by Harper Wylde
He’ll handle it. Don’t let them see your irritation. Damien’s mental voice was calm, though a thread of laughter seemed to echo through it. He’s very good at getting out of those situations.
“This champagne is hitting me hard. I guess I’m more used to beer. If you ladies will excuse me for a moment.” As I was too far away to actually hear their conversation, Damien channeled Ryder’s spoken words to me as the Ceraptor slid like a snake through the gaggle of women, avoiding reaching hands and swaying skirts, aiming for a door out of the room. I giggled in turn, unable to suppress a smile as Ryder ignored them all. I glanced to where Damien stood with his parents, wishing I could head across the room and have him close to me in this unfamiliar environment.
I wish you were on my arm too. Damien’s voice had heated a little. We all do. Murmurs of assent rippled through my mind as all of my guys mentally agreed with him.
Killian and Ciarán were over by the buffet table, neither of them apparently feeling the need to be social. I had been shocked when Ciarán had showed up, especially after his standoff with Councilman Ishida. He didn’t appear to be nervous at all though, sweeping up partners into intricate dances, laughing with shifters he met and some he apparently knew from previous visits, eating his body weight in iced eclairs—the same ones he was currently trying to hand feed an obviously pissed off Killian.
Someone save me before I strangle my brother in front of the Council. Killian’s voice was pleading.
Trying to remain inconspicuous, I turned away, angling my smile in another direction. Ciar never ceased to make me laugh—even if it was at Killian’s expense. My poor bunny. The line of partygoers against the edges of the room caught my attention, and I studied them while I tried to school my face. Chatting mothers pointed out potential matches like it was a sport while their mates dotted on them or drank heavily from the champagne flutes in their hands. One girl in particular caught my eye with her dark hair and dark makeup, throwing her into stark contrast with the bright, glittering, colorful room around her. The crowd nearby seemed to give her a wide berth, and I was instantly curious about what her power was to demand such a personal bubble. However, it wasn’t her clothing and gothic look that threw me, but the line of her sight and intensity of her stare. Glancing back over my shoulder, I noticed her looking directly at Killian, and My Phoenix ruffled her feathers in agitation at the open perusal coming from the girl. Jealousy ran hot through me, easing only when I realized that Killian hadn’t so much as noticed the girl.
Suddenly, Ciarán broke from his brother, leaving Killian to grab the tray of eclairs before they all hit the floor. With an easy, loping grace he nearly danced over to me.
“Having fun?” His eyes were sparkling, his smile wide as he lounged next to me, swiping a champagne flute from a passing waiter and swallowing it all in a single gulp. I shoved him with my shoulder, rolling my eyes at his antics.
“You know me, party central over here.” He snickered. “I wish Rini could have come. It’s hard being separated from all of my guys. Not much of a party without friends here.”
He appeared to sober for a minute, “I wish she could have come too.” His voice seemed to get a little huskier before he looked back at me, wiggling his eyebrows. “Why can’t you hang with the guys? You’re hanging with me! Or am I just too irresistible for you? I’ll be part of your fluffel.”
“Goofball.” I really was so comfortable with Ciarán despite his odd behaviors, his disappearing spells, and his rapid behavioral changes. “I’m not supposed to be interacting with any of the guys who are going to bid on me as a potential mate, you know that.”
“Ah, that’s an archaic rule.” Ciarán rolled his eyes, stretching his arms out over his head. If I hadn’t known better it looked like he was debating whether he could do a cartwheel. Oh God, I hoped that wasn’t what he had planned. Councilman Ishida was with Ahmya now, and the way he was glaring at Ciarán indicated that the past was most definitely not forgotten. “You do realize that since Damien, Hiro, Ryder, and brother dearest aren’t able to bid on you, that they could be spending the night by your side?” He waggled his eyebrows, trying to get a rise out of me with the double entendre of his words.
I rolled my eyes at him but lowered my voice and leaned in so he could hear me. “We’re already planning on bending the rules as it is; we thought it best not to earn any further ire from the Council.” I wanted to say more, but Ciar—having remained absent for most of last week— didn’t know of our plans, and I was all to aware of the powerful mythologicals surrounding me. Ciar tapped the side of his nose, pointed at me, and then proceeded to try to do some kind of secret handshake that had me laughing long before he finished.
