Fate's Fools Box Set

by Bell, Ophelia

  “The difference is we know what to expect. These poor people the rogue hounds bit don’t know why they’re suffering or how to fix it. For all they know, they’re just lonely and depressed.”

  “I take it this depression wouldn’t be a side effect if the hounds behaved the way they were supposed to,” Llyr said, helping himself to a pair of clean sweat pants from the shelf of spare clothes we kept out here just for this purpose. He ambled toward me naked, his gaze perusing my body with a familiarity that made me uncomfortable, mostly because my traitorous cock seemed to enjoy the appraisal. I snatched the proffered pair of pants out of his hand and jerked them on swiftly, a little more relaxed once my dick was hidden from his view.

  “No. Fate just fucking hates the turul and I suspect that hatred extended to the bloodline once Fate learned they existed. It can’t destroy us without angering a god, but the bloodline is fair game. You remember what my grandmother said yesterday. Once Fate caught wind of what Meri did, it cursed all the hounds to bite the bloodline rather than sing to them. And the bitten victims become doomed to depression and loneliness if they fail to find their soul mates.”

  “But once they find them, they’re safe?”

  “Nobody’s ever really safe from Fate. But they are safe from the hounds at least. Too much happy magic overflowing from soul mates who find each other. The hounds get drunk on the stuff.”

  Llyr nodded. “I believe that’s what Deva described was happening with Susannah Dylan the other day. She and the other victim mated each other and the hounds didn’t leave their sides for the entire day. I could sense the magic just as palpably myself. But it only affirms Deva’s insistence that we find mates for the other victims. Until that happens, they’re targets, and after what we’ve seen, they’re in danger of more than just shitty moods.”

  I didn’t have the energy to correct him. The level of hopelessness I’d felt before becoming Deva’s protector extended beyond a “shitty mood.” Now, I could comfortably say I was in a shitty mood at least. As miserable a state as it was, it at least had clear boundaries and an obvious source. I also knew exactly how to get rid of it, even if I refused to allow myself to take that step. I wouldn’t put Deva in danger just for the sake of a happiness I’d lost hope of ever finding anyway.

  But the victims of the rogue hounds had no such luxury, and four of them were currently in residence at my house.

  “Let’s head in and update the others. We need to stick together in case any of Fate’s own hounds come sniffing around.”

  “And the rogues?” Llyr asked.

  “I’m tempted to let Deva have free rein on them. She can call them to her, and if my grandmother is right, she can control them too. I won’t hold out hope that they can be of any use to us, but if Fate is going after members of the bloodline who have been bitten, we can at least ensure no one else becomes a target.”

  I headed for the studio door and when I looked back for Llyr, he was still rummaging through the clothes and putting more on. “Dude, seriously? I thought you were all about strutting around in the buff to taunt me.”

  He crouched down to tie up a pair of sturdy boots, then slipped into a woolen pea coat like he was about to brave the cold.

  “It’s comfortable inside but out there?” He tensed his shoulders and shivered. “Fucking frigid. I can’t very well taunt you if my strongest asset shrivels up to nothing.”

  I was still shirtless, standing in the open door of the studio. I glanced out at the sunny driveway and the flowering trees that lined it. It was a gorgeous spring day for coastal California, with not a cloud in the sky, no marine layer to speak of for once, and a light, salt-scented breeze. If circumstances hadn’t been so dire, I’d have taken the morning to fly and then lounge naked by the pool.

  “Just put the clothes back when you’re done with them, I guess. Come on.”

  4

  Deva

  “You guys have to stay,” I said, crouching down before the quartet of shining violet eyes, all avidly awaiting my command.

  They blinked in perfect unison, which was disconcerting, yet I could sense their understanding of my desires on a deep level. The two bigger ones, who Rohan and I had named Jewel and Jimi, obeyed first. We had named Jewel for the diamond on her chest, despite Rohan suggesting Keagan would get a laugh out of that name, and Jimi after some old human musician Rohan loved. He’d said the hound’s hazy purple fur was reminiscent of one of his favorite songs by that singer.

