Druid Dreams

by M F Adele

  He wouldn’t even glance at her fake tits, or notice that she used lip fillers, or that she had grey contacts to hide her naturally brown eyes. He didn’t give a shit about her or her feelings.

  That was the other reason why I hid in his room when I couldn’t get the bitch to leave. I didn’t use that word lightly when describing a woman. It was just... she refused to leave.

  Slapping my forehead, I dragged my hand down my face in a rare moment of self-flagellation. I was such an idiot. I knew better than to sleep with humans. That shit always fucking happened, and it blew up in my face every time. Fuck me. I have got to stop thinking with my dick.

  A human woman. I scoffed at myself. That was where I fucked up. They couldn't tell that I wasn’t like them, unless I was hungry or showed my powers to get a fright out of someone. I didn’t even feed off of them. I’m a bit of a blood snob. The chick in my bed, especially, had no self preservation. I bet if she knew that I was a vampire then she’d beg me to turn her. No fucking thanks.

  “I didn’t... I didn’t know this was your room. Where is Noah? He’s the reason I’m here.” She simpered, probably batting her fake eyelashes at Vaughn. She was as fake as the nut I busted last night. I should’ve left her at that shitty wanna-be vampire bar instead of bringing her home. To our actual home. I knew better.

  “I don’t know who the fuck Noah is. I'm gonna be nice and give you five minutes to collect your shit and get out of my apartment before I call the police and ask them to come pick you up for breaking and entering.” I couldn’t help the snort that came out. He was so full of shit. I used a fake name every single time I brought someone home. He kicked them out with the exact same act when I couldn’t get them to leave. He had the routine perfected at this point. This happens more often than I’d care to admit.

  “Okay, okay. No need for the cops. He had a key, I think. He said it was his place. I didn’t know! Just... just let me grab my clothes and I’ll be gone.” Oh, she was frantic now. Vaughn could be a dick when he needed to be. I bet he was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at her with those icy, emotionless eyes.

  He should’ve kicked that she-wolf, Anna, out when Briggs brought her home. We all told him to leave her alone, and look at him. Eight months wasted on her when he could’ve been looking for his mate. She was cheating on him for six of those months. Until Stone caught her shacking up with some business man in Atlanta, when she was supposed to be on a girls trip with her sister. That’s a long story for another day.

  Stone had a lovely interrogation with the guy after he video-called Briggs so he could see her with him. Briggs had been camping for the last six weeks. It was his code for running through the woods and killing whatever was in his path. He had more shit to sort out before finding his mate than I did. I had a feeling we’d be meeting her soon though, so he needed to pull his head out of his ass. He’s a good guy, don’t get me wrong. He just picked the shittiest women to fall for.

  After a few moments I heard the front door slam and then I knew Nikki, or Jasmine... or was it Kara? Whichever. It didn’t matter. The bitch is finally gone. Thank the Devil. I meant, the Fae. Yes, thank the Fae. Just don’t say “thank you” to the Fae.

  Vaughn opened his bedroom door and sighed. “Your room is yours again. Now, get out so I can take a nap.” He was grouchy, but he had a fuck load of shit on his plate. AND he found his mate? Nahhh, that’s crazy. I believed him though. I knew all about that pulling in his chest. I wouldn’t tell him. Not yet. He needed to know that his feelings were his own.

  The mate bond pulled you together. It would drive you insane with the need to protect. It wouldn’t make you lust after or fall in love with your mate. Those feelings were all your own. The instant attraction is the same that you’d feel if you had seen a hot chick at the bar, however; the potential mate bond does intensify the feelings that are already there. Or so I’d been told.

  “With pleasure.” I mock-saluted him. “I’m going to head out for a bit. Do you need anything?” I wasn’t going anywhere, except straight to Palmer to sort all this shit out. I wondered if he thought the same thing I did.

  “No, but be back by ten tonight so we can go out. I was thinking about seeing if I could get us all into the club I went to last night, but I don't know if that would be wise. The woman I think is my mate is part owner with her dad or something,” He declared while shaking his head. He took off his shoes and then threw himself onto his bed. I slid the curtains closed on his window and tossed his shoes in his closet while I waited for him. I’m such a good friend. He would hate that I didn’t line them up properly, but whatever. I’m not the OCD one.

