The Faerie Glen

by A. B Lee

  I headed right for the last place that I’d seen those shifters and flew down low over the top of them. Sure, my heart might have leapt at my ribs the moment I laid eyes on my mate, but that wasn’t the point. The point was I hated that I’d done it, and I considered it his fault for it happening, snapping at Bree was like kicking a puppy.

  When I got right over the top of him, I back flipped my wings and sent out a wave of powerful blast of wind that took him clean off of his feet and deposited him on his backside ten feet away from where he’d been standing. That showed him!

  I didn’t wait around to see came next, but the sound of gut blasting laughter made me wince as I flew away.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  Perhaps I’d been a little harsh… nope, I couldn’t think that way. I couldn’t find a soft spot for my damn mate. Not now.

  “You know that your plan isn’t going to work, right?” Piper asked as she fluttered outside my bedroom window and rested her elbows on the windowsill and her chin on her upturned hands.

  I sighed. “Seriously, piper? Can you just come through the door like a normal Faerie?”

  “Faeries aren’t normal, we’re special-”

  “You’re special in the head.” I scowled at her.

  “Let’s get back to what I had to say,” Piper grinned, “you know you want me to.”

  “Have at it then.”

  “You’re plan is very flawed,” she reiterated.

  “You said that already.” I had to point it out.

  “Not in those words.”

  Piper fluttered upwards and then came through the opening to land gracefully on her feet on the softness of the rug.

  “Can we just get to it? I feel my life force slipping away.” I gave a dramatic sigh and she snorted her contempt.

  “If you don’t mate with him you will lose your wings and be human.” Piper gave me an expectant look.

  “Tell me something I don’t know-”

  “When you’re human he’s going to hunt you down and woo the panties right off you anyway.” She grinned in triumph. I huffed in misery.

  “I hadn’t thought of that.” It was true, I hadn’t.

  “So, ergo, you should just mate with him and be done with it,” she shrugged her shoulders, “its simple logic.”

  “Nice, throw me to the wolves, l-i-t-e-r-a-l-l-y.” I eyeballed her.

  “That’s not-”

  “Nooooo?”

  “No!” she snapped back. Then she huffed, “nobody here wants to lose you, Jazz. So you mate with a big old wolf, and…?” she let her words go and the moment turned into a long silence between us.

  “I have no words.” I lied. I had plenty, but none that I thought she would want to hear.

  “Oh, come on, Jazz,” she kicked out at the stool and I saw her freeze in place as the pain shot though her toes and up her leg.

  “I hate to say it; serves you right,” I grinned, “oh, no, actually, I enjoyed saying it,” I chuckled.

  “Bite me,” she hissed in annoyance.

  “I’ll get a wolf for you.” I saw her top lip curl in disdain and leapt all over it.

  “Ha! See, even you turned your nose up at that idea!” I exclaimed.

  “Wait! Even- I? What does the even part of that mean, exactly?” she eyeballed me right back.

  I grimaced, rolled my eyes to the ceiling to search for a way to backtrack that one, and then just gave in.

  “You’re not exactly known for keeping your legs shut.” I grimaced again as she gasped.

  “Jazz!” she protested.

  “Low blow? Below the belt? Where most of your action takes place, I’m guessing,” I chuckled mercilessly as her face turned a nice bright red, but she didn’t rush to deny it.

  “Life is love and love is life. You’d do well to remember that,” she scowled, “and don’t make out that you are as pure as the driven snow- the last time you saw your virginity it was down by the river with Billy!” she scoffed.

  “Don’t- remind me,” I snorted my contempt for that night, for Billy, for the whole debacle that lasted all of five minutes and four and a half of those were foreplay.

  “Truth hurts?” she chuckled.

  “A lot more than losing your virginity to the wrong guy,” I snorted.

  “And now you’ve found the right one,” she shrugged her shoulders again and I sighed.

  “So not the damn point,” I huffed.

