by Nikki Hunter
Sounds of the blood pumping through her human form rang inside her ears, she hardly noticed the continued sound of someone clearing their throat. It wasn’t until someone tapped Camila’s shoulder that she pulled away from Bekket. Her face was red and her hair messed from the intimate moment.
Zayn, clearly amused, cocked his head at her. Looking past him she found the others awake, Yehven not as pleased as the rest of the group. Kade’s face was crimson; his magic reeling from the heat of the moment.
“I didn’t pass out from the unbearable pain just to find the newcomer eating my mate’s tonsils,” Yehven breathed.
“Technically, she’s my mate too.” Bekket smiled, leaning into Camila’s neck. His hands dropped, patting her legs to suggest she get up.
“Will I ever not get interrupted when I’m with one of you?” Camila crawled over to the passenger seat with a sigh.
“Well, I’m all for cock-blocking anyone who isn’t me.” Yehven laughed.
Holy shit. He laughed.
His deep chuckle echoed within the car as each passenger rotated in their seats to see him. As if to hide the laugh that escaped him, he coughed. Skin along the top of his ears burned bright red.
“What are you fuckers looking at? Aren’t we in a rush?” His voice grew loud as a blush bloomed across his cheeks.
Silence. It rang in that eerie way that reminded everyone present that no one was talking. Camila shot Bekket a devilish look that had him guessing it was time to let her take over the wheel. They jogged in front of the vehicle getting into their new seats without another word. Camila twisted, facing the men one last time. Her attention focused on Yehven until he could bare her gaze no longer and turned to look out the window at the street.
She pressed her foot down hard on the clutch, turning the key in the ignition and starting the vehicle up with a roar. A smirk split across her lips before she wiggled her eyebrows at Bekket, who looked impressed.
Still pushing against the clutch, she shifted the gears and tapped at the gas sending them forward and into the path of traffic.
“Where am I actually going?” Camila questioned weaving through the movement of cars.
“I have a safe house we can use for the night. Stay on this road until we get to Fifth Street and you can take a right,” Bekket answered while he fiddled with the radio.
Just as he decided maybe no music was for the best, Camila caught the flash of red and blue lights in the rearview mirror. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on the vehicle following closely behind them, they were definitely here for them.
“Dammit,” she cursed under her breath, pulling to the side.
“What is happening?” Bekket asked, his tone more interested than nervous.
“Why are we getting pulled over?” Yehven hollered leaning forward in his seat.
The rocky gravel from the side of the road, met the tires of the van. The crunch of the small pieces seemed much too loud in the now very quiet vehicle. After she put the car into park, Camila reached up adjusting the mirror so she could see herself. She pinched at her cheeks and welcomed a new bright red lipstick over her mouth with the help of her magic.
“Everyone, stay calm. I got this.” She smirked. “Watch and learn.”
She ignored the roll of Lance’s eyes as she turned back around. Smoothly, she lowered the window peeking out under her eyelashes at the cop before them. He stood not much taller than the van, dark hair, and rather oily skin. Camila tried not to wrinkle her nose at him; she had a job to do.
“Ma’am, license and registration, please.” His voice matched his looks, leaving her with an uncomfortable feeling crawling over her skin. She knew a slimy human when she met one. She had worked with enough people in her time to get a feel for it.
Twirling a strand of red hair, she answered, “Now, why would we need that, officer?” Batting her eyes for good measure, she leaned further out of the window.
“It seems you may be in possession of a stolen vehicle.” He glanced to the five men behind her. “What are you and your… friends doing out today?”
“You know, just off for some fun.” She licked her lips before spreading them in a wide toothy smile.
“Ma’am,” he looked thoroughly unamused, “license and registration.”
“Of course. One minute.” Leaning over Bekket, she pulled at the glove box, fiddling around until the magic of the necessary paperwork appeared at her fingertips.
“Here you go.” She handed it out the window.
The cop grunted, taking them from her and walking back to his car.