  “And...” I finally pushed. I knew he wanted to say more. He’d either tell me now or he’d tell me later, but he always told me.

  “And” he sighed again. Uh-oh. “Her dad just bought CBP from Caplin. And,” he sighed louder, like he just couldn’t deal with all the bullshit that was his life, “Taylor Caplin is stalking her. I don’t know if I want to kill him or watch her kill him. You know I hate that guy. He was waiting by my car this morning when I left the club and he had a gun with iron bullets. Why did he have iron bullets? It’s not like he knows what I am.” He shrugged before powering through his rant. “If it wasn’t for her horse shifter friend I might be dead right now, and, well, I don’t like the idea of that guy being anywhere near her if I’m being honest.”

  “Well now, that is intriguing. I’ve never met a horse shifter, but that’s not important. What’s her name?” I inquired. I was bubbling over with curiosity. I wanted to know everything. Also, horse shifter? What the fuck?

  “Sloane. Sloane King.”

  “Oh. I know her.” He raised his eyebrows, skepticism clear on his face. I bet he thought I’d fucked her too. I hadn’t, but I definitely would. For sure. “I mean, not her, but I know two of her Dads. Nathaniel and Charles King. You know that job I had a few weeks ago? When I took out the rogue tiger shifter while I was in Asia? Yeah, Charles hired me. He’s head alpha, big shit,” I nodded my head energetically before continuing. “He controls the shifter factions across the world. All the faction alphas are under him. I bet Briggs knows who he is.” I knew for a fact that he did.

  I waited for Vaughn’s reply for a moment. I thought he’d fallen asleep with his eyes open. He was just lying there staring at the ceiling. It looked like he was holding his breath. If I couldn’t hear his frantic heart beat then I might have mistaken him as being dead. Just as I stepped out of the door to his bedroom, he bolted upright in his bed. Confused. Frantic. About 64 other emotions pass over his face, never settling on one for more than a second.

  “What?” He demanded loudly, “Her dad is a shifter? But... but... I would have noticed that. Surely. She seemed to be part demon.” He scrubbed his hand up and down his face in quick succession. “I’m sure she was part demon. I mean, she even said her dad runs a demon boarding school.”

  “You really don’t know, do you?” I asked him with a small smile playing at my lips. “We need to have a talk, my man. Come to the living room before you fall asleep. I’ll gather the troops.” Oh, this is definitely going to be a mindfuck. Why? Well, I’ll tell you. Because I was pretty sure that Nathaniel King’s daughter was my mate, and that was why he’d been training me to take over his position as High Coven Master. Though, now that I happened to think about it like that, maybe it wasn’t to be the head but to help the head. With head. Yeah. I could totally handle that.

  I walked out of Vaughn’s room, down the hallway, and headed to the living area. The coffee table was littered with Palmer’s books and he had a coffee cup in his left hand as he turned the pages of a book with his right. I’d bet my left nut that there was whiskey in that cup, not fucking coffee. Stone was sitting on the floor by the fireplace. When he came through the door of the apartment it was instantly filled with the sound of crackling wood and the smell of burning pine. He was a pyromaniac, but I guess that was okay since he was a demon and
regular fire wouldn’t burn him. It would sure as hell burn the rest of us though.

  Stone and Palmer were sitting there like they knew I was going to call them in. I heard Briggs in the kitchen rifling through the fridge. He was always cooking, but Palmer beat him to breakfast this morning. I sampled their food, but I didn’t need it for sustenance, so it was just more of a curiosity for me.

  Briggs was a great cook though. Better than Palmer. When they were home, there was something different to eat for every meal. The cabinets were filled with spices and dried herbs. Nearly everything we ate was home-cooked if Briggs was here, but he didn’t cook desserts, although he loved chocolate chip cookies.

  Our neighbor, Mrs. Annette, made us a fresh batch each week. Since everyone was out of town this week we didn’t get any, but I was sure we’d get a nice big box of them on Monday. Palmer was a baker, so kitchen duty worked well between him and Briggs, and then we got left with cleaning up their messes.

