River, finger pointed at his own chest. “But I’m a slow developer, I haven’t even fully come into my magical talent yet, and it’s not an exciting or extraordinary gift.” Fale flushed. “Oh, I will be targeted not because of me, but because of being the mate to an Aston.”
“That’s right and Fale, we are all important and every gift is precious.” River smiled warmly. “What’s your gift?”
“I can read really, really fast.” He fiddled with a spot on the bench top. Not ashamed of his talent, but not seeing the use of it, he didn’t advertise what he could do. It was sort of like a party gag gift.
“How fast?” River asked seriously.
“I don’t know. Five hundred pages in twenty seconds. My trainer thinks I will read faster when my talent comes in entirely, and since I am already showing signs of a photographic memory, I could be useful to the guild.”
“I agree. And to our family. There are many documents Emile, Macario, Eber and I have to trawl through for relevant information. We could always use a helping hand.” River frowned. “And Layke. He’s always reading five texts at once and a dozen journals in his pursuit of finding a way to treat and even cure some of the worst diseases humans have.”
“Oh wow. I’ll help if he wants, and you, too.”
“Help with what?” Mac walked in looking fresh and not at all like he’d been so ill last night Fale was pressing an emergency panic button and waking the entire house.
The man looked amazing to Fale. He looked solid and warm and brimming with personality.
“We were discussing Fale’s gift, Macario. Fale is just beginning to come into his, and it is a rather interesting one. When you have time, Fale, I would very much like to see your gift in action.”
“Okay,” Fale said worriedly.
“Don’t keep me in suspense. What’s your gift?” Mac got a bottle of water from the fridge, one of the rows of refrigerators, and twisted the top off.
“I can read extremely fast,” Fale mumbled quietly.
“How fast?” Mac asked, voice dead serious.
“Umm, well, five hundred pages in twenty seconds. And I remember ninety-five percent of what I’ve read. My trainer said when my gift comes in entirely, I’ll read faster and retain all the information.”
“That is…extraordinary.” Mac looked shocked. “I’m surprised Cas and Vis let you work as a masseuse and don’t have you in their communications or law section instead.”
“I help when they need the most valuable information extracted from documents.”
“Well, we’ll try not to use you, won’t we, Mac?” River said pointedly.
“What? Oh, sure, sure, I’ll just have my office send over that box of tax law documents I haven’t had time to look at yet,” Mac said very seriously, then grinned and winked. “Ready for lunch?”
“First,” River interrupted. “We were also discussing security. Mac does not always like to follow the security rules, but they are there for a reason. You understand this now, do you not, Fale?”
Fale nodded quickly. “Yes. I’ll follow the rules to keep Mac safe.”
“And you. So everywhere you go, and Mac, there will be security guards. Every appointment, every outing needs to be placed on a schedule. There will be no impromptu getaways, no last minute shopping excursions, but,” River smiled at Mac’s grumble and Fale’s slumping shoulders, “it doesn’t take much to arrange when you want to go out and grab a coffee or duck to a movie. We just let whoever is on security duty, which is Vicus, Eber, or Vinn, know, and they can get the guards ready.”
“Or they drag you home kicking and screaming,” Mac muttered.
“That’s right, because you don’t have permission and often cause the guards to be spread far too thin.” River stood and hugged Mac. “Take it easy today. Have fun with Fale, get to know him, and remember, he was up all night with you and will probably be exhausted in a few hours.”
“River, your ride is here.” Blazh rushed into the kitchen. “You’re up!” Blazh hurri
ed over and hugged Mac, then went to a fridge and collected a cool bag. “I’ve got class, see you later, and Fale, if you want to rest tonight, I’ll sleep in Mac’s room.”
Alarmed, Fale sprung up from the stool. Mac was his to take care of. “No! No, I mean, thanks, but I won’t be tired.”
Mac brushed passed Fale, a hand briefly caressing his back on the way to Blazh. Mac nudged the young sprite out the door.
“Go to class. And you go to work, River. I’m all right, and thanks for checking on me and explaining the security rules to Fale.”