Well that was not how that was supposed to go. If I’m unable to seduce that unfortunate looking fellow, I’ve lost all of my flirting capabilities. Too long in that damn clock, she thought.
“Camila?” Zayn said, holding a laugh behind the palm of his hand. “What, exactly, were we supposed to learn from that?”
She turned giving him her best death glare. “Well, I guess I’ve lost my touch, now haven't I?”
“What were you supposed to be doing?” Kade asked. His expression and tone suggested this wasn’t sarcasm but a real question for him.
“Flirting to get out of this mess.”
“Oh.” Kade’s eyes shifted before he continued. “He, uh, doesn’t like girls.”
“What?” Camila and Zayn said in unison.
“He doesn’t—” Kade began.
“WAIT!” Camila shouted. “Pinch, poke, you owe me a Coke. 1,2,3,4,5,” She went on staring heavily at Zayn.
“What are you doing? Stop.” He waved just as she said “fifteen.”
“You owe me fifteen Cokes.” She grinned at Zayn. “Go on, Kade. Sorry for the interruption.”
Zayn looked confused as he motioned for Kade to continue.
“Okay...The cop, he doesn’t like girls. He likes guys. He especially likes Bekket.” Kade grinned knowingly; his magic picking up on the emotions of the cop.
“No.” Bekket shook his head, “What?”
“Alright, big boy.” Camila winked, “Time for you to take the reins.”
“I don’t understand. Why would he even pull us over? How would this vehicle be stolen?”
“Guess the fates didn’t think our get away car was a necessity.” She shrugged, patting his leg. “It’s all you when he gets back.”
Right on cue, the officer cleared his throat handing the papers and license back over to Camila. She shot a glance at Bekket, her eyebrows raised.
With a heavy breath, Bekket leaned over Camila a dazzling smile crept across his face. The pure beauty of Bekket was enough to cause Camila’s heart to leap into her throat, but the added smile only relit the fire he started earlier.
“Excuse me, sir?” He asked glancing at his name tag. “Or should I call you Mr. Miller? Do you… have a first name?”
The officer cocked his head to the side, his interest clearly piqued. His lips parted, his grin showing off the yellow of his teeth.
“Clark. You can call me Clark.”
Bekket’s smile faltered for a second before he picked it back up. Camila beamed next to him, a look he would rather ignore given the situation. Fighting the urge to push Camila’s snarky face away, he continued.
“Clark, how about I treat you to a nice breakfast one day? Just give me your number, we will be on our way, and tomorrow it’s you and me over a fresh quiche.”
Clark wiggled his eyebrows at him, scribbling over a small piece of paper.
“You are free to go. Turned out this isn’t the stolen vehicle.” He passed Bekket his number. “I’m only a call away.”
With a wink the officer turned back to his patrol car. Bekket sighed with a knowing smile. “I suppose that’s how it’s done.”
“Nah, I used my magic to make sure we had good papers and he wouldn’t find this car as stolen.” Camila nudged him with her elbow.
“Was my flirting even necessary?” Bekket asked, his voice tinged with annoyance.
“Nope.”
The loud
roar of laughter from the back of the car left Bekket’s face sour. Each joyous chuckle that arose from them left Camila with a new kind of butterfly in her stomach.
Confidently, she pulled into the traffic, following Bekket’s directions to his safe house. Somehow, in that silver minivan as the men poked fun at Bekket, Camila knew everything was going to be alright as long as she had these men, her mates, at her side.
Chapter Four
A Plan
Bekket’s safe house looked more like a mansion than a house. Camila tried to keep her awe contained as they drove through the large iron gates and into his five car garage that was filled with motorcycles.
Her mates behind them must have been in shock too because once they hit his estate, all laughter ceased. Their eyes darted around as they took in the surroundings.
Stepping out of the van, they followed him into the house. It was all very modern; greys and stainless steel.
Definitely a man’s house.