  “I have a feeling that shifter will be a ferocious lover- you might even manage to get your panties off, and get off, if you get my…?”

  “Got it! Shut it!” I snapped back to the sound of her giggles.

  “It can’t hurt to speak with him,” she offered and my mind was elsewhere, still down at the river reliving my horrible five minutes with Billy.

  “What? Billy!” I exclaimed.

  “No!” she snorted her contempt again, “that’s history, and something that should never be revisited, you have a future,” she grinned.

  “With a shifter, a pack, and shifter-Fae babies in it?”

  “Sure, why not?” She smiled harder.

  “Pass,” I snapped back.

  “Just…” she took a breath and calmed herself, “talk to the man.”

  “Don’t want too.” I huffed again.

  “Pride is a dangerous thing, Jazz,” she warned, and didn’t I know it, but I wasn’t going to admit that to Piper or anyone else.

  “Bite me!”

  “Now that is what you have a wolf for,” she chuckled and I rolled my eyes away from her.

  I wasn’t sure why that thought had sent my blood rushing through my veins, but I didn’t like it.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  I tried to keep myself as occupied as possible. After a sleepless night of tossing and turning in my bed, I’d volunteered for any duty that I could get my hands on- just so that I didn’t have to think of my rainbow wings or the mate that was still looking for me- of course it didn’t work.

  If people weren’t commenting on my stupid wings then they were abuzz with the rumour mill about Seth and his pack roaming around the area. I didn’t want to listen in to their conversations about the wolves, but how could I not?

  I’d had a run in or two with Sybal as well- she’d started it with her snarky comments, and I’d ended it by tossing her into a muddy puddle at the back of one of the houses. As we hadn’t had rain in days, I could only hope that wet patch was created by something foul that would remind her not to mess with me for days to come.

  By the time that night was calling the day to a close, curiosity got the better of me and I flew out to the edge of our realm to see if the wolves had given up and gone home. Wishful thinking on my part.

  Seth was still there- looking sexier than hell with a days old stubble wrapped around his square jawline and reaching up to ears- and I couldn’t get over the fact that every time I saw him my heart would leap as if he scared the hell out of me.

  In truth, I guess he did frighten me. The thought of a mate- a wolf mate- was about as powerful an image as they come. With what I knew of wolf shifters, which wasn’t too much, they were fiercely loyal and passionate to the last.

  I’d watched him pace, back and forth along the ridge- until finally he settled beneath the tree that I was sitting in, and let me tell you that when he had come in my direction, I’d thought that he’d spotted me by some quirk of Fate’s hand and nearly made a mad dash for it, but instead, he settled his back against the trunk and I breathed a small sigh of relief.

  The sound of his sigh pulled at my guilt strings as it drifted up towards me. I strummed my fingernails on the branch beside my leg and counter to ten before doing anything rash- then I did it anyway.

  “Why don’t you just go home?” I whispered on the wind.

  I swear the man almost jumped up into the damn branch beside me. His body snapped around and his head snapped back on his neck so hard, as he stared up into my tree, that I’m c
ertain I heard the crunch of bone on bone. Then those dark eyes tried to pick me out- good luck with that.

  “Jazz?” He looked more than shocked- there was an element of hope within his eyes that I could have kicked myself in the backside to avoid. There was no hope for us.

  “Go home, Seth.” I told him; watching the rise and fall of his muscled chest as he took in deep breaths and grinned up at the tree like an idiot.

  “Not going to happen,” he grinned harder.

  “You’re not going to find what you’re looking for here.”

  I felt stupid saying that- especially as what he was looking for was me, and there I was, sitting in a damn tree telling him he wouldn’t find me- was that irony or just really stupid?

  “I already have. Now I’m just waiting for you to realise that you’ve found it too,” he looked even more hopeful and slightly amused.

