by Jessica Sims
It was deathly quiet without the noise and press of so many other bodies. I felt a little uneasy as I picked up discarded wrappers in the kitchen, garbage bag in hand. They’d eaten everything in my pantry, even the flour. Not that picking up noodles and empty cartons from my floor mattered right now. I just needed a distraction.
My mind kept spinning to tomorrow. My birthday.
Finian would be coming to retrieve me.
All of this would be at an end, for better or for worse.
The primordials would retrieve their women and return home. Or they’d stay after all. Either way, everything would be solved in one way or another.
But what about Hugh? What if Finian somehow took Hugh from me? I shivered, not liking that line of thought. Hugh was his own person. He couldn’t be forced to return to the primordial realm if he didn’t want to go . . .
. . . Could he?
I wished I’d had more answers. I wished I’d been more confident. Instead, I was full of worries and concerns.
“Ryder?” I heard Hugh moving through the condo, heading for the kitchen. “What are you doing?”
“I’m just cleaning up,” I said, but I straightened and tossed the half-full bag aside. Garbage could wait. “Did you see them off?”
Hugh entered my small kitchen a moment later and I immediately felt better, just soaking in the chance to look at him. Big, solid, tanned body. Strong arms and thick neck. His short, reddish-brown hair with the odd striping through it. The square jaw with the tufted sideburns. Warm eyes that lit up at the sight of me.
I’d never get tired of looking at him. Never.
Even now, I wanted to put my hands all over him. I washed them quickly, then toweled off as he moved toward me.
“They are gone,” Hugh said. “Bevan and Cahal were the last ones to leave, and they were very interested in someone named Gracie.”
I groaned. Redneck Gracie was one of the local Anderson wolf pack females. She had a loud mouth, skimpy wardrobe, and liked to go barefoot. She also had very questionable morals, so I suspected she’d like the primordials indeed. “Why am I not surprised.”
He chuckled and pulled me into his arms. “You do not sound pleased.”
“She’s a little rowdy. But the last thing I care about right now is her.” I slid my hands under his shirt so I could feel the warmth of his skin. For once, I didn’t care that a touch would bring on a transformation. It didn’t matter with Hugh. I could be the beast 24/7 and he’d still find me as sexy as he ever did.
Hugh’s hands went to my waist, and he pulled my body against him. “And what is it you do care about, my Ryder?”
“You and me, in my bed together.”
His hand went to my jaw and lightly stroked it, making my scales emerge even more. “I did not like the thought of leaving you unguarded, even for a brief moment.”
“The guarding thing is kind of moot at this point, isn’t it?” I asked him, leaning in to the caress. “I’m not going to turn more changeling-ish than I am now, so they won’t want me anymore, right?”
“I still wish to keep you safe above all things, Ryder,” Hugh said, and he leaned in to kiss my mouth with a soft, gentle kiss so unlike our normal devouring ones. “You will humor me if it takes some time for me to break of this habit.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted him to break from that habit. I kind of liked Hugh hovering around me constantly. “You’re the boss.”
“Am I? Your friend Bathsheba said that you had me wrapped about little fingers. I cannot say I disagree with this assessment.”
I grinned at his mangling of the saying. “So you want my little fingers on you? Is that what I’m hearing?”
He groaned. “Your fingers are not that little, but I will take them wherever you wish to place them.” He ran his tongue along one of my small, spiraling forehead horns. “But first, I must lock down your door.”
I reluctantly released Hugh as he went to the front door, pulling off the chain of runes he wore around his neck. As he ran one glowing rune along the edges of the door frame, I touched the horn that he’d licked. The horn didn’t have much feeling, but just the idea of Hugh licking me there sent skitters of heat all through me. Like there was no part of my body that was ugly to him.
I loved that. Almost as much as I loved Hugh.
My gaze went back to him, and I couldn’t help but stare at his tight ass as he raised the rune over his head, slowly running it along the door frame, busy at work. When his arm was lifted, his ass seemed clenched, and it made me want to dig my claws into it.
