by Tracy Lauren
April purses her lips and gives me an understanding nod. “I’m sorry, Mel. I get it. We’ve all had enough heartbreak to last a couple lifetimes at least.”
“I say we need someone to turn it around,” Clark announces, shifting her attention back to the baskets. “How much do you guys want to bet it’s a secret admirer?”
“Oh, there’s going to be hell to pay if it is,” Reagan assures us.
“But who?” April questions.
Then it dawns on me. It’s probably Gile and Mire. I mean, the timing checks out. I shut them down and so they’ve moved on. It makes perfect sense. Still, the idea of it makes me feel like crawling back into my bed and hiding under the covers for a week. I shouldn’t be so upset that they’ve moved on. I really don’t have any right to be. I told them no. And yet, I can’t shake away my remorse. I know we were just getting to know one another, but already I feel like I lost two of my best friends.
Chapter 20
Gile
Three days later
“She said herself that she wishes to remain friends,” I remind my brother once again. Mire has been inconsolable. Only now am I finally able to encourage him to come back to the village. Though he refuses to come for dinner, he has agreed to come now. It is midday and the courtyard should not be so full. And I happen to know a certain blonde-maned female is sitting at the long table labeling jars of preserved fruit.
“I do not wish to bother her,” Mire tells me. It is nothing but an excuse. He is wounded because he believes his dreams to be dashed. But that is foolishness. Mel simply needs time to adjust, to realize our intentions are true and to move beyond the hurt she still carries from the stupid one named Gary. We are not Gary. Nor is she. There will be no hurt with us, only love.
“Mire, it is impossible to bother a friend!”
“You bother me constantly,” he says stonily, but I see the joke in his eyes and when I slug his arm he nearly smiles. I’d say this is progress.
“Besides, if we truly wish to be Mel’s friends we cannot continue to hide from her. You still wish to have her in your life, do you not?” I question.
“You know I do.”
“Then it is settled. Stop acting so morose. We will spend time with Mel, we will show her more of who we are, and then she will beg us to be her mates.”
“Gile! You do not know that is how it will play out,” Mire complains.
“Don’t I? Mel will love us, as we love her. Mark me, brother.”
When we pass the tall wooden gates and enter the cobbled village courtyard I immediately see Mel at the table. Her back is to us and she sits before stack upon stack of small metal jars, all of them waiting to be labeled. The humans Clark and April sit across from her, working on their own stacks.
“Perfect,” I breathe quietly to myself.
“There are others…” Mire complains, but I grab him by the arm and drag him along. April sees us coming and gets a smart grin on her face but doesn’t warn Mel of our approach. Instead, she watches with keen interest. I shove my brother ahead, forcing him to take a seat. We flank Mel and she looks up suddenly, blushing when she sees it is us.
“It appears you females have much work to do, how can we help?” I ask, clapping my hands together and looking at the mundane task spread across the table. I would do any number of boring things if it meant I could sit by Mel’s side and drink in her beauty.
Mel struggles to answer, thrown by our sudden appearance, and April generously fills us in. “Keep the three piles separate and mark each canister with contents and date,” she explains. “Easy-peasy.”
“Easy-peasy,” I agree, causing Mire to groan and the females to chuckle. Even Mel gets a tickled look on her face and she slowly relaxes.
“Haven’t seen you guys around lately,” April points out.
“Indeed. Every moment we spend away from the village is a sad one. Tell us, Mel, did you miss us?” I ask, leaning close to her, already forgetting my label making. Mire doesn’t even bother with the pretense of work and he sits there watching our mate. Mel’s eyes go wide and the blush returns to her cheeks.
“It’s good to see you both,” she says politely, but her smile is something more than polite. She is happy to see us.
“Yeah, we were actually just talking about you guys,” April puts in.
“Really? What did Mel say?” I ask, elbowing her playfully.
