by JL Madore
Rhy moves to exit and suddenly I’m in his way.
I didn’t realize I moved until I’m a solid wall between him and the door. “Rhy, don’t. We might be a mess of a mating foursome, but they’re great… and if you’re worried about Keyla protesting, don’t. She had already broached the subject of adding you in before you claimed me. They’ve been cool about all of it.”
“That’s my point,” he says, his voice little more than a whisper. “It’s a mess because of me. You never invited me into your future, I inserted myself. Now, I’m righting that wrong.”
In the silence that follows I feel like I should say something that makes this easier for him, better for all of us. I’ve got nothing.
“How do we pretend like it didn’t happen? You’re part of us now. To hide it will be a lie.”
His lids close briefly, and he seems to steel himself. “Like you said before, lying is what I do, right? Vik’s a dick and Rhy will lie.”
I stiffen. “What makes… why would you say that?”
The pain that flashes in his eyes cuts me to the core. “It’s something you said some nights when you fell asleep… after. I figure it’s your psyche reminding you not to attach real feelings to what we did in the dark.”
“Yeah, well, that failed miserably, didn’t it?”
Rhylan points at the door behind me. “I said what I came to say. Vik’s your guard today, so I’ll see you when I see you.”
The expression on Rhylan’s face hollows me out. There’s something in his voice too, but I don’t know what I’m missing. When he steps past me, I grip his arm and pull him against my side. “What’s going on? What aren’t you saying?”
He shrugs. “Nothing worth worrying about. Take care, Creed. And make sure those mates of yours watch your back.”
Why does it sound like he’s saying goodbye?
“Vik’s on duty, but we’ll catch up later, right?”
“Sure, yeah, later. Look. I gotta go. Duty calls.”
I suppose that’s fitting.
He’s always chosen his duty over everything else.
He leaves and the door latches with a soft click—not a slam, not a bang, just a quiet retreat. It strikes me that’s telling of our relationship too.
The two of us are a whisper in the darkness.
A dirty secret.
“Hey… are you okay?” Doc asks.
A warm hand squeezes the flesh of my shoulder and I flinch. “I don’t know. That was weird. He was acting really weird.”
“Was he all right?”
“I don’t think so.”
A shiver runs my spine and I remember I have no shirt on and both he and Keyla are standing behind me.
They must see the scars.
They know I’ve been butchered.
I bite back the burn of acid climbing the back of my throat. “Sorry. I need to get dressed.”
When I step into the closet, I close the wall and seal myself in. Suddenly, my mind is spinning, and I’m looking for something to use if I throw up.
With my back to the wall, I sink to the floor and put my head between my knees.
Is this about Rhylan denying his claim or him acting weird or my mates realizing I’m as damaged as I am?
I honestly don’t know but my mind is fucked, and I need to pull myself together.
There’s a knock on the wall and I close my eyes. Maybe if I don’t answer, they’ll go away.
“It’s just me,” Doc says, his voice low. “I sent Keyla across the hall to check on the quint. May I come in?”
“No. I’m hiding. You said I was entitled.”
There’s a soft male chuckle on the other side of the panel. “If you seriously don’t want me to bother you, I’ll go, but I’m here if you need someone to act as a sounding board.”
I draw a deep breath and exhale. What was I saying to Rhy about them being amazing, caring people? It’s not like I can get away with threesome sex and not have one of them see my back eventually. “Yeah, come in.”
The panel swings open and the male steps in and closes things up again. “Hey, there.”
“Hey, back.”
“So, a tough moment all around.”
I nod, becoming all too aware that I’m sitting on the floor of my closet wearing a towel. “I guess I really should get dressed.”
Before I can get up, Doc squats down in front of me and meets my gaze. “Did you ever have to serve during the Wars of Power?”
I’m not sure why he’s asking, but I don’t really care. It’s nice not to talk about why I’m curled up like a weakling among my dress wear. “No. The wars ended when I was a teenager and my father wouldn’t have allowed it, even if they hadn’t.”
Doc nods. “Well, when I was younger, I was a handful. I ran with a rough crowd and got into trouble. Early on, my father gave up and I went into foster care. After getting arrested for the fifth time, my foster father, Ben, marched me down to the recruitment offices and signed me up for the military.”
That doesn’t sound like the man I know, but hey, I’ve only known him for four days. “I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I found myself in the armed forces, first as a soldier, then special ops, and briefly as an intelligence officer. The structure was good for me.”
“I’m sure you were good at it.”
He nods. “I excelled. I saw and did a lot of terrible things, but I was a soldier and had a purpose. I knew who I was and what I was there to do.”
He looks off in the distance as if seeing the scene in his mind’s eye. “One afternoon, my unit got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. When the streets lit up with gunfire, I was injured. When I shipped home, I wasn’t whole. It took a long time and a lot of love from my foster family to mold me back into the paragon of excellence you mated.”
I chuckle. “It seems like you’ve got it all pulled together now.”
He nods. “It took some doing but I got there. Can I show you something? It’s the reason I’m telling you all this and I think it might help.”
“Sure.”
