by JL Madore
Mother looks at me and frowns. “I’d like a seat so I can wait while you search. Raven is important to me and I won’t enjoy my freedom while her fate is yet unknown.”
“Alright, that’s fine.”
Lukas brings the chair out of Mother’s cubicle and we get her set up in the hallway. I think about bringing her up to the front near Calli and the elevators, but with the murder and mayhem splattered around, and Calli raw about the baby, I decide to keep her back here as long as possible.
“It is a disappointment a madman disrupted your coronation, Nakotah. What must people think? And without Raven to handle the optics, it’s probably public knowledge by now.”
I clasp my hands behind my back. “There was a mass shooting and assassination attempt at the royal coronation. There’s no need to spin the attack to my advantage, Mother. It’s what happened and everyone who was there knows it had nothing to do with our family and everything to do with the Black Knight. If people choose to twist that, let them.”
Mother chuckles. “Oh, how naïve you are, my son. Perhaps one day soon you’ll wake up and realize you should’ve listened to your mother more often.”
“Perhaps.” I doubt it.
Jaxx
Lying in a pool of death and blood, my cat is content in the knowledge that the battle is over, and my mate and child are unharmed. I purr as Calli’s touch slides over the silk of my coat and the last of my pain ebbs into a faded memory.
I should shift back so we can join the others. I just don’t want to. Is it so wrong to need two minutes of quiet affection before facing the next challenge?
“I love you, puss,” Calli says, her face nuzzled close to my ear. “I love you hard.”
Brant rubs a hand over my hip and pats my ass. “Welcome back, my man. Good job on the block. FYI, Kotah spilled the beans.”
Okay, damn, now I have to shift back. I shift back and flash on my clothes, rolling from my side to sit up. “How freaked are you? Scale of one to ten?”
“A thousand,” Calli says, her eyes still red-rimmed from crying. “Is it so wrong that I wanted more time with you four before our relationship changed? Does that make me selfish? Am I already a horrible mother?”
I scootch back a bit to lean against the wall and pull her into my lap. “No. I understand completely why you want to protect our adult time. It’s life-altering and it should be cherished. What we have is more than the drunken game nights and the down and dirty naked gymnastics. There are times when the five of us share things that change the course of our future. We are everything.”
“Exactly. And that’s enough for me.”
I press my lips against her temple and breathe her in. Closing my eyes, I try to detect the subtle change in her scent that Kotah smells. I think I do. There’s something. There’s just no way I could be as sure as he is that it’s a baby.
“Do you remember that first day when I explained things to you in the garden?”
Her face pales and I know where her mind went.
“Not that. Before that, when we were still sittin’ in the gazebo, I told you there’s no rush or need for you to say anythin’. I’m here for you, whatever you need.”
She swallows. “I remember.”
“I also told you this is forever. You don’t have to take on the world alone ever again. We’re a team.”
“I understand all that, Jaxx, and I have no doubts about the five of us, but I don’t even know what to do with the idea that I’m growing a person who’s going to need me to have my shit together. I don’t have my shit together.”
I chuckle and she sends me a scathing scowl.
“Okay, how about this? How about we dedicate ourselves to as much adult fun as we can pack in until the baby thing takes priority. We still have four or five months before it’ll even be more than a bump on your belly. By then, I promise you, we’ll have our shit together. The rift is open, we’ll work on the bridge and the gate next.”
“Look how far you came in three months,” Brant says, squatting down beside us. He brushes the back of his fingers against her cheek and smiles. “With twice as much time, you’ll be a fucking Rockstar.”
“I think you both have a skewed idea of who I am and what I’m capable of.”
Brant chuckles and his deep timbre rolls through the air around us. “One thing the four of us are very clear on is who you are and what you’re capable of, beautiful. If Jaxx says we can do this, I believe him. He’s the one who knows, after all. Let’s trust him.”