Mel keeps her eyes on her work, trying to hide her blush, and April rolls her eyes, looking amused. “Actually I was the one to bring you up. I know you took Mel shooting and a few of us were interested in getting some lessons in. The Vendari had been helping us out before the rainy season hit, but we haven’t been able to practice for a while. Now that the sun’s shining we figured we might as well take advantage of it and get things going again.”
“We will help you,” Mire grunts.
“Will Mel be joining us?” I ask.
“Yes,” she groans, but I can’t help but notice how genuine her smile is.
“Then you will have our aid,” I declare.
“How generous of you,” Mel teases. I lean over to whisper in her ear.
“You will say the same thing when we are in bed together,” I promise.
“Oh my God, quit,” she warns, snorting out a laugh.
Silence stretches as the women work and I idly inspect the canisters of food. Mire still watches our Mel and I see her cutting her eyes to him every so often. “It’s been a few days since I’ve seen you two. Is everything good?” she asks. Her question is loaded. She wants to know if we are good.
“Everything is good when spending time with friends,” I say pointedly. “Have we missed anything interesting in our absence?” I am only trying to make conversation, but the women all freeze, giving each other meaningful glances.
“Ayo! We have missed something. Break your silence, I’m eager to hear!”
Mel grumbles, looking uneasy, but Clark takes the opportunity to jump in. “Reagan has a secret admirer!” she blurts out.
“I wouldn’t call it a secret admirer,” Mel says, sounding hesitant.
“Like hell. One of the guys keeps leaving gifts on her doorstep throughout the day,” April tells us.
“That doesn’t mean it’s an admirer. Maybe someone is just being generous or didn’t understand the whole Christmas thing,” Mel says, shrugging.
“We talking about the secret admirer?” V asks, walking up to join us.
“Yes,” the women agree. Mel just shakes her head and laughs, taking it with good humor.
“Anything new since the fruit basket at breakfast?” V questions.
“No, but he’s due any second,” Clark tells her. “We’re hoping to catch a glimpse of him.”
“Why not just ask the King?” Mire questions.
V sighs unhappily and ventures an answer. “He’s been busy. Kate too.”
“Are there no others who can give you answers?” I bid. “Perhaps Tennir?”
“Please, Tennir is so caught up in his science crap. He doesn’t know what’s going on around here. He could give you one a hell of a run down about our ecosystem though,” April scoffs.
“Hey! Science isn’t crap—it helps keep the village going!”
“Spoken like a true nerd,” April teases her friend.
“There’s just a lot going on right now,” Mel adds with a sigh. “Everyone has their own drama.”
“This worries you, my mate?” I question. Mel’s eyes go wide and everyone at the table seems to grow still. Mire looks to the heavens as if to ask for help from the Goddesses. I don’t bother to correct myself though. It is only a matter of time before Mel gives in to her feelings for us.
She clears her throat. “I just feel like we need to be coming together right now and instead we’re spreading ourselves too thin.”
“It is getting tense around here. Something’s got to give, and soon,” V adds.
“Bah, surely it cannot be that dire. We should all throw caution to the wind
and enjoy ourselves,” I venture, purposely reaching for the same canister as Mel so that our fingers might graze. I watch the blush rise on her cheeks as her big blue eyes go wide with surprise.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. We’ve got incoming at 11 o’clock,” April hisses. I look down at my personal comm, not understanding her reference to the day’s hours. “I freaking knew it.”
“Hold on, we don’t know—” Mel begins, but her voice drops away as Kellan passes us along the corridor. He carries a basket in his arms and is heading towards Reagan’s door.
“Get ready to pay up, ladies. I just won this bet,” April insists.
“There was a bet going? Who did you think it was?” I ask, nudging Mel.
“It doesn’t matter—” she starts.
“She figured it was one of you guys, since, you know…whatever,” April informs us with a wave of her hand, her eyes still locked on Kellan.
I frown, unhappy to hear that Mel would think such a thing. “Truly?” I question in disbelief.