  “Never going to happen.” I shot his words back at him in the hope that some of that light would die in his eyes, but it didn’t. Instead, he chuckled; it was deep and somehow comforting to that little guilty part of me that wanted to make things right without throwing myself to the wolves, or one wolf in particular.

  “Never say never,” he grinned harder.

  Well I guess he got me there. I stayed silent; contemplating my next move and watching him searching the branch that I was on with those soulful eyes.

  “Jazz?” he frowned a little and I frowned a lot. Did I cut my losses and not speak again?

  “Jacob, about time.” Finlay’s deeply growled greeting took both of our attention away from each other for a moment.

  With the sight that befell me- I almost fell out of the damn tree. There it was, stalking across the land towards our realm, larger than life and as bold as damn brass- Vampire!

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ~

  “I hear you caught yourself a Faerie.”

  The vampire said the words that hit me hard in the gut in those silky melodic tone that sent the tiny hairs on my body standing to attention. For one long moment I couldn’t move- couldn’t breathe- couldn’t think past the alarm bells going off inside of me.

  “Not exactly,” Finlay offered back, but it was the deep, warning growl from my mate as it rumbled through the air that finally snapped me back to the reality of it.

  “What’s got him riled?” The vampire asked as his steely eyes looked over in our direction.

  I pulled myself together and shot up in the air on a rush of adrenaline. My heart was beating way faster than my wings as I reached inside me for the well of my magic and zapped him a good one. The vampire jumped in place at the sting that lashed his body like an electric whip, and I have to tell you- I felt better.

  “Hey! Cut it out,” his top lip curled in a cruel grimace as that damn vampire eyed the area.

  “Don’t piss her off then,” Seth growled another warning.

  “So, you found a tame Faerie and thought it would be fun to bring me here so that she cold torture me? Thanks, I’ll pass,” he started to turn on his heels to leave, and I was only too happy to see that happen, but the alpha’s words stopped him.

  “I need your help,” Finlay said, and my eyes shot towards him as my brain repeated the words- let him go- over and again.

  Jacob stopped and slowly turned his head back over his shoulder to eye the alpha. I could see the damn cogs turning in the man’s mind; vampires weren’t to be trusted in anyway shape of form, and this one looked especially devious as he tallied up the pros and cons of that statement in his mind.

  “Interesting, and I’m curious, so go ahead, state your piece,” the bloodsucker said.

  “Seth has found his mate-” Finlay offered that tit bit and the vampire rushed to put two and two together as a grin spread out over his face.

  “I see,” Jacob turned his whole body back towards the group of three men, but his eyes were fixed on Seth. “A Faerie mate- very interesting. Poor you.”

  I zapped him again. I could have resisted the urge that time, but why stop now? He jumped, groaned, and narrowed his eyes on Seth.

  “Tell her not to do that again,” he demanded.

  “Tell her yourself. I’m not her keeper,” Seth growled, and I had to admit- that sent a ping of surprise into my brain and a rush of heat through my body.

  “Why am I here?” Jacob turned his attention towards the alpha and I held my breath as I waited for that answer.

  “It’s two days until the summer solstice,” Finlay offered the words that made my pulse rate go up even higher, and I felt the need to do more than zap that damn vampire, just thinking about last year’s raid on our community made me want to take out my revenge on him.

  “If you say so, I don’t pay much attention to it myself,” Jacob offered back and I eyed the man with contempt- even if he couldn’t see me it made me feel better.

  “I’m reliably informed that vampires attack the Faerie realm during this time,” Finlay growled and I felt like growling along with him.

  I watched the vampire change his stance, expand his hands out from his sides, and those dark eyes narrowed on the alpha.

  “And I’m here as what? A whipping boy for the Faeries?” he asked.

  “Sounds good to me,” I muttered, but noted that Seth’s head tipped slightly at the sound of my voice. He’d heard me alright.

  “Not exactly, no,” Finlay said.

  “Go ahead, ruin my day,” I muttered again and heard a snort of air from Seth.

