What Goes Bump In The Night

by C. R. Jane

  My head hurt. “Is this some kind of trick where you’ll end up killing me and you’re just saying anything to distract me?” I asked, eyeing the room for any kind of weapon.

  “You need to believe us,” Truid insisted. “For your own safety. And the priority is you choosing who will be your mate.”

  I ran a hand over my face. “I know nothing about elves, and suddenly I am one and must select one of you as my mate. Why do I have to pick one? How is that going to eliminate the orcs?”

  The corner of Luca’s mouth curled upward with a mischievous grin. He nudged Truid, saying, “Be kind. I’m sure she’s a virgin.”

  “Hey,” I called out. “For your information, I’ve had two previous boyfriends and I am not a virgin. Not that that has anything to do with this. Now, will someone speak without riddles and tell me what is going on?”

  Truid squared his shoulders. Nothing like feeling as if I were under interrogation.

  Now if I were dealing with attacking intruders, they would have finished me by now. So I’d hear them out, because after my night with Luronk, I wasn’t ready to be alone. As insane as it sounded, I’d take the company of these three men over the shifting monsters outside. I shivered just remembering the scene of Luronk running after me on all fours. I wasn’t sleeping with the lights off ever again and tomorrow I’d re-enforce all the doors and windows in my house.

  “Your father told us in his letter that your mother was an elf and had been killed by orcs shortly after she gave birth to you,” Truid explained. “She ran away to be with your father, a human. We searched for her because she put herself in danger being away from us, but we never found her.”

  My throat thickened and it shouldn’t have because I didn’t know my mom, but to hear this hit me hard. “She was murdered?” I squeaked. My father had told me nothing about her, just that talking about her was too painful.

  Brey kneeled in front of me, his golden eyes full of sorrow as if he understood the loss of losing one’s parents. “Your union with one, two, or all three of us will keep more orcs from finding your scent and coming for you. So we need to move fast, but I understand this isn’t what you want to hear. I wish I could spend months spoiling you, taking you out, showing you the world before you make this decision.”

  “So… what does this connection comprise?”

  Luca grinned. “Sex.”

  I raised a brow. “Sure it does.” I got to my feet and pushed past them. “I’ve had enough of this conversation. You’re trying to trick me and must think I’m a fool.” Standing near the window, I found no sign of the orcs, and I was torn between kicking these men out or allowing them to stay a while longer, as I didn’t want to be alone. Still, their words swirled in my head, everything from my dad’s secrets to Mom’s brutal death to me being a half-elf to this whole my-scent-attracting-orcs-thing. How in the world did sex stop that? I was being tricked. Maybe the orcs and these men were all friends and were playing a trick on me to get laid.

  Footfalls closed in, bodies around me, their warmth enveloping me.

  “Can’t be the orcs,” Luca said, a tremor underlining his words.

  Truid marched across the room. “Rain, you stay here. We’ll see what we can do.”

  Brey and Luca headed out, leaving me alone, but not before Luca glanced back at me, winked, and blew me a kiss. He shut the door behind them, and I collapsed on my bed.

  What the hell was going on?

  CHAPTER FOUR

  I paced back and forth in my room, wracking my brain, putting the puzzle of my life together. As much as I didn’t want to believe these strange men… or elves, I couldn’t ignore the coincidences. Their stories answered so many questions about my past. Why Dad had never talked about my mom. Why he’d refused to leave our town, why he wouldn’t let me travel to the other realms, and why for years he’d told me that for my eighteenth birthday, he would take me to Tritonia. Precisely where the elves lived. So did that mean he’d intended to surprise me with the truth then? Oh, have a wonderful birthday, Rain, and by the way, you’re really an elf and must pick a mate and have sex with him so you don’t die at the hands of orcs. I sighed and collapsed on my bed, curling in on myself.

  The more I thought about it, the more I didn’t want it to be real.

  A loud grunt sounded, and I hurried to the window. Truid was in the arms of an orc, his face struck with terror as he was raised over the monster’s head and tossed aside like a ragdoll. My heart jumped to my throat. “Truid!” I called out even though he couldn’t hear me.

  On instinct, I bolted out of the room. Here I was contemplating my life while these three men were fighting orcs for me. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to them.

  Downstairs, I rushed to the front door and ripped it open just as Brey rushed toward me, blood staining his face and dotting his white hair.

  “Inside!” Brey barked. He caught me in his arms in his haste and carried me inside. Raw intensity filled his eyes, and I lost myself in them. The tightness of his jaw, the splash of blood across his brow, the furious beat of his heart against my chest had me captivated. He carried me deeper into the room with such ease and grace, I wanted to kiss him with my appreciation. Without a word, he released me and I slid along his body until my feet touched the floor. He whisked around and rushed to the door as Luca and Truid raced inside, shutting the door, locking it.

  With these men fighting the orcs, they had become so much more to me than intruders in my home. They were now my protectors.

  Brey placed his palms flat on the wooden panel and whispered hushed words. A blueish current crackled around his hands and snapped outward, across every wall and ceiling, vanishing deeper into the house.

