by Joyee Flynn
“Your mate? Well no matter what I say you won’t give him up,” the guy groaned and rolled his eyes. Awww, now the poor baby might have to actually fight. My heart was bleeding for him. Not!
“I doubt it, but tell me why you want him, and maybe we can figure something else out.” Stalling was the name of the game right then, plus I really just wanted to know. “So he’s a fairy. There’s got to be more to this than what he is for you to risk coming into a large wolf pack’s territory to get him.”
“There’s a pack here?” He snarled at the guy on his right. The guy cringed and looked as if he wanted the ground to swallow him up before recovering. “You idiot!”
“How was I supposed to know?” the guy shot back. “It’s not like we’re in with the Council or have shifter contacts.”
“Why do you want our mate?” Aaron asked with a growl. I was antsy to know the answer as well but, personally, I would have let them fight for a while and give us more time for help to get here. I think he realized it when he glanced at the rest of us and shrugged.
“He’s fae royalty,” a third guy answered as he rubbed his hands together in glee. Oh, this guy was way too excited about that. Yeah, he’d die first. “And he’s really old. Do you know how strong their blood can make us if we drink from them? But, then again, you must know that since he’s your mate.” The main guy snarled at him as if the excitement had given away too much information.
I saw Aaron wince before hiding it. Yeah, he had no clue, of course. Then I smelled something that made me want to vomit. And now I was fucking scared. We were so screwed and I bemoaned never getting to tell Imogen or Aaron how I felt. I really looked forward to spending the rest of our lives together and was distraught that it would end.
Then I just about smacked myself in the head. I was not giving up because I was scared! We would see many, many years together, and these fuckers would all die.
“You’re not all vampires. You brought Followers.” I let my anger show in my words at the threat against my mates. I couldn’t deny my fear, but it wasn’t the only thing I was feeling right then and I could use that.
“It is our master that is the one making them,” the asshole leader replied with a smirk. “I see you’ve met them before.”
“Not personally, but I have a friend that killed a few.”
“And he lives to tell the tale? Impressive,” he said with a nod as if considering how it had happened. “I don’t see a flamethrower among your pathetic army here.” That was a helpful tidbit the idiot just gave away. “You will all die painfully, and we will take the fairy anyway. Just hand him over and you may live. Be smart and answer correctly.”
“Fuck. You. How’s that for your answer?” Aaron snarled along with flipping them off on both hands. “We’re not giving you our mate.”
“Then you will die,” the asshole growled. The bad vamps all started shifting, and I did my best to hide my fear. We were so fucked, but I knew we wouldn’t go down without a fight.
“You first,” Imogen shouted. We all glanced up to see him flying above the house as flames burst from his hands. Holy shit! While everyone was distracted, I shifted to full tiger form and went after the leader.
“Are you insane?” Trey screamed in our shared mental link. “Everyone else runs from fire and you go toward it.”
“If we take out the main guy while Imogen gets the Followers, then they’ll have no leader to order them what to do. The rest don’t seem to be the sharpest knives in the drawer.”
“Sounds good to me,” Avery said as he pulled ahead of us. The little shit was always the fastest, and normally I would have been pissed that he was racing into danger before we’d be there to help him, but, right then, we needed the advantage.
And it worked. He launched himself on the guy and tore out most of his throat before we even got there. Just to be sure he was dead, I tore out the rest until his head snapped off. Then the other vamps were on us. It was easy to see who were Followers and who were straight vamps since the zombie guys didn’t think on their own.
I couldn’t get over the way they stood there and let Imogen light them up like firecrackers without so much as trying to dodge his flames. I wanted to stare in amazement at the beauty of my mate. He was like an avenging angel in all his glory. But another vamp jumped on my back and sank his teeth into me. I knocked the guy loose and tore at his neck with my paw.