He shot me a wink before turning away. “Hey, Gaspard!” Ciarán’s call had Gaspard turning with a raised brow from the man he had been conversing with for the last several minutes. With a polite word, Gaspard dismissed him and joined our group. “You’re not really considering the Davies are you?” He indicated the man now glaring at him. “You know they’re complete assholes.” The corner of Gaspard’s mouth twitched as he tried to hide a smile.
“Well, Ciarán, I’m not sure how it’s really any of your business.” He shot me a warning look. “I did accept his son’s bid. His family is very connected with the Council. They would be pleased if you were to make that match.” Ciarán snorted. “As your Elder, however, I will admit that Ciarán is right and they do have a reputation.” Those words were spoken low, meant only for my ears and not for anyone observing us.
Ciarán blew a raspberry and I nearly choked on the air I had drawn in. “We already know who she should choose.” I hissed, glancing around for listening ears. No one appeared to have heard Ciarán’s outburst but I didn’t want to take the risk as I made shushing motions with my hands. I didn’t want my mates made into targets before we figured out how to handle the Council’s displeasure. “Gaspard, I need to put in my bid.” I nearly fell over in shock. Gaspard had a far better poker face than I, simply raising a brow.
“You want to bid on Nix?” His tone was dry.
A waitress nearby stumbled, the drinks clattering loudly on the tray she carried, drawing the attention of the crowd. When I looked over, however, I saw bouncy brown waves, a petite frame, and a shocked look on a beautiful pixie face.
“Rini!” Joy at seeing her distracted me from Ciarán’s ridiculous declaration but the devastated look on her face quickly made me pause and assess the situation. “What’s wrong? And why are you dressed like that?” In all the time I’d known Rini, she’d never dressed in all black. Suddenly, it dawned on me that she was working the event… not attending it.
“Rini,” Ciarán nearly whispered the word, and the sharpness of it almost sounded like a warning.
“You’re bidding on Nix?” she asked in a small voice, moving closer to our group. She held the drink laden tray toward us, doing her job so as not to bring any additional scrutiny onto herself.
“No, he’s not.” I waved away the absurdity of the idea.
Ciarán locked eyes onto Rini, staring intently. “I am.”
Gaspard interrupted. “Have you thought this through, boy? You’ve been talking with her all night. You know that’s inappropriate if you plan to bid.” Ciarán just turned and blinked at him, unfazed. “What about your brother?”
“Ciarán, what the hell?” Had I completely misjudged him? He knew I was going to reject him, without a question. What was he really doing here? I looked back and forth between Rini and Ciarán, wondering—not for the first time—what was going on between them and their cryptic communication.
Ciarán pivoted toward my Elder. “Come on, Gaspard. You know as well as I do that not only would it piss off the Council, but she could use another set of eyes on her.” He glanced over at Rini, who huffed but nodded her agreement with a shrug. Ciarán’s playful expression crossed his face once more, but his whispered words were serious. “You’ve already gotten dozens of bids, and the Council won�
�t let you—or her—reject all of them no matter how much she’ll want to. I can help to protect her as a suitor better than I can as a friend.” A knowing smirk tightened the edges of his mouth, and his eyes were hard as they studied a now considering Gaspard.
“You’re something, aren’t you, boy.” Gaspard’s words weren’t a question, more a statement of Ciarán’s dual personalities. “They would not approve all of your men, Nix. You are aware of this. They will allow Theo to bid on you at a later date. However, he cannot bid tonight as he is acting as an Elder. The others’ bids were rejected by the Council; I assume for the reasons that Ishida explained to all of you.” Ciarán’s mouth twisted slightly as though he wanted to sneer but at the last second, he kept his congenial expression in place. “Ciarán is correct. It would do you well to have another set of watchful and protective eyes while I talk the Council around, especially in your meeting tonight with the chosen as Theo won’t attend. Very well. Though you have broken protocol, I am sure I can find a believable excuse. You are approved as a suitor, Ciarán. I will leave it to you to inform your brother. Just do it outside of this hall. I have a feeling it will not go well.” Gaspard shook his head, looking perplexed as Ciar shot me a wink, gave Rini an elegant bow, and then proceeded to skip off, apparently planning to do just that. “What an odd boy.” Gaspard’s words were a murmur, but his smile was gentle as he studied me.