Mel looks at me apologetically. “I mean, not really. But sort of. I just figured that maybe you guys moved on,” she says in a low voice, but no one is paying attention to us. They all watch Kellan.
I put my hand on her thigh, stroking it to show her my understanding. “It will take time for you to learn who we are, Mel. Don’t worry, Mire and I can be patient.” She turns a deeper shade of red and puts my hand back up on the table, patting it politely, ever conscious of the other women.
“Sorry…I didn’t mean to insult you or anything,” she says apologetically.
“It is very insulting,” Mire says flatly and I reach around Mel to deliver a slap to the back of his head.
“Shhhh!” April instructs us, waving her hand frantically.
Reagan opens her door just as Kellan delivers his gift.
“What the hell are you doing?” she demands loudly, stepping out into the corridor.
Kellan’s shoulders stiffen and he steps back, but we cannot hear the words he returns to her.
“What is he saying?” Clark whispers, straining to hear.
Reagan bends over to grab the basket and shoves it back into Kellan’s arms. Mire and I exchange a look of sympathy for him. We know the pain of being spurned.
“I don’t know where you got that fucked up idea but you can forget it!” she shouts angrily.
He speaks again and she crosses her arms over her chest, clearly not pleased with his response. “Who told you that?” she demands, but Kellan discards the basket and bounds over the stone railing of the corridor. Deftly, he scales the temple wall and vanishes over the other side.
Reagan follows him with her eyes until he is gone, then she turns to our group, striding over with purpose.
“You are not going to believe what he just said to me,” she tells us.
“Give him a break, he’s in love!” Clark rejoices in a sing-song voice.
“Like fuck he is. That jerk just told me he has an obligation to care for me because his piece of shit brother defiled me.” Reagan paces angrily before us. “Which is bullshit enough,” she continues, “but then he says he knows I wish to be cared for by family and that he is my family now considering the circumstances.” She wags her fingers in the air as she says the last bit. It is a human gesture I do not understand.
“You did say that,” I point out.
Reagan rounds on me and points an accusing finger in my direction. “Did you tell him something I said in group?”
“I swear I did not! It is Vegas!” I defend.
“Then who told him? I said that shit in confidence, and anyway that’s not even what I meant!”
“He listens in,” Mire says suddenly, his voice still flat with disinterest.
I know my brother. He feels for Kellan and does not comprehend the importance of the privacy the females seek in their group time. And they all look to him, demanding an explanation. Inwardly, I cringe. Mire can navigate many a dangerous situation, yet somehow I do not think he understands the thin ice he is treading upon now.
Chapter 21
Mire
“Mire, you’re going to have to explain that,” Mel insists. All the females stare at me, but I focus on my blue-eyed mate and the troubled expression she wears.
“I have seen Kellan atop the temple many times. But during your last meeting I witnessed him jumping down about halfway through. I was curious what he was doing up there so I ventured up myself. Through the hearth vents your voices are amplified. Everything can be heard.”
The females’ eyes go wide and their mouths drop open. Gile groans and rakes his hands over his face. Mel turns to him, “Did you know about this?”
“No. Not at all, I swear.”
I do not see why they are bothered. Kellan has done nothing malicious with the information, he has only attempted to help one of the women.
“This is fucking bullshit,” Reagan insists. Her angry voice sounds shaky. “I haven’t felt this violated since Rad was here,” she laments, storming away.
“Reagan! Where are you going?” Mel calls after her. “I’m going to talk to the King. This shit needs to be punished!”
But Reagan has already spurned Kellan. What greater punishment is there?
“Oh my God, I need to mentally go over every embarrassing thing I’ve ever said in group…” April groans, looking unhappy. As a matter of fact, all the females look unhappy.
“Let me help you put this away,” Gile offers the women. He catches my gaze and nods meaningfully to Mel. When I look back to her, I notice she looks especially upset. While I don’t understand her reaction, it still bothers me to see pain in the woman who holds my heart.