Tingling all over from the light touch, Fale just stared adoringly at his mate. Mac was so cool and never seemed to get flustered. Fale had seen Mac lose his temper once at Eber when he was observing his mate, but even then it was merely sharp words, a flash of anger and walking away. Fale tended to overreact and have a mini tantrum when infuriated, which wasn’t often. Still, he admired how Mac carried himself, and he would have loved to have seen his mate toss the fae documents on the floor like Lieutenant Visij said. Fale wondered if he could get Mac to lose control in a different way, a really fun way. Preferably in bed where Mac licked every inch of Fale then fucked him hard.
Oh yeah, that would be a fantasy come to life.
River spent another five minutes quizzing Mac over what he had planned for the afternoon and how he really felt. As he was finally leaving—Fale hoping they would go to lunch now—a creature came into the kitchen who looked similar to Emile and Dominic Sanchez. Fale sniffed a little. He was learning to identify the different types of paranormals and recognized this man as a shifter. He sniffed again, trying to figure out what type in particular.
“Sebastian, hello.” River stepped back from the kitchen door.
“Hi, River.” Sebastian glanced over at Mac, studying Fale’s mate a moment before fixing on Fale. “Hi, you must be Fale Taucher. I’m Sebastian Sanchez, Emile’s cousin.”
“Hello.” Fale nervously moved to stand behind his mate, ready to protect and seeking support at the same time.
Sebastian just smiled and turned back to Mac. “I wondered why I couldn’t see into you anymore, that blocking potion Lacy did works well. I’m really sorry that you’ve been so ill, Macario, and very relieved you’ve found your mate.”
Mac gave a false smile. Funny how it hadn’t taken Fale long to see such traits in his mate and understand them. He guessed that came from stalking—no, observing—Mac for a week and a half.
“Thanks, Seb. I hope you’re not here thinking I need a counseling session, because I’m doing fine mentally.”
“No, but I’m here anytime you need. I’ve got an appointment with Zander. I just wanted to meet Fale and see how you are.”
“Thanks. How is Zander? I didn’t get a chance to see him yesterday.”
“Much better.”
“He’s talking?”
“Not about the past, but he’s doing extremely well and would like to see you. Have you been avoiding him because of your illness?”
“My schedule. Speaking of which, I would like to take my mate to lunch then to collect the rest of his belongings from the Morgan guild. Are your ready, Fale?”
Sebastian smirked. “I get it. No one wants to talk to the psychologist.” He held up his hands and backed out of the room. “I’m deeply wounded, but I get it.”
“Oh, I’m sure we have a few minutes…” Fale felt bad that the shifter’s feelings were harmed.
“Seb! My mate is sensitive,” Mac chided. “Fale, Sebastian’s teasing.”
“Damn, you are really sensitive, more than most young fae.” Sebastian pulled out his wallet and handed Fale a card. “If you ever want—”
“If my mate wants to talk about feelings, he can speak to me. Go chat with my brother.”
Laughing, Sebastian saluted and, with a careless grin thrown at Fale, left the kitchen. Confused, Fale looked to his mate for an explanation. He smiled slowly, realizing that Mac had called Fale “my mate” and had been a little proprietary. And Mac had stood up for Fale. That was a sign his mate was feeling the connection between them, right? Hopefully, Mac was beginning to like Fale. Maybe even falling for him?
Fale couldn’t help his smile.
“Let’s go get some lunch.”
“Okay. What did Sebastian mean by being able to see inside you? And that I’m more sensitive than most young fae? I’m sure I’m not.” He frowned, glaring a little now. “I’m just the right amount of sensitive for a fae, or any creature. Do you think I’m too sensitive? In what way? How would he even know? I don’t—”
“Fale.” Mac clasped Fale’s arms a moment, gaining his attention. Once he had, Mac rubbed his hands up and down soothingly. It was really nice. “Sensitive means you care. Now let’s go get some lunch, and I’ll tell you all about Sebastian and his gift.”
Completely distracted by his mate touching him, smiling at him, Fale would have pretty much agreed to anything right then. Especially if it were them in bed together.
Chapter Seven
Seated in the late afternoon sun, for once Mac didn’t have to rush off to some meeting, he wasn’t checking his texts and e-mails, and didn’t have plans to hang with friends or his brothers.
