Tainted Rose

by Yumoyori Wilson

  “We have to wake her up though, before Karen gets here.”

  They all froze; their eyes landed on me.

  “How long?” Ryder asked, unease dripping off his voice.

  “Please tell me I have enough time to hop over the wall?” Elias inquired, a shiver clearly ran through him as he fidgeted in place.

  “Do I have to fly off the balcony like last time?” Marcus questioned; his body rotated to the hall in case he needed to sprint.

  I grunted, placed the sketch book and pencil on the arm rest before rising to my feet. I took a moment to close my eyes, feeling the warmth of power trickled to my fingers; my markings probably glowed from the initiation of power.

  “Two hours, twenty-five minutes and that all depends if Matthew goes to see her, which is a ninety percent possibility. They’re gonna go out for lunch before heading back here after,” I announced before opening my eyes, my power dissipated.

  They all sighed with relief.

  “Can’t we let her sleep a bit longer? I doubt she’s strong enough to even sleep walk right now, let alone attempt to pick up a fork and aim for her mouth. You know how incoherent she is when she’s half asleep.” Marcus glanced at Makoto again who hadn’t budged.

  “You have a point,” Elias agreed.

  “I’ll wake her up in an hour and a half. By then you’ll probably be done with your running session Marcus, and Elyion will probably be back here,” I explained.

  Marcus and Elias glanced at each other before they both looked my way in confusion.

  “You didn’t use your gift this time?” Ryder acknowledged; his eyes on his book as he turned the page. He knew I barely needed any energy to see such predictable events.

  “Don’t have to. I know you two don’t want to cross paths with Karen. Anything to avoid being lectured for three hours.” I shrugged, revealing my prediction.

  “You’ve never gotten lectured by her!” Marcus complained; his body shivered as he rubbed at his arms.

  “He doesn’t understand our pain and suffering. He knows exactly when she’s coming so he just bails. I bet you teleport the moment you sense her,” Elias accused.

  I smirked before I shrugged again. “Not my fault you can’t teleport. Let Elyion bail you out,” I encouraged.

  “You know we can’t switch without a spare set of clothes,” he argued, grunting.

  I could see the flicker of green in his eyes, glowing on and off. I bet Eli was furious.

  “Then carry a bag with clothes in it. Elyion practically lives in shorts and pretty tank tops. That isn’t heavy to carry about.” I presented the idea, knowing Elyion hated carrying around anything bigger than a miniature sized purse; the small piece of leather not even big enough to fit Mako’s familiar, Nightmare, who was fucking small.

  His eyes glowed green as he glared at me. “You’re testing my patience, aren’t you?” His voice was higher than his norm.

  Elyion would have to switch completely with Elias in order for her usual high pitch voice to return.

  “Maybe,” I admitted.

  His eyes returned to normal, Elias shook his head as he sighed.

  “I’m going for a walk before you two start arguing. I don’t want to wake up Mako. I’ll see you guys later.” Elias nodded to the others and he walked up to Mako, kissing her lightly on the forehead before walking to the door. He slipped on his black runners and headed out the door.

  “I’ll be back later, aka I won’t come within twenty feet of the property unless you tell me Makoto’s eaten,” Marcus insisted. He waved goodbye, leaned down and kissed Mako on the cheek, whispering see you in a bit, Firefly. He grabbed his gym bag from behind the door and left.

  “I’ll take Daniel to his room.” Ryder announced, closing the book in his hands as he stood up. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips before smiling down at her, the compassionate expression on his face showed how much Mako meant to him.

  He made his way to Daniel. He pulled off the blanket, before he put Daniel’s arm over his shoulder. I made my way to the other side and lifted his other arm over my shoulder.

  “I can do it you know.” Ryder reminded.

  I smirked.

  “Two is better than one. It’ll be faster.” We lifted him up, making our way to the hall with ease.

  “What about Mako?” Ryder asked.

  “Nightmare will be here in five seconds,” I answered.

  Within five seconds, light taps could be heard. We both glanced over our shoulders, the bundle of white fur coming in sight from the door.

