by Jackie May
Terrance throws me over his shoulder and carts me away from the bar. The move startles me, and I’m snapped out of my trance. My power recedes back into me. The darkness and seduction that was overwhelming me is gone for now, but the connection to Charlie’s emotions is still there. There’s confusion and worry now mixed in with his joy and disbelief.
“Bring him,” Terrance orders. I assume he’s talking to Rook, and he must mean Charlie, but my head is still a little too foggy to worry about what’s going on.
When Terrance starts climbing the stairs in the back of the club, I know where he’s going. He has a private suite that doubles as a panic room. Once we’re inside, he dumps me on a couch and glares down at me. Behind us, Rook leads Charlie into the room and closes the door. He, too, glowers at me.
I shrink under the weight of their stares. “I’m sorry,” I croak. “I don’t know what happened. One minute we were talking, and the next my power just took over. I couldn’t stop myself.”
Terrance relaxes his stance a little, but his eyes are still blazing. I don’t think he’s angry with me personally. It’s more like he’s pissed off at the situation. It was out of his control, and T-man hates not being in control. “You have no idea what you just did,” he growls.
I bristle. “Of course I do. I mesmerized him with my song. I just don’t know why my—”
“You did a hell of a lot more than that!” Terrance snaps.
He turns his glare on Charlie, and this time he’s definitely angry at the person and not just the situation. His pupils swell until his eyes are all black—a sure sign the troll is about to lose his temper. I don’t know why he’s mad at Charlie, though. None of this was his fault. Charlie blanches. Who wouldn’t when a troll is about to rage on him?
I stand up and slowly place myself between Charlie and Terrance. “Hey, T-man. Let’s calm down, huh? We can figure this out.”
The room is silent as we all wait for Terrance to take a breath. Fear pulses from Charlie through our strange bond, but then it’s replaced with shock. “What did he mean, she doesn’t know?” he asks Rook. “Is that even possible?”
The question gets through Terrance’s anger, and he relaxes. That’s all the break in tension Rook needs to stomp between Terrance and me demanding answers. “What the hell are you talking about? What happened?”
Terrance glares at all of us, but when he sees our confusion, his anger deflates and he huffs in exasperation. “The fey have a special kind of magic,” he says, answering Rook but talking to me. “Similar to what happened when Illren swore fealty to you, there is another binding magic that fey can enter into with one another.”
My eyes pop open wide, and the blood drains from my face. Binding magic? I fall back down to the couch, because wherever he’s going with this, it can’t be anywhere good. Terrance sees the panic in my eyes and groans at the ceiling. He rubs a hand over his bald head. It’s something he does whenever he’s frustrated.
“What?” I demand, my heart racing now. “Just tell me!”
Terrance tears his eyes from the ceiling and locks his gaze on mine. “You bonded yourself to him.” He grimaces. “You claimed him as your mate.”
“WHAT?” Rook and I screech together.
Rook’s wolf surfaces, and he lets out a vicious snarl. I’m on my feet again in a flash, jumping between him and Charlie before things get messy. “Easy, Rook. It was an accident. We’ll figure this out.”
“Accident, my ass!” Rook roars. “He tricked you somehow! He had to have! I’ll kill him!”
A white-faced Charlie holds up both hands as if to ward Rook off. “I didn’t trick her. I swear. She reached out to me.”
Terrance folds his arms across his chest and glares at the man. “You didn’t have to accept it.” His voice is steel, and his eyes promise a slow, painful death. “Obviously she wasn’t herself. You took advantage of her.”
My defenses go up, and my protective streak rears its ugly head again. I step in front of Charlie, blocking him from Rook’s and Terrance’s hostility. “He didn’t have a choice. He was blissed out on my siren juju. He would have done anything I wanted. This is my fault. I lost control of my power, and now he’s stuck with me.”
The weight of my actions slams down on me, and my voice gives out. “I assume mate bonds are for life, right?” All three men nod their heads. My eyes well with tears, and I force myself to face Charlie. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to take away your choices.”