  “Whoa, what is he doing?” A surge of energy slithered up my spine, covering me in goosebumps.

  Luca clasped my hand, our fingers intertwined, and something about their touchy-feely approach calmed me. “He’s safeguarding your home. His affinity comes from storms and can harness some of their power.”

  I couldn’t stop staring at Brey. The reality of their existence as elves hit hard. My doubt dissolved because watching him master the threads of power crackling out of his hands amazed me.

  Truid shook his head, his expression hollow as he stared outside. “More orcs have arrived, and they’ll overpowered us.”

  Bile hit the back of my throat, and I walked to the window. Outside, half a dozen figures roamed my front yard. “Oh, shit!”

  The energy bubbling on the air died as quick as it had started, and Brey stumbled backward.

  “Are you all right?” I hurried toward him, studying the way his cheeks had paled, shadows dancing under his eyes.

  “Magic takes a toll on me… on all of us,” he said.

  These three men, each bloody, sported cuts and lesions. They’d risked their lives. “You all fought for me and I still can’t believe you would,” I said. “You don’t even know me.”

  Truid wiped the blood dripping from the cut under his left eye with a thumb. “We pledged our allegiance. We have sworn to protect you forever. Whether or not you chose to be with us, we will always be by your side. But without the connection, I fear we won’t make it through the night.”

  A great cacophony of snarls and shuffling sounded from outside, coupled with the loud thundering of someone crashing into the front door over and over. The blast reverberated through my home. I barely caught my breath and retreated when Truid collected me into his arms from behind. “I will keep you safe to my last dying breath.”

  “No.” I pulled away from him and Luca. “Don’t you get it? I don’t want any of you to throw yourselves at danger for me. I’m a nobody.” I couldn’t help but remember Dad’s funeral and how I’d thought my heart had splintered. How I’d wanted to throw myself into the grave and leave this world. It had hurt so much to lose him. Death was final. And life shouldn’t be handled recklessly.

  Truid’s breath danced across my ear as he leaned closer and whispered, �
�Without females, how are we meant to repopulate our dying race?”

  “So is that all I am?” My voice climbed.

  “You are many beautiful things, but also a woman who has been living in the dark about your past and who you really are. You don’t understand the power that lives inside you.” Truid seized my wrist and placed my flat palm over his heart. His chest was rock hard, and I gnawed on my lower lip. “I once watched my mother lay a palm on my father’s chest after he had been stabbed in the heart by an orc and used her energy to heal him—and he still lives today. You have so much untapped potential, but first you must undergo your Divinity. This isn’t about you just helping with our lineage, but have you never wanted to know who your mother was? Why your father never told you about elves?”

  I swallowed past the boulder in my throat. “Of course I do.”

  Luca closed in, as did the others, and I found their presence comforting. “We have been at war with the orcs for as long as I can remember. We fight for survival every week, and while we males fight with sheer strength, our magic can’t stop them. But yours will once you bond with your mate.”

  My mind swirled in every direction. “So how long are we safe from the orcs outside?”

  Luca shrugged. “That depends on how many turn up and how quickly.”

  “Come,” Brey said. “Do you have peppermint tea leaves? They can aid with concentration in times of high stress.”

  “Yes.” I hurried into the kitchen to give my head space to process everything. I lit a candle on the table before lighting my stove and showing Brey where my tea leaves were.

  Luca took me by the hand and led me to the table to sit down, but in that moment, an excruciating sharpness sliced my shoulder blade and I cried out in pain, gripping Luca’s hand for support. He wrapped an arm around my waist and held me tight.

  “I’ve got you. It’s just the Divinity trying to come out.”

  “Why doesn’t it do it already?” I growled as the pain sliced open my back. And the familiar sensation of my dress constricting me came fast. No waiting, I broke away from Luca and tugged on my dress, but he was there, helping me, well aware of what was happening.

  He pulled the dress up and over my head, and once again I stood in my underwear and a sleeveless camisole in front of three gorgeous strangers. But when my one wing jolted outward, glistening, their eyes widened with delight. They circled me.

  “Even more beautiful up close,” Brey said.

  “Can I touch?” Luca asked.

  “Yes,” I said. “Haven’t you touched one before?”

  “Never,” added Truid. “An elf’s wings are sacred and only her mates are permitted to do so.”

  And yet all three of them reached out to stroke the white silky web-like gossamer, their attention completely absorbed, much as mine had been at first seeing my new appendage.

  Their touches sent a light tremble through my body, as if every inch of me was connected to the wing. So what would it feel like if someone ripped it out of me? Was that why they’d said earlier that when an elf lost her wings, she died? With their caresses, I could have sworn they stroked my body all over, tickling and fondling me. Before I could stop myself, I moaned under my breath, squeezing my thighs together as a fire burned alight.

  Luca laughed out loud. “This turns you on, doesn’t it?”

  I snapped open my eyes. “What? No!” I pulled away. “It just felt… relaxing.”

  Brey cocked an eyebrow while Truid approached me once more. “We already know that touching a wing is as intimate as a lover’s caress.”

  “And you all asked to feel me anyway?”

  “Of course. I wanted to test the theory and see your reaction,” Truid added, the other two smirking in agreement.