I couldn’t resist any longer. I moved to his side and ran my hands down his backside, my nails scratching through the fabric of his clothing. “You almost done?”
He groaned. “You are a terrible distraction.”
“I am,” I admitted shamelessly. “But I couldn’t resist this muscular ass of yours.” I circled my hands on his buttocks. “I . . . kind of want to bite it. What do you think?”
Hugh’s breathing was ragged, and the hand holding the rune shook a little. “I think you are trying to distract me.”
“I think you could be right.” It could be my last night with Hugh. I wanted it, and I wanted it now. “Hurry up and finish, or I’m going to start ripping your clothing off your body.”
“You are a demanding female,” he said, bending over to continue running the rune along the door. “But I suppose that is what I agreed to when I agreed to be your mate, is it not?”
“Less talking, more working,” I told him. And I might have nipped at his ass anyhow. No sane woman could resist.
I heard Hugh’s sucked-in breath, and then the low growl in his throat. “Lucky for you, I am now finished.” A moment later, Hugh had lifted me into his arms and was carrying me to my bedroom. Heat was blazing from his catlike eyes. “And now you shall get exactly what you want.”
He was right about that, for sure.
Chapter Nineteen
The last twenty-four hours had gone by in a whirl, and I was twitchy and nervous. Today was my twenty-fifth birthday.
That meant I was locked into my prime. It meant that Finian would come to collect me today. It meant that everything, for better or for worse, was going to happen tonight.
I was crossing my fingers for “better.”
The office was empty. To clear it out, Bathsheba and Sara were throwing a party for the clients at Konstantine’s. Savannah, my nighttime coworker, was keeping the primordials busy at the Russell house. Only Hugh was in the office with me.
“You’re pacing,” he observed from his perch on the stool.
“Sorry,” I said breathlessly. “I can’t stop thinking about—”
The cowbell on the front door clanged and I froze, then turned to the door.
Two men walked in. One looked mild and unassuming, and he was wearing a dorky short-sleeved shirt with a hideous pattern. The other was . . . Batman. Or rather, the actor who’d played him in the last movie.
My stomach dropped at the sight of him. “Finian,” I greeted, moving back to my desk. I’d feel better with something between us.
“Happy birthday, darling one,” Finian crooned at me as he swanned in, his light, airy footsteps at odds with the rugged, masculine face of the actor he wore. “Today’s a very special day, isn’t it?”
I picked up my glittery ruler and began to flip it back and forth, trying not to look at him. Or at Hugh. If I looked at Hugh, I’d have my heart in my eyes. Hugh hadn’t moved since Finian had entered, but there was a weird, simmering tension in the room that I knew didn’t belong entirely to me. I ignored Finian’s cheerful mood. “So what brings you here?”
“You know what, dearest. And I brought you a birthday treat.” Batman put his hand on the back of the frumpy man at his side. “Guess who this is?”
“I couldn’t possibly guess,” I told him an
d risked a glance over at Hugh. He’d gone completely rigid on his stool, big arms crossed over his chest. His face was impossible to read. He was deliberately not looking at me, and that made me feel weird. Like he was trying to forget I existed. I suddenly needed reassurance. “Hugh,” I said in my cheeriest voice, “can you guess?”
“Another changeling,” Hugh said.
That brought me up short, and I dropped my ruler. “Another changeling? Really?” This boring-looking guy?
But Finian looked excited. He gave the man another nudge forward. “That’s right! You’ll be a breeding pair, so I thought I’d bring my charming Walter with me and let you two meet. Say hello, Walter.”
Walter waved a limp hand at me. “Hello.” His voice was accented strangely, and I wondered if Walter was from this time or just another one of Finian’s time-misplaced toys, like Hugh was.
I gave him a halfhearted wave. “Um, Finian, I think we need to talk.”
“Not before you get a good look at each other.” He gestured me forward. “Come on and touch Walter so you can see what a mature changeling is like. It’s quite something to see.”