  Blaze and Boots followed, all four curling up once more on the fluffy rug by the glass doors leading from Rohan’s bedroom out to the patio and the pool overlooking the bluffs. We kept the curtains drawn to conceal them from the others for now. I didn’t want to alarm our friends until we had eased them into the idea of the hounds being here.

  “Good pups,” Rohan said, even though the four hounds barely even acknowledged his presence beyond the power he exuded after our mating.

  A deep tremor vibrated in my core at the memory of our night. The moment Rohan had gifted me a piece of his soul would always stay with me. I stood up and looked at him, wishing to thank him yet again but having no words and it felt silly to sing at him every time I felt this overwhelmed with emotion.

  Rohan only gave me a warm smile. “Me too,” he said, and wrapped his arms around me. “As far as I’m concerned, my entire soul belongs to you, Deva. You don’t need to thank me for something that’s already yours.”

  I clung to him, grateful that his Gold dragon talents meant I didn’t have to speak my feelings, yet I was still riddled with uncertainty—over my future, over my powers, over what happened next. And over one thing in particular. “How can you be sure I didn’t somehow charm you into loving me? Blaze’s bite might have compelled you to want me.”

  “Because I wanted you the second I laid eyes on you, baby. Before you even strummed that guitar. Are you ready to go tell the others?”

  “Not really,” I admitted.

  “Deva,” Rohan gripped my shoulders and held me at arm’s length. “I’ll tell you again, it’s all right for you to love them. You’ve already got history with Ozzie and Llyr, and Keagan and Bodhi probably just need a little push. We can make this happen. And as a dragon I have to admit I’d be vicariously enjoying the hoard through you.”

  “Ugh, I don’t want a hoard! I just want—”

  “A soul,” he said softly. “I know. And if mine is the only one you ever have, I’m fine with that, but I have a feeling this is the only way to awaken the rest of your powers. Just humor me, all right?”

  I nodded and braced myself, then opened the door.

  The aroma of cooking food instantly bombarded my senses, throwing me back to the last morning I’d spent at home in the Dragon Glade. My aunt Aurum had cooked that morning, her magic flooding the entire glade with the scents of that breakfast. This was no human cooking either, yet it smelled new to me nonetheless. New and delicious enough to have my stomach rumbling loudly.

  Rohan chuckled. “I’m with you.” He paused outside Keagan’s door, peering into the empty room. “Of course he’d get up for food even on his death bed. At least we know he’s not too damaged to eat.”

  “Or have sex,” I added.

  “The two most important things in an ursa’s world.”

  “Just an ursa’s?” I lifted a brow at him and he grinned at me, smacking my backside lightly. He left his hand resting against my bottom, his golden gaze drifting down as he squeezed.

  “I know these pants are conjured, but I do love you in leather,” he said in a low rumble next to my ear.

  “The important thing is that they fit.” With Rohan healed, my own well of power felt like it had grown tenfold. I didn’t have any compunctions against conjuring whatever material thing I’d need, though I would never tire of slipping into his old t-shirt to sleep in.

  Just as we made it to the end of the hall where it opened up to the foyer on one side and the huge sunken living room on the other, the front door burst op
en. Rohan and I stopped in our tracks as a bundled figure came through followed closely by Ozzie in nothing but the same pair of old jeans he’d been in to let us out the gate the other morning.

  “Llyr?” I asked as the bundled figure began peeling off layers. “Are you all right?”

  Ozzie snorted. “He’s a water shifter.” As if that explained everything.

  “We prefer a more controlled environment,” Llyr added. “This place has too many extremes.”

  “Dude, it’s Southern California,” Rohan said. “I’d hate to see you in a place with actual weather.”

  When he peeled the knit cap off his head and I could see his eyes, they fixed on me and Rohan, the disconcerting whorls spinning as he took us in. My stomach took a dive into my gut, but his only reaction was a faint crease between his eyebrows before he darted a glance away to hang his coat up on a hook. His jaw flexed and he seemed to nod to himself as he continued removing layers until he was in just a worn old long-sleeved Fate’s Fools shirt and a pair of snug jogging pants.