  “MEW.” The familiar announced, standing in the middle of the room. She glanced at us, her mismatched eyes blinking a few times before walking to the couch. She jumped onto the edge, making her way to Mako’s shoulder. She walked in a circle a few times before sitting, her tails wrapped around her as her head snuggled between Mako’s neck and shoulder.

  “See? She’s fine,” I reassured him.

  He shook his head. “Honestly, doesn’t the predicting thing get to you?” he questioned as we made our way to the stairs.

  “Sometimes,” I admitted.

  If you could see the person you love die, regardless of the multiple possibilities, you’d never want a gift like mine.

  Only a person who’d lived with such a gift would truly understand the unbearable heartbreak it could bare. Many shifters would have applauded me for having such a gift, envious of my ability to foretell or forewarn, but they didn’t understand the consequences it came with; the underlying fear you endured when the future revealed something you had no control in preventing.

  “Sorry,” Ryder apologized.

  My feelings of sadness must have leaked into the knight bond.

  “Hmm...so this is how it feels when I predict shit.” I chuckled, shaking the negative thoughts away. I didn’t know how Ryder could handle feeling all our crazy emotions 24/7.

  “You know—” he began, but I cut him off.

  “If I ever need to talk about it, I’ll make sure you’re the first one on my confessions list,” I finished.

  He smiled. “Better. Or else,” he threatened.

  I gulped. “Leave my tail out of this,” I muttered.

  “Hmph, no guarantee. Depends if I lose my shit or not,” he continued displaying his just try me, smirk.

  Diabolical...

  ~MAKOTO~

  “Makoto? You have to get up.”

  I turned, curling into the warm cushions. I smelled multiple scents – roses, lavender, mint, Pine...oh pumpkin spice, yum.

  The thought alone of the rich, sweet smell made my stomach roar in protest as it reminded me of how hungry I was. I mumbled something before I relaxed, wanting to go back to sleep. Oh, that was Kai calling me. Hmm.

  “Makoto.”

  “No. I’m not hungry,” I lied, wanting to stay in the multiple scent heaven that surrounded me.

  “Princess.”

  “But I want to sleep,” I whined, tightening my eyes.

  I felt a hand brush against my back, the touch sent tingles down my spine.

  “Mako. I need you to eat,” he whispered in my ear, his low, seductive voice enough to convince me to do anything he wanted. I lifted my head, turning it in an awkward position to stare at the amber eyed shifter – my fifth star knight.

  “Can I sleep after?” I questioned, needing to know for sure if I’d get to return to the realm of sleep.

  “Yes. You can sleep after, though I can guarantee you’ll want to stay awake for just a bit.” He smiled, that sinful gesture enough to send excitement down to my core. Hormones, settle down! I swear this is an act of revenge. Aren’t four sexy shifters enough?

  “You have to admit, he’s hot in all areas. Even the ones you can’t see through those sexy fitted clothes.” Lily flowed through my mind; her voice proved how impressed she was with the muscular, hot stuff in front of us.

  OR you’re just smitten, like the other three love struck fools.

  “From the girl falling in lo
ve with the stranger she met an hour and a half ago before passing out multiple times and finishing your knightly starlight bond. Hmmm,” Rose coaxed, her toneless voice returned.

  Go away. Your opinion doesn’t count in this situation.

  “You’re just mad because I’m right,” she argued before leaving.

  Whatever.

  I sat up slowly; my body protested my actions. I tried to get up, but Kai stopped me; his hands landed on my shoulders as he shook his head.

  “Sit. I’ll get your food,” he encouraged, rising to his full height as he made his way to the kitchen. I smiled, relieved to be able to sit here instead of walking to the kitchen island that looked so far.

  “MEW.”

  I jumped at the sudden sound; my head darted to the ball of fur next to me. Nightmare’s tails waved back and forth as she clawed at the cushion, wanting my attention.

  “Nighty! Hello. Are you starving, too? I’ll save you some of my bacon,” I whispered, lifting her in my arms. She purred, cuddling against me. I took a moment to pet her before I placed her in my lap, noticing Kai walking toward me; a plate filled with blueberry pancakes, bacon, boiled eggs and a glass filled with white milk.

