“See what?” His brother Mackiel approached. “If you watch them weaving long enough, you might fall asleep. Don’t you have any mortals that need tending?”
“I do. Or I did.” Seth kicked at the base of a cloud and peered once more over the shoulder of one of the women. “Medina found her mates. Finally. She almost saw me in her visions, but I kept a low profile.”
“That one. With sisters like that, you don’t need enemies.” Mackiel chuckled. “What about the cat? Sage?”
“Oh. I’m not done with them. Not by a long shot. Immortal or not, they’ll get a little of what’s coming for them soon enough. And Sage is happy. For now.” He peered at the threads and alarm twisted in his stomach. The cat shifter had been through so much and now finally had a chance to be happy. But there was a cloud ahead. Something he just couldn’t make out. But he knew with certainty that this woman, Violet with the dark hair and pinched smile would help her. He just didn’t know how.
“Boy, mind your own work. Leave us be.” The raspy voice of the older Fate grated on him.
“How can I when the patterns are all wrong? Look.” He pointed at the depiction of a lovely woman skating on the ice and the ensuing events. “She isn’t meant to die.”
“You’re dictating to the Fates now, boy?” The middle woman raised her head and met his gaze, the opaque nature of her eyes disturbing as they took him in.
Seth swallowed and took a step forward. “I mean no disrespect. But this woman…don’t you see there is something about her that bears keeping alive?”
The eldest spoke up once more, her words and tone harsh and final. “No. She is but an ordinary fae. No powers. No redeeming value. She dies.”
“I disagree.” Seth saw magic in her simplicity and a worth, the thread of her life hung, waiting to find its mate. Maybe he should have been one of Cupid’s line for all the matchmaking he seemed to be doing these days.
“Careful, Grimare. Too much meddling and you’ll find yourself in one of our patterns. Go fetch the dead and bring them back to us as you were meant to do.” The youngest of the three spoke up, her voice deceptively sweet, her hands never ceasing to move.
“Ha. He wouldn’t like that, now would he?” The eldest cackled, her paper thin hands moving quick and steady as she manipulated the threads in her care. “And he’s too much a busybody for all that.”
“Give me one month to give her purpose. That’s all I ask. Thirty days.”
“He asks for much, this foolish angel.” The middle sister commented, not turning her back.
“Agreed. You bargained well for Medina and now she serves as mother to the gargoyle child and as mate. Can you do the same for this woman? This fae who is not fae?” The youngest responded, shooting him a glance over her shoulder, her fingers not stopping even once.
“Thank you.” Seth straightened his wings and bowed. “Thirty days.”
“Make it count, angel. Or the girl is ours.”
Seth hurried past a frowning Mackiel and dove down to the surface of the earth. It would be a race against the Fates.
***
“Come on, Dante, show us a little leg.” The smirking photographer circled in front of him and it was all Dante could do to control the dragon scraping beneath his skin to avoid reaching out and shoving the camera up his ass.
Pictures for social media. The Captain had officially lost his fucking mind. The catcalls and male laughter from the rest of the guys made him lose his footing and the fire hose he’d been using as a prop to conceal his nakedness began to slip.
“Jesus. Fix that hose. This isn’t internet porn, you know.” The Captain groused, scowling.
Dante scrambled to catch the hose and cover himself and balanced against the newly washed and waxed fire engine, trying to pretend he was anywhere else but standing like a prize bull at an auction.
“If you’ll hold still, please. The others have already contributed their shots. You’re the last one.” The cameraman huffed, turning the lens. He lowered the camera and glared at Dante. “You could smile maybe?”
Shit. He was distracted by the wacked out dream he’d had the night before. A woman he’d never met swam in front of him, dying. Her long black hair fanned out in the cold, dark water and he’d panicked. He’d told her to live.
“Fine.” Dante growled, a wisp of smoke curling out from behind his lips. He felt the change sliding beneath his skin, the dragon agitated by his distress.
“God, Dante. Come on.” Carter laughed. “You aren’t afraid of a little flashing light, are you?” The rest of the crew laughed, sharing in the good natured ribbing.
“Bastard.”
He just wanted it to be over. His beast wanted to fly and hunt and if he didn’t get out of here soon, he was going to lose his mind. Most of the men here were either dating or married. He wasn’t and the urge to mate had made his already bad temper even worse.
The Captain had lured him and the others in with the promise of a social media boost to help the department. He figured a couple of pictures for Instagram like that vet that had so many followers it was insane. Model pretty with a gaggle of women trailing behind him like no tomorrow. The guy had even been on national television recently. Cap was dreaming, but he also knew the man would do anything to save their department from going strictly volunteer.
So many in the country had gone that route and the bear shifter was fighting it tooth and claw. Dante supported that. He’d moved from his home in the mountains to come here after his buddy Carter had told him about the job. Happy and with a large family of cat and dragon shifter young, his friend would do anything to ensure things stayed status quo. So would he, and apparently that included standing naked in front of a freshly polished firetruck.