Calli looks at me like she wants to argue but at least she’s not freaking out anymore. “Tell me that wildling bodies don’t get all stretched and saggy after a baby. Tell me I’ll still be me this time next year.”
I smile. Next year seems like an age to wait, but with a baby on the way, I’m sure time will fly. “This time next year, you’ll be a new and improved version of the female you are right now. And the bonus… we’ll have our baby.”
I give her one last, long hug and then get us both to our feet. “Now, let’s go find our mates and see how close we are to getting out of here and back to the clearing to secure the portal rift.”
“I, for one, am looking forward to pitching a tent and then pitching a tent,” Brant says, pointing to the front of his pants. “See what I did there?”
We both chuckle and I pat Brant’s shoulder as we make our way into the detainment area. “Yeah, Bear. I saw what you did. Now let’s see what we’re dealin’ with so we can get gone. I’m done with today.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Kotah
It amazes me how much simply sitting on a log, staring into a fire, next to my mate means to me. Do I wish we were naked and alone? Absolutely. Despite the fact that Hawk’s construction crew arrived while we were in Manhattan raiding the Black Knight headquarters last night, it’ll take time before the bridge is established and the gate is secured.
Once that happens, all bets are off.
This quint needs some downtime.
It seems ungrateful to ask for more than what the universe has given us. Calli is well, she opened the rift to establish the portal gate, and best of all—she’s having our baby.
“I’m glad your mom’s safe,” Calli says, leaning my way to rub shoulders.
I kiss her temple and breathe her in. “I am, as well, but honestly, it pales next to how blessed I feel knowing the five of us are together and whole, and our task is almost complete. As much as I’ve loved our adventures, I’m ready for a month of Jaxx’s games and snuggling in to watch movies.”
I must’ve said something right because she exhales a long sigh and smiles. “That sounds like heaven.”
It does. “Yesterday was tough. When the portal gate blew you back and we couldn’t get to you before those men started shooting. The helplessness of it was life-shattering. And then, to know someone almost impaled you only hours later… you don’t even know how that would have destroyed us.”
“I love you too, sweet prince, soul-deep, and forever.”
I catch Mother watching us, but don’t acknowledge her. She’s standing at the food table with my sister and Raven. She’s still wearing her extravagant gown from the coronation and looks as uncomfortable in the forest as anyone could.
She’s a wildling who doesn’t embrace her wolf.
I can’t even imagine.
My heart makes a promise to our baby right then. We will never forget or deny the duality of our species. We are wildlings and as such, half of us belongs to nature. I may be forced to work in a palace, but I’ll never be forced to live in one or raise our child in one.
I’m the Fae Prime, after all.
I’m the man.
“Good morning, mates,” Brant says, settling on the ground beside us. He has a heaping plate of leftovers from last night and a characteristic grin on his face. “Doesn’t get much better, does it? Mates, food, forest, friends, enemy neutralized and destiny realized.”
And a baby on the way. Brant’s smart not to menti
on that one. Calli might not be actively freaking out, but she’s definitely not reconciled to the idea of being a mother.
Yet.
Jaxx’s pep talk bought us some time. In the months to come, we’ll prove to her it’ll be alright. There’s nothing the four of us want more than to make her and our baby happy.
Mother casts me a disapproving scowl.
She’s never been interested in what makes me happy. How did she miss out on this feeling of love and dedication so completely?
“Your mother’s in fine form this morning,” Brant says, chuckling as he chews. “She’s bending your sister’s ear about how she’s suffered. Imagine, the indignity of being captured and contained for one whole day.”
I chuckle inwardly. “One day. She was displaced and alone for one day and thinks the sky is falling. She truly has no idea what my life has been like.”
Calli hugs me and sets her chin on my shoulder. “Your old life. And like Hawk says, everything that came before brought us here as the people we are. That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”
“That’s right, beautiful,” Brant says, finishing with his plate. “But if we can tone down the parts where you get shot and stabbed going forward, we’d all appreciate it.”
