“Some five to ten minutes ago, why? What is this all about? You’re scaring me, guys.”
“That’s about when Jason spoke the words. They had to be ‘powerful’ ones, weren’t they?” Toby asked his mate and Jason nodded. “Okay, so Joel obviously got included in Jay-Jay’s reality changing, since he was in the house, so that’s why he is not affected,” Toby stated, very happy with himself.
“I still don’t get it!” Toren was visibly frustrated.
“Okay.” Toby took a deep breath and tilted his head back, looking at the ceiling and trying to find another way of explaining things. “You know that Jason’s power is changing reality, right?”
“Yes, the Alpha told me as much.”
“Yeah, so I think what Jay-Jay means by his cryptic words is that when, about five minutes ago, he said that nobody here would be affected by your true form, he used his power to change reality. It instantly made his statement true. If Joel was in the house at that moment he got included in Jason’s reality changing. He is impervious to being fey struck.”
“But it’s…it’s impossible.” Toren was obviously stuck on that one word.
“Impossible is nothing for our Jay-Jay! He can change reality for fuck’s sake!” Toby went into a protective mode. It was funny to watch, like a Miniature Pinscher trying to defend a Doberman. Adorable, really.
“Would someone explain to me what is going on? I know you guys are all paranormals and I, a lowly human, need to be kept in dark for everyone’s safety, but it’s obviously more than that, and I would really appreciate knowing what the hell was going on for once!” Joel became more and more agitated, and Tim felt for him. It couldn’t be easy being the only human amongst paranormals. It was like being the odd one out, and Tim could definitely sympathize. He could also see it was grating on the proud human’s nerves. Timiny stood up and went to Joel.
“You’re officially the only human impervious to becoming fey-struck, congratulations.” He hugged his friend and whispered in his ear, “I’ll explain it all to you later.” Immediately, the man relaxed.
“Great! So, is it time to celebrate yet?” Joel asked, causing everyone to laugh in relief. Tim noticed that even Toren got himself under control and finally concealed his light.
“Hell yeah, let’s get this party started!” someone exclaimed, and Tim thought it might have been his twin. Everyone filed out to the garden, where the barbecue was already lit.
Tim pulled Joel to the side and asked him, “Are you sure you’re all right? Not feeling funny or weird in any way?”
“Um, no, thank you for asking.” Joel still had no clue where Tim’s worry was coming from and the fey decided to fix it.
“Okay, let me explain to you why everyone was so worried when you marched into the room.” Then he proceeded to do just that. He explained about being fey-struck, and how serious the consequences could be. Then told Joel about Jason changing reality so that no one in the house would be affected to that degree.
“Huh, seems like I chose a good time to come in, then.” Joel looked thoughtful but relaxed. “Thank you for explaining it all to me, Tim. You’re a wonderful friend.” The man patted his shoulder and wandered to mingle with others in the backyard. Tim did not understand why his heart squeezed painfully at the man’s wording.
Joel was human. Even being impervious to fey’s true form, there was no chance he could ever bond with a pixie. Then there was Timiny’s secret. It made any relationship between them impossible, and Tim was cool with that. Mostly. Probably. Maybe. Hell, whatever, he could admit to himself that he was smitten with the guy and falling for him hard. That didn’t make their relationship any less impossible, though, and that was the end of it. Impossible is certain, whispered that tiny voice in the back of his mind, and Timiny shushed it immediately. Not in my world, it isn’t!
* * * *
“Hi, Jack, is it?” Toren approached the skittish shifter who had caught his attention earlier.
“Yeah, I’m Jack. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too. I’m Toren, Timiny and Jiminy’s brother.”
“Yeah, I got that earlier. You explained who you were before your presentation.”
“Yeah, about the presentation.” Toren wasn’t sure how to voice his question without seeming rude or accusatory, so he decided to be blunt. It was always the best way when not knowing what to do, anyway. “I noticed during it that you weren’t affected by my true form at all. I don’t want to seem intrusive or full of myself, but my magic is pretty strong. I’ve never met a paranormal completely immune to it. There is usually at least a spark of interest in there.”