  Why I should be apprehensive about his feelings about me mating Rohan I had no idea, but somehow I was a little disappointed in the lack of reaction. I think I might have wanted some kind of remorse at least. Just enough to justify my proposition of mating him and the others, which was going to be hard enough to get out as it was.

  “Is everyone accounted for?” Ozzie asked in a brusque tone. “The trail leads here, just as I thought.”

  He strode through the foyer toward me and an irrational tightness gripped my midsection, so swiftly it made me dizzy. I recoiled against Rohan, who wrapped his arms around me reflexively. Ozzie came closer and the sensation escalated to outright pain that made me gasp in shock as he brushed past, but he didn’t stop at his own closed door, or either of the others. He paused for a split second outside Keagan’s room, then went to Rohan’s. I blinked in confusion as the strange discomfort inside me subsided and I exhaled in relief.

  Rohan gave me a look of concern and whispered, “Are you all right?”

  I shook my head and shrugged, confused by the weird reaction my body had to Ozzie’s nearness. But when I saw him reach for Rohan’s doorknob, my adrenaline spiked and my blood rushed to my ears. “What are you doing? Don’t go in there!” I called from the other end of the hallway.

  “This is where the trails end. I see two leading right into that room, so either Keagan and Willem are locked in there, or the hounds that bit them are.”

  He gave me a challenging glare, then glanced at Rohan by my side. Ozzie’s brows twitched with the briefest uncertainty, making me wonder if he could see our soul link the way he could see the soul drain that led to the hounds. Then I realized if he was so intent on the trails from Willem and Keagan to the hounds that had attacked them, he must’ve figured out that Rohan was missing the same tether to the hound that had bitten him.

  “Don’t!” I ran toward him as he reached for the door knob again. “Please. They’re safe in there, and I promise not to let them hurt anyone. I just haven’t figured out exactly what makes them attack yet and I don’t want you to get bitten.”

  Ozzie narrowed his eyes at me but didn’t look surprised. He twisted the knob anyway, ignoring the hand I clamped over his, and pushed through. “They won’t bite me, Deva.”

  “How can you be so sure?” I asked, pushing my way between him and the halfway open door. He gave me a cursory look with stormy eyes before he pressed his lips together and shoved past without another word.

  I stepped into the room on Ozzie’s heels, my pulse racing as I silently willed the hounds to behave. The deep, eternal longing I had for Ozzie to see me as a potential mate—a partner— had never left me, but I didn’t need that bleeding through and somehow encouraging them to bite him just to please me. I was pretty damn certain that’s how Rohan and Bodhi had both wound up bitten, at any rate. I’d sang with them both just before their attacks, and each time had been reminded of Ozzie and wished for a partner who made me feel the way he did when we made music together.

  He eased in past the bed, gaze fixed on the two pairs of heads that popped up with curious glances. Four purple tails began to flop against the floor as the eyes fell on me. But they seemed utterly disinterested in Ozzie, which was some relief.

  “Four?” Ozzie said in astonishment.

  “Sophia said they came in pairs. I think the bigger ones were the first pair Meri caught. The other two are their pups.” I bent down and crooned softly at Blaze. His tail practically became a blur as he scooted toward me on his belly and stretched to lick my proffered knuckles.

  Jewel and Jimi maintained wary looks as Ozzie approached, their ruffs bristling when he crouched down.

  “How long have they been here?” he asked.

  “All night. They showed up right after um . . .” I glanced across the room toward the open doorway where Rohan stood and gave him a pleading look. He just nodded and gave me what I’m sure he thought was an encouraging smile.

  “Right after what?” Ozzie asked.

  I swallowed and sank to my knees, gently brushing my hand over the purple haze of magic that made up Blaze’s head. The tingling sensation gave me some comfort for what I was about to do.