No, his complete attention was focused on the faes in front of him doing some weird memory game with flying objects and bright, blinding lights. A few times Mac was sure one of those bright lights would collide with a flying object, but they whizzed past each other, and the trainer would start rattling off questions and Fale and two other faes would be trying to respond in the time given.
Mac still couldn’t believe it. He had a mate. Last night there was no time to consider what this meant, what having Fale in his life meant, but now he could think and consider and observe.
Fale was way ahead of him. He knew what Mac was like. He knew what he wanted. It left Mac at a disadvantage, so he was hurrying to catch up. So far Fale was an open book. There were no secrets, no pretense, and the young man wore his heart and thoughts on his sleeve for anyone to see. Fale reminded Mac of Blazh, that sweet innocence that not everyone had, or at least lost when they reached adulthood. Not Blazh, he’d never lose the innocence and Mac was eternally grateful. He loved Blazh’s view on the world. And it appeared his mate was similar in that respect.
It was fascinating. Mac was fascinated and captivated by Fale. Every single day he dealt with the jaded people, the cynical, the realistic and beaten down. It was normal, and no one was just one thing. While jaded, that person may still have so much hope. The realistic person actually dreamed of what could be. Mac wasn’t jaded, he wasn’t beaten down, and he did live in reality. He had a fucking awesome family, even if they drove him crazy. Over the last few years, he’d shed so many tears when discovering he was ill and there was no actual cure, just treatment. He’d watched Layke, his socially inept brother, the brilliant scientist, close off even more while working to save Mac. Eber and Vinn had become more protective, and he knew they hurt at the thought of him dying. Vicus didn’t like that he couldn’t fight the disease, and Lacy and Jayce were lost, afraid of losing someone they loved.
Sometimes he’d just wanted to go away and be free of everything. He had responsibilities, he had a family full of immortal creatures and too many restrictions.
Mac sighed. Okay, he was just frustrated and dealing with a lot the last few years, and seeing his family hurting made him want to take himself away, give them all a break from it. But that was foolish talk. Still, a time away in Hawaii, or Tahiti, would be grand.
Fale though, now the fae was a surprise. At first, Mac couldn’t even take it in, but he was beginning to. Over lunch, he’d told Fale about Sebastian Sanchez, how the creature had the gift to be able to see inside another, right down to good and bad deeds, what he or she was like. Fale was stumped by that. They’d talked about Fale’s family, his sister, many cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, and grandparents and what it was like growing up in Tahiti and what Fale wanted to do now.
He wante
d to be a masseuse but specialize in massages that focused on improving a creature’s spirit and physical health. Mac found himself hoping Fale could do what he wanted. His mate didn’t realize it yet, but his gift would be in high demand from his guild, and from Mac’s family, and probably the Alliance.
That got Mac thinking. If there was one thing he could do for Fale, it was help him have the life he wanted and not be overrun with demands for the use of his gift. Information was a resource people paid highly for, and though it was evident Fale wouldn’t care about payment, there were other ways people paid and things they would do to get information. Mac could see his family was going to have to protect Fale from those who would use him for his gift, because Mac never wanted Fale to lose that sweet innocence.
And no one should be used.
“You’re mate’s good.” Eber sat beside Mac on the table of an outdoor bench. “He has a one hundred percent success rate with the flying objects, ninety-nine with the information recall.”
“He needs to be protected, or the Alliance and guild will use him up.”
Eber nodded. “What do you want me to do?”
“Make him completely unavailable. He just wants to be a masseuse. He’s great at it, could really help anyone injured or sick.” Mac shrugged. “Maybe he just helps in emergencies and for crucial shit with his gift.”
“It’ll be done. So this means you want him.”
Why wouldn’t Mac? Fale was good looking with his dark complexion, warm dark eyes, longish dark hair, and engaging, friendly grin, and he had a great body. Five foot ten with a swimmer’s build and a very nicely rounded ass. But as lovely as it was to spend time with someone good looking, personality counted, too, and Fale had it in spades.
“I like him and would like to get to know Fale.” Mac popped a few sultanas into his mouth and offered the packet to Eber. His brother took it and looked around.