Ten of the thirty were real vamps while the rest were Followers. And we could take ten vamps, but I seriously hoped they gave up when they realized they were in too deep. That would have been the best-case scenario right then considering we were already in a fight. But we weren’t doing bad on our own with Imogen’s living flamethrower ability. I bet my little mate had heard that part.
“Wolves are here,” Trey shouted with relief after we heard several close howls in a battle cry. They rushed right into the mix.
Strong arms wrapped around my neck when I went after one that was on Avery. And not only could I not shake off the guy, but my fur and flesh were burning.
“Get it off, Sasha, or I’ll end up burning them both!” Imogen screamed from behind us. Oh shit. I had a Follower on me, and I didn’t want anyone else to get burnt by their acid blood. I bucked and spun before flipping over so my whole body smashed him into the ground. It dislodged him, but I got burnt all down my back. That motherfucker had to have been bleeding badly.
As quickly as I could while the adrenaline was pumping, I scurried away from the zombie. When I knew I was in the clear, I fell to my side and shifted back with a scream.
“Hose him off!” someone shouted, as I heard people race toward me.
“No! Water on acid will make it worse,” Aaron yelled and dove to his knees in front of me. “Conley said antacid. Fuck! We need like Mylanta or some shit.”
“Move,” Imogen said from behind some wolves. Suddenly he was there in front of me smiling, trying to comfort me as tears ran down his cheeks. “They’re all dead, my feisty kitten. Don’t you dare join them.”
“Okay,” I groaned in pain. He raised his hands over me and closed his eyes. As quickly as the burning started, it was gone. Don’t get me wrong, it still hurt, but my flesh wasn’t sizzling off my body. “Thank you. I’m still going to tan your hide for not staying in the attic like we told you to.”
“I look forward to it,” he whispered and leaned in to peck my lips with his. “I’m not the best healer, but I put a calcium solution all over your burns. And I’m sorry to say that’s about all I have left in me right now. Creating that much fire is exhausting.”
“Some of the wolves are putting out his blazes right now and making sure it doesn’t go toward the house,” Jasper said gently as he plopped his butt down on the ground by us. He was bleeding, though not bad, and, oddly enough, smiling. As if he knew what I was thinking, he answered my unasked question. “They’re dead, we’re not. Ain’t nothing like a good brawl to keep life interesting.”
“Glad we could perk up your day.” I chuckled and then moaned in pain. “Fuck that hurts.”
“Can you shift?” Avery asked gently, and I wanted to smack myself in forehead. He must have understood what I’d been thinking. “Don’t chastise yourself. When it hurts this bad, you’re not thinking.”
I nodded and let the change flow over me. I lay there and tried to breathe through the pain as it started to lessen. No one really knew why shifting helped jump-start healing any more than why shifters healed faster. Some truths in life were just there no matter who found them out.
My mates were petting me, saying soft, comforting words, and I found myself purring. I knew there was chaos still going on around us since people were shouting out orders and one person was snarling we were all going to die. My guess would be that one vamp was kept alive. That was important enough to get through my injury-induced haze, and I shifted back.
“Send vamp to Conley,” I panted and pushed to sit up. “He needs to interrogate the guy.”
“Already c
alled him,” Trey said gently and knelt down. “You just relax for a minute, bro. From what I heard, Cass’s injuries burned down to his muscle, and it was a painful bitch to heal.”
“Always so glass half-full,” I groaned as Aaron helped me to lean back against him on my side. He had shifted back as well, too. “Thanks for the save, guys.”
“I couldn’t get to you,” he whispered in my hair and sniffled. “You were moving around too much that I couldn’t grab the zombie.”
“I did that on purpose. I didn’t want you to get burnt, too, and I heard Imogen. I thought if I could dislodge the zombie, he could fry it.”
“We worked well as a team,” Imogen said gently and laid his hand over Aaron’s and my joined ones. He stared directly at Aaron and changed the tone of his voice to something more commanding. “You will take care of our mate while I’m gone, right?”
“Of course, just hurry home.”
“Wait? What? Where are you going?” I sputtered after what they were saying sunk in.