“Well, our Alpha told you he can change reality. He made it so we weren’t affected.”
“No, not exactly. He made it so you were able to resist fey’s true form, not that you weren’t affected. I saw it in some people there. They were intrigued, tempted, even, to approach me, but they were able to resist those urges. It wasn’t the case with you. You were almost oblivious to my inner light,” Toren insisted. Jack frowned but didn’t argue. He gave Toren’s question a little thought before answering.
“Maybe that’s because it’s not the first time I saw it. Is that possible? Can someone develop resistance to it by being exposed to fey’s true form?”
It was Toren’s turn to frown.
“It is very much possible, but when did you see it? My understanding is that my brothers had their light concealed all the time while in human world.”
“It wasn’t Jim or Tim I saw. It was some other fey. Not a pixie. He had no wings, from what I saw.” Having heard it, Toren couldn’t help but grab Jack’s shoulder. The slim shifter flinched, and Toren swore under his breath.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he apologised. “But I think it is very important that you tell me exactly when and where you saw this fey. It might be connected to all the other problems we were discussing with your Alpha earlier.” Jack’s eyes grew large when he heard it, and he swallowed loudly. He nodded, and Toren sighed with relief. “Let’s get somewhere private, where your Alpha and his inner circle can listen to what you’ve got to say.”
“Okay.” Jack looked apprehensive but determined at the same time. He nodded in agreement, then said, “I’ll get Alpha Jason and his mates and we’ll meet you in the kitchen. If you could bring your brothers, and Dominic and Joel, that would be good.”
“Very well,” Toren agreed and went in search of said brothers. A small thought entered his mind as he looked for them. It seemed his little siblings belonged to the powerful Alpha’s inner circle. They did well for themselves. They had found a strong pack, and Jim had a good, powerful mate. Toren realised that they weren’t the little boys he remembered running around the palace, creating havoc. They were all grown up now. He felt slightly melancholic about it. He missed the times when he was their hero, able to slay any monsters that troubled them. Sometime along the way, they had grown apart, and Toren never realised how much separated them. Secrets, misunderstandings, hostility. When did it happen? Did he do something wrong? Should he have paid more attention to his kid brothers? He didn’t know, and now it was too late. He only hoped he could fix it, that he could bond with them once again.
Toren found Jim and Dominic engaged in a lively conversation with a young shifter couple…Jane and Tory? No, Troy. Jane and Troy. The talking stopped as soon as he approached. The young couple became instantly guarded, not knowing what to expect from him. He was used to such reactions. People always changed when he approached them. He was an heir to the throne and was rarely treated like a normal guy. He smiled to diffuse tension and addressed his little brother.
“Hey, Jimmy, could you and your mate help me find Tim and Joel? We have some things to discuss about the investigation. It looks like we might have a new lead.”
* * * *
“Okay, what’s this all about, little Lord Fauntleroy?” Tyler had bucketloads of fun teasing Toren. He thought that Timiny and Jim b
eing royalty was hilarious.
“Who the hell is Fauntleroy?” Toren scowled at the annoying tiger.
“Well, that surely must be you. I can’t see any other rich heirs to a fortune here. Oh, wait, no, there are other two trailing right behind you!” The big man made a shocked sound and put his hand to his mouth in feigned surprise.
“Knock it off, kitty cat,” Tim said, stepping from behind his older brother and facing Ty.
“Or you’ll do what, Tinkerbell?”
Tim grinned evilly, not having to think hard on his answer.
“Or I’ll shave you when you’re taking your catnap. Can you imagine it? A naked tiger?” He laughed out loud at Tyler’s terrified expression.
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Try me!” Tim waggled his eyebrows.
“Okay, now that we have all the threats and teasing out the way, can we please concentrate on why your brother called us all here?” Dominic acted like a grown-up as he entered the room with his mate cuddled into his side.