Calli reaches forward and runs her fingers into the waves of Brant’s dark brown hair. “I don’t remember much after getting shot. I didn’t suffer much because, by the time I woke up, my healing ability had taken hold.”
“Then thank the Powers you blacked out.”
She laughs and rolls her eyes. “Blacked out, naked in front of everyone. Again. Yeah, thank the Powers that be. At least tell me I did it with flare.”
I cast a sideways glance and smile. “It was very elegant, Chigua. You didn’t even faceplant.”
Calli meets my gaze and scowls. “For reals or are you saying I did faceplant and you’re teasing me?”
Brant chuckles and she rolls her eyes. “Perfect. But not too many people saw it, right?”
“Just us, and Sabastian’s men,” I point to the depths of the forest and smile. “And perhaps a few dozen fae creatures.”
Calli follows my finger and sits straighter. “One day, I’d like to meet new people and not be naked.”
I brush a piece of hair from her face. “Don’t give it a second thought. The fae community is in awe of what you’ve done here. As are we all.”
“Yeah,” Brant says, “seeing you naked doesn’t register for them in the grand scheme of things like it does for us.” But the more important question is when we’ll get to see you naked next and not have to rush. I was making shadow puppets by the light of the fire last night with the tent I’m pitching.
Calli snorts and covers the outburst with a cough. “Hawk is working on that.”
He needs to work faster or I’m going to whisk you back into the trees to go au naturel on you again. You boys in?
Jaxx saunters over from the treeline with a predatory swagger in those powerful hips of his. He waggles his brow in all his blond, Texas cowboy beauty and smiles. “Hells yeah, I’m in.”
“In for what?” Keyla asks, her attention drawn from the other side of the fire. “Or don’t I want to know?”
Brant chuckles. “Likely not, little sista.”
Calli gestures a lazy finger to the eyes glowing in the trees. “So, when you said dozens of fae creatures, what did you mean?”
Keyla looks around and nods. “I sensed them in the forest while we were running last night. What are they, sprites?”
I shake my head. “Pixies and fire dervishes. The ones from last night, with the citrine eyes, are fire dervishes. They are excited by the flames and are likely drawn to Calli herself, but probably won’t come out. The pixies, though, are getting more curious and have made contact. See, Hawk’s speaking to one over by the seam of the rift. By the look of her and the way the others are hovering, I’d wager a bet that’s their queen.”
Calli shifts her attention and I hear her intake of breath.
I remember the first time I ever saw pixies. I thought them so strange… dozens of little flying creatures with pointy teeth and equally pointy ears. They’re no bigger than a raven but their wings are less feathery and more stretched leather like a bat’s.
We sit quietly for a few beats and then Calli tilts her head back and stares into the canopy of the trees above us. “I think our guests have decided to join us.”
“Actually,” a midnight blue pixie says, “this is our land, child. It’s you who would be the guests.”
Hawk nods to the woman who spoke and holds his hand out to help Calli off the log. “Astute as always, Queen.”
Calli
I accept Hawk’s hand and stand for the arrival of the blue lady with all the teeth. She flutters and flaps in the jerky, erratic way that a bat does and settles close by on a sturdy, low-hanging branch. It doesn’t matter that the Pixie Queen is no bigger than my forearm, she’s a queen—and a freaky looking one at that. “Your Majesty, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Thank you, Phoenix,” the lady says, dropping her pointy chin. “It is nice to meet you as well. It seems you fulfilled your destiny yesterday. Congratulations.”
Yesterday? Cray-cray.
It feels like days ago.
Hawk rests a protective arm across my back and squeezes my shoulder. “Calliope Tannis, this is DenysTa, Queen of the Pixies. It seems, she and her community inhabit the land on this side of the river.”
“And were you part of the plan to disguise the former site of the portal gate? Or was that solely Rowan?”
The Pixie Queen’s smile exposes several rows of jagged teeth. “I am a queen. Everything that happens on my land is mine to claim.”