Thank God his mother couldn’t see him or he’d never hear the end of it. She’d been writing him emails nonstop asking if he’d met any promising women. Jesus. He’d never seen a woman more eager to fuss over grandchildren. But he hadn’t and the prospects didn’t look very favorable. Not that he hadn’t dated. He had. But no female he’d met even sparked his interest past the typical curves and tight jeans and it wasn’t enough. Not anymore.
He wanted a mate. Someone to come home to and warm his bed and his heart. Most of the women he’d come across only wanted one thing—to bang a fireman and brag to their friends.
“Well, that’s about as good as I’m going to get if you’re going to scowl like that.” The photographer capped his lens and sighed, stalking off toward the Captain. “You can get dressed now.”
“Jerk.” Dante swiped the robe he’d worn from the floor and shrugged into it.
“Man, you really need to learn to crack a smile, buddy.” Carter grinned as he and a few of the others approached now that the photographer had gone.
“Thank you, guys. Dante.” The Captain came forward giving Dante a narrow eyed look, then nodded toward the remainder of the group. “We should see the finished product in a day or so.”
Wait. Product?
No. He couldn’t even think about that now or he was going to lose his shit.
“Great, Cap.” Reggie, the new wolf shifter who’d just transferred in from the Alpha’s main house, nodded. Barely old enough to grow whiskers, the pup had a tenacity about him that Dante knew would serve him well in the field.
“Shit. Now, I know why you’re here, rookie. Cap wanted you for your abs.” Carter laughed, clapping a hand on the junior fireman’s back. They were in shorts and tee shirts with only the men on duty geared up and waiting for the call.
“Yeah.” Dante shuffled off toward the sleeping quarters to grab his gear and get dressed. He needed coffee and damned if a trip to the Hot Whips Café wasn’t in order. At least he could drown his sorrows in a nice cheese Danish and try to forget the sense that something was coming and he wasn’t convinced it was altogether good.
***
The sky was leaden as Violet Winters took off across the ice. For once, she just wanted to enjoy her fiancé Joseph’s c
ompany without worrying about her erratic fae powers or his broody mood swings. Or their respective families. It was supposed to have been a quiet afternoon with just the two of them. A large thermos of their favorite gingerbread hot chocolate rested in a picnic basket near the frozen lakeside and she’d even baked some special maple scones during her shift at the bakery before he picked her up. But when they arrived, the whole gang was there. Freaking polar bears and reindeer shifters as far as the eye could see.
Again.
Her mostly absent winter magic crackled in her veins. “Did you invite them?” But she already knew the answer to that question. The dreams she’d had the night before twisted in her stomach. For a fae without powers, the images in her mind were coming strangely close to premonition material. Like, she knew he would ask the others before the words ever left his mouth. Just like she knew that something off was going to happen today. She just didn’t know what. As if anything could be worse than a fiancé who didn’t want to spend time with his girl.
Joseph’s brow furrowed. “Of course. Everyone loves a spin on the ice, Violet. And besides, with this new schedule at the ski lodge, I haven’t had time to see them either.” Joseph’s lips thinned and he glanced toward his friends.
Three of the male bears stood laughing next to the refreshment stand and next to them…next to them was that girl. Again. What was her name? Kally?
Joseph moved a step away, farther away, from her and she noticed he didn’t meet her gaze.
“Hmm.” Her reply was noncommittal, but she watched him and his body language was all about the female bear shifter in the tight pink sweater.
She could hear her mother’s ice queen superior voice echoing in her head already.
“I told you so, Violet. You should have stayed with one of the nice gentlemen from your father’s club. There are plenty of widowers who would take a shine to someone of your…unique qualities. You’re just an ordinary girl amidst the peacocks, darling. What can I say?”
It wasn’t like she hadn’t said it before at every opportunity. Just change the preface of the conversation and it was all there. Every day since she could remember it had been:
One. Violet was too fat. Everyone else in her family was reed thin, blond and could do a stand in for a stick insect. She had dark hair and a curvy figure that seriously made her wonder if her pure bred status was as much of a sham as everything else in her life.
Two. Being a winter fae with no powers was tantamount to being the social reject of the century. Her family could throw ice and make snow cottages with the best of them. Heck, one of her uncles even worked with the Claus family at the North Pole. It wasn’t fair that her only superpower tended to be in the kitchen. Maybe she should have been born a house elf. That would have worked out fine for everyone involved. Then maybe she wouldn’t have her failures thrown in her face every day. And she’d be invisible.
Three. She’d gotten engaged to a bear shifter, goddess forbid. The shame…
Four. She was ordinary. As in nothing special and not worthy of being loved. All because she wasn’t a stick, or blond or magicky with all the fae things that made her people shine. She was the matte paint in a room full of glossy and it sucked. Big time.
Violet wanted to roll her eyes, but the fact that her mother was right made her want to spit. Even telling the woman that she’d been having dreams about Joseph cheating made her want to eat her tongue. When she stopped by that morning to return her father’s jumper cables on the way to work, her mother had been re-doing the backyard in tones of ashes of roses. In the middle of winter. Again.
“Hey, Mom. What’s up?” She’d hovered at the back door watching the war of the seasons take place in living color. And white. It was enough to make her head spin. And it would have if she hadn’t seen it every day since she was born. Neither parent could stand to be one upped. When her mother was home it was all English rose gardens and sophisticated tea parties. When her father was home it was winter wonderland meets Gandalf.