“I need to cross into my realm and warn everyone about what’s going on. I expect they’ll send me back with guards.” He said that last part with a frustrated sigh. “It won’t take me long, and I’m sure I’ll be back before you wake from your healing nap.”
“What nap? I don’t like you going over—”
“This nap, my feisty kitten,” Imogen said gently, interrupting me. He leaned over and brushed his lips over mine, and I felt the magic…and then nothing.
* * * *
“I am going to kick his little fairy ass,” I groaned as I woke up. He fucking used his magic to knock me out! We needed to have a serious talk about that.
“You were going to fight him about going, you both would have argued, and in the end, he would have still gone.” Aaron wrapped his arm around me tighter, and I realized we were lying in my room with the huge bed for all of us. “And you needed the rest, but we both know you wouldn’t have calmed down or let everyone handle things while you did.”
“You don’t know me very well then,” I whispered as my eyes burned with tears. Listening to him and even some of what Imogen said yesterday made me sound like a control freak that always had to be in charge, always dominant, and a pain in the ass basically. I pulled away from him, ignoring his protests, and sat up. I hissed in pain but didn’t stop.
“You’ve only been out for a few hours, Sasha,” he said with a sigh and moved off the bed with me. “Can’t you please go back to sleep? I’d like very much for you to heal and rest some more.”
I thought about it for a minute, and it was a reasonable request even if he’d just hurt my feelings. “I’ll shower and get some more sleep after I get something to eat and talk to Trey. As long as I crawl into bed alone. Deal?”
“What did I say that was so wrong?” he asked, hurt in his voice. I couldn’t look at him as I made my way slowly to the bathroom.
“I just thought you knew me better,” I answered and shrugged my shoulders. It hurt because the zombie had tried to choke me with his arms and gotten his blood on my back. Hell, it fucking made me want to cry to swallow.
He let me go, and I took a nice cool shower. My muscles screamed for hot water but given how sore and burnt my skin was, it so wasn’t happening. I’m sure I missed a few spots with my limited mobility, and the pain kept bringing tears to my eyes. I wished one of my mates was there to help me, take care of me, but I wanted some distance, too.
They hurt me. It hurt that Aaron thought I was so controlling and Imogen seemed to think I was so unreasonable I would have fought him on going to warn his family. That wasn’t the person I was, and if they didn’t see that… What were they seeing in me?
“Why does Aaron look like he just lost his best friend?” Trey asked from my bed as I walked out of the bathroom several minutes later after I’d finished and dried off.
“Drop it,” I answered and shook my head. I wasn’t ready to put my feelings into words, and after everything Trey went through with his mates, I didn’t want to seem like a baby.
“Okaay,” he drawled and handed me some shorts to put on that someone laid out. “You wanted to talk to me?”
“Fill me in on what’s going on, please. I just need to know what happened and what I missed.”
“Of course you do,” Trey replied, looking confused. “Did someone tell you that you couldn’t know? I mean, I figured I’d fill you in when you woke up.”
“Did you know Imogen knocked me out with his magic?” I asked instead after a few moments. “He basically drugged me to sleep because he thought I’d throw a hissy fit or something to keep him from crossing the plane into his world.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t a fan of that.” My eldest brother’s face was a mix of anger and frustration. So it wasn’t just me then! “You’re not a demanding person or controlling. I thought they were jumping the gun. They should have told you they were knocking you out because it obviously helped you. I mean you look worlds better than you did a few hours ago. But why not just talk to you?”
“Because they do think I’m controlling. They thought I’d fight them and try to handle everything instead of trusting them to deal with it. Aaron said I wouldn’t have been able to let go and not take charge of everything.”
Trey gaped at me as I pulled up my shorts and sat down. He shook his head a few times and then finally found his voice. “Have they met you?”
“Thank you!” I exclaimed and jumped to my feet. Which had been stupid because I got dizzy. “Okay, I need food and liquid.”