I didn’t want to touch Walter. I didn’t want to touch any man other than Hugh. But a tiny part of me was incredibly curious about what a fully formed changeling would look like. Were they truly as beautiful as everyone went on and on about? Uncertain, I hesitated.
Then I glanced back at Hugh.
He nodded at me, as if understanding my voiceless question. He was telling me it was okay.
Fingers snapped in front of my face.
“Hello,” Finian said, trying to get my attention. When I turned to him, his expression was sour. “Your master’s right here, girl. Don’t look to Hugh for permission. He’s just the hired help.”
Well, he was about to be in for a rude surprise, wasn’t he? I gave Finian a coy smile. “All right. Have it your way.” I stepped forward and approached Walter, keeping my expression wary.
Truth was, I was curious about Walter’s form. But now? Finian’s pissy move of snapping his fingers in my face proved to me that he was a little unsettled. He kept giving Hugh irritated looks, and I realized that even when we were silent, the bond between us was strong. And suddenly, I was no longer scared of Finian. He thought he could control us as long as he could manipulate us and keep us rattled.
Now he had nothing on us. He didn’t know it yet, but the power had shifted.
So when Walter approached me, I gave him a friendly smile and extended my hand for him to shake.
Walter leaned in to kiss me.
I ducked him, sideswiping his slobbery mouth. I heard Hugh give a barely audible growl in response. I straightened, then shook a finger at Walter. “I didn’t say you could kiss me.”
“He’s going to do more than that. Quit dancing around the subject,” Finian said, his voice extra-irritated.
I refused to be bullied by him. I shook my head and extended my hand to Walter again. “This or nothing.”
Walter glanced at Finian, who rolled his eyes. Then Walter grasped my hand.
The first thing I noticed was that Walter’s hand was clammy and moist. Ick. I forced myself to keep holding on to it, waiting for the transition to happen. Mine felt sluggish, struggling to the forefront, as if it didn’t want to. I didn’t blame it—Walter wasn’t exactly hitting my hot buttons. Not with my delicious Hugh seated so nearby.
Walter, however, bloomed immediately.
He was beautiful. More beautiful than anything else I’d ever seen, for that matter. I watched, fascinated, as the scales emerged from his pasty white skin. His scales were a pearly, opalescent shade, something between sunrise and sunset, and seemed to gleam with an inner light. It was the most gorgeous color I could imagine. The horns that spiked out of his forehead were long and twisted and ivory, like dual unicorn horns, and glints of gold traced up the curls, making them seem more like works of art than mere horns. Walter’s dippy shirt split apart, and a pair of powerful, gorgeous wings unfurled behind him. They were like butterfly wings, all color and beauty. I gasped at the sight of them.
Walter smiled at me, and he was truly gorgeous in that moment, no hint of the bland human left behind. This was what I could have been if I hadn’t halted my transformation, I realized. My own transformation was no longer hideous, but it was not even close to this glorious creature.
“Wow,” I breathed, impressed. I looked over at Hugh and Finian, as if needing to somehow share how wonderstruck I was at the sight of Walter’s transformation.
Hugh didn’t look happy, though. If anything, he looked . . . jealous? He kept glancing at my hand clasped in Walter’s and twitching in his seat.
Finian didn’t look happy, either. He was rubbing his chin, a frown on his face as he regarded me. “You’re not transforming,” he pointed out after a moment.
I glanced down at my hand locked with Walter’s beautiful, claw-tipped one. Sure enough, my hand was still human. I could feel my changeling side doing its best to try and wake up, but it felt sluggish, as if it couldn’t be bothered. “Huh,” I said. “That’s odd.”
“Yes,” Finian said, and his voice was flat. “Quite odd.” He snapped his fingers again, gesturing at Hugh. “Touch her.”
Hugh stood, uncurling to his full height. His gaze was on me. “Only if she wishes it.”
As if I wouldn’t want Hugh to touch me? I smiled at Hugh, and then I was embarrassed when my change began to trigger. Between Walter’s hand in mine and simply looking at Hugh, I’d become aroused.