  Vaughn stormed into the living room, grumpy and still looking skeptical. It was an odd look on him. I felt a smidge evil for finding joy in the situation. He was always so confident and collected. He really didn’t know, and I knew it was killing him. He hated not knowing every little step or detail. Between him and Palmer we were never short on control freaks. Today was one of those rare times where we all knew something that he didn’t. Granted, we weren’t sure if he knew or not and the subject never came up. We were probably going to end up telling him information that we weren't supposed to tell anyone. I didn’t want to be the one to tell him, but I would if I had to.

  Has he really never heard the stories? I rubbed my hands together excitedly. It was going to be fun watching him flounder around trying to fit the pieces together. Palmer and I have had several conversations in the past few years, since we all moved in together, about what had brought all of us to one place. Most of us had known each other since we were teenagers, but we didn’t start hanging out until a little over six years ago. Now the puzzle pieces were starting to click. I wondered if Palmer saw it yet. If my math was correct then six years ago Sloane King turned eighteen. Old enough for her to find a mate. All of that information made me think about the Druid we used to be friends with.

  “Hey, Briggs? Come in here for a minute.” Or twenty. I hoped he wasn’t cooking anything. “Turn the stove off, it might take more than a minute,” I yelled across the apartment. He growled softly in response and stomped into the room, wiping his hands on a dish towel. At least he’s clean and groomed now. When he came home last night, he looked like a caveman. He nearly made me jump out of my skin when he banged open the door and dropped his bags on the floor.

  “Guys, tell Vaughn the story of the King family,” I instructed no one in particular, or whoever wanted to answer. Not me though. I wanted to watch Vaughn’s face. “No, wait.” I held my hand up and closed my eyes, fighting a smile. “Tell Vaughn about the Kings’ daughter. We can save the rest for later. It’s not important right now.” The three of them looked from me to Vaughn and back again, probably wondering if I was joking.

  “Ye don’t know?” Palmer asked incredulously. Eyes narrowed, he shook his head a few times and turned to Vaughn for an answer.

  “Uhm, no, but I met her last night.” He shrugged his shoulders and looked around. All three of them were staring wide eyed at him, just like I did. “We drank a rather expensive bottle of tequila and I kicked her ass in darts.” He rubbed the back of his neck like he’s a little embarrassed to admit that last part. I would be too. I’m surprised she didn’t kill him. Rumors though, you know?

  “And she didn’t kill you?” Briggs piped up, reading my mind. Not really, but close enough. He was awake, not grumbling, and focused completely on Vaughn. I let myself wonder. Maybe they were just rumors and she was actually nice, or maybe she was a crazy bitch. Either way, I knew she was hot as hell. I’d seen her pictures in her father's office.

  “Uhm, no.” Vaughn replied, utterly confused by Briggs' reaction. “She was really sweet and funny. Beat my ass at a game of pool though, and drank me under the table. We left the club at 5:30 this morning and I noticed Taylor fucking Caplin is stalking her. He was waiting outside when we walked out.” He spat Taylor’s name with more venom than I’d ever heard come from his mouth. I understood why if he thought she was his mate. I didn’t like Taylor either. I think maybe we should pay him a visit soon. I’d love to scare him senseless, and then compel him to forget so we could do it all over again. For a whole month straight. Just terrify him until he has a heart attack. Death by scare. It’s fucking perfect.

  “Wow.” That was all Briggs had left to say as he nodded his head. Dumbfounded. Yeah, that was what I would call him right now.

  “Well, I dinnea know where ta begin, exactly,” Palmer chimed in real fucking helpful, but at least he was pulling us back to the task at hand.

  “She has four parents,” Stone was the first to give up real information, “And I know a little about her, but I’m not sure if it’s just rumors or not. I’ve never met her.” He shrugged his shoulders with his hands out to the side. He looked like the Demon version of my sister's favorite emoji. “It’s said that her mother was such a powerful mage that she was able to magic herself pregnant from all three of her mates at once. Together they had one child. A daughter. She’s part mage, demon, vampire, and shifter. The best qualities from each with none of the weaknesses. A dangerous mixed breed hybrid. She is the elite predator. There’s no one else like her. Shortly after she was born her mother went missing. Her mates are still searching for her.” Stone looked genuinely saddened by that last statement. He hung his head a little before he took a deep breath to continue.