A stubborn icicle wouldn’t succumb to her mother’s magic and she let fly, spelling it into a butterfly.
“Nothing, dear. Why don’t you go on to work now? Thank you for bringing back your father’s tools. He’ll call you later.”
She had just been dismissed. Again.
Her mother swore at another snowflake that dared to infiltrate her sanctum and she sent off a spell, melting the lacy flake right out of the sky.
Somebody’s summer fae was showing. Maybe that was what it was. Her father’s winter and her mother’s summer powers must have gone into null mode when it came to her. Hell, she might as well have been born human. It was tantamount to the same thing. No fae bling to fling so she wasn’t worth their time.
Fine.
If she’d even harbored a miniscule thought about talking to her mother about Joseph, it evaporated about as quick as that snowflake.
Nope. She was in this alone and that was how it was going to stay. So, she went to meet him and found herself face to face with the facts. Joseph’s attention was somewhere else.
Violet’s eyes narrowed. The diamond engagement ring, heavy on her finger, grew colder and her gut clenched. It was hard enough that her parents seemed like they were disappointed in her for dating and becoming engaged to someone outside the upper crust fae society, but that was the whole point. Power plays and acquisitions were all her parents’ circle seemed to understand. And that life was definitely not for her.
She wanted more. Love. A cuddly man to come home to. Warmth. A big family, not just a lonely home and a nanny. Her parents were none of those things and she thought she had found them in Joseph.
The way he regarded Kally when he thought she wasn’t looking made the butterflies in her stomach churn like a horde of locusts.
But was she maybe imagining things? With their wedding date six months away jitters weren’t that uncommon. Especially with two very different families.
It was entirely possible she was overthinking things again. Joseph had told her the same thing often enough. That’s what it had to be. She was not going to indulge in her heavy thoughts today. Not when it was so perfect outside. His friends were always going to be around. Just like her fae family was. She was just tired from her early shift and she needed to break out of whatever dark mood was threatening to take over.
Besides. If he didn’t love her, he wouldn’t have put a ring on her finger now, would he?
At least that’s what she tried to tell herself.
She sent him her best smile and put her hand on his arm. It would be fine. After two years of courtship, they would be married and she could start the family she’d always wanted. He would be there for her always. Her big fluffy teddy bear.
Goddess, how much she wanted that to be true.
“Are you ready? Let’s go get some skates.” He turned back to her, an unreadable mask on his face as he gestured with his arm to the small log cabin that housed the refreshment stand and skate rental.
“Perfect.”
“I’ll be right back.” Joseph left her at the benches and trudged back to the cabin.
Violet nodded, her gaze moving to the icy lake and the leaden sky above. She shivered, wishing for once her wintery magic actually worked and that she wasn’t freezing her proverbial ass off out here. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her gloved hands over her coat. Reaching up, she tugged her hat down on her ears and readjusted her scarf.
A flurry of snow drifted down and Violet groaned. It was supposed to have been clear today, and she hoped it would clear up on the way there despite the ever darkening sky.
She kicked at the frost covered grass and scowled. If the weather got too bad, they’d have to cancel. And she had been so looking forward to just escaping for a while and letting her hair down, so to speak.
“Ready?” Joseph approached and gave her a distracted kiss on the nose. “Just forget they’re even here and let’s have some fun.” He sat down on the nearby bench and tugged at the
laces of his shoes. Sliding his feet into the skates, one at a time, he kept his gaze riveted on his shoes.
Right. Fun.
He didn’t want to be here. At least not with her.
Violet felt the ring underneath her gloves and sighed. She sat down and unzipped her boots, placing them to the side of her bench. In minutes, she had the skates laced and tightened and stood up again to test how they felt on her feet. Her scalp prickled and she turned.
She felt eyes on her. Violet glanced up and found Kally staring at them, but when she saw she was being observed, the bear shifter quickly look away.
Huh.
Something was going on.
“Is there…oh I don’t know…something you need to tell me?” Violet blurted every biting word out, and then put a hand over her mouth as if to take them all back.
Joseph’s brows shot up in surprise. “What? Um. No.” His eyes lowered and he turned his attention studiously back to the skates.
“Really,” she bit out, stalking toward the ice.
“Where are you going? Violet…”
“Sorry. Can’t hear you.” Violet streaked away as Joseph bent down to fumble with the ties on his skates, his large polar bear form awkward as he struggled to finish lacing them up. Wind in her hair, Violet raced ahead, leaving him sitting on the bench.
She tried to spin off the growing realization that she and Joseph might not be keeping that wedding date six months from now. Streaking across the ice, part of her just wanted to keep on going.
“Violet! Come back!” He started after her, but fell, landing hard on his backside with a curse. His buddies laughed, urging him up, but she didn’t wait around long enough to find out.
He’d been growing more distant of late. It was weird. He used to come in to the café for a cup of their signature hot chocolate, but his visits had been fewer and more far between. And the nights spent at her place…not once in the last three months.
Westmore Wolves Series: Shapesifter Collection Bks 1-5 Page 15