Waves of peace and satisfaction wash over me through my mate bond. Charlie surprises me with a rueful look. “Don’t feel guilty. I was practically begging you for this exact thing not ten minutes ago. You and I both know I would have accepted the bond with or without your siren’s song.”
He winks and lifts my hands to his lips, ignoring Rook’s warning growls. On the outside he’s trying to play this off lightly—he doesn’t want to freak me out—but his thoughts are much more serious. They’re full of devotion and hope for our future. I’m more than he’s ever dreamed of, and he’s determined to make sure I never regret bonding myself to him.
I pull my hands from his because I don’t want to hear any more of his thoughts, but he takes it as a sign of my discomfort. “Please don’t be afraid of our connection,” he says. “You may not know much about being fey yet, but this is natural. We fey are often ruled by our instincts. Something in you recognized something in me. If we weren’t compatible, the magic wouldn’t have allowed the bond to be completed.”
Terrance harrumphs. “He’s right.” He sounds so annoyed by that fact that I crack a small smile. When I meet his gaze with a question, he shrugs a shoulder. “When our instincts kick in, there’s not much we can do about it. Remember when we first met and my protective instincts were triggered? I had no choice but to claim you as clan.” He winces and quickly adds, “Not that I don’t like having you.”
My smile grows bigger, and I pat his arm. “I know, T-man. I love being stuck with you, too.”
He rolls his eyes and looks away, but his lips twitch into the tiniest little pleased smile.
Now that I’ve calmed down, I turn to the one man who’s become suspiciously quiet. Rook has put some space between us. He’s leaning against the wall near the door, with his jaw clenched and his hands folded across his chest. When our eyes lock, I’m startled to see so much hurt reflecting back at me. My throat closes up, and I step toward him, arms outstretched. “Rook.”
“Why him?” he asks in a pain-filled plea.
I swallow a lump in my throat and shake my head. “I don’t know.”
Rook glares at me. “He’s a stranger, Nora. And you claimed him as a mate. You bonded with him. You haven’t even considered bonding with me.”
I suck in a soft breath and blink back tears. The devastation in his expression is ripping my heart to pieces. “Rook. You know I love you. What happened tonight doesn’t change that.”
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “It’s not enough, Nora. My wolf…he needs the bond. Especially with all the other men in your life. He won’t settle down without it. We need our mate.”
I grab his hands and squeeze them tight. I never want to see this much pain coming from him ever again. I’ve been nervous about allowing the wolf mate bond because I’m afraid that his wolf will get crazy possessive and not let me near the others. But I can’t stand hurting him. I’ll give him whatever he wants, if he’ll just stop looking so destroyed. “Is that something we can do? Even though I’m fey?”
Rook nods once. “It’s rare, but it’s been done before.”
“And what about now that I’ve been bonded to Charlie? You think it can still work? Could I be bonded to both of you?”
Rook’s eyes flash to mine, and then we both look to Terrance as if he’ll have the answer. Terrance shrugs again. “I’ve never heard of it being tried, but it might work. You can only ever have one fey mate bond, but shifter magic is different than fey magic.”
I look at Rook and voice m
y only hesitation. “If I bond with you, will your wolf have even more issues with the others?”
He glares at the ground and grinds his teeth. “If he does, I’ll deal with it.”
I cup his cheek and force him to look at me. “Then let’s try it.”
Rook stiffens. He tries to stamp down his hope, but he can’t. He wants this so badly it’s killing him. Not mating with me has been driving a wedge between him and his wolf. He needs this to be at peace again. The depth of his need is startling.
“Why didn’t you tell me how much you need this?” I ask. “You’ve never brought it up.”
He gulps, and his eyes fall shut again. He leans into my hand as if my touch is the only thing keeping him sane at the moment. “I didn’t want to push you. You kept saying I’m not your mate.”