  “So why do I only have one wing?” I asked.

  Luca inhaled deeply. “Because you haven’t undergone the Divinity yet. Only then will your wings fully emerge.”

  I nodded. That seemed like it kind of made sense. “So after we connect, the orcs will leave and I’ll have two wings?”

  Luca’s nose scrunched. “Sort of.”

  “No sort of,” I said. “If more are orcs coming, we need to make this work.”

  “It’s complicated,” Brey added. “We didn’t realize it was your eighteenth birthday today. We assumed we had plenty of time, but you have accepted none of our gifts, and without them, we can’t begin.”

  I scratched my head. “All right, just give them to me again.” I wanted to rid myself of the fear clinging to my ribs and get this done. “I don’t understand why I need to do the whole present thing anyway. Can’t I pick one of you now?”

  They each looked at each other and chuckled as they took a seat at the table. The fire on the stove crackled and the pot of water simmered as if it were any other ordinary night. But it was anything but normal.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked.

  “If it were that simple,” Truid said, “we would have asked you to do so already.”

  Brey cleared his throat. “It is customary for males to give females an offering, but the male is to never show himself until she chooses the gift. Then he knows the connection is of a true heart, not just physical. Each gift is distinct and when we create them for you, we infuse a piece of our energy into them. So the bond occurs between our souls. But things haven’t quite gone to plan here because for months you’ve given away our precious gifts.”

  His words tumbled over and over in my mind until the realization struck a chord. “The shoes on the windowsill were from each of you?”

  They nodded, and I lost my breath. “But I sold them to other customers. I assumed they were from my father magically because he wanted to look after me. I didn’t want to question where they came from because nothing else made sense. I’m so stupid.” I paused, shaking my head. “Does this mean those women who are wearing your shoes could accept your bonding?” Who knew how Linet’s husband would react if she found herself connected with a super sexy young elf insisting he was her mate? She’d probably jump at the chance.

  “It only works between elves,” Lucan said. “We worked most nights in your father’s workshop while you slept, trying to improve our shoes to capture your attention. “We figured with you running a shoe store, you would love our creations, but each week, you offered them to someone else.”

  I shifted in my seat uncomfortably, imagining how it must have felt for them to watch me sell gifts they’d worked on. “I’m so sorry. If I knew, I would never have sold a single pair.”

  We sat in silence as Brey finished brewing the tea and served us each a steaming mug.

  But as I inhaled the peppermint fragrance, a memory swept through my thoughts. The time I’d received the first pair of three shoes, the waft of peppermint had filled the room. I kept having people coming over to pay their respects after Dad’s passing, so I often had a pot of tea brewing. The house took on the minty smell for days afterward. But maybe all wasn’t lost. I jumped to my feet with excitement drumming in my chest. “I have a solution.”

  I didn’t wait for their responses but jolted out of the kitchen and darted back into the store. Behind the counter were stacked boxes filled with raw materials and other items I wasn’t ready to part with. Mostly Dad’s belongings. But I had put some other things in there and I’d forgotten all about them.

  “What are you searching for?” Truid stood in the doorway between the storefront and hallway.

  I kept flipping over the boxes.

  Truid joined me. “This would be easier if you told me what I’m looking for.”

  But the next box had me gasping with glee. “I’ve got them.” I leaped into Truid’s arms, and he caught me with such ease, our bodies perfectly molded together. His muscular arms looped around my back, holding me, my wing swaying back and forth.

  “If this kind of happiness makes you jump into my arms, I’ll make it my mission to make you smile every day if we get out of this alive.”

  I blushed, the scorching fl
ames heating up my neck. “How can you say that when you don’t know me?”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I feel as if I know you better than most people. I may have stayed at a distance, but I’ve seen the kind of person you are. Kind. Caring. Loving. And extremely sexy.” Truid grinned so devilishly, I wasn’t sure how to respond without saying something ridiculous and making a fool of myself.

  Staring into his deep green eyes, I pretended that my life wasn’t a mess and that maybe having such a man in my life was a possibility.

  I clasped the sides of his face and kissed him. He responded with such ferocity, it had me losing my breath. He walked me to the counter, setting my ass on the edge, nudging himself between my thighs while he kissed me back with an explosive passion. Our tongues tangled, and his hand curled over my stomach and up to my breast, squeezing me. I groaned in my mouth as he pressed his hardness against me. So hard and large.

  Something about these men had me losing control, had me thinking the dirtiest thoughts, had me desiring them. But when a loud bang sounded from outside, I flinched and we broke apart. He panted. His eyes were like the wind, shifting from dark to light hues of green. I stared at the rune inked on his temple, and curiosity burrowed through me, as I hadn’t seen many people with such skin markings.

  “What does the tattoo mean?” I asked, studying the circular rune with three wavy lines across the center.

  “It’s my affinity with air. Each elf is born with a connection to an element, but males’ links aren’t nearly as powerful as those held by female elves. After your Divinity, you will find our yours. But you should hurry up,” he said, and he grasped my waist, lifting me up and setting me onto my feet. “Now, show me what you found?”