  I took a deep breath, the sweet heavenly smell made me want to devour the food in one sweep.

  He placed the glass of milk on the table and sat next to me on the couch as he held my plate. I reached out to grab the plate from him, when he pulled it away. I gasped in sadness, looking up to him in horror.

  “The princess is tired. Which usually means you can potentially stab yourself with the fork, or so I’ve been told. Therefore, as your new knight, I think it’s my responsibility to feed you.” The soothing flow of words made me swell with excitement, in more ways than one.

  “I’d bet you’d love to suck on that—” Lexi began before I cut her off.

  Nope! We just met. Geez, let me know him for twenty-four hours for Starlight’s sake. Stop encouraging Lily, too.

  “I didn’t even say anything,” Lily defended herself. I rolled my eyes.

  You don’t have to say anything for me to feel the utter excitement in my mind coming from your corner. And it’s NOT my hormones this time.

  “Not my fault he’s an attractive, phoenix shifter with gorgeous eyes, a voice that belongs to an angel and smells so addicting. I wouldn’t hesitate to—” Lily explained before I silenced her, shooing them out of my mind.

  Enough of, “Kai’s delicious, addicting scent and seductive voice that can turn any female shifter or spirit on, sending her to the land of pleasure without a touch” for today.

  “Mew?” Nighty looked at me, her head tilting to the side in confusion.

  “What?” I asked her, frowning.

  “I didn’t know my smell and voice could do that to anyone. Good to know. Maybe I can convince you to eat your food while it’s warm. Ma. Ko. To,” Kai whispered, his lips right against my ear.

  I felt the blood rush to my head, making me dizzy.

  His hand pressed against my back and stopped me from falling back as I blinked.

  “You’re...such a tease,” I whispered. I knew my face was red from top to bottom, replacing my usual pale complexion.

  The contrast between his dark, fiery red hair, bright amber eyes, and creamy complexion mixed with his strong, angular jaw line and deep, seductive voice was enough to have me obeying any command he issued.

  “Teasing you is fun, Princess. But, I’ll stop for now. I seriously need you to eat. I don’t like you fainting every five minutes,” he admitted, picking up the plate from the table.

  I didn’t remember when he placed it back on there, but as I watched the food get closer, I didn’t care. I licked my lips, ready to devour the food Elias created.

  He held the fork in his hand, the silver metal twirled a few times, catching my attention.

  “How do you do that?” I questioned, looking closer as it spins with no effort between his index and middle finger.

  “I’ll show you after you eat,” he replied, the fork stopped as he faced it down to cut a piece of the warm pancake. He stabbed at the piece and spun it in a generous amount of the maple syrup that pooled at one side of the plate before he raised it towards my lips.

  I opened wide, anticipating the sweet goodness. I closed my mouth around the cool metal fork, the warm, fluffy texture of the pancake filled my mouth as the sweetness of the syrup and blueberries made me moan. I love blueberry pancakes.

  I felt the drizzle of syrup escape from the corner of my lip and begin a slow, a steady pace to my chin, but it was short lived, as the tip of Kai’s thumb stopped it. Gently wiping it away, he slowly brought the gathered drop on his thumb to his creamy, pink lips. I watched as his tongue flicked out and removed the syrup from his finger, and for the first time in my life, I was jealous of a thumb. I wanted to know how it would feel to have his tongue caress my skin that way.

  My eyes found his as he flushed; his eyes flickered as he blinked at me. I began to blush as his glowing, amber eyes roamed my body once, before returning to normal.

  “Oh...I guess you’re not the only one being turned on.” Lexi purred.

  I gulped, unable to pull my eyes away from him, his lips catching my attention as I glanced at them. Fuck, I’m so screwed.

  The door opened, causing us to both flinch, before our eyes landed on the tall, blonde followed by the tall, silver haired man: Karen and Matthew.

  “Oh, thank the Starlight gods, you guys are feeding her. Hello Makoto, you look horrible this afternoon,” Karen greeted before glaring daggers at Kai who merely shrugged. Karen could always be trusted to tell me the truth…even if it meant insulting me.