Guilt nearly swallows me whole. I was only trying to keep his wolf in control. I never meant to suggest that I didn’t want him. I place both of my hands on his cheeks and lock my eyes on his. “I was confused because of my feelings for all of you. I never meant to reject you. But once you moved in and accepted me, harem and all, things changed. Of course you are my mate. You and your wolf are mine. And if he needs the bond, then let’s not wait another minute.”
Rook’s eyes begin to glow, and he growls before attacking my mouth with ferocity. The kiss is hard, punishing. I let him take what he needs, let him control the kiss. But I give back as much as I’m getting so that he knows how much I love him. He rakes his hands through my hair and pulls me flush against him. He squeezes me painfully tight, but it feels good. Reassuring. After realizing that I’d hurt him, I need this kiss as much as he does.
When he finally regains control of himself and breaks the kiss, he leans back without letting me go. For a moment we just hold each other, panting and trying to catch our breaths. “Not right now,” he murmurs. “Not here. Not in front of people. But soon.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips to his again. “Whenever you want. I’m not sure what it takes, but however it’s done, you just say the word, and we’ll do it.”
Rook searches my face for sincerity and nods. “Your next day off. We’ll check into a hotel for the night. I’ll take you someplace nice where we can be alone.”
I comb his hair away from his eyes and give him a soft smile. “That sounds nice.”
He kisses me again. “I love you, Nora.”
“I love you, too.”
Silence settles between us, and I finally remember that there are two other people in the room with us. Awkward. I turn around slowly, willing myself not to blush. Terrance is waiting patiently. He cocks a brow at Rook and me as if to ask, Are we done now? Drama over? It’s classic Terrance.
Charlie, on the other hand, is staring at us with something between a heated stare and a dopey smile. I’m not sure what to make of it. “You’re not some kind of creepy voyeur, are you?”
He grins wickedly. “I’m a cupid. I love love.”
I’ll take that as a yes on the watching fetish.
“I sense relationships.” He wags his finger between Rook and me. “Yours is strong. It’s not based on pure lust like most people’s. It’s real. Solid. It’s very refreshing. But I knew it would be. You’re a siren. I’m going to love being part of your harem and being around all of your relationships all the time.”
“Right.” I clear my throat, trying to break the awkwardness. “Um. About that…”
I walk over to the couch and throw myself down, sinking into it with exhaustion. I’m not physically tired, just mentally and emotionally drained. All three men watch me like they’re waiting for me to lose my shit again. I think I’d be freaking out a little more over this if I hadn’t just gone through something similar with Illren. I toss my next question out to all of them. “What are we supposed to do now? What all does the fey mate bond entail?”
Charlie braves joining me on the couch. Rook grumbles under his breath but makes no move toward Charlie. I can tell he’s trying his best to remain calm even though he feels anything but. It helps that Charlie doesn’t sit too close to me or try to touch me, either. I’m both surprised and grateful that he’s keeping a respectful distance. He angles his body toward me and flashes me his dimples. “Obviously we can feel each other’s emotions.”
He waits as if he wants confirmation that I feel his too, so I nod, and he smiles again. “We can also sense each other’s life force. If you concentrate on the bond, you’ll always be able to feel me. We’ll always be able to find one another as well.”
“That’s it?” I ask. “That doesn’t seem so scary.” Actually, as much as I get attacked or kidnapped, our bond might even come in handy. “I was imagining something like we’ll never be able to be out of each other’s presence.”
“It’s nothing as bad as that,” Terrance says.
Charlie nods. “We won’t have to be glued together or anything. It’s not like the bond works as some kind of love spell.” He gives me that playful smile and adds, “I’ll still have the pleasure of wooing you.”
I match his grin with a smirk. I can’t help it. His good mood is contagious. “You’ll have your work cut out for you.”
His eyes spark with excitement. “I do love a good challenge.”
Rook groans. Before he can say something snarky about Charlie flirting with me, Terrance jumps back into the conversation. “You will be drawn to one another. You won’t have to be in each other’s presence, but you may want to be. You’ll find peace and comfort in being near each other.”