  “Something you want to share?” Jacob asked Seth as he noted the same as I had.

  “No,” Seth replied in bland tones.

  “Am I being accused of something?” Jacob asked; folding his arms over his chest defensively, and that made me trust him even less. He looked guilty- well, he kind of looked confused and bored, but he was a vampire, so ergo, he was guilty in my book.

  “No,” Finlay growled, “I know you, Jacob, I don’t think you’d be involved in something like this.”

  “You don’t think- ah, the level of trust between us just dropped like a lead balloon, Fin.”

  “Figure of speech, I know that you aren’t involved.” The alpha corrected himself and I couldn’t help snort my contempt for the both of them.

  “So, again, why am I here?” The vampire looked more than a little testy.

  “Who, when, where, how,” Finlay shrugged those broad shoulders and a small smile started at the corners of the vampire’s lips and pulled them wider. I still didn’t trust him.

  “Not why?” he asked.

  “I know why.” Finlay assured him. The vampire nodded.

  “I’ll ask around,” Jacob offered, “want to tell me what you’re planning?”

  “Sure that you want to know?” Finlay shot back.

  “Probably not,” Jacob reasoned, “then I might feel obliged to help you out.”

  “That wouldn’t bode well for you with the collective.”

  “I’m not a part of the collective, Fin. I’m too old for all that shit,” the vampire’s eyes flicked in my direction and for a moment- I could swear that he was looking directly at me. Creepy. “And I don’t need the blood of the Fae on my tongue. Age gives me power.”

  I had to wonder how damn old he was if he was turning down our blood. He looked to be in his late twenties, but that would be when he was turned and no indication of his real years.

  “I heard from an elder of a time when the packs would rise to defend the Faerie realm.” Finlay’s words certainly got my attention.

  “Before my time,” the vampire assured him, “but, answer me this- why would you even consider it?”

  “If Seth takes a Faerie mate-” Finlay started and the vampire held up his hand to stop him.

  “Then its pack related, defence of her people. I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it.”

  “How many, Jacob. I need to know what we’re dealing with.” Finlay watched the vampire consider it. Then the man nodded once and turned on his heels, making a fast exit.

  I
let my wings take me back down to the branch of the tree. If the pack was considering standing with us against the vampire’s then I had misjudged the hell out of them. I felt a flash of guilt that mixed with a whole big dollop of hope.

  “We need to talk,” I said and from the corner of my eye I absently saw Seth’s head snap back up towards me again. I realised that he still couldn’t see me, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

  “I’d like that,” Seth growled out.

  “Meet me by the river.”

  “When?” he asked.

  “Now.”

  I took off on fast wings and heard him moving across the land behind me. I needed a moment or two to compose myself before he got there; speeding up and racing ahead of him to make that happen. If what I heard was true then I might be eating some humble pie- because things had just changed.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  Seth’s eyes locked with mine as I stood with my back to the river in full human form. His feet slowed as he drew closer, and there was a sudden and unexpected hungry look in his eyes as he took me in from my head to my bare toes. I felt a small shiver run through me- because with the way that he looked at me I felt naked under his gaze.

  “Jazz,” he gave me that smile- the sexy shifter one that made my toes curl a little against the earth. I didn’t smile back.

  “Wolf,” I said, trying to keep him at arm’s length and show him that I wasn’t a pushover.

  “You really don’t like shifters, do you?”

  “You really have to ask?” I shot back.

  Seth slowly closed the distance between us and I held my ground. I wasn’t about to start backing away and showing any signs of weakness for him to capitalise on.

  “But you prefer us to vampires.”

  One side of his mouth went up higher than the other as he smiled at me. He was getting so close now that I had no choice but to tip my head back to look up at him- damn giants.

  “Well, der.”

  “You heard what my alpha said about the pack and the Faerie realm,” he finally stopped in place, and I was grateful, because one more step and he would have bowled me over onto my pride once more.