  I shrugged my conjured leather jacket off one shoulder and hooked my fingers into the edge of the stretchy tank beneath it, then tugged it down to bare the top of my left breast and the dragon mark Rohan had given me. A perfect replica of his Fate’s Fools tattoo adorned my skin, glowing faintly with golden magic and signaling I was his mate.

  Ozzie’s pupils flared wide for just a split second before the emblem registered, his aura matching the reaction with an unmistakable burst of lust. Then he winced as though the sight pained him, the red hue of his aura fading to a cloudy, mottled purple like a bruise.

  “You chose well,” he said, standing and turning abruptly toward the door. “We have important business to discuss. Are Keagan and Bodhi in the dining room?”

  “Ozzie, wait!” I grabbed his arm before he could move. Now that he knew, I wasn’t ready to let him go. Not when I had so much more to say.

  Rohan closed the door and leaned back against it, crossing his arms and facing off with Ozzie. “There’s more you need to know, dude. Let her talk.”

  He gave Rohan an impatient glare, but when he looked at me again, the pain in his eyes made my heart twist. “What is it, Deva?” he asked, weariness causing his shoulders to sag.

  “Something happened when Rohan and I made love last night. Did you notice that Rohan’s no longer tethered to Blaze? The only links are between Willem and Keagan to the hounds that bit them.” I gestured toward the hounds and the faint silver and green threads of power that were all but invisible trailing through the wall and into Jewel and Boots.

  Ozzie shook his head but looked anyway. His brows lifted. “Did . . . Blaze bite someone else? No.” He shook his head, answering his own question. “If he had, we’d see a new tether. What happened?” he asked, his prior mood dissipating in favor of curiosity.

  “He’s healed,” I said. “Completely healed.”

  “It happened when I shared my soul with her,” Rohan offered. “And there’s more.” He waved a hand at me.

  With a delighted smile I summoned my dragon wings, careful only to let them expand the width of the room even though I sensed they could be much, much bigger. They passed easily through my conjured clothes as though simply emerging from skin, and the light caught in the thin membranes made them look like pearlescent marble.

  “I have my dragon powers. All of them, I think, but I haven’t had a chance to test. I just know I can fully shift now if I try. Ozzie, do you know what this could mean?”

  I retracted my wings and stepped close, looking up into his stunned gaze. His mouth hung open, his eyes wide as he stared down at me. I squeezed his hands. “If you share your soul with me, and the others do, too, it might awaken my other natures.”

  His expression pinched and he dropped my hands and squeezed my sho
ulders. “Szívem, I am happy for you and Rohan. And any of the others who choose to share this with you. But it can’t be me. You must know it can never be me. I am sorry.”

  I stood stunned by the finality in his words as he bent and placed a chaste kiss to my forehead. All I could register was the dull cloudiness of his aura, a shade that only meant complete disinterest unless he’d somehow figured out a way to hide his feelings from me as completely as he’d hidden his soul.

  “There is more you two need to know too,” Ozzie said. “Meet me in the dining room with the others.” He turned and looked back at the hounds once more. “And if those creatures really do answer to you the way I think they do, you’d best make sure they stay put here for as long as possible.”

  I stared after him as he disappeared out the door, still stunned by his rejection. “I don’t understand,” I said, giving Rohan a helpless look across the room. “Did I completely imagine his aura earlier when I showed him my mark? You can’t fake that!”

  “No, you can’t,” Rohan said, glaring after Ozzie. “I wish I had an answer for you. Turul have never really been the most straightforward creatures though.”

  I shook my head, partly in agreement with him and partly to shake off the disappointment. “It doesn’t matter. And really, I don’t care. If all I get are dragon powers, I’m fine with that.”

  I wasn’t fine with it by a long shot, but the rejection left me too raw and self-conscious to try again. Keagan was likely to reject me too, and Llyr—I still wasn’t sure whether I could even endure being intimate with him again after the way he’d hurt me. As though I could possibly lie about my own virginity after very willingly losing it to him.

  That left Bodhi, and the thought of him triggered a surge of tenderness within me, but I also remembered the tangled auras I’d seen through the wall earlier. If Keagan rejected me, I refused to take away his second chance at love.