  “You said her name was Sloane?” He asked Vaughn. “She must be about 24. The Devil himself gifted her with three hellhounds when she graduated high school, but I’m sure that’s just another rumor floating around. I've never seen hellhounds when I've visited Hell, only read about them. It’s said that he’s her grandfather, though he could possibly be her demon father. I never worked up the guts to ask Headmaster King when I was sent to the Devil’s Academy, but I apprenticed under him enough to hear him talk about her. I still visit him a few times a year. His name is Samuel King.”

  “Whoa, Stone. I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you talk at once.” I couldn’t help it. He was usually so quiet. I knew all this information but I still had a slack jaw as he spoke. He never talked that much. Even when he had something to say, it wasn’t quite that many words at once. “Guess you won’t speak for the rest of the week,” I teased. He grunted at me and rolled his eyes, but I saw the side of his mouth lift a little like he was fighting a smile. I’d count that as a small victory. He liked my sense of humor. He just didn’t want me to know.

  “Her vampire da’s name is Nathaniel King. He rules the Vampire covens,” Palmer started.

  “Yeah, with an iron fist.” I huffed out my interruption. We had so many rules to follow. Don’t even get me started. We couldn’t kill them. We couldn’t drink from unwilling participants. We couldn’t let them remember we drank from them. The rules went on and on and on. I followed those big “main” rules, but the smaller ones? No fucking way. I’d just use common sense, thank you very fucking much.

  “And he also acts as the regent to the guild leaders in ‘er ma’s absence.” He hedged on like I didn’t interrupt him. “Sloane should’ve taken over when she came of age, but she asked for more time. She’ll take over when she mates with a mage. Or, so Nathaniel says.” Palmer wanted to read the contract between the guild leaders and Nathaniel, but he was told it wasn’t his business. He was a salty mage until that sweet talking vampire told him if she didn’t have a mage mate then he’d turn the guilds over to Palmer. Something about a treaty after that. I fell asleep while Palmer was explaining it to me. That’s how boring it was. I didn’t sleep, but Palmer talked me to boredom so quickly that I was near death.

  “Charles King is Supreme Alpha. I've had the honor of m
eeting him more than a few times before.” Briggs finally spoke. “We have annual meetings with the alpha’s apprentices. There are six of us, from around the world. Should something happen to him before his daughter takes her place, then we’re supposed to basically meet up and either vote a regent alpha in or fight to the death, unless she steps in. In more or less words.” he growled and covered his face with one hand. “Also, I was not supposed to tell you guys that,” he added as an afterthought. Explains the growl I guess.

  Vaughn looked a little paler than he did earlier. Pale was his normal skin tone, but he was fading from a shimmery cream to a dingy white. It had a real sickly affect on him. Next he would turn green. I really wanted to make a joke about his changing skin tone. Not the time Novak. I knew what he’d say. He said the same thing every time. “Fae don’t change their skin color, Novak. That’s a myth. I could glamor myself but it doesn’t actually change anything. It’s just an illusion” What was that word Palmer called him again? Something shite. I’d ask him later.

  “Fuck.” He breathed out and slumped down in his seat. “Jack wasn’t lying when he said she’d kill Taylor with a spoon if she caught him stalking her.” Ahhh, now I remember. A dry shite. Vaughn was a dry shite. Back to the point.

  I arched a brow at him. “Who is Jack?” And why did I feel so jealous? I’m not the jealous type. I’d never even met her. Never mind, I know. From the look on Palmer's face, I could tell he was figuring it out too. I'd give him a minute more.

  “He’s... I don’t know. Her bodyguard? Her best friend? Maybe both? Or neither. I don’t know!” He threw his hands up, exasperated with the whole situation. “He saved my ass last night though. Said she sent him because she “saw” Taylor waiting for me at my car. How? She left in the opposite direction of where I parked.” He jumped up to pace. His air quotes were super cute. “I mean, he’s a big ass horse shifter and he kicked Taylor right in the chest. Then he threatened him. Jack said he’d rip his heart through his chest and eat it if he caught Taylor ever speaking her name again. It was honestly panic inducing. I’m kind of glad he likes me. He-”