“Mi casa es su casa.” He waved at the house, “To the left you’ll find the theater, gym, and bowling alley. To the right is the pool, the downstairs living room, kitchen, and a bathroom. Upstairs you’ll find five bedrooms, two bathrooms, and the upstairs living area. Oh, and the two story library is straight ahead.”
The room was dead quiet as they all looked at each other. Who the fuck was this guy?
“Holy shit, Bekket,” Zayn started, “you’re rich?”
Bekket shrugged turning left toward the open kitchen. “It’s just stuff.”
“Um, really cool ‘stuff’,” Lance interjected.
Camila sagged with exhaustion, “Team meeting now?”
The group nodded at her, following Bekket into the kitchen and sat themselves on bar stools along the counter. Camila jumped up, sitting on the dark slab of stone that made up the countertop.
“So,” she began, “we are now being hunted? Correct?” The feeling of awe evaporated as dread settled on their shoulders with Camila’s question.
“Yes.” Lance pursed his lips.
“You can tell that...by your magic? The pain in your chest?”
Grimly, they nodded. Zayn even pulled his hand up to cover the spot that always seemed to hurt.
“Can we outrun this?” she pushed.
Yehven rolled his eyes, “Even if that was an option, I’d rather die than live on the run for the rest of my life.”
“Speak for yourself.” Zayn frowned, his fingers drawing circles over the marble.
“Someone just answer the damn question. I’m trying to help but I don’t understand all this fae magic and shit.” She sighed.
“No, you can’t outrun it.” Lance shook his head.
“Fine. Then we fight it.” Camila clapped her hands together.
“And how in the fuck are you going to fight a fae queen?” Yehven drawled.
Camila swiveled on the countertop folding her legs in front of her. “You tell me.”
Yehven slumped, scowling in his seat, and the other men gave her blank faces; all except Bekket. A small, shy smile formed over his lips as Camila pointed at him.
“You,” she began, “tell me what you’re thinking.”
He stayed silent for a moment, his dark eyes bouncing from face to face before he started. “Maybe we start a mini rebellion… maybe we start a war.”
“A war?” Zayn scoffed. “Sounds like a good way to, um, die.”
Bekket waved his hand at Zayn, “Not saying we jump onto the front lines. I’m saying make it political. We need an ally. A powerful one at that.”
Not a muscle moved in that kitchen, a blanket of silence falling over them until Bekket continued. “I say we go to Queen Noryn. Tell her what’s happening, see if she will rally her troops.”
“That. That sounds like a good plan.” Camila agreed.
“That sounds like a bad plan. Not only are we criminals, but we are traitors to the crown of our queen.” Lance pointed out.
“I’m just saying I think it’s worth it. Live dangerously, Lance. A little excitement wouldn’t kill you.” She stopped, humor dancing in her tone. “At least if it tried, I’d save you again.”
Camila tugged at the bag she had packed, the one she had carried in with no help from the men. Such gentleman, she rolled her eyes to herself at the thought.
“Here,” she started, “I grabbed a few things for each of you before we got in the van.”
Unzipping it, they all stared at her in curiosity. Kade leaning forward, interested in what she might have taken with her.
“Here, Kade,” pulling the sketch book out she handed it to him, “sketch book, check. Yehven, here.” The metal of the hilts of the swords grew in her hands as she brought them out of the tote. Their hilts clinked together as she passed him the weapons. Yehven’s mouth twitched as he pulled the blades from her hands.
“Lance, this belongs to you.” Camila passed the book stuffed with his papers and notes to him.
“Thank you.” He beamed flipping through and finding his picture tucked within its pages. Lance’s eyes opened wide as he stared down at it, running his fingers over the image before quietly tucking it away in his back pocket.
She turned to look at Zayn, who was watching the other men, his face blank.
“Zayn, you didn’t have anything in your room that seemed worth bringing. You don’t have much in there at all really.”
He reached over patting Kade’s shoulder next to him, smiling. “Camila, objects are nothing to me. You’ve already brought what matters to me with us.” His eyes swept over his friends before they settled back on Camila.