Tim was still grinning as he sat at the kitchen table across from Jason, who was already seated there. The man was still in serial killer mode.. They took seats around the table, some of them standing, as there weren’t enough chairs. Once the sounds of everyone taking their seats quieted down, Toren spoke from where he was leaning against the back door.
“Okay, the reason why I called you here is because I noticed something strange, and when I decided to investigate it, what I discovered was even stranger.”
“Cut to the chase, will ya?” Tyler went from playful to annoyed in a span of moments. He really was like a big cat in some respects.
“When I showed you all my true form, I watched every person in the room to measure to what degree they were affected by it. Besides Jason and my brothers, there was only one person who had no reaction to it whatsoever. It was Jack. I thought it strange and decided to ask him about it. What he told me has me thinking that it might be somehow connected to our investigation.” Toren took a deep breath and looked Jack in the eyes with an encouraging smile. He could see something was troubling the lean shifter and didn’t want to aggravate him.
“Um, yes,” Jack started with much more hesitation than he was showing before. It was clear to everyone that the cuberow shifter was more affected by the whole investigation thing than he let anyone know. “So, when Toren asked me why I wasn’t affected, I thought maybe it’s because I was exposed to a fey’s true form before. Because I was. I didn’t think it important before, but in my old pack, my Alpha used to have this visitor. It was a young man who came to the Alpha regularly. Every time he would come, all the pack members in the area waited, wanting to see a glimpse of him. We were all fascinated by him because he glowed. After a while, some of us got used to it, and some would still stalk the Alpha’s mansion whenever the time for the man’s visit came. I was one of those who got used to him. Now, I know he was fey. I mean, he had to be, right? His light was not nearly as bright as Toren’s, but he shone nonetheless.”
“You’re right,” the large fey interjected. “He had to be fey. And that’s exactly what worries me. Fey do not have a habit of visiting the human world regularly. They rarely come here as it is, and when one of us does come here, we always keep our inner light hidden. It is very dangerous to show it to strangers. That’s why I suspect this man had to be involved in something shady.”
“Yeah…” To everyone’s surprise it was Toby who spoke. “I can follow your train of thoughts. A shady business involving a fey and an asshole Alpha, pixies disappearing from the fey world, kidnapping of paranormals. It’s all too strange not to be connected. Add in the fact that Jack was taken from right outside of his old pack’s territory…”
“Yes, my thoughts exactly.” Toren nodded. It took Joel another few seconds to catch up.
“Are you saying you suspect Jack’s old Alpha of being involved in kidnappings? That the fey somehow links him to the trafficking ring?”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Toren agreed.
“Little lord there is right.” Tyler’s expression was grim as he spoke. “It seems too farfetched that there would be two separate, suspicious dealings involving fey when they do not have a habit of coming to this world.”
“Shit!” Joel drove his fingers through his hair in frustration. “But what does it mean for our investigation?”
“It means that you have another lead to follow,” stated Tim simply. Then he addressed Jack with a question. “Jack, you knew your old Alpha. Was he capable of doing something like selling his people?”
Jack looked tired and a little bit sad. “Yeah, he was a bastard. Not abusive, but selfish and greedy. If he found profit in it, he wouldn’t hesitate to give up locations of other paranormals in the area. As an Alpha, he had access to this type of information, too.”
“Fuck! Okay, what do we do?” Joel asked, completely frustrated. He wanted to pursue his own leads, but this one seemed promising as well. All the people gathered, besides Toby and Ty, were shocked when Jason spoke. His eyes were still those of a cold-blooded killer, but his voice wasn’t so mechanical anymore.
“You do nothing. Joel will continue his investigation of Bradshaw. Meanwhile, we will contact Annette and have her and her team check Jack’s old Alpha. She’s got resources and people qualified to do the job.” Everyone nodded at his statement, and only Toren seemed doubtful.
“Are you sure it is a good idea, Alpha? She is not a part of your pack.”