The others clear away and Mel holds my gaze, her eyes expectant.
Luckily I have something to offer her. I dig in my pocket and retrieve a small vial, holding it out to her.
“What’s that?” she asks, her small nose wrinkling.
“It looks like you could use a drink.”
Her eyes go wide once more and she tugs my hand down, hiding the vial beneath the cover of the table.
“Is this alcohol?” she asks.
“It is a pleasure drink,” I confirm. “For recreation.”
“Mire, we really should talk,” she says, casting her eyes over to the pantry where the others are still returning supplies.
Rising from the table, I take Mel’s hand and tug her toward the gate. “Let’s talk then.”
A sweet sound of worry escapes her throat as she wavers. But she nods and follows me. We make haste on our way out of the village and I keep our pace quick, worried that Mel will change her mind at any moment.
“Mire!” she complains, pulling at my hand once we are in deep in the thick trees of the forest. “Are we going to talk or what?”
“Just up ahead,” I promise her.
“Okay…but this better not be an hour-long hike like the last one. I don’t think I have the patience for that today.”
“It will not take long,” I assure her, pressing onward.
While I know Mel does not want Gile and me, in my heart I still feel she is my mate. She is the only female I have ever given myself to and the feel of her hand in mine is like a treasure to me…one that is slipping through my fingers.
Ahead of us I can already see the stone pillars, looking like nothing more than tree trunks in an endless wood. But I have been here before and I know this place well. It is another hidden gem of Elysia, one that I had been hoping to share with Mel. And I am glad for the chance, even if she does spurn me.
“There,” I tell her, pointing ahead of us.
Mel strains her eyes, not seeing what I know to be there. It isn’t until I help her climb down the side of a fallen statue that she realizes what surrounds us.
“Holy shit!” she cries, stumbling backward into my chest. “Dammit Mire, that thing scared the crap out of me!”
“It is nothing more than an ancient statue—a relic of those who once made this place their home,” I
console, running my hands over her shoulders to soothe her. Despite the fact that Mel claims I am not her mate, I notice she does not pull away from my touch. I am grateful for the connection, but I don’t dare press it any further—regardless of the fact that I want nothing more than to bury my nose in her neck and breathe in her feminine scent.
Instead we stare down at the statue together. Massive in proportion, it is a carving of a woman’s face. Long ago it sat upright, but now she rests peacefully on the ground. Her broken wings have crumbled into the terra and are covered in moss and ferns. Once, they must have been great.
“There are more,” I tell her. Mel turns to survey the area, looking at it slowly now and with greater scrutiny. When she finally turns back to me, her brow is furrowed and she’s gazing at me with those crystal blue eyes.
“How is it you seem to know where all the most beautiful places are on this planet?” she asks.
I shrug and pull her along with me, toward the center of the garden. For that is what this place must have been, many hundreds of years ago. Now it is vines overtaking fallen statues and moss-covered knolls lying beneath broken pillars and archways. Still…it is beautiful.
In the center of the garden there is a raw crystal formation. All else is centered around it. When the sun hits it just right, it breaks up the light and sends rainbows across the forest floor.
“Why’d you bring me here, Mire?”
“You said we should talk. You also said you could use a drink. Why not do both and do it here?”
She sighs heavily but nods. “Okay.”
I motion that she should sit and she finds a spot on an ancient stone bench. I squeeze in beside her, relishing the warmth of her small thigh against mine. When I take out the vial of Drem she shifts anxiously in her seat.
“What is it?” she asks.
“Drem.”
“Is it strong? Are we talking tequila shots or wine coolers?”
“I do not understand your question.”
“Will it mess me up if I drink a lot? Bearing in mind I’m a third of your size and haven’t had a strong drink in months.”
“Drem is a pleasure drink, it will not incapacitate you. It will open your mind and bring you peace.”