  “We had another fainting spell episode prior to this,” Kai explained, lifting his hand up to reveal the new knight bond.

  Matthew walked to Karen’s side, both of their eyes widened in awe.

  “And after that, she could barely keep her eyes open, so she napped again. She just woke up and only had a bite of her pancakes,” he continued.

  Karen looked at me, raising an eyebrow. I quickly sat up, turning back to Kai.

  “Feed me please. AHHH.” I opened my mouth.

  He chuckled, but cut another piece of the delicious fluffiness, before placing it in my mouth. I smiled, taking my time to savour the taste.

  “I’ve never seen anyone look so happy over food,” Matthew pointed out, his hands in his black, dress pants. I looked between the two of them.

  He wore a simple, white dress top, black tie, dress pants, and black running shoes, which were the only non-professional attire in his whole outfit.

  Karen wore a black and white dress that reached just above her knees, her black heels outlined with a white crisscross pattern. Her usual down, curly hairstyle was tightly tied back into a neat bun, not a strand out of place. Her black rimmed glasses relaxed on the bridge of her noise, dimming her usual brilliant emerald eyes by a pinch, versus Matthew’s which relaxed on top of his silver hair, his amber eyes bright.

  “Did you two go on a date?” I questioned before biting on the strip of bacon Kai presented to me. I noticed Karen blush as she looked away and Matthew grinned.

  “We had a meeting,” Matthew answered.

  “Which lead to a date?” I pressed on before my attention returned to my bacon.

  I looked down at Nightmare who stared anxiously at the bacon pierced on the fork Kai was holding. I nudged him, my eyes returned to Nighty. He nodded, giving a piece to my familiar who began nibbling on it.

  “Why are you so curious?” Matthew asked, his smile widened. I chewed on my bacon, swallowing before continuing.

  “Because you look good together,” I blankly stated; my attention caught up at the remaining strips of bacon.

  Karen face had begun to turn red as she fidgeted in place, Matthew pulled his glasses off, looking very intrigued at his usual pair, ignoring my statement.

  “Only you can say that so easily,” Kai complimented.

  “But, it�
�s true? They like each other, don’t they? Karen stares at him when he passes down the halls, while Matthew peeks through the window when she’s not looking and has this big smile on his face. Oh, and one time—” I began to explain to Kai before he pressed his hand lightly on my mouth.

  “I think you’ve proved your point, Princess.” His eyes landed on the couple.

  I glanced back at them, noticing their flushed expressions as they glanced away.

  “Oops. Was I not supposed to say that?”

  “Yes, Mako. But, between you and me, they did go on a date and usually when you go on a date you—”

  “Enough! We just came to check on you! Mako, make sure you take these pills three times a day starting tomorrow. It will help restore your iron and other levels. And Kai! If I come back here in three days and Mako loses any more weight, so help me Starlight. I’ll lecture ALL of you boys for five hours straight. You KNOW I can,” she threatened.

  The smile on his face fell as he stared at her. I could already see the fear in his eyes.

  “Yes Ma’am.” He nodded his head, gulping; his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

  “We’ll take our leave. Rest up Makoto. I’ll see you later Kai.” Matthew waved, confidently reached out and held Karen’s hand before leading her to the door. Karen’s face was beet red by the time they left, making me smile.

  “Karen’s scary when she’s mad,” Hope whispered.

  “Never anger a fairy. Totally dangerous,” Lily added.

  “Lethal for sure,” Rose agreed.

  “A phoenix and fairy spirit. Not bad at all,” Lexi approved.

  I didn’t bother to reply, staring at the last piece of bacon. Kai must have noticed my stare, stabbing it and feeding it to me. I took my time to enjoy the oil filled, crispy strip of pork before I glanced at the glass on the table, frowning.

  “You want your milk now?” Kai asked, reaching out to grab it as he placed the empty plate on the table.

  “I want chocolate milk,” I whispered.

  He laughed, the vibrant, new sound made my heart soar as my ears yearned to hear the sound again. “Coming right up Princess.”