“No,” Jason said, his eyes zeroing in on Toren’s, “she isn’t, but she is a good person, and I trust her with my mates’ safety. She was nothing but forthcoming with the information, and she was the one to point us in the right direction in the first place. We are not a big pack. We only have two professionals here who could deal with investigating, and they have other duties as well. We are a small pack with your everyday people. We’re not soldiers or vigilantes. We know the threat needs to be dealt with, but we are not equipped to do it on our own. Does that answer your questions, fey?”
Toren frowned but nodded. “I apologise. I keep forgetting you’re new to paranormal world, and that you haven’t gotten the training me and my brothers received.”
“Training?” There was curiosity in Dominic’s voice.
“Yes, combat training.”
“You have combat training, sweet?” Dom’s eyebrows crawled up his forehead in surprise. Jim pouted.
“Hey, it’s not my fault that it flew out of my head the moment I saw you naked, okay? You’re pretty distracting.”
“What are they talking about?” Toren was definitely not in on the topic. Tim decided to explain.
“Apparently, our dear brother broke into Dominic’s apartment and, with his wings bare, casted an illusion. Dominic still discovered him and got doused in mating dust.”
“What?!” Toren’s eyes were huge.
“Wait, that’s not the best part yet. Then, our little Cricket forgot the mating rejection formula and had to hide in the bathroom while Dominic, in his wolf shifter heat, tried to get to him.” Once Tim finished, his older brother gaped at him with his mouth hanging open.
“You’re kidding, right?” Toren turned to Jim. “Why didn’t you just knock him out with your magic?”
The little man’s eyes narrowed. “Have you seen my mate naked? He’s hawt! I couldn’t think with all that delicious muscle on display. Besides, it was my fault, and I didn’t want to hurt him!”
“Jimmy”—Toren gave his brother a patient look—”he would probably suffer less being knocked out than having to go through a heat.”
“Oh.” Jim scrunched his eyebrows. “I didn’t think about it.” Then he looked at his mate, his eyes full of anguish. “I’m sorry, Dom. I really never even thought about knocking you out.”
Dominic only laughed. “Water under the bridge, babe. At least we’ve got an exciting story about our first meeting, right?” Jim smiled tentatively and nodded. He still looked subdued, though
.
“Okay, since we’ve got it all sorted out, why don’t we join the party? I’m sure the rest of the pack is starting to wonder where we’ve gone,” Toby suggested. He didn’t meet any resistance. There was a time for being serious, and then there was a time to relax and have a good time with friends. Now was definitely time for partying.
Chapter Twelve
“Explain it to me again. Why don’t pixies mate with humans?” Joel’s question came out of nowhere, effectively dispersing the rest of Tim’s afterglow. The sex between them was amazing and getting better with each time. The question, however, surprised him.
“Well, that’s not exactly true, you know. We could, if we wanted to, but there are two reasons why we don’t. The first one is the common misunderstanding about pixie mating. In the past, before the purge, pixies mated with whomever they wanted. It didn’t matter how powerful that person was. Pixies had enough power, thanks to their Royal Form, to protect themselves and their mate. Ever since the purge and loss of Royal Form, though, pixies would seek strong mates who’d be able to take care of them and protect them. It is believed that a pixie needs the strongest mate they can find. Humans are amongst the weakest species. They couldn’t protect a pixie from paranormals or other fey.”
Tim sighed but didn’t move his head, staring at the ceiling while he spoke. “Then there is another reason. I explained to you about being fey-struck, right? Well, nobody would risk having a mate who could get infatuated with another fey. All it would take is for some fey to show up at a pixie and their mate’s doorstep in their true form. It could be a simple coincidence, the fey not expecting the human there. Then, the human becomes fey-struck and begs to serve that other fey. For a pixie, it would be really horrible, don’t you think?”
“Mmm, I guess,” Joel mumbled and turned his head to the side, looking at Tim. They lay next to each other and Tim, too, turned his head to look at his human. “So…” The human paused, and took a deep breath, before continuing, “I’m immune to the whole ‘true form’ thing, right?”
Credo Quia Absurdum Page 13