His sentiment softened her heart. Her lips grew in a wide toothy smile as she grinned back, “Yes, I suppose you are right, even if the sentiment kinda grosses me out,” she waved her hands away from her, “now all of you, get. We need to relax before we run off into the realm of evil queens and way too many suns.”
The men snorted at her comment, but turned away venturing off further into the overwhelmingly large house.
Chapter Five
Whiplash
The steady hunk thunk, wack wack thunk of limbs hitting a punching bag caught Camila’s attention as she wandered the many halls of Bekket’s grand house. As she neared the source of the noise, she peaked through the window panels of the door. It was Yehven.
Curiosity spiked through her as she pushed the door open and stepped in. The salty smell of sweat tickled her nose. As she walked closer, Yehven paused to look her direction, grunting at her, and continuing his workout.
The room was large but plain. A running track circled its edges while the middle was full of metal weights and other workout equipment. Cold air swirled around them, but it didn’t help the sweat that was dripping down Yehven’s torso.
Camila propped herself up on the seat of a weight bench while taking in the flex of each muscle as he beat up the bag. He stopped, his white T-shirt see-through from the sweat clinging to each dip and curve of his strong chest.
“What are you doing in here?” His hand swiped at the moisture along his hairline.
“Just hanging out.” She shrugged.
“Wanna hang out elsewhere?”
“Yehven, don’t you feel that pull between us? Does it not soften your hate for me even a little?” She asked, standing up. She closed the space between them in a few steps, her hands reaching out to touch him.
“It’s just feelings, Camila,” he practically choked out, his eyes empty and dead as he spoke.
“It’s a bond; it’s our bond.” She reached for his clenched hands at his sides. “I want this tension—I want this to be ok between us.”
Yehven shied away from her touch, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
These men are so frustrating.
“What do you need me to do?” she ground out, planting her feet in front of him.
“Leave.”
“You didn’t want me to leave before, when you kissed me.”
“Stop.” He lifted a palm, cutting
her off. “You caught me in a moment of weakness. It won't happen again.”
Her chest felt tight as she stood under his dark gaze, her heart deflating with each word he spoke. I thought I was breaking ground with him finally. Why is he closing me out now? she thought.
“What do you need from me, Yehven? What do you need me to do to get you to understand I won't hurt you?”
His chest heaved as he stared down at her, dropping his arms back down.
“What?” Camila raised her voice, “You want me to be tough like you? Strong like you?”
Raising her fists, she punched him once in the chest. He growled in response. The frustration of his back and forth emotions only pissed her off more when she thought about it, and it all came out in a tornado of her fists against his chest. Yehven didn’t flinch or even look affected by the motion which only fueled the fire. Camila kept going, letting a growl of her own out.
Fast - too fast for her to catch. Yehven grabbed up her hands, spinning her back against the wall as he leaned into her, her hands pinned in one of his above her head. Red hair fell over her face, obstructing her view of the anger, or maybe even sadness, that was cast over his eyes. His breath fanned over her face as he leaned against her.
Camila could feel his desire as his hard cock pushed against her stomach. She attempted to blow the strands of her hair out of her face before she leaned up to taste his lips. He dropped her hands to curl his own around her thighs as he lifted her, pressing her against the wall.
With caution, Camila wrapped herself around him. He kissed her hard, with the same passion of the kiss he had given her before, with the same need.
Bunching his shirt in her hands, Camila pulled the soaked cloth over his head. Together they crashed back into one another, his teeth gently biting down on her lower lip. She breathed into him.
The pause in her want was what stopped him. He pulled away, dropping her to the ground on her feet. “Stop.” His voice so soft it only made the feeling worse. “Please, just let me think. You mess with my head, with my feelings, my desire. It’s overwhelming. I can’t.”
“Why?” Camila pushed again, hoping he would share with her the story Kade had about the last time Yehven had loved.