He stands to his full height, unbuttons his pants, and strips himself bare to his thighs. Sweeping his cock to the side, he points to his gem pouch. The skin is scarred and doesn’t hang symmetrically and looks like his genitals have been mangled. “I caught a spray of bullets to the groin, lost one testicle, and got shipped home as damaged goods.”
Having only been with the guy from behind, I hadn’t noticed the scar, but yeah, it looks gnarly.
“Before I enlisted, and during my time as a soldier, I’d been promiscuous and very active. When I came home with this… well, I kinda froze myself out of the game by running toxic narratives in my head… I was brutalized, less of a male, no one would be able to stomach the sight of it or worse… they’d ask me about it. Any of this sounding familiar.”
I sigh. “Word for word, actually. And here I thought I was the mind reader of the group.”
He pulls his pants back up and puts things away. “My point is, whatever you’ve been through, it’s in the past. I have no doubt it’s a sore point and you’d rather stick a blade into your own stomach and gut yourself rather than talk about it, amirite?”
I dip my chin. “Pretty much.”
“So, leave it at that for now. One day you’ll want to get it off your chest and Keyla and I will hear you out. We’ll talk about it, and the weight you bear because of what you suffered will ease a little. But do you know what we’ll never do?”
“What’s that?”
“Judge you for something that happened to you. It won’t change who you are in our eyes. We won’t pity you but we will empathize. It’ll take time for it to sink way down deep into your marrow, but you are safe with us. Forever and always.”
I’m not sure that’s true. A fae without his wings is pathetic, but I appreciate the thought behind what he’s saying. “Thanks, Bear. That helps, honestly.”
Doc nods a
nd holds out his hand to help me up. He’s grinning and chuckles as I get to my feet.
“What’s the look for?”
“That was my first mate pep talk and I nailed it.”
I laugh and grab a shirt off the rack. “Yes, you did.”
He winks and heads for the handle on the wall that opens things up to the bedroom. “All right, finish getting dressed and when you’re ready, we’ll head across the hall and find out what the plan is. We’ve got women to find and a queen to overthrow.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Keyla
While Doc talks to Creed, I give them some privacy and head across the hall to check in with my brother and his mates and find out what our plan is for the day.
“Princess Nakeyla.”
The Viking on guard duty looks identical to Rhylan but their scents are not the same. “Hello, Vikarus.”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Both his choice of words as well as the tone of his voice make me bristle. “If it’s any business of yours, I’m headed across the hall to the Auburn Suite to see my brother and the quint.”
He makes like he’s considering it and then nods. “Very well. You may proceed.”
“Alrighty then, thanks.” I take my leave and knock on the door across the hall. “Everybody decent. Little sister doesn’t want her retinas burned out.”
Jaxx opens the door and grins. “Decent is subjective and depends on how high your standards are. All I can promise is that we are clothed.”
“I’ll take that as a win, cowboy.” I prop onto my tiptoes and kiss his cheek as I head inside. When he closes the door behind me, I throw my thumb over my shoulder. “FYI, we’ve got Vik the dick on duty today.”
Kotah comes to hug me and walks me deeper into the suite. Brant has music blasting out of his phone and I make a face. “What’s with the volume, Bear? Missing your days of bar crawls and raves?”
He chuckles, his brawny chest bouncing with amusement. “You know me, sista. I like to feel my tunes vibrate in my lungs.”
Weird.
I’m about to ask Kotah why he’s acting strangely when Lukas comes up to me with an electronics wand. He passes it in front of me and behind and then down my arms and each side.
I meet my brother’s gaze and he points at Jaxx tipping a lamp back to show me a black chip under the shade and Hawk points to a picture on the wall and a vase on the bookshelf.
Awesome. We’ve been bugged.
When? I mouth. Lukas swept both their suite and ours when he first arrived.
When did someone get the chance to bug things?
Calli tips her hand against her mouth and then points to her temple. During the drink and think last night?
Yeah, maybe.
A horrifying thought hits me and I turn and point at our suite. Pulling my phone out, I type out a note. Is our suite bugged? Does the queen know about Rhylan and Creed’s mating?
Hawk takes the phone and types back, Not sure yet. We just found these. We need to head over and check.
Lukas tucks his gear back into his duffle and zips a false bottom before slinging it over his shoulder. Then I lead him and the quint out to return to the royal suite.
“Problem, Princess?” Vikarus asks.
“No, why? We’re just checking on the boys before we leave for Rames and Travon to make first contact.”
“About that,” the dragon says, offering us a cocky grin. “I’m afraid all excursions have been put on hold for the moment by order of the queen. It seems there might be a security threat. Until the queen’s guard has things ironed out, it won’t be safe for your brother and his mates to leave the castle.”
Hawk grins. “In case you missed the part where Calli is the legendary Phoenix Guardian of the Fae and we are her quint, let me assure you, we’ll be just fine.”
Vik shrugs. “Sorry. I enforce the orders. I don’t make them.”
There’s no scent of lying in the air, but somehow, I feel like we are the security threat he’s talking about. Does he know about his brother and Creed? Would he say something if he did? Wouldn’t he be upset? He couldn’t be that much of an ass that he’d allow the queen to harm Rhy, could he?