That doesn’t answer my question, but I don’t pursue it.
“Well, I hope you’ll excuse us all tromping around and waging war in the forest. It couldn’t be helped and was very important.”
“Important to say the least,” she agrees, sweeping a hand toward the energy flux glittering in the air like oil on water. The iridescence of the magic is being reflected by the morning light and is quite pretty. “What you did here yesterday is a miraculous feat.”
Hawk kisses my temple and winks. “She’s a wonder.”
I shake that off but get a little lost in the warmth of his smile. “You, Sir Barron, were the one to figure out where we needed to be.”
He arches an ebony brow and sends me a cocky look. “And you figured out what you needed to do.”
Brant chuckles. “Okay, you two enough with the counter-flattery-flirtery—you both rock our socks. Don’t they?”
Kotah and Jaxx both laugh and agree.
The pixie queen flaps her wings and catches our attention again. “The pixies are, of course, thrilled the gate is underway and understand arrangements and accommodations must be made while it’s being established. However, with the portal gate falling on my private property, there is much to discuss in the way of compensation, levies, and passage fees.”
I catch the surprise on the faces of my mates and agree.
She wants compensation to use land stolen from the fae in the first place? Brant asks privately.
Jaxx chuckles. Yeah-no, I can’t see that happening.
With pixies, nothing is ever as it seems, Hawk says. This is where my fun begins. Life is one big negotiation. Kotah this will be your first lesson in Prime politics. Care to play?
Kotah frowns. I’m not ready for something as big as this. DenysTa scares me… always has.
Hawk’s chin dips in a subtle nod. That just proves how intelligent you are, Wolf. Don’t worry, we’ll navigate this together. I won’t let her take advantage of you.
Calli
I’m not sure why I expect the Queen of Pixies to have a palace like the one Kotah’s family has, but yeah, okay, they are the size of birds, so that doesn’t make sense. However you look at it, my hope of curling up on a couch for twenty minutes and having a nap while the guys hammer out terms is da
shed. Back to the tent, it is.
“Calli, one sec,” Lukas says, calling me over to where he and Hawk’s men are unpacking crates. He hands me a box and points at the picture on the front. “I believe this was meant for you.”
I grin from ear to ear and hold it up for Jaxx to see. “A foam mattress. Just what I wanted.”
Jaxx chuckles. “That’s our avian. Always anticipating our needs. Come on, let's take it to the tent and get it set up.”
“Forget the tent,” Doc says jogging over with a hammer in his hand. “It’s not much, but we have the first two tiny houses framed and sided. You’re welcome to claim one and get off the forest floor.”
Brant comes loping out of the trees, his hands cupped and overflowing with berries. “Did I hear you say we have walls and a door?”
“And a comfy foam topper,” I add, showing him my box.
“Booyah!” Brant says. “Lead the way, my brother. Let’s check out the new digs.”
Jaxx chuckles. “And when you say check out…”
Doc rolls his eyes and turns back the way he came. “We all know what he means. Just keep in mind that we’ve got workers busily building temporary lodgings right next door. We don’t want to hear your throaty throes of orgasm.”
Brant snorts. “Then hammer and saw as loud as you can and you won’t hear us. Otherwise… orgasms baby.”
“Keyla and I thought Calli might want to rest,” he says. “You know… because she was so tired yesterday and that was before the day went to shit.”
“And before you all found out I’m preggers,” I add.
He grins. “I wasn’t sure if you knew yet. Keyla smelled it in your scent yesterday, but she said it’s very faint. I can’t smell it at all.”
Brant grins. “The wolves for the olfactory win. Kotah smelled it too.”
Doc smacks Brant on the shoulder and points to a freshly hewn wooden cube at the edge of the treeline. “Then let me congratulate you all on your cub. It’s amazing news. This is you. Enjoy. And I promise we’ll hammer loudly.”
I roll my eyes, my cheeks flaring hot. “So, much for taking a nap. Now they’re going to intentionally make noise.