I let out a sigh. “So we will have to live together, then?”
“Nora,” Terrance warns. I cringe. He’s switched into his stern lecturing voice. He’s going to lay down the law. “Just like with Illren, whether you meant to or not, you’ve made a commitment to Charlie. He is your mate, and that is for life. You can’t take this lightly. You need to do your best to accept him.”
Charlie holds his hand out to me. I feel bad for wanting to take it because it kind of feels like betraying my other guys, but part of me is curious about Charlie. I can’t help wondering what about him made my fey instincts kick in, or why I lost control of my power.
I slip my fingers into his waiting hand, and my face catches fire at the sly, almost cocky smile he gives me. “If you want,” he says, giving my hand a gentle squeeze, “I have a great apartment overlooking Mt. Elliott Park. It’s plenty big enough for two.”
“No,” Terrance growls at the same time Rook shouts, “Hell no!”
Charlie lets go of my hand and looks up, startled by their outbursts. They both glare at him. Terrance assumes his bouncer stance and says, “Nora stays in the den. It’s safer for her, and all the rest of her men are there. If you want to be near her, you will join her there, not the other way around.”
Charlie’s eyes grow painfully wide. “You want me to move in? To a troll’s den?”
“It’s more like the Island of Misfit Toys now than a troll’s den,” Rook grumbles.
I laugh. “That’s very true.”
As if he can’t comprehend the idea, Charlie looks around the room, then shakes his head. “But I’m solitary. I’ve been solitary since I was old enough to leave my parents.”
“Not anymore, you’re not,” Terrance says. “If you choose to stay in your own home because you need the space, fine. But being part of Nora’s harem makes you clan.”
“Clan,” Charlie repeats. He blinks several times, as if trying to wrap his head around the idea.
On the outside, I doubt the others can tell what Charlie’s thinking. It’s clear he’s shocked, but through our bond I feel his excitement.
Terrance stares him down, waiting for an answer on the living situation. He clears his throat and flicks a quick glance at Rook before cocking his brow at me, making the decision mine. I sigh. What am I going to do, refuse him? He’s my mate. “May as well join us. But fair warning, if you stir up trouble, Illren’s likely to run you through with his sword.”
Char
lie flashes me a dazzling smile. “I’ll try to behave.”
Apparently Underworld is the place to spend New Year’s Eve if you’re of the supernatural variety. I’ve never seen the club busier. By the time we’re ready to leave, my feet hurt and my head is pounding.
I slip into the back seat of Terrance’s Cadillac before Rook can make me take shotgun. He’s much bigger, and I always feel guilty when he crams into the back just for me. “Tonight was brutal.” I groan. My joints pop and crack, voicing their complaints just as loudly. “I need some Advil, some chamomile tea, and a soak in a hot bath.” I lean my head back against the seat and let my eyes drift closed. “With bubbles. Yeah. I need bubbles.”
The two men in the front seats chuckle, and then the car falls quiet. I’m sure they’re both just as exhausted as I am. About halfway home, I finally break the silence. “Is he behind us?”
I crack my eyes open just in time to catch Terrance’s nod in the rearview mirror. “He’s back there.”
I sigh.
Charlie ended up going home after we bonded, and packed an overnight bag. We all decided it was best he stay the night in the den tonight so that we can explain what happened to the others and he can meet everyone as soon as possible. Can’t have him wandering around the den as a stranger. The guys would most likely kill first and ask questions later.
“I’m really sorry.”
I’m not sure why I keep apologizing. Terrance has told me repeatedly that it wasn’t my fault. Sure enough, he launches into another lecture. “Fey instincts are just that, Nora—instincts.”
“I get that, but did the instincts kick in because he’s my mate and we’re supposed to be together, or did they kick in because I lost control of my power and accidentally claimed him? Because it sure felt like the latter.”
Rook grunts and shifts in his seat so that he can see me over his shoulder. “If that’s the case, does that mean you’re going to start claiming mates every time you lose control of your power? How many more men am I going to have to share you with?”