While I’m considering that, four heavily-armed guards take a position at the end of the corridor—two facing our way and two facing toward the castle beyond.
“Well,” Calli says, pressing her hand against my back and urging me toward the suite. “I guess we’ll consider it a rain day and amuse ourselves in the royal suite, won’t we?”
Shutting ourselves inside, I meet the gaze of the others and the hair on the nape of my neck stands on end. “Oh, damn. I suddenly feel sick.”
Creed
I hear Keyla say she’s feeling ill as Doc and I step into the suite to join her and her family. She does look a little pale and I begin to worry. “Are you all right, Little Wolf? Do you want to lie down?”
“No. I think Calli’s right. I think we should celebrate our mating and stay in to enjoy the day together.”
I’m confused by the mental energies in the room. What Keyla is saying doesn’t in any way match the vibrations I’m getting off them.
Keyla turns to me and the mental connection we share opens. Strangely, she’s able to do that. I’m the mind fae. Ordinarily, it would be me who initiates conversation. I suspect her ability has something to do with the magic of the soul-searing and our bonding.
Or she’s simply a wonder.
The Auburn Suite has been bugged. It seems the queen’s need to chip things continues to haunt us.
Jaxx, Kotah, and Brant put on some music and start chatting about powerful motorcycles. Keyla points to Lukas who extricates a black wand from a duffle bag and starts sweeping the room. I catch on quickly.
Doc gestures to Lukas and shrugs.
I extend the conversation to loop him in. The quint’s suite was fitted with listening devices.
Doc frowns. The jokes on them. Bugging their suite likely just gave the queen and her men an ‘hours of sex’ soundtrack.
Yeah, and I hope her ears bled, Keyla snaps. But more importantly. If we’ve been bugged too, there’s a real chance that things are about to go very badly for us... depending on what she heard.
There’s not an ounce of honor in that woman, I say… and then it hits me. Rhylan.
She nods. If she knows about him mating you and that his allegiance is in question, it might not be a coincidence she took him with her today and left us Vikarus.
A wave of dizziness hits as the blood rushes from my head. Fuck. I think he suspected something. When he was here, he kept saying the mistake was his and he wanted me to have a good life with the two of you.
Dillan and Keyla both frown.
Lukas holds up three fingers and points to various points around the room.
“Hey, girlfriend,” Calli says, calling our attention toward the kitchen. “Have you got any snacks left from last night? This baby is hungry, and I don’t last long without something in my tummy.”
Hawk points to Lukas’s duffle bag and then back toward the bedroom.
Doc and Keyla catch on faster than I do. Then again, they’ve been through this before. Keyla jogs off with Calli to the kitchen while Doc retreats into our suite to pack a bag.
Hawk points to his head and then to mine and I understand what he wants. Normally mind fae don’t create mental connections with anyone other than their closest contacts, but I have a feeling the quint is going to be incredibly important in my life.
Opening a mental connection is the work of a thought and then, the avian is in my mind. We’ve got at least four guards plus the dragon in the hall outside. I’d bet my balls there are more ready to move in. Keyla and Doc are vulnerable to attack. If we can avoid a head-on conflict, I’d prefer it. Windows, roof… what are our options here?
My mind is spinning. Is this happening? My father built an escape corridor that leads to the King’s suite and then down to the basement but after my second
attempt at getting away, the dragon’s found it and had it blocked and sealed by magic.
Where is it? I’ll have Lukas take a look.
I point and head into my bedroom. Opening the wall to my hidden closet, I swipe the hangers to the side and press on the center of what looks like an ornamental panel. It pops open and I swing the panel aside, exposing an opening about two feet square.
Hawk frowns at the bars blocking the entry and nods. Pack whatever you can’t live without. Your time as her prisoner has come to its end.
I won’t run away and leave that bitch with my quadrant. I’d rather die here fighting.
Hawk drops his chin and smiles. Oh, we’re not running. We’re making a strategic retreat while we find your dragon and your sister. Once we’ve secured them, we’ll be back.
I swallow. For two years I’ve dreamed about the day I would rise up and reclaim my life.
Now, it seems to be happening too fast.
Keyla rushes in and hugs me. It’s going to be fine. You haven’t seen the quint in action yet, but we couldn’t have a stronger backup force. Come. Grab a few things and add them to our go-bag.
I grab a pair of pants and a couple of shirts and when I get to my dresser, I stop and stare at the top left drawer.
What is it? Keyla’s internal voice carries with it such genuine concern for me I hate myself for even thinking what I’m thinking.
Hawk said to grab things I can’t live without... and there’s something... but I don’t want to hurt you.
Keyla’s expression softens. Gather what you need. You won’t hurt me.
I open the drawer and look at the collection of things that represent another time—another love. I wish I had time to go through this with you and explain it properly.
Keyla’s curves press against my side and her warmth eases me. She was part of you. There’s nothing you need to explain or defend or worry about.
I wonder for a moment how she knows these are Bloom’s things but then I remember. This drawer hasn’t been opened for two years, everything inside it is preserved like a tomb. You can smell her?
Keyla nods. You told me the other day she smelled like sweet summer blossoms. You’re right. It’s a lovely scent.