I turned to Rini with assessing eyes. “That was—interesting.” I wasn’t sure that was the correct word. Killian and the guys were going to flip once they caught wind of this.
“You’re doing great, Nix.” Rini reached out and squeezed my elbow before disappearing back into the crowd to serve more drinks. I wanted to ask her what she was doing at the Gala and why she was working as a waitress. I hadn’t known she was in need of money, but if she was, working for the Council felt like the last place she would choose to work. I shook my head, realizing I couldn’t ask her about any of it now. It was just one more thing to add to my ever growing list of questions.
Glancing over toward where Killian and Ciarán were standing, I worried over how Ciar would break the news.
“They’ll be smart enough not to overreact in the Council hall, no matter how badly they may want to.” Gaspard followed my gaze until his eyes caught something across the room and he rolled his eyes. “Come on, Nix. There’s some other people you need to meet.” With a resigned sigh, I followed.
Thirty-Eight
Nix
A tense Hiro seemed to be our destination as we slowly crossed the hall. Gaspard was frequently stopped by people who wanted to greet him and give me the once over, though most didn’t actively acknowledge my presence.
What’s wrong, Hiro? I knew we were supposed to keep our mental contact limited, but Hiro was incredibly tense, visible even from this distance. That wasn’t like him at all.
Fuck. I hadn’t expected Killian’s interjection, and if I wasn’t used to to this mental link I probably would have jumped at the venom in his voice. You want us over there, Hiro?
Someone explain, please. I wanted to rush to his side, help with whatever was wrong. Gaspard’s meandering pace was enough to drive me crazy.
His parents. Theo’s voice was icy even in my head. Say the word, Hiro. You know we won’t interfere unless you ask us to.
It’s fine. Hiro sounded exhausted, his words clipped.
I wanted to clench my hands into fists but managed to avoid the motion as Gaspard pulled me in next to Hiro and his parents. “Mr. Chiba. Mrs. Takama. Nice to see you again. Where are Mr. Nakagawa and Mr. Kimura this evening?”
“Gaspard.” Hiro’s mother stepped forward, brushing air kisses against Gaspard’s cheeks, her hands clasping his biceps in greeting. She looked elegant in her floor-length, silver dress, her ebony hair up in a sophisticated twist. Her features were fine, her skin nearly golden against the dress. “My other mates are floating around here somewhere, mingling as usual.”
“Nice to see you as well.” Hiro’s father gave a sharp nod, not stepping closer to his son to embrace Gaspard.
“I didn’t expect to see you at the Gala. Is one of your children being presented today?” Gaspard’s smile didn’t falter at all, though I was sure he knew that wasn’t the reason for their presence. We would have seen one of them in the staging area before the announcements.
“No, most of our children have obtained suitable mates at this age.” Hiro’s father shot a pointed look at his son, and though he saw the look, Hiro’s resigned expression didn’t change.
“Annika.” Mrs. Takama’s voice was cool but polite. “It’s a pleasure to meet a shifter as rare as you. I’m enjoying being here for your presentation. It is nice to see a rare shifter who accepts her duty.” Another pointed look was shot at Hiro, and I had to bite my tongue—I seemed to be doing a lot of that this evening.
“It’s nice to meet you as well.” The words felt like ash in my mouth, but I kept the polite smile on my lips. As much as I hated to, I was learning to play this game. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you. Hiro speaks highly of you and the strength of your commitment to the shifter community.” His mother’s mouth flattened into a tight line.