“Come on, I’ll make you a few sandwiches. Jasper practically brought over the deli section of the grocery store when the wolves set up your house as, like, command central.”
“I really love your mate right now,” I whimpered as he moved his arm around my waist to support me. Partially because it hurt but the other part was fresh sandwiches just sounded so damn yummy.
“I love yours, too.” He chuckled and led me out of the room and to the kitchen. “He saved all our assets with that flame-throwing trick.”
“I love how you say assets like that.” I giggled and then froze when I giggled. I wasn’t one to giggle, and given the severity of the situation, it seemed really odd that I would now.
“The wolf doc came and gave you some fluids and drugs. I’m surprised you’re just noticing now.”
“Everything’s been hazy, but I assumed that was the pain and maybe a concussion. Now I just want to giggle and snuggle.”
“Good, then maybe we should talk to you now,” Imogen said with a bright smile as we walked into the room. Then he eyed my brother over with a raised brow. “I’m not sure how I saved your assets though.”
Trey chuckled and sat me down in one of the kitchen table chairs. “Most people say someone saved their ass. Well, I see it as you saved more than just my butt, and I feel it’s an asset anyway…” He held his hands out to the side as if to say, “that’s the meaning of it.”
“So it’s a pun,” he said with a nod of understanding when my brother trailed off. Trey gave him a thumbs-up that he got it, and my mate focused on me while my brother made me food. He wasn’t kidding about the spread Jasper had gotten. Our counters looked like they should have a deli case over them. “Aaron says you’re upset.”
“Whatever,” I replied with a shrug and wouldn’t look at them. “It doesn’t matter. You saved me, knocked me out, and did what you wanted without asking me. I’m just glad you’re back and safe, not that you talked to me about it like I was an adult.” Passive aggressive? Me? Never!
“You would have fought my leaving.” He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. It reminded me of my dad, Beck, when he was looking for patience when we were kids, dealing with all six of us wanting different things. The analogy didn’t make me feel any better. “And you needed rest to get better. It was the right thing to do, and I resent you questioning my motives.”
I stared at him with my mouth hanging open in shock. Where was my little cuddly fairy, and who
was this pompous prick? Trey growled as he handed me my plate of sandwiches and chips along with a pop.
“Sasha, you’re being unreasonable about this,” Aaron said slowly as if trying to appease a crazed mental patient. Were they fucking serious?
“You want to come stay with me until they pull their heads out of their asses?” Trey asked me as his eyes shifted to his tiger ones. Yeah, he was good and pissed, going into protective mode.
“Trey, do not presume to know what’s best for our mate and jump in when this doesn’t involve you.” Imogen’s eyes flashed violet, and he crossed his arms over his chest. I almost felt bad for him considering I had an inkling what would happen next.
“He’s been your mate for a whole twenty seconds,” Trey growled as he shook with anger. “We’ve been brothers, litter-mates for forty-six years. Do not tell me what to do concerning Sasha when someone’s hurting him because I don’t give a rat’s ass if you’re his mate. I won’t stand by and say nothing. And if you think him being upset when I’m standing right fucking here doesn’t involve me, you’ve got blinders on, fairy.”
Yeah, that was what I expected. It warmed me on the inside that someone was defending me. And I was still shocked at how I’d become the bad guy here!
“Sasha is one of the most easygoing people I’ve ever known.” Trey wasn’t finished it seemed. “He can take charge when he needs to and knows how to get something done, but it’s not who he is. He doesn’t have to be the boss. He defers to others in our family all the time because he trusts us to do what’s right. Maybe you should try to fucking trust that he’s not a douche bag and have some faith in him to be reasonable.”
“Is this how you feel?” Aaron asked, tilting his neck as he stared at me as if gauging my reaction. “That we assumed the worst unfairly about how you’d react and we were wrong?”
“You didn’t even try to discuss any of it with me,” I answered with a nod and stared at my food, no longer hungry. “You treated me like a child, still are, and basically drugged me by knocking me out.”