Embarrassing. But at the same time, I was elated. Walter’s touch wasn’t doing it for me. It was just Hugh, I realized. Only Hugh. No one else mattered.
I kept my gaze on the primordial as I felt my own transformation slowly move through my body. Wings pushed out of my back and pressed against my dress, and I felt my tail slither out, even as my claws extended and my mouth filled with fangs. Once my transformation was complete, I glanced over at Finian, waiting for his reaction.
He was frowning. Hard.
Walter pulled his hand from mine, making a noise of displeasure at the sight of me. I glanced down as his hand left mine. The pearly green of my scales didn’t match the luminescence of Walter’s, and I couldn’t blame him for drawing back from me.
As changeling babes went, I guessed I was pretty disappointing-looking. And that delighted me.
“What is this?” Finian strode forward, glaring at me. He scowled at Hugh, then back at me. “She is still weeks away from her final beautiful form. Look at this color.” He made a face at my scales. “Her wings haven’t even unfurled. Did you drag her back into your primordial realm? Are we delayed by several more weeks?” The fae’s hands went to his hips in annoyance, and his fingers drummed there. “I’m removing you from this assignment, Hugh. It’s clear you’re incompetent.”
“You can’t fire him,” I told Finian. “He already quit.”
“He quit? When?”
I moved to Hugh’s side and was pleased when his big arm went over my shoulders. I curled up against him, locking my hand at his waist. “The night he took my virginity.”
“What?” Finian’s voice was almost a shriek. “He what?”
“We slept together,” I said proudly. “I’m his mate, and he’s mine.”
The fae’s wide, angry eyes met mine, then flicked to Hugh. “That was not part of the deal! We had a vow! You swore to me that you were not interested in her—”
“I changed my mind.” Hugh’s calm words made me smile. His arm tightened around me.
“You’ve ruined her,” Finian said. “Ruined! She was priceless, and now she is worthless! Look at how ugly she is!”
Hugh’s big hand curled around my jaw, tipping my face up to his. I saw nothing but love in his eyes. “She is the most beautiful creature in this world.”
I smiled up at him.
“I do,” Hugh said, and his arms tightened around me. His voice was sad. “No primordial mate for me, nor primordial mates for my men.”
“That is right,” Finian said as he stabbed a finger at Hugh. I supposed he was trying his best to look furious and full of wrath, but he mostly looked comical. All he was doing was shouting. That wasn’t frightening at all. It was like . . . he couldn’t do anything to us.
And I couldn’t stop smiling.
“No mates for anyone,” Finian said, hands clenched into fists. “Are you truly so selfish, so foul a creature?”
“You asked me to ruin one life in exchange for twenty-four,” Hugh said. “At the time, it seemed like a smart bargain. However, as I said, I changed my mind.”
“And he’s not the only one,” I added, then patted Hugh’s flat stomach. “Tell him about the other primordials, sweetie.”
Hugh’s expression turned to one of menacing pleasure. “My brothers are no longer in the primordial lands.”
It was clear Finian didn’t understand. His gaze rapidly flicked back and forth between my face and Hugh’s. The fingers on his hip drummed at a wild, furious pace. After a moment, he snapped, “What do you mean?”
“They left. They are here in this world,” Hugh said simply. He reached for the chain around his neck, snapped it in an easy gesture, and offered it to Finian. “The primordial lands are a haven for our kind, but no one is happy there because they are lonely. There are no mates for them. They have left and arrived here, in the human realm.”
The look of dawning horror on Finian’s face was priceless. I almost felt sorry for the guy.
“But,” Hugh said, “they will return to the primordial realm in exchange for their mates.”
The fae’s lip curled. “So you think to force my hand? Is that it?”
“More or less,” I chimed in. How’s it feel?
Hugh was the voice of reason. “My brothers would be more than happy to return to the primordial realm and await any tasks that the fae might request. However, they will only do so with their mates at their side. They will not go otherwise.”