“The Takama line has always produced strong shifters. Our family takes much pride in that aspect of our lineage.” She sized me up for a moment, before glancing at Hiro. “There are always exceptions, of course, but the blood line is still strong. I am glad Hiro at least had the sense to befriend you and treat you with the respect due to a shifter of your class. Maybe he will listen to you more than he has listened to his own family.”
Mr. Chiba grimaced. “Akari.” Her name was a censure. Mrs. Takama waved a dismissive hand at her mate. “I’m not gossiping. I’m simply stating facts. She is a powerful and influential shifter. It will do Hiro good to interact with someone of her breeding. She obviously understands the importance of her position as Gaspard himself is acting as her Elder and I have seen some of her potential matches. Hiro needs to follow such an example and find his place. He has waited far too long to take a mate, and Ahmya Ishida is clearly willing. I assume he has not spoken with Annika about his lack of propriety in that area, simply acting as a human and dating,” the words fell from her lips like a curse before she continued, “rather than mating. The Ishida’s are a strong line. He has not listened to his foster parents, nor to his own. It’s bad enough he is what he is, though he does have the intelligence to make powerful friends.”
I grimaced. I wanted to slap this woman for talking so poorly about her own son. “Hiro is brilliant. I’m sure if he hasn’t yet chosen a mate there’s a definite reason. Who knows, maybe I’ll be lucky and he’ll bid for me.” The four of them froze, Hiro gaping and his mother putting her hand to her chest in surprise.
“American humor,” Hiro’s father commented after a stilted moment of silence. “Interesting. A good mate will train that from you. Nevertheless, thank you for raising my son’s status with your presence. You have created a greater mating chance for him simply by your positive association.” Speechless, I simply nodded. “Akari, we need to move to the staging area for our presentation.”
“Presentation?” I couldn’t help allowing my confusion to show. I thought all the debutantes had already been presented to the room. What was going on? He raised a brow, his mouth pursing. Apparently, he didn’t want to answer me, however, due to my status he seemed to grudgingly reply. After a glance at a neutral Gaspard he sighed. “We are adopting, today. Presentation of rare shifters occurs for honored families. The Council has chosen us to honor due to the majority of our line being highly powered and rare kitsunes.”
“You gave your own son up to the Council to be raised and they’re giving you another kid instead?” I couldn’t believe my ears. Subtle color rose in Hiro’s cheeks, but he showed no emotion. Neither chose to answer me, simply shifting their attention to Gaspard, sketching out a quick bow and, I assumed, dismissing themselves as they spoke rapidly in flowing Japanese before departin
g out one of the side doors.
“My apologies, Nix.” Gaspard’s expression softened as he turned to study me. “My focus was on the parts of the Gala that you would need to be responsible for. I had not considered forewarning you about the presentation of the children.”
“You’re serious. Children are actually going to be given away?” I couldn’t even begin to wrap my head around it.
“Of course. We mentioned to you before that any children you had would be cared for by a family should you choose not to raise them yourself. Some shifters do choose to privately hold their adoptions, but it is not allowable for rare shifters. It is simply a formality.”
Hiro still seemed wooden as he added, “It’s mostly for show. A few families will receive infants or children from the human world who had been saved or newly found. Most of the ones who are here have had their children since their birth. Mothers are allowed to pick the adoptive family before the child’s birth and they are raised there from the start of their lives. As the Gala is only once a year, the presentation is strictly ceremonial, an acknowledgement of the child’s true lineage and the family providing the service.”
“Did Theo do that when he moved to Rini’s sleuth?” I couldn’t be sure but I swore I hadn’t smelled many animal type shifters. However, scent was not one of my strengths. As a phoenix shifter, a strong sense of smell—and therefore an ability to identify fellow shifters—was not one of my gifts. It seemed as shifters we took on many of the traits of our alters.
Hiro grimaced. “No. For one thing, his mother was still his primary caregiver. There was no need for an adoption ceremony. For another, even if he were presented to Rini’s sleuth as an adopted child, it would be incredibly rare for an animal shifter to attend the Gala to accept the award, unless it was meant as a large honor. A higher ranking mythological from within the sleuth would attend the Gala and accept the child, even if a bear family was technically raising them.” I blinked, trying to